Movea has just released a version of Gyration’s wireless remote control for Windows Media Center computers. Other than the wireless mouse controls that the remote offers, one nice feature of the remote is the ability to control Windows Media Player (WMP) while your display is off.
The remote interacts with WMP, by downloading data to be displayed using it’s built in LCD screen. From here you can view songs by album or artist and even access your playlist. Prices for the remote range from $179.99 to $229.99 with an included keyboard.
After a little searching we found that Gyration had made a similar version of the remote for Dell that was packaged with the Dell XPS M2010 Based on this and a thread by [BENZONATE] on AVS Forum we put together our own remote using the following parts:
- Dell M2010 Premium Remote
- Dell RH515 wireless card
- Dell Thomson driver (EXE)
- USB Cable
We found our bare remote on eBay for $19.99. When we asked [Greg] at Gyration for some help on this project he explained to us that the M2010 remote will only bind (RF Connect) with the Dell RF module due to the way Dell has chosen to write its drivers; the remote will not work with any of their standard RF receivers. If you do buy the remote on eBay be aware that the remote will only work with the RH515 card.
While finding the remote was easy, trying to locate the RH515 was another story. After searching online and calling Dell’s business support staff we were able to locate and purchase the RH515 card for $10.99 including shipping on Dell’s outlet site.
Once we received our board we began to strip the wires on the included connector and paired it with our USB cable using the following:
- Red/Green to Black
- Yellow to Green
- White to White
- Black to Red
We wrapped the exposed wires in electrical tape, and then installed the Thomson driver on our computer. After plugging the board into an open USB slot, Windows quickly recognized the card and following the M2010 remote’s instruction for pairing the devices gave us a working gyration remote.
The remote’s basic Media Center functions work like any other remote, the gyration feature allows us to control the cursor as well as perform left and right clicks from the comfort of our couch. The best part is: the remote gives us the ability to select our music using the built in LCD screen.
We did experience some lag while scrolling down the list of songs, but this could have been due to our excessive button smashing. Other than the delay, the remote itself has performed great and all for less than the cost of the Movea remote.
[digg=http://digg.com/mods/Build_a_Gyration_Media_Center_remote]
wow… I might just have to grab this, it’s cheap enough… it would be great at parties considering it’s RF I can control it from another room… sweet!
does anyone know anything about its support in linux? (lirc/mythtv/xbmc?)
On the 9th (and currently last page) of the forum post linked,BENZONATE gathers up a fair number of Linux links. Current status seems to be that a portion of the buttons will work under Linux out-of-the-box on some distros, and the rest can be made to work with a bit of effort.
Using the LCD under Linux is currently up in the air, but I’d guess that someone will get it working under Linux.
I was trying to order the parts to do this, but it seems dell has caught on and taken the part off there website. Has anyone had any luck with this?
Yeah the Dell receiver link is long gone? Anyone have a PN or something maybe we can call it in? Definitely an interesting idea, especially for the price.
well at the rate softarcade is selling the dongles ($159.95!!!) its going to be much easier and cheaper just to buy a real gyration.
pity.
It appears softarcade is very greedy. They previously had the product for $25 each but raised it to $160. Also dell took it off their site and no longer is selling it. So sadly this is no longer a cheap solution to getting a nice remote for a pc.
I remember this well, I was one of the first to give it a go after it was worked out how to do it. The LCD is awesome when you dont want to turn on your monitor for connectivity. If you can get the dongle, the remotes were quite cheap to buy on ebay, and there are several suppliers who will still probably do the dongle for about $50. It is the best MCE remote I have used.
The dongle still seems to be available if you call dell direct for replacement parts, albeit at 14.99 plus tax and s&h instead of the 10.99 flat rate when it was on the site.
Defiantly worth it in the end, since even a normal Gyration mouse is over 100 bucks.
dell replacement parts said they are temporarily out of stock.
@robtheslob: Must be they only stock one at a time or something.
Looks like when I called dell the part is now YY993 and is 14.99+s&h.
