# Dish Remote must use RF to function



## golfpoor (Apr 21, 2011)

I am a new Dish network customer with a REMOTE Control question. My primary viewing area has the following equipment: Dish VIP 612 DVR, 21.0 IR/UHF PRO Remote (set to UHF); Samsung LCD TV LN52A860; Samsung BD-C6500 Blu-Ray player, and an Onkyo TX-SR608 AV Receiver. The Dish remote had to be set to RF (UHF Pro) to work properly. Now My Harmony 659 Remote (IR) which was controlling all devices including a Mediacom Cable STB until I ceremonially DUMPED cable in favor of Dish ,does not now work. I reprogrammed my Harmony to the new Dish DVR but it ( Harmony 659) will not work. I now must use each OEM device's remote control which getting to be a pain. All device connections are HDMI. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. (Yes I did a search)
Thanks, golfpoor


----------



## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

The 612 works just fine with IR remote. It is listed on the Logitech site under "Dish Network VIP612-DVR".

I'm pretty sure you can use both interchangeably.


----------



## tampa8 (Mar 30, 2002)

I need to know why you say you had to use the 21.0 remote in RF mode.

I also am not clear if you want to use the Harmony to control everything including the Dish 612, or the 21.0 remote to control everything.

The 21.0 will work fine in the UHF mode. Be sure the UHF antenna is screwed into the back of the receiver. Also make sure the bottom piece of the remote in inserted so that the number "2" is showing.

Follow the directions to set the receiver to be controlled by the 21.0 remote. (Go to system info to make the adjustment)

As for the harmony, even if the receiver is set to receive UHF, it will still respond to an RF signal. The harmony should still work if correctly programmed. The 21.0 is capable of controlling most anything as it is a learning remote if you want to use that for controlling other electronics.


----------



## n0qcu (Mar 23, 2002)

Tampa8...*UHF is RF* the OP is having a problem with *IR.*

You most likely need to make sure you are using remote address #1 or set your 21.0 to IR and follow the instructions for your harmony to match the remote address you are using if youy do not want to change it to 1.


----------



## golfpoor (Apr 21, 2011)

harsh said:


> The 612 works just fine with IR remote. It is listed on the Logitech site under "Dish Network VIP612-DVR".
> 
> I'm pretty sure you can use both interchangeably.


The Samsung TV back light interferes with the dish remote when it is set up IR. That why the installing tech changed it to RF(UHF). Prior to Dish I had cable and the harmony remote worked all devices in the IR mode. There is no option on the harmony to change to RF that I am aware. Therefore I sought help but I am obviously not explaining the problem correctly. 
I now use the Dish remote to turn on/off TV and Dish STB. All Dish STB functions seem to work properly. For audio I use the Onkyo remote (IR) to turn on or off Receiver and and all sound functions, vol up or dn, mute or other. All HDMI cables go thru the Onkyo receiver. If I could just get the Onkyo power on/off and volume up/dn and mute function to be controlled by the dish remote I would be almost satisfied.


----------



## jadebox (Dec 14, 2004)

golfpoor said:


> The Samsung TV back light interferes with the dish remote when it is set up IR. That why the installing tech changed it to RF(UHF). Prior to Dish I had cable and the harmony remote worked all devices in the IR mode. There is no option on the harmony to change to RF that I am aware. Therefore I sought help but I am obviously not explaining the problem correctly.


The 612 can respond to both IR and RF remotes at the same time. I have one upstairs at my house that is feeding a TV downstairs through the coax connection. Downstairs we use an IR remote to control the DVR. Upstairs, we used an IR one (which I keep forgetting to point at the DVR because I'm used to RF remotes!).

You'll probably need to set the IR remote channel on the receiver to "1" for the Harmony to be able to control it. I have a Vulkano controlling my DVR through the IR input and it required me to set the remote code to 1.

I recall that getting my setup to work was a bit of a hassle. I don't recall the exact steps, but the 612's manual should help.

-- Roger


----------



## cpiman (Jan 23, 2009)

I cant get my harmony IR to work on the 612.... any ideas would be great.


----------



## davejacobson (Mar 14, 2005)

sounds like light interference from the tv. I have seen it before with dish receivers. I dont know of any workaround besides the RF (uhf) remote. Is there another spot in your entertainment center to put the receiver in? The test to be sure its light interference from the tv is to shut the tv off try a function with the ir remote then turn the tv back on. Did you see the change you were expecting. Example press the guide button with the tv off then turn tv on is the guide there.


----------



## golfpoor (Apr 21, 2011)

davejacobson said:


> sounds like light interference from the tv. I have seen it before with dish receivers. I dont know of any workaround besides the RF (uhf) remote. Is there another spot in your entertainment center to put the receiver in? The test to be sure its light interference from the tv is to shut the tv off try a function with the ir remote then turn the tv back on. Did you see the change you were expecting. Example press the guide button with the tv off then turn tv on is the guide there.


At the risk of submitting a 25 page reply, My install ,by DISH techs, lasted in excess of 8 hours, 3 techs and at least 3 different Dish receivers and at last count, 4 remotes. Yes, they moved it up, down, sideways and maybe upside down before getting a winning combination. The IR set-up sort of half-a---- worked but it was totally unacceptable. The RF Dish remote works fine, I was just hoping that someone might guide me to a solution which would result in All my devices controlled by a single remote.


