It’s a little more than I was hoping it would be (as I might need 4 in total :o ) but can’t wait to get my greasy little fingers on it.
Damn… No shipping to Canada!
mbairhead,
that’s awesome! I just ordered an ipod touch. depending on my firmware upgrade issues I’ll probably get SQ.
What stinks is I will need two pucks myself, but I’m wondering if I can leave a puck in my closet and get the splitter. Have one three head emitter go to the three devices in my closet. And wire the 7ft blaster out of the closet on the side of the splitter to point at my TV that’s right outside the closet. Then i could avoid buying another puck altogether. The webpage seems to imply I can so I’m hopeful
When you get your unit I hope you can find time to provide a review.
I hope between the IR database/learning all of my devices will be covered, specifically discreet codes to say turn my receiver to a specific input rather than having to program manual remote toggles from a fixed position. Again, the webpage seems to imply I can so I’m hopeful
I also hope the IR repeaters are more forgiving for my sageTV (which has one of the worst IR receivers I’ve ever dealt with)
It also looks like it’ll be easier to program than the harmony and may even be more flexible.
What I’m most excited about is that I can potentially get rid of the z-wave remote, sonos remote, and the harmony.
- mbairhead. Thanks for buying an SQ Blaster! We appreciate it.
Please note we have started taking orders, but shipping isn’t till middle to end of october.
- I successfully run a small headphone splitter (we sell one that fits) and run multiple ‘multiple head’ ir emitters from this. So running one SQBlaster and wiring it works well.
We have the built-in blasters as well as the emitters as we found that it was the most flexible configuration. For example in my family room, I have a wall mounted plasma and a cable box and DVD under a small shelf. I have the SQ Blaster on the shelf pointing vaguely in the direction of the TV and run a single blaster extenders to the base of the components… Works great.
Upstairs in the home theatre, I have the stack of components on a high shelf and I use multiple head emitters for these devices and have the blaster on top of the cabinet pointing at the large screen…
- ir Codes and learning. We have really tried to go above and beyond here. In our field testing, we have had a lot of comments on how the learning “just works” so I am very interested if any of you find a device it can’t learn. Let me know before you whine! I want to fix it. we havnt found any device I can’t learn yet - including some of the really long air conditioner codes…
Hopefully, however, you won’t need to learn anything. We have a very broad database of most of the common devices with the standard codes sets. plus we have an extremely good “installers database” that includes some obscure brands and a lot of the manufacturers descrete codes. Some times it takes a bit of trial and error to get the right combination for you specific device, but we have tried to make that fairly easy.
Was about to order but, as mentioned above, no shipping to Canada.
When do you think you’ll be able to accept orders from the Great North?
Mike
Matt, just a few more questions
-
So just to be clear, I can buy 1 puck and have both the External IR Blaster Cable and the 3 Head IR Emitter Cable attached via a splitter?
-
Is the Splitter just a standard headphone splitter?
-
Looks like the USB is standard power as well, can I just plug that into say my NAS box for power?
-
Do you have a DB of the IR codes I can search?
-
Will the codes be local to the ipod?
-
How do you configure wi-fi settings? A big annoyance with the harmony is having to keep all of my settings on the logitech server and having to plug in the repeater and remote to my computer to sync each time. I hope it all gets off-loaded to the ipod.
All of this looks very promising and If I can stick to one puck I’m in. Just waiting for my ipod touch to ship!
Thanks
When will the SQ Blaster be availible in the netherlands.
Amazon cannot ship the blsater to the netherlands
I realize this question might seem very obvious to those of you whom have already been controlling IR devices from the Vera, but can you confirm for the rest of us that we will be able to issue commands directly to the puck from Vera scenes, in addition to controlling it from the SQRemote app?
I accept that most of the control I will want to do will be from the iOS remotes, but I’d also like to include such basic things like “turn all the AV stuff off” into my good night/leave the house scene which is triggered by something other than SQ Connect.
Thanks!
[quote=“SquareConnectMat, post:4, topic:166628”]1) mbairhead. Thanks for buying an SQ Blaster! We appreciate it.
Please note we have started taking orders, but shipping isn’t till middle to end of october.[/quote]
Yep, just glad to be in line. I’m out of town the first half of next month anyway so I’m sure my UPS man will be relieved to know I’m not pressed against the window waiting for it 
2) I successfully run a small headphone splitter (we sell one that fits) and run multiple 'multiple head' ir emitters from this. So running one SQBlaster and wiring it works well.We have the built-in blasters as well as the emitters as we found that it was the most flexible configuration. For example in my family room, I have a wall mounted plasma and a cable box and DVD under a small shelf. I have the SQ Blaster on the shelf pointing vaguely in the direction of the TV and run a single blaster extenders to the base of the components… Works great.