I got this remote with my XPS1330, it is VERY handy when hooked up to a TV and browsing basic content. The control of the mouse is much more accurate and easier then I thought it would be. Was much less expensive then the price mentioned in this article and is the exact one pictured. I don’t think it was any more then $50 Canadian MAX, because I wouldn’t have paid more if it was.
I ordered the YY993 from Dell and got the setup to work immediately on two of my systems. There is some lag when viewing a large media collection on the LCD, however this was when it was plugged into a USB1.1 and at 20 feet away.
I ordered a YY993 and they sent me the entire remote kit (CX071), all for $22 shipped. This kit usually sells for $159 refurb so it is a steal. The receiver was the USB type so no wiring was involved. If anyone is thinking of doing this hack, order the adapter before buying a remote, you might get it for free.
I ordered the yy993 from Dell as well. I was at work when the UPS delivery came, so it is at the appartment office now waiting for me to pick it up. I just checked the invoive and it does list the part as CX071. I’m even more excited to get home and pick it up after reading Crakavelli’s post. I’ll be sure to post here and let everyone know what’s in the box.
this is it right?
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Wireless_WiFi/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=YY993
RE: is this right?
i ordered 2 and they were just the bare cards … no remote … o well
I purchased the wireless card from the dell outlet store (part number YY993) and the remote control from eBay. Both arrived today (19-NOV-2008) and it took me less than half an hour to get this thing up and running. This is the best remote control for a computer I have ever used.
Thank you for this great, quick and easy hack!
Now if only Logitech would include this in their Harmony Remotes they would be the complete solution.
I purchased both the dongle (yy993, from dell) and the remote from Ebay. I was able to get it set up and it seems like most everything is working fine. However I am getting an error on the remote “Application Unavailable, Launch from icon on system tray.”
Can anyone explain this to me and let me know what is the problem, because the remote icon seems to be fine and the remote shows connected so I don’t know what is going on.
Overall thanks for this, It looks like it will be awesome once i get the kinks ironed out.
I have purchased both yy993 and the remote. connected the yy993 to the USB as indicated in this page. Installed the driver (downloaded from the link indicated in this site). Nothing happened. I restarted my mediacenter machine and it says… no operating system found. Everything was fine before installing the driver.
I am using Vista ulitmate
Please help…..
I am able to make it work finally except the gyration. I can see the play lists on the lcd display, play songs, control the media center.
But… the gyration is not working. but the right and the left mouse buttons work fine. Can anyone help me fixing it?
Thanks Hack A Day (B3t@)
~b3nz0n8
@ mathur…
Feel free to check out the forum:
google: m2010 avsforum.com
http://w w w.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=893705
Excellent work Hack A Day (b3t@)- Joey Celis
~b3nz0n8
If anyone’s interested in the remote and the RH515 card, I have a few sets available.
e-mail smalldog@newbill.com if interested.
amazing stuff thanx
This is a remote to end all remotes! Like a lot of modern households, mine has switched to a PC based entertainment center. My daughters and I watch hours of videos on Hulu, Netflix and Youtube. With this remote, we don’t have to constantly get up to search. Instead we can search and control the videos from our sofa with the gyration action and even check our FaceBook pages. It also works as a great TV remote so instead of 10 remotes, we only need this one. I have Windows 7 and it has been working consummately. Very easy to install and use. I found a super deal from the Red Planet Trading Co.
http://www.redplanettrading.com/Genuine-Dell-Microsoft-CX071-Premium-Gyration-In-Air-Mouse-LCD-Remote
I tried doing this but now I can’t get this to work. I initially plugged the device into my pc and windows recognized it for a couple of seconds. Then it just says the USB port is drawing too much power.
What about desoldering the transmitter from the remote and replacing it with bluetooth so it will work with an android tablet. I’ve been able to get the remotes for 12.99, but not the other part. It would be worth some soldering to get a more universal fix.
where did u get the remote for 13 bucks?
Are you saying you connected the Red & Green (board side) wires to the Black (usb side) wire?
“Once we received our board we began to strip the wires on the included connector and paired it with our USB cable using the following:
Red/Green to Black
Yellow to Green
White to White
Black to Red”
n/m found it on the AVSForum thread http://www.avsforum.com/forum/26-home-theater-computers/893705-dell-m2010-remote.html