Well I got my new toys, two days after my order. Don’t really know what an open box gizmo is supposed to look like, but I can’t tell if they have been ever used before or not. They even have that “new smell” to them. The 850 is an amazing piece of electronics. I’m totally overwhelmed by its versatility. I’m certain that it can be programmed to bring me a beer if I try hard enough! There seams to be no limit to what a person with plenty of spare time can program this thing to do. The 350 is also a marvel, but I favor the computer interface of the 850. Fortunately, I don’t need the 350 to do much, so the manual programming isn’t that daunting. However, if you do have a complex system, I’d most definitely recommend going with a model that you can set up with a PC.
One more thing, they are bigger than I had visualized. Not huge, but definitely big enough to bludgeon someone into submission, if that need were to present itself. So keep that in mind if you have small hands or like palm sized remotes.
Thanks again Ray for the recomendation, and Mike for his help and support of his products.