----------



## golfpoor (Apr 21, 2011)

n0qcu said:


> Tampa8...*UHF is RF* the OP is having a problem with *IR.*
> 
> You most likely need to make sure you are using remote address #1 or set your 21.0 to IR and follow the instructions for your harmony to match the remote address you are using if youy do not want to change it to 1.


If you are referring to the Remote control address shown on the SYSTEM INFO screen it is 3. The senior TECH programed it.


----------



## Jim5506 (Jun 7, 2004)

For the Harmony to work with the Dish receiver, you must set the Receiver to remote address #1, that is where the Harmony operates.

Also turn off the auto-light sensing facility on your LCD TV, it interferes with the Dish remote.


----------



## golfpoor (Apr 21, 2011)

Jim5506 said:


> For the Harmony to work with the Dish receiver, you must set the Receiver to remote address #1, that is where the Harmony operates.
> 
> Also turn off the auto-light sensing facility on your LCD TV, it interferes with the Dish remote.


Good point, however I double checked and it is OFF.


----------



## [email protected] Network (Jan 6, 2011)

Jim5506 said:


> For the Harmony to work with the Dish receiver, you must set the Receiver to remote address #1, that is where the Harmony operates.
> 
> Also turn off the auto-light sensing facility on your LCD TV, it interferes with the Dish remote.


Most universal remotes do require that the remote address in the receiver be set to #1.

To change the remote address to 1:

Press system info on front of receiver
Hold "SAT" until all mode lights are lit
When "SAT" is flashing, press the number 1 on the keypad
Press # (SAT will flash three times confirming)
Press record (may take more than one press)


----------



## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

If you insist on using an address other than 1, just learn all the commands from your Dish remote or use a JP1 remote which can easily select among all Dish IR addresses without learning. Same advice applies to DirecTV (8 possible addresses), Panasonic (3), Sony (3) and any other addressable device. Dish has 32 possible addresses. If you want to do macros, don't forget to learn discrete on and discrete off from the Dish remote as well.


----------



## golfpoor (Apr 21, 2011)

[email protected] Network said:


> Most universal remotes do require that the remote address in the receiver be set to #1.
> 
> To change the remote address to 1:
> 
> ...


Thanks but before I try it, why would the installing TECH set my remote/ box to 3 in the first place? Also if resetting to 1 does not work, How do I get back to 3 before my wife kills me for screwing it up?:eek2:


----------



## [email protected] Network (Jan 6, 2011)

Since it was setup as UHF, changing the address to something other than 1 is recommended. If your neighbor also has the remote at 1 (which is the default), you guys will be fighting over what channel to watch (both remotes will change both receivers).

If you want to keep it/change it back to 3, use the same steps, but press the number "3" instead of "1".


----------



## Grandude (Oct 21, 2004)

Jim5506 said:


> For the Harmony to work with the Dish receiver, you must set the Receiver to remote address #1, that is where the Harmony operates..


Not true. The Harmony remotes can learn the remote address being used by a Dish receiver. There is a step in the setup process which does this. 
I have two Dish receivers in my family room. The VIP722 uses remote address 3 for both Primary and Secondary remote address and my VIP622 uses address 1 for Primary and address 8 for Secondary remote address.
My Harmony handles both just fine.


----------



## mdavej (Jan 31, 2007)

Jim5506 said:


> For the Harmony to work with the Dish receiver, you must set the Receiver to remote address #1...





Grandude said:


> Not true. The Harmony remotes can learn the remote address being used by a Dish receiver...


Correct, but the OP couldn't figure that out. So the sure-fire way to get a universal remote working is to use address 1, which is definitely in the harmony database. Of course any learning remote can work any Dish IR address. But some problems with learning another address are that most people neglect learn discrete on/off, which makes macros (activities) less bullet-proof, and they may not realize that they may have to learn every command.


----------



## golfpoor (Apr 21, 2011)

[email protected] Network said:


> Since it was setup as UHF, changing the address to something other than 1 is recommended. If your neighbor also has the remote at 1 (which is the default), you guys will be fighting over what channel to watch (both remotes will change both receivers).
> 
> If you want to keep it/change it back to 3, use the same steps, but press the number "3" instead of "1".


Thanks for your patience. At age 76, I do not comprehend quickly anymore(maybe I never did). Here is procedure I followed: 1. Switched remote to #1, 2. Tested Harmony remote, no cigar, 3. Returned Dish remote back to #3 as neighbor does have Dish, 4. Programmed Dish remote to control audio receiver (Onkyo TX-SR608) in AUX mode,( This was fun as none of the codes in either manual worked; therefore had to do a "Device codes scan" which took forever), and finally, 5. Switched TV volume control and mute to audio receiver. Works---However, assume all devices are OFF. 1. Push SAT Button: Dish Receiver comes ON!, 2. Push red TV button: TV comes on, 3. Push AUX button, 4. Push red POWER button : Audio receiver comes on ( in CBL/SAT input selection < which is correct>), 5. Then, Push SAT button to enjoy Picture and Sound. This freaked me out. I assumed whenever the SAT button is pushed it only gets the SYSTEM in the MODE to do something ,not actually EXECUTE the ON function of the Dish Receiver???? Did I do something wrong that might show up later?


----------

