Setting up Keith Rubow's
RF Remote Control System for tape groups.

These installation instructions assume you will be using the remote control system with Winamp, Wplayer, and RfRemote.

Step 1: Install Winamp (if it is not already installed on your computer).

Simply double click the winamp501_full.exe installation file and follow the on screen instructions. Make sure you install to the default folder, which is C:\Program Files\Winamp. The settings options are a matter of personal preference. I do not like a Winamp icon in the quicklaunch, or in the system tray. I do not want the Winamp agent to be loaded. And I set Winamp to "No internet connection available." I also detest visualizations, and have no need for the mini-browser. But you can set it up however you want, Wplayer doesn't care. I also provide copies of the older versions of Winamp, winamp281_full.exe, winamp276_full.exe and winamp280_full.exe which you can try if you have any problems with version 5.01.

Step 2: Install Wplayer.

Simply double click the SetupWplayer.exe installation file and follow the on screen instructions. Just accept all the defaults.

Step 3: Install RfRemote.

Simply double click the SetupRfRemote.exe installation file and follow the on screen instructions. Just accept all the defaults.

Step 4: Set up RfRemote.

Make sure your USB receiver is plugged in. Launch RfRemote. Select File->Settings..., and select the Com Port that your USB receiver is assigned to (you may need to check the port number in your Device Manager). Make sure Baud is set to 2400. The other settings can be left at their defaults for now. Click OK.

RfRemote comes with two sets of macros already set up. The default set is called WplayerSimple.dat. This is the set we will be using. The other set is called WplayerAdvanced.dat, and it has a total of 10 commands (two sets of five) with one button set up to toggle between the two sets of commands. This allows us to control more functions (like volume), but for now we will keep things simple and use the default WplayerSimple with only six commands. Note that six macros are already defined in the RfRemote main window. These macros are for the six buttons on the transmitter. I have them defined for the functions Play/Pause, Zero (the counter), Back (5 seconds), Forward (5 seconds), Rewind (back to zero), and Tip Timer. These macros are defined to simulate keypresses to the Wplayer application as defined in the following table:

Name of Macro	Key	Target Window
Play/Pause	SPACE	Wplayer
Zero	END	Wplayer
Back	LEFT	Wplayer
Forward	RIGHT	Wplayer
Rewind	HOME	Wplayer
TipTimer	F12	Wplayer

Every macro has a red question mark on it, which means the macro has not been "learned" yet. To learn the macro, we must tell RfRemote to learn the macro, then press the corresponding button on the transmitter. I like the following layout of the buttons:

Play/Pause	Zero
Back	Forward
Rewind	TipTimer

(antenna)

Make sure the USB receiver is plugged in, and the proper Com Port was selected above. Right click the first macro (Back, since they are listed in alphabetical order), and select "Learn" from the pop up menu. Press the button that you want to use for the Back command. A series of hex values should appear in the learn window, similar to "F7F0F1F4". The exact values will vary according to which button you push. Also, each transmitter has a unique "ID" code (the "F0F1" part), so your transmitter will give different numbers. Click OK to accept the data for this button.

Repeat for each macro to be learned. Make sure you use a different button for every macro.

We are almost done. Click the "Start" button at the bottom of the RfRemote window, and launch Wplayer (Winamp should start as soon as Wplayer is launched). Your remote control should be working! Assuming all is well, there are just a few settings left to make. Select File->Settings and check the boxes for "Auto Start" and "Auto Minimize". This makes RfRemote "Start" automatically when you launch it, and makes it minimize itself whenever it is started, so it doesn't clutter up your screen. If you want, you can put a shortcut to RfRemote in your Programs->Startup menu so it launches every time you start your computer, but I just launch it from the desktop shortcut or Start->Programs menu. When RfRemote is minimized, it appears on the task bar at the bottom of your screen. Just click it to restore RfRemote.

Now that all your macros have been learned, you probably want to export the macro definitions to save them. Select File->Export Macros, navigate to the C:\Program Files\RfRemote folder, and save the macros as WplayerSimple.dat (yes, you can overwrite the existing file). Select File->Exit to close RfRemote and save all settings.

Editing/Deleting/Adding macros

To edit a macro, right click it and select "Edit" from the pop up menu. You can select any combinations of KEY, MOUSE CLICK, VOLUME, MACRO, or LAUNCH FILE commands to be generated by the macro. Simply select the desired action from the drop down list, and click the Add button to add it to the list of actions in the right window. You can select the target window by clicking the Browse... button under the Window text box. This lets you pick the target window from a list of currently running applications. Each macro can also be set to "Loop Mode", which means that only one of the defined commands is executed each time the button is pressed, cycling through them from first to last, and starting over again from the first. This allows several sequential commands to be assigned to one button.

To delete a macro, right click it on the RfRemote, and select Delete from the pop up menu.

To add a macro, right click and select Add Global Macro, Add Group, or Add Member Macro. Type a name for the macro, select the target window, and add the commands to be executed. Then click OK. Of course, and newly added macro needs to be "learned" to assign it to a button before it will do anything.

Of course, you can define any commands you want for the buttons, or use the RF remote control system and RfRemote to control other media players as well. It can even be used to control Powerpoint presentations, slide shows, or anything else you can dream up.