Upstairs in the home theatre, I have the stack of components on a high shelf and I use multiple head emitters for these devices and have the blaster on top of the cabinet pointing at the large screen…
All my components are remotely located (in other rooms) but I’m going to play with attaching one emitter to the Xantach IR receiver (sitting on top of my tv’s) and see if that works. Hopefully it’ll be able to broadcast down the Xantech to the components and that way I can just add a second emitter to the tv. It seems too obvious of a solution so I’m sure it’ll fail somehow.
3) ir Codes and learning. We have really tried to go above and beyond here. In our field testing, we have had a lot of comments on how the learning "just works" so I am very interested if any of you find a device it can't learn. Let me know before you whine! I want to fix it. we havnt found any device I can't learn yet - including some of the really long air conditioner codes....Hopefully, however, you won’t need to learn anything. We have a very broad database of most of the common devices with the standard codes sets. plus we have an extremely good “installers database” that includes some obscure brands and a lot of the manufacturers descrete codes. Some times it takes a bit of trial and error to get the right combination for you specific device, but we have tried to make that fairly easy.
I can send you the list of my components if you want a sampling but I’ve never had trouble before so I’m sure your database will do just fine. I will contact you before I spin out of control if there’s a problem
Wow, can’t wait to get my hands on one. No wait… I need 2… whoa - I could benefit from 4! Ouch, that get’s a bit pricey. But, then, think about being able to remotely control every single IR device in my house with a single controller. Nice!
SquareConnect - how about throwing in a discount on 2 or more when ordered at the same time?
For the short-term, I have a small Plugin that I wrote that “proxies” Pronto Code’s over from Vera to the SQBlaster. If you previously had a “Remote” control IR Devices registered with Vera, then this code will “look” (to Vera) like a USBUIRT, and just proxy those commands over. It’ll show up in the drop-down lists everywhere that the USBUIRT (and GC100) would, as it implements the same “[tt]IrTransmitter1[/tt]” interfaces and, in UI4, has the same [tt]IR))[/tt] Icon.
The trick is that you still need the Vera bit, and the IR catalog there is a lot smaller than what’s available in the SQBlaster… but if you can find the Device, or alternatively find something that has the “on/off” Pronto codes listed for your device, it’ll work for the situation you describe.
It’s still WAY better to generally control through the SQRemote app, as it handles Repeat (etc) correctly, but the Plugin will let you do basic On/Off (etc)
@strangely is testing it for me, as it’s got a few kinks in it’s current incarnation. Once the Blasters ship, I’ll make that link active to download generally.
I’m sure a much tighter integration will be developed over time.
I use a standard headphone splitter and it works fine. I cant recall whether I ordered a Mono one, or a Stereo one though.
3. Looks like the USB is standard power as well, can I just plug that into say my NAS box for power?I power it off a USB port on the back of my DirecTivo unit, and I power another Device off the other USB port. Hasn't given me any problems.
4. Do you have a DB of the IR codes I can search?If you have the SQRemote 2.0 app for the iPhone, you can "register" a fake blaster with it (give it a Bogus name, and fill in the IP Address). Once you've done that, it gives you the ability to "add" an IRDevice.
This effectively lists the Providers they support (it’s a long list) as well as the devices beneath those providers.
5. Will the codes be local to the ipod?
- How do you configure wi-fi settings? A big annoyance with the harmony is having to keep all of my settings on the logitech server and having to plug in the repeater and remote to my computer to sync each time. I hope it all gets off-loaded to the ipod.
It’s all local. You can see this by downloading the SQRemote 2.0 application, and then registering a device. If you go “offline” (Network wise) it’ll still work just fine.
One question before I try to get this unit. Although, I appreciate the simplicity of the unit and the wood finish, I am more on the modern side, so glass, metal and dark wood are part of my home theater. Not asking to redesign the unit, but what if I was to paint the wood portion of the unit to make it blend in with my equipment, do I invalidate any sort of warranty? Will it affect the performance of the unit if the wood gets painted? From what I see on the website, the IR emitters/receivers and power are only on the middle portion of the SQ Blaster, and the wood is just a casing, so my immediate assumption is that I can do anything to change the color of the wooden portion, but I would appreciate an answer on this matter from SQ Connect.
