From: John Marvin Subject: Hidden functions on the Sony PCM-R500 (2600 too?) Date: Sat, 5 Apr 1997 23:30:58 -0700 I just bought a Sony PCM-R500 DAT recorder, and I wanted to be able to display the error rate counter. I preferred not to chop up my remote, (one way of getting the error counter is to cut a hole in the cover of your remote so that you can get at the diagnostics button) and I was also interested in some of the functionality only available on the optional RM-D750 remote. I have a One-For-All 5 remote control, and I already knew that it could control just about everything. So I checked the One-For-All website (http://www.oneforall.com) to see if they had a code to control Sony DAT recorders. They did (093 in the VCR/LD group). Universal Electronics, the makers of the One-For-All remotes, also have this service where you can ask for the "extended function codes" for a device and they will e-mail you a table which can be used to map additional functionality that won't be there by default when you just key in the device ID (i.e. after you key in 093 for a Sony DAT recorder there will only be a small set of keys that do anything, and they might not do what you want them to). I sent away for the table, but the table I received back was incomplete and partly inaccurate. So, I then went to the "Unofficial One-For-All Remote" pages (http://www.tiac.net/users/wasser/OFA/) where John Wasser gives instructions on how to explore the entire infrared code space for a device and map out your own extended functions. This can be a very tedious operation, but I did it, and I will now spare anyone else who is interested from having to do it themselves. I will not give instructions on how to program the One-For-All remotes here. You can explore from the above mentioned pages where you will be able to find a good set of instructions for programming your device. Note that my remote is one of the newer ones that use the "E2" command set. If yours is older you may be on your own, since I don't know if the extended function codes are compatible across different One-For-All command sets. Anyway, I found all of the functionality that exists on the optional RM-D750 remote, plus the diagnostics key, plus some more functions that I understood, plus one other code that remains a mystery. I will list the extended function codes below, along with some comments. With this information you will be able to use a One-For-All remote to do everything that a RM-D750 can do, plus more, like easily get to the error counters. A One-For-All remote can easily be found in many stores for around $15. You can also purchase one via the One-For-All website. Even if you are buying one only to control a Sony DAT recorder you might want to buy one of the better ones, just to get more keys that you can remap. If you want you can also may the DAT recorder to more than one device type. Even though the Sony DAT code is under the VCR/LD group I wanted to leave the VCR/LD button to control my VCR. So I mapped the audio1 button to be in the VCR/LD group. I also plan to map the audio2 button the same way so that I can have two different sets of buttons to control the DAT. In one set I will leave all of the number buttons alone. In the other set I will remap all of the number buttons to be the various subcode buttons like start id write, end id write, etc. Anyway, here is the extended function code map for the Sony PCM-R500. I expect that they may also work for other Sony DAT recorders like the PCM-2600, but someone else will have to verify that. Number Keys =========== ** Not particularly useful (unless you want to scramble your number ** keys, or you really really want a "10" key for some reason). 587 0 522 1 526 2 264 3 268 4 267 5 271 6 521 7 525 8 394 9 398 10 Display Control =============== 713 Clear 488 Counter Reset 238 Counter Mode ** These 3 exist on both the RM-D757 and RM-D750 remote 622 Current Date (Cycle: Date/Time/Return to Previous display mode) 360 Date Of Recording (Cycle: Date/Time/Return to Previous display mode) 665 Margin Reset ** These 3 exist only on the RM-D750 remote 233 Absolute Time (Direct) 618 Remaining Time (Direct) 495 Program Time (Direct) 237 Tape Running Time (Direct) ** These 4 don't appear on either remote. They go directly to ** a particular display mode. Obviously you can get there by pressing ** the counter mode button multiple times. 412 Display Control (Cycle: On/Meters Off/All Off) ** I don't think this functionality exists on the RM-D750. I have no ** reason to turn off my display, but I know other devices have this ** functionality, so somebody must care. Subcodes ======== 348 Renumber 602 Auto Start Id 506 Start Id Rehearsal 606 Start Id Write 344 Start Id Erase 510 Skip Id Rehearsal 347 Skip Id Write 351 Skip Id Erase 474 End Id Write 248 End Id Rehearsal 478 End Id Erase ** These all exist on the RM-D750 remote Basic Operations ================ 234 Open/Close 426 Stop 680 Play 683 Fast Forward 430 Pause 684 Rewind 687 Record 429 Record Mute ** These all exist on both remotes 425 One Button Record (no pause) ** Doesn't exist on either remote. Kind of dangerous. Note that ** the record key on the One-For-All remotes have to be pressed ** twice, no matter what function is mapped to it. So in this case ** it might not be as dangerous. 605 Rewind and Play ** Doesn't exist on either remote. This is the same function as ** when you press the rewind key on the recorder, hold it down, and ** then press the play key. You can't do this with the Sony remotes. Advanced Play ============= 553 Repeat 378 Previous (AMS) 382 Next (AMS) ** These 3 exist on both remotes 364 Mark 363 Locate 635 Music Scan 460 RMS Enter 463 RMS Check 732 Skip Play ** These 6 exist only on the RM-D750 remote Misc ---- 477 Fader (PCM-R700 only) 296 Input Monitor / Source ** These 2 exist only on the RM-D750. Note that even though the ** PCM-R500 does not have 4 heads (like the PCM-R700), the Input ** Monitor button can still be useful. If you don't have a tape ** in the machine you can monitor the input by pressing record ** and the deck will display "SOURCE" (after displaying "NO TAPE") ** and let you monitor the input. However, if you have a tape in ** the machine, pressing record will put the machine in record pause ** mode, causing wear on the heads and tape. Using this button will ** allow you to monitor the input in cases where you may not want ** to start recording immediately. 491 Clock Set ** Doesn't exist on either remote. Doesn't seem very useful, since ** you still need to use the data wheel to change values. It saves ** you from having to cycle through all of the menu items to find ** the clock set menu. But I am not in the habit of setting my ** date and time all that often anyway! 572 Show ID6 (Temporarily and then return to previous) ** Doesn't exist on either remote 317 Show ??? ** Shows some Hex numbers, similar to many of the obscure displays ** you can get with the below function, but I have no idea what it ** is. It only displays temporarily and then returns to the former ** display item. 601 Diagnostics ** This is the one you need to get the error codes. You can enter ** 91 followed by this key. I tried a few other number combinations. ** Most don't do anything or display some obscure hex digits. Here ** are the ones that did something different: 80 -- Resets current date and time. 89 -- All lights on. Every possibly display element lights up 91 -- Displays playback error counts for the A & B heads. Displays an "A" followed by 8 hex digits. The first 4 are the error counts for the A head, the second 4 are for the B head. 97 -- Displays GENERL CAT or DAT CAT at various times. I haven't figured out its meaning. 99 -- Set current date and time (same as extended function 491 above) Can anyone else can fill in the meaning of the other mysterious hex displays? I hope that others find this information useful. John Marvin jsm@fc.hp.com