PM5900 Customer Comments

Question

Has anyone else had control issues with these units and offered suggestions or fixes?

Customer Comments

The biggest problem with the PowerMids is interference. Because the transmitter sends everything it sees to the receiver, there are lots of ways the signal coming out may not be understood by the device you want to control. Interference can come in many forms - occasionally IR light sources will "blind" a signal, you could have two remotes operating at the same time, etc. However, the biggest problem with the PowerMids is not interference at the transmitters (where you aim your remote), but rather at the receiver - which has a propensity for picking up signals that it shouldn't (close by Wifi devices, nearby TVs, phones, etc), and creating IR noise that both prevents the repeater from working, but also can prevent regular devices from working as well. In my house I have two sets of PowerMids. Currently I have a transmitter in my bedroom, and another in the living room, and the receiver is in my basement media room controlling my TIVO, which feeds mirrored HDMI signals out to all of the TVs in the house. If my receiver is getting interference, it not only stops passing along the signals from the upstairs, but it can also make controlling the TIVO within the same room impossible (the TIVO sees too much IR signal and stops accepting any of it).

The fix that I have found is to use IR blasters (as well as a mono 1/8" extension cable) to position the receiver somewhere that it is not getting interference. It's easy enough to know if it's getting interference because that little sender diode in the receiver will light up slightly when it is transmitting. If its on solid, or even just barely blinking... move the receiver. Once you find a clear spot for it, you should find that it does a admirable job!

http://www.amazon.com/X10-Powermid-PM5900-Control-Extender/product-reviews/B00023KG40?pageNumber=3