One of my kids managed to dump a glass of water on my SIMA SUR20. It now has water under the display and none of the buttons seem to work. Does anyone know if this can be salvaged after this type of damage ?
In the meantime I picked up a new OFA Kameleon and am trying that out for a while.

THANKS. Barry.

See if you can take it apart and dry the various parts out. If the touchscreen is damaged you might be out of luck though.

Rob

I know for the Prontos, taking out the battery and flipping them upsidedown to dry works well.

Thanks, I'll try that. I tried taking it apart by removing a screw that was inside the battery compartment. But that didn't seem to do anything and I still couldn't get it apart. Without somehow getting the cover off I don't think there is enough air movement inside to dry it out. If I put batteries in I can get a screen display but it's completely non-responsive.

Also looked today at the SUR25 at Circuit City. I may have to try that one, too. I think I'm going to be in the market for a new one.

Barry.

OK, I need some help from the experts here. My SUR20 is DOA (I admit, I'm only slightly broken up by this). I saw the new OFA Kameleon at the store and picked it up. It's cool and will be easier for the wife to use, but really has some limitiations. So I'm back to looking again.
The SUR20 was entirely touch screen, but I found after a while that I kind of missed the ease of use that hard buttons give, at least for the vol. and channel buttons. I looked at the SUR25 which seems to fit what I want (some hard buttons; programmability with the ability to label, move, etc. the "soft" buttons). But I've heard of some problems with the SUR25. So I'm also now looking at the MX500, which seems to be most versatile of the three in some ways, although is mostly a hard buttoned remote. I like the MX500 because of the flexibility in programming and naming the LCD buttons, although there are only a limited number of them for each function.
I don't have great demands for a remote (TV, DVD, Amp, VCR, Cable box, will be adding an HD STB; no lighting or other accessories), and I need something that is easy for the whole family to use yet can be customised and set up to use the way that I want it.
So I'm looking for an opinion from those that know more than I do. Is the MX500 the best option? or maybe something else that I haven't looked at?

THANKS in advance. Barry.

The MX-500 has 20 LCD-labelable buttons and 33 pre-labeled buttons per device, which is usually more than enough to have all your original remote's buttons duplicated and properly labeled. In the event that you need more than 20 (which is sometimes the case with receivers that have a lot of soundfield options), you can always create a device just for those additional commands (as long as you don't already have 10 devices).

Mike
www.SurfRemoteControl.com

Mike, I've looked at your site and the remotes that you have available. What's your opinion of the MX500 vs. the SIMA SUR-35? Any major drawbacks to either one?

THANKS. Barry.

The drawbacks to the SUR-35 are pretty much the same ones the SUR-20 or 25 has. You can't relabel any of the buttons, so you're more than likely to not have every command either duplicated or properly labeled. However, for controlling 90% or more of all of your components, it does a good job.

The MX-500 can duplicate 100% of your original remotes by learning from them. If that's all you want to do, you'd be set. Its drawback is that's its built-in code database is small and if you're looking for discrete codes for a particular device (eg. separate on/off commands), you'll need to learn them from another remote that has them or get an IRClone from www.irclone.com.

Time for a quick update. I ordered the MX500 and it's everything they say it is. It's a super remote.

One more thing, I ordered it from Surf Remote and they have fantastic service. Ordered it on a sunday afternoon and had it in my hands less then 72 hours later. You can't beat that!

Thanks to everyone for the help.

Barry

PS I still have the SIMA if anyone has the need for a battery powered coaster.