Harmony 880 vs 890

[robreams]

I had a bit of a mishap with my Harmony 880 (see: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5082776&&#post5082776-- remote works but battery no longer charges), & now I'm looking to replace it. I'm wondering what sort of experience Harmony 890 users have had with the RF broadcasting. A few specific questions:


Does the RF receiver have to be in the open somewhere?
I assume that the IR emitters are actually attached to the IR recievers of the various components?
I've got an A/V cabinet with a 55" TV on top, and components below on either side. Are the cables on the IR transmitters long enough to cover ~ 8 feet of space?
Is it possible for the remote to emit IR commands also? I'd rather have my TV commands sent directly via IR, since the TV is visible.
Is the RF receiver really that much more sensitive than a typical IR receiver?
Any other advantages of the 890 vs the 880?


Thanks for all of your help!

[BruceShultes]

Before you purchase another harmony, try this and see whether your 880 will charge again. Moisten your finger with saliva and run it over the four charging pins on the base as well as the four receivers on the 880. This was suggested to me by harmony support when I had problems. It seems to work fine.

You also might try cleaning them with an alcohol swab as well as the contacts in the battery compartment.

In case it doesn't work for you, following are my answers to your questions.

No the RF receiver does not have to be in the open. It uses RF, which does not require line of site.

The infrared emitters can just be attached near the receivers of the infrared receivers of your components.

The infrared emitters are no where near 8 feet long. However as long as the RF receiver is mounted with line of site to your components, you ofter do not need any emitters.

Yes you can set some components to be controlled via IR, while others are controlled via RF.

I have no info on sensitivity of either IR or RF.

Other than the ability to use RF, the 890 is virtually identical to the 880. The 890 is slightly harder to program, since each time you want to update it, you need to unplug the power from the RF receiver, plug the USB cable into it, perform the update of the receiver, plug it's power back in, and push the connect button to re-enable it. This is a pain when you have it mounted in a cabinet where it is hard to reach.

[mikey94025]

Before you purchase another harmony, try this and see whether your 880 will charge again. Moisten your finger with saliva and run it over the four charging pins on the base as well as the four receivers on the 880. This was suggested to me by harmony support when I had problems. It seems to work fine.

Wow, thanks for that tip. I tried it and it worked... No more fiddling with the remote when I return it to its cradle so that it beeps and recharges.

[Robs67]

I had issues with my base stations well. I tried all the tricks I could find on the internet. Some worked, but not for very long. Then, after thinking about it, I got a bit annoyed that I even had to look-up and try "tricks" to get an expensive remote to work.

I called Logitech support and they were very helpful. I told them I tried everything (they want to hear that you tried cleaning the contacts) so they are sending me a new base. Hopefully the new bases have addressed the issues. We'll see.

Here is the Harmony support contact info:
http://members.harmonyremote.com/EasyZapper/Help/FAQShowById.asp?FaqId=864&Language=enu

I didn't really answer your questions but this may help anyway.

[annenoe]

Just got off the phone w/ Logitech support - went thru the whole shebang with them as well. they left it with my case being forwarded to warranty and now I wait to hear from them. Rep said they would most likely be sending me a new base.

I have to admit that as much as I love this remote, I won't be recommending it. I have no faith that a new base is going to solve this problem since my remote worked perfectly for months before it started to fail. It's sad really - I do like the remote and loved having a base - not only to keep it charged, but b/c I could always find it.

[mrmot]

Just got off the phone w/ Logitech support - went thru the whole shebang with them as well. they left it with my case being forwarded to warranty and now I wait to hear from them. Rep said they would most likely be sending me a new base.

I have to admit that as much as I love this remote, I won't be recommending it. I have no faith that a new base is going to solve this problem since my remote worked perfectly for months before it started to fail. It's sad really - I do like the remote and loved having a base - not only to keep it charged, but b/c I could always find it.
For what it's worth, I had the problem that my remote stopped charging properly (after almost a year of use) last november. Logitech sent me some new equipment and things have been working fine now. It's a known issue - if you look around the internet there's lots of threads discussing the problem with the cradle.

Despite having a problem with the remote in the first place, I was overall very impressed with how quickly and easily Logitech resolved the issue for me.

[annenoe]

Follow up. I did get a new base from Logitech - no email, it just showed up about 1 week later.

Unfortunately, it did not solve the problem. I still have to jimmy-jig it around to get it to seat correctly. I'm afraid it is a significant design flaw. That said, I'm sticking with it.

I tried the paper in the cradle and that seems to help - IOW, you tip the remote down towards the front to get better contact with the charger.

One thing I'm trying that is helping.... I used rubber dots - the kind they sell to deaden cabinet closings. I happened to have some black ones that I got with another product (i save everything) and experimented sticking them to the back of the cradle. It's not 100% but at least they don't keep falling out.

Unfortunately, as much as I love this remote, I can no longer recommend it until I hear they have really redesigned it. Too bad - it's a great remote - but the charging issue is just too great a negative.