CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

gnnash · Joined: 10 Jul 2013 Posts: 216 Location: Lake Elmo, MN

Well, looks like I'll be joining the iRule crowd...

I had always been interested, but the entry coat of purchasing enough iTach hardware had deterred me. I need at least four IR ports (at 2 emitter heads per port) and two serial ports. A couple relay contacts would be great as well. Purchasing enough iTachs for all of this would be $$$$$.

So, I was perusing eBay this evening, and found this listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Global-Cache-GC-100-12-GC-100-Home-Network-Router-Security-lighting-Networking-/151213465335?pt=Home_Automation_Controls_Touchscreens&hash=item2335065ef7

Used GC-100-12 units (6 IR ports, 2 serial ports, and 3 relay contacts). Comes to just under $100 with shipping, less than the cost of a single itach. Only one connection available, so no simultaneous remotes, but that wont be a problem for me. Looks like the seller has quite a few left!

Not sure if these deals come by often, but I figured I'd share, since it pushed me over the edge!

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Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

I think you can daisy chain them together trough the RS 232 ports if you want.

Athanasios

gnnash · Joined: 10 Jul 2013 Posts: 216 Location: Lake Elmo, MN

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 1:46 pm Post subject:

thanks, I'm grabbing two. Am doing the 4 hour training course in 15 minutes. Looking forward to this, but not looking forward to the learning curve. At my advanced age, my brain may explode. Smile

Still, as the only IRule dealer in BC, this will be good!

HogPilot · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:00 pm Post subject:

I'm assuming these could be connected to a wireless network via a wireless bridge? I could potentially run a Cat5 cable from my wireless router to this, but they're not co-located and I'd prefer to avoid the long run of partially exposed wire.

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

gnnash · Joined: 10 Jul 2013 Posts: 216 Location: Lake Elmo, MN

I need to start learning as well... I was averse to a touchscreen-only interface, it's nice to have volume buttons in the dark, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

With all of you ordering two, I'm beginning to wonder if I should get another for my living room. You guys might have them all bought up by the time I get to try it out! Shocked

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:44 pm Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:53 pm Post subject:

Guys,

That seller has been selling surplus GC-100's for months. I don't know how many they have, or where the heck they came from, but they must have pulled a BUNCH from a large install or something. I know that at least a dozen guys in the iRule thread on AVS have bought them, and who knows how many others have bought them that don't post at AVS, or more who don't even use iRule?

Just a few words of caution on the ebay GC-100's:

- As gnash pointed out, they'll only support a single IP connection, so no control of multi-room equipment like lighting or audio controllers where two users may want to control simultaneously. Not a huge deal for most, but it's worth pointing out. If a client is already connected, iRule will just fail to connect. It's not like there will be smoke or flames. Wink

- The GC-100 is a very old product. The firmware isn't field-upgradable, so if you get an older one and want it upgraded, you have to send it to Global Caché. It's not a problem once updated. Because it's such a mature product, it hasn't been updated for at least 4-5 years.

- On that same subject, because these are probably the older models, they default to a static IP address, even when reset. The newer firmware defaults to DHCP, so it'll get an IP address from your network like most network gear made in the last 10 years. It's not a big deal if you're comfortable with networking; you just have to connect it to a switch, or to your computer with a crossover cable, setup your computer's network settings to match the GC-100's default static IP, reconfigure it to match your network, reboot, and connect everything to your main network. If you're comfortable with a little networking beyond plugging stuff in, you'll be fine, but some guys on AVS have been a little frustrated and actually sent them back to buy an iTach, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

I always recommend the iTach because it's newer, more user-friendly, field-upgradable, and personally, I think it's a little less trouble-free. That said, it's a huge value: Six IR outputs, two RS-232, and some contact closures. If you can make use of most of that functionality, and you don't mind a little extra hassle setting it up, it's a good option.

I have a GC-100 in my theater rack, and a couple of iTach's for the living room and bedroom setups, so I use both. In the grand scheme of how much I've spent on my system, the price of a couple of iTach's is like the pocket change that gets stuck in the couch. I hate to admit that, but it's true. Wink

Feel free to post a list of the gear you want to control, how they are placed (room, proximity, e.g. these pieces here, these pieces there), and we can all help to make sure you have the best/right hardware.

Cheers,
SC

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 3:58 pm Post subject:

gnnash · Joined: 10 Jul 2013 Posts: 216 Location: Lake Elmo, MN

Thanks for the clarification on these. I bought one for the value aspect - I paid nothing for my projector, and as little as I could for the gear I do have, so the small hassles are worth it to me. Plus, I'm just dipping my toe in the iRule water, I'm kinda worried about the lack of physical buttons in a control setup like this. If I like it, I'll probably get an iTach or two at some point!