Very cool, thanks for tips. I’m still waiting for the iPod touch to arrive.
My first major hurdle is to move my Vera1 from 979 to an SQ supported FW.
I’m thinking about keeping the latest version of UI2, think it’s at 996.
UI4 still scares me a little
Thanks @guessed, I appreciate your response. I’ll definitely do the bulk of control from SQRemote, but being able to make sure everything is OFF at the end of the night, or turn on my stereo and set the right input to go with my dinner time scene will be awesome.
Puck ordered!! I’m excited to play with it next month.
Yeap, that’s the primary use-case for the Plugin. It’s the one that @strangely has also.
Similarly, things integrated through Vera’s AV/Media Control (like my Panasonic TV, Onkyo Amp, and Matrix Switch) Plugins can also get invoked directly by SQRemote. I use SQBlaster, combined with my Panasonic and Onkyo Amp plugins, for a blended control experience.
From SQRemote it all looks the same, but they handle “Press-and-Hold” (etc) much better for direct-drive IR devices via their SQBlaster
I suspect our lawyers would have a seriously expensive conversation with me if I asked them about our liability if I give an unqualified ‘go ahead’…
So I won’t ask them, and give you a bit of a weasily answer: We will always try to be reasonable about ensuring that our customers are delighted in our products and service and treat any situation on a case by case basis. That being said:
Clearly, refinishing the case would invalidate the waranty on the case and inserts used to fasten the device together.
To refinish the case I think you would be wise to remove the electronics first. Damage caused by a new finish leaking onto the electronics would also invalidate the waranty.
Like any electronics, there is a risk of damage to the circuit boad if you remove it from the case, and any damage obviously caused by this would not be covered. Damage caused by static build up might also void the waranty.
To new finishes. The only issue I might see is that the antenna is internal, so any metallic finish or finish that includes Mica (or any other material that blocks radio waves) might reduce the signal strength. Our manufacturer adds a lacquer finish as part of the manufacturing, and I think you would want to strip that before you refinished it.
Mat
[quote=“mike_1103, post:5, topic:166628”]Was about to order but, as mentioned above, no shipping to Canada.
When do you think you’ll be able to accept orders from the Great North?
Mike[/quote]
We are checking on what regulatory hoops we have to jump through… Sign up in the international section of our site to receive notification when we are able to ship…
[quote=“tt55du, post:6, topic:166628”]Matt, just a few more questions
- So just to be clear, I can buy 1 puck and have both the External IR Blaster Cable and the 3 Head IR Emitter Cable attached via a splitter?[/quote]
Yes that works reasonably well.
2. Is the Splitter just a standard headphone splitter?
Yes… but the opening in the case is rather narrow… You need a narrow plug. Many of the bulkier splitters dont fit. We have one that fits on our site.
3. Looks like the USB is standard power as well, can I just plug that into say my NAS box for power?
Yes… although it needs to be ‘on’ all the time. It is why we sell the blaster with or without a power supply. Unnecessary wall warts are such a waste of resource.
4. Do you have a DB of the IR codes I can search?
As mentioned elsewhere in this thread, add a ‘dummy’ SQBlaster to SQRemote 2 and then add a device to it. the full database is included in the app.
5. Will the codes be local to the ipod?
The codes are local to the iPod and the devices you have set up can be saved to Box.net and then shared across devices, or just as a backup.
6. How do you configure wi-fi settings? A big annoyance with the harmony is having to keep all of my settings on the logitech server and having to plug in the repeater and remote to my computer to sync each time. I hope it all gets off-loaded to the ipod.
Which network and how to connect are held on the blaster as it needs to be able to power off and reconnect to your network without reconfiguring it. You can, however change those settings from the iPod/iPhone/iPad or by pluggin it into a mac or PC via the USB cable.
All of this looks very promising and If I can stick to one puck I'm in. Just waiting for my ipod touch to ship!Thanks
[quote=“mdconnelly, post:10, topic:166628”]Wow, can’t wait to get my hands on one. No wait… I need 2… whoa - I could benefit from 4! Ouch, that get’s a bit pricey. But, then, think about being able to remotely control every single IR device in my house with a single controller. Nice!
SquareConnect - how about throwing in a discount on 2 or more when ordered at the same time?[/quote]
Not a bad idea. I’ll talk to John and the rest of the team.
Mat