Anyone have advice on purchase of an RF universal remote control? My main speakers are on either side of an entertainment center. Normal IR remotescan only function with a hinged door on the left side of the cener open partly, which blocks the left speaker to some extent.

I thought that with a universal RF remote I could leave the door closed and solve the problem. It would have to control both a H/K receiver (for volume) and a Panasonic CD player.

Another idea would be a device to add RF transmssion to my existing remotes, which are fine otherwise. Ideas?

In case anyone is interested, I found my solution: a Leapfrog remote control extender. An extender unit receives IR signals from your remotes and transmits them by RF to a base unit placed near your components, which converts them back to IR. Works like a charm right through the door of my entertainment center. It supposedly works even in distant rooms.

How much does that cost? I'm pondering whether this might be necessary for the EC I'm building.

I paid $39, which includes one IR extender cord to bring IR, if necessary, from the base unit inside the cabinet directly to the receiving "eye" of a component. I found that my Panasonic DVD player worked fine without an extender (receiving IR signals from the reflections inside the cabinet), but that my H/K receiver needed to have the IR extender pointed right at its eye. You could possibly need more extenders depending on your setup. I was told that you can buy double extenders,which have two little remote transmitters for bringing IR direct to components. The extenders are inexpensive.

wschwartz,

Would you care to post a link to some web pages describing the gadgets you bought? I might be able to use one, too...

With regard to your placement of the receiver etc. inside the built-in "entertainment center," my $.02 of advice are: Be careful not to overheat your receivers/amps by operating it at high levels for a prolonged time period in an enclosed environment. I also place all my electronics inside the built-in entertainment shelves, but I always keep the front door open when they are in use...

The Terk website is under construction, so this is the best I can do for a link to the Leapfrogs: http://www.terk.com/products.html#leapfrog. I got the simple LF-IRX, and it works like a charm.

I share your concern about overheating. When I had the entertainment center built (I did it when my kitchen cabinets were built), I had the cabinetmaker include vents high and low on both sides of the unit. My use is modest, too: 2-channel stereo only at modest levels for a fairly small listening area. So far, no problems, but for more demanding use I'm not sure if this stragegy would work as well.