Help, I am trying to program a Marantz RC9500 to control Sky Digital via RF using the Marantz RF extender RX77. I have created channel buttons so that I can go to favorite channels with just one button press. When I tested these via IR they worked fine but when I try them via RF it all goes wrong.
What should happen is that the macro is written to input the 3 digit channel number e.g. 101 I have put a short delay between numbers. When I use if IR as I said it works fine but via RF what it actually sends is 01 00 01 meaning I don't get the right channel or a channel at all.

Someone suggested getting the discrete hex codes for Sky but I can't seem to find them any where. Does anyone have any ideas?

I'm tearing my hair out with this one.

Overall the RX77 IR extender has been a reliable and successful piece for Marantz. If anyone should experience some stumbling blocks using the extender, try these tips:

First, ensure that everything works correctly in IR mode before trying to use the companion RF/IR transceiver for the RC5200/RC9200.

Second, If you are using the dual IR cables (up to 4 such cables per RF/IR unit) to put the IR senders close to your A/V components, take black electrical tape and totally cover the lower, front and top of the IR emitter window on the RF/IR transceiver, so that the box and the flashers are not both working.

Third, if the code works okay in IR, but not in RF mode, simply relearn it from your OEM remote AFTER the RC5200/9200 is switched to RF

Fourth, if you are using aliases, you need to set the devices containing the real IR codes to RF. If you simply set the device that uses the alias device codes, you wind up with IR since the actual device containing the IR codes is set to IR.

ALSO, try moving the RX-77 around a little bit. Sometimes the location of the extender makes a difference.

Mixed macros (RF and IR) may not work very well. The RF may work great and the IR may work great alone, but when mixed in a macro, they may became unreliable. Try putting a small delay between signals of mixed types to solve this problem. Can't say why this should be so, I just know it may solve the problem.

After downloading from the PC to the remote, even though the devices are still RF, confirm again that you want the device as an RF device.

Do not switch the WHOLE remote to RF. Be certain that ONLY the remote device property for RF is set to the valid Extender Channel and ALL the other devices are set to No Extender, Using IR. Then make sure that under your HOME device property page that the RF tab is set to the valid RF channel (0-3). Then download. This should ensure that ONLY the other device can even use IR, since ALL the other devices are set to No Extender, Using IR and you should NOT have to change anything from the remote once it is downloaded.

One person had latent blinking red lights on the extender after sending codes. It looked like RF interference. All the obvious fixes were tried: different RF channels, switched off A/V equipment etc. Nothing fixed the problem. The culprit was the DECT digital portable phone. Switching off the power to that phone made all the problem go away. We now know that any 2.4 GHz phone is suspect.

I was under the impression RF would not work from the home panel: It'll work from the home panel, just not with learned codes. In order to get RF from the home panel you need to alias, either as a stand alone command or in a macro. Make sure the system properties is set to RF.

The latest firmware should always be used.

Having problems programming a Parasound piece? Parasound confirms that IR codes for the Parasound AVC-1800 pre-amp DO NOT translate well from IR->RF->IR.Forget about trying to control it using RF. Suggestion: Xantech Ir repeater worked fantastically, even pointing the remote backwards!

And people are finding that increasing the duration of transmission of each code also can help.