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 4:12 pm Post subject:

HogPilot · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 4:31 pm Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2014 10:08 pm Post subject:

Hog, here's how I'd connect your gear, assuming you connect a bridge to your rack/equipment location:

Pioneer Elite SC-07 - RS-232
Not network-capable for control. RS-232 for full feedback of volume, surround mode, etc.

JVC RS55 - IP (ethernet), IR fine as alternative
Unless you can run an ethernet cable up to the ceiling in conduit or something, you'll probably just want to hit it with an IR blaster. If you have conduit, you can also run a piece of Cat-5 as an extension and just stick an emitter on it. That's how I controlled my JVC until I finally got it networked.

Lumagen Radiance XE - IR or RS-232
I'll ask Whitcomb about this one. He loves controlling the Lumagen from iRule… He used the AR buttons right in iRule, put it in a bottom drawer, and no matter what part of the remote you're in, you can swipe up and change the AR, or other Lumagen controls. Not sure about IR vs. RS-232, so I'll check it out.

Oppo BDP-93 - IR or RS-232
I control mine with RS-232, but IR is fine. With RS-232 you can actually get feedback on total time, time remaining, transport modes, etc. I don't even use it, though. I wish we could do IP, but Oppo's IP protocol is ridiculous. I've been swapping some emails back and forth with their engineers to get them to implement a simple control protocol like so many other manufacturers.

Toshiba HD-A2 - IR

XBox 360 - IR
The 360 does some sort of bit-swapping thing, but it's just picking the right device in iRule Builder. You'll have a pretty full command set, including x-box button, d-pad, a/b, transport, etc. Basically the Windows Media remote, I think.

Apple TV (1st Gen) - IR
With aTV Flash, the original Apple TV is IP-control capable, and pretty powerful... So if you wanted to mess with that, you could. Otherwise, IR works fine. You just have to unpair the Apple factory remote.

Carada CIH Masquerade - ?
I don't see codes for the Masquerade in Builder now, but I assume it's IR. There's a good chance we already support it; I just need to find out what motor controller they're using. If not, I'll have the guys get the codes from Carada and get them in.

That's about it. If you want to do with just the GC-100, then you can control the SC-07 and Lumagen RS-232, and everything else IR. You'll need emitters and one blaster (which isn't cheap for the GC-100, as it's a powered blaster).

So, your GC-100-12 will look like this:
RS-232-1: Pioneer SC-07
RS-232-2: Lumagen
IR-1: Oppo
IR-2: HD-A2
IR-3: Xbox 360
IR-4: ATV
IR-5: Masking
IR-6: Blaster: Masking, projector

If you buy the GC-100-12 off ebay, unless you can run some cat-5 IR extension cables to the projector and masking controller, you'll also need a GC-BL2 for $45 to hit at least the projector. If the ebay unit doesn't come with emitters, you'll need 4-5 of those for another $20 or $25 so, so total of about $150. Add a WiFi bridge, and you're probably around $180 or $190. Three Wi-Fi iTaches (1 IR, 2 serial, plus some dual emitters) will run over $300, so you're still saving at least $100, and you can network some other devices in your equipment location (like the Oppo, or if you get something new that doesn't have Wi-Fi built-in.

I've no doubt forgotten some details, so let me know if you have questions.

Cheers,
SC

HogPilot · Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 1:12 am Post subject:

ecrabb · Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2014 5:25 pm Post subject:

No problem. Happy to help.

Tough call. The Wi-Fi bridge/GC-100 route gives you some extra flexibility in that you could connect a switch and some other wired devices in the future. Of course, most stuff - even new higher-end AV receivers - are starting to come with Wi-Fi built-in, so that's probably not a big deal.

The iTach route will certainly cost more. The advantages are that they're newer, a little easier to work with, and they're much more salable if you decided to ditch them.

Worth it? Not sure. Kind of a toss-up, actually. Pluses and minuses to both. I wish I had a solid answer for you.

SC

gnnash · Joined: 10 Jul 2013 Posts: 216 Location: Lake Elmo, MN

Update - I received my ebay unit yesterday. Appears to be in good shape, very minor scratches on the top, and some sticky tape residue that the seller couldn't be arsed with removing.

Powers up great, has firmware version 3.0, good enough!

I'm digging into my iRule trial right now, going to go downstairs and see how it works out this afternoon.