Assuming Eric isn't still drunk from the Hab's 100th Season Birthday celebrations, he does have a reasonable alternative. My URC RF remote seems to send signals flawlessly to the basement setup from my first floor. It has trouble from the second floor but I blame all the shiny reflective heat sinks in the floors from my in-floor heating. My original wireless router was not strong enough to make it through these either.

An IR repeater may be more economical, however.

With great power comes Awesome irresponsibility.