X-10 IR543 mod: The one serious limitation with the inexpensive IR543 infrared to X-10 transceiver, as used with remote controls such as the Philips Pronto, was that you could only operate one out of the standard 16 house codes via remote. Plus, due to signal collision issues, you could not have more than one IR543 in a room. So, if you had a rather large X-10 system you were simply out of luck – to make use of multiple house codes you had to upgrade to a computerized system. Well, soon that will come to an end.

Laser Business Systems, A UK based company, has taken it upon themselves to modify the existing IR543 product to support all 16 device codes and 16 house codes – they call it the IR543AH. Basically, the main controlling chip on the IR543 is replaced with a daughter board that provides the added functionality. Several other modifications must also be made to the IR543’s circuit board, so Laser will be selling both a do-it-yourself upgrade kit and already-modified units. To start with the enhanced infrared codes will only be available for the Pronto & RC5000, but if it becomes a popular enough item they’ll probably be added to other remotes. For now, the unit is still a prototype and is unavailable. But, for more information and photographs, see Mark McCall’s preview over at AutomatedHome.co.uk.
[Talk about X-10 home automation...]

The Buzz on Woody: Disney’s latest animated films to hit the market weren’t actually done by them. That’s right, I’m talking about Toy Story and Toy Story 2, two amazing computer animated movies done by the folks over at Pixar. We’ve reviewed the special three-disc set, the Toy Story Ultimate Toy Box. Put simply, this is an amazing release. Read the full review here.
[Talk about DVD movies...]

CCF files: Although a "latest files" page now exists, it seems folks still like to read about the most recent uploads here. So, without further ado, new or updated complete system CCF files for the Pronto or RC5000 remotes are available from Alden Reine, Brent McInnes, Cary Gerber, Guido Godrie, Jose Blanco, Kirk J. Moore, Mark Elias, Mark Wilkinson, Paul Miller, Richard Szabranski, Simon Ngan, Stephan Weigel & William Cheng.

For components files, new additions include: Alpine CTA-1505 car stereo & Panasonic DV-PV910 camcorder (Sean Lowrey), Denon DVD1500 DVD player (Tom van Zon), Harman/Kardon AVR-7000 (Jeff Muller), Hitachi FX623 VCR, RCA RC5510P DVD player & Sony CDP-X33ES CD player (Peter Geier), JVC GR-AX55 camcorder, JVC HR-J645ES VCR, JVC AV-28VM1EK television, Kenwood DP-R4080 CD changer, Marantz PM-48 receiver, Matsui 2180TT television, Mitsubishi CT-2525TX television & Panasonic NV-FJ610BL VCR (Steve Tidmarsh), Panarex Pansat 300A satellite receiver (Stan Walker), Philips 32PW9616 television (Simon Tether), Sony MiniDisc keyboard (Dave Brooks), Sony CD jukebox index (Jean Delmas), Thomson 55MPS71 television (David Savitteri) and, finally, Yamaha RX-V800 discrete codes (Barry Shaw).

The latest Unofficial Pronto & RC5000 FAQ PDF (Adobe Acrobat) versions have been sent in by Andrea Whitlock and Tom Held. Barry Gordon’s GenIRDB utility has been updated to version 4.0R9, while George Fournaris uploaded a CCF-based tape management CCF and Andrea Whitlock has uploaded a new 2001 calendar for your remote.
[Talk about the Pronto & RC5000...]