Ok... A trip to Walmart and I came home with a Cinema 6 ONEforall remote. Two screws beneath the battery came out easily but the thing would NOT come apart. Fearing I'd break it I stopped trying. I have an old ONEforall 3 that looks uilt the same way. Same screw (only one though) beneath the batteries. Same stuck. This one I could get some leverage on so I pried until it popped apart. Pretty amazing simplicity in these things. Each button is just a couple of zigzaging traces on a PC board. Embedded in each button is a round contact plate that shorts the traces when pushed down. Although it may be possible, there is no obvious way to solder onto these traces without adding some thickness (of the wire) and that will surely ruin the button's usual performance. I still may try, but given that I haven't yet gotten the cinema6 apart, there seems to be nothing "simple" about it.

I can see how it would be relatively trivial for ONE4all to add a macro activation port with a slight redesign of this product. Kinda wish I was a better solderer.

David,
I don’t know if you have hit your head over the weekend, but please read the previous posts on this thread before you go to the trouble of typing a “rerun” again. You will see that you have repeated that of which I have said earlier, on more than one occasion.

Chris

Chris....

I know exactly what I've typed, and what I've repeated. As a design teacher, I like to document a complete design process, being as redundant as I can just so that no one misses anything. I'm sorry it annoys you. My intent is simply to communicate this process as well as possible for the sake of anyone else who comes along later.

I got a mini plug jack installed in the Cinema6 body today. The best place for it turned out to be the side, in the lower case half, about 2" from the bottom of the remote. It could have gone on either side, but I put mine on the left as I intend to wire it to a Macro button on that side. I'm looking for some conducting epoxy or superglue, as I think that might be an easier way to attach small wires to the button traces on the PC board. I'll solder the other ends to the Mini Jack leads.

Dave

David,
One suggestion is to solder the wires directly to the chip that controls the remote. Most pins that come from the chip have several functions and will control different buttons depending on the pin in connects with through the button. For example, pin 1 and pin 4 may be the volume up. Pin 1 and pin 8 may do macro 1. Pin 4 and pin 8 may do power. Connection to the chip may offer a better solution to soldering on a trace or trying to glue it. Another is to drill small holes in the trace and remove the protective covering around it, if there is any. You will then have a better anchor to attach the wires to.

Chris

In the ONEforall3 I took apart, there was a large IC chip on the PC board. In the Cinema6 there is no apparent controller chip, at least with obvious pins that could be soldered to. This thing is an incredible marvel of simplifying an electronic product. I can follow traces and perhaps find a spot to solder to, but there is actually a raised conducting area as each button contact that is much easier to get to. I found some very fine wire, that if superglued or very carefully soldered to these spots should be the easiest way to hook in the Mini Jack. I'm working on getting up the nerve to try. The Cinema6 is a VERY nice remote, controlling all my gear AND x-10 stuff too. Even though I'm an avid Pronto fan/user, I'd hate to ruin the Cinema6.

Dave