Universal Steering Remote with Learning Function - Mini Review

[swarnava.m]

Hi Friends,

I had ordered for this item on eBay, and received it today afternoon. Cost was 550/-. First point I would like to mention is about the seller, was really co-operative when I called him up asking about my doubts, and he shipped it via Fedex, delivered to my doorstep in less than 24 hours. Really impressed!!

He initially suggested me to go for the TS 200 Universal Remote, since I am going to use it for a Pioneer HU, but I suspected that the remote has no play/pause button, and neither could he provide any confirmation regarding the same. Hence I went for this remote, since it has a learning function, and all operations can be customized as per preference.

After unpacking, I discovered that the remote has a nice handy feel about it, and build quality is average, usable. The remote body is attached to a bracket, which is supposed to be fitted onto the steering while.

The bracket is designed to be fitted onto the right side of the steering wheel (since it is originally designed for LHD). However, I figured out that this puts it too far away from the HU and out of range, hence ended up fitting it to the bottom of the steering wheel, as you will see in the pictures that follow.

Removing the bracket from the remote is the tricky part. I called up Mr.Sandeep and he guided me through the process. There is a small button like thing on one side of the bracket. The trick is to press this down, while holding the remote so that it faces towards you. Once pressed, you need to keep moving the remote slightly and trying to push it downward, away from you. Take care, as application of too much force might end up breaking the remote.

After removing the bracket, here is what it looks like.


The front of the remote.



The back. Weird that the volume buttons are on the back. Might take a little bit of time to get used to.



This is a picture of the bracket, where you can see the grooves that the remote fits into.


Also, there are couple of screws on the bracket, which, when removed, allows you to open up the bracket body so that the velcro strap comes free, which will be used to attach the bracket to the steering wheel.





The next part consists of attaching the bracket to the steering wheel. Since my steering wheel has a snap on cover, removing the cover enough to slip the velcro strap was a little difficult. I finally had to hold it in place with a screwdriver. I damaged a little bit of the steering wheel cover in the process.

Another thing to take care of is the orientation of the bracket. The bracket fits onto the velcro strap in only one direction, and I made a mistake of fixing it the other way, in which case once I fitted the remote, it would be facing away from me.

Here are images after fitting the bracket to the steering wheel.





I attached the remote to the base of the steering wheel as in this position the infra red pointer is pointing directly towards the HU, and also is closest to it, thus minimizing problems concerning IR range. I found that this position is not especially difficult to operate while driving, but might take some time to get used to.





As for setting the functions of individual buttons on the remote, this is done using the original remote of the HU, and instructions for this are given very clearly on the manual. It is a very easy process, takes a couple of minutes.

The remote sits very sturdy onto the wheel, and does not move or vibrated when the car is in motion. The buttons of the remote are a little too hard for my liking, but I think I shall adjust to it with time. Overall, I am not to overwhelmed with the product, but decently satisfied.

[GTO]

Great review, but too protrusive for my tastes. Actually, I prefer steering wheels even without audio controls from the factory. Plain & simply steering is the only thing I like doing with my wheels

[greenhorn]

the velcro strap is a nice touch. The plastic one of my TS 99 is quite annoying when you're driving - it keeps getting in the way.I was almost thinking about changing to this one when I noticed there was no backlighting. The three colour mode is kinda cool to show off
Was there any mention of a model number for this remote?

[swarnava.m]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

the velcro strap is a nice touch. The plastic one of my TS 99 is quite annoying when you're driving - it keeps getting in the way.I was almost thinking about changing to this one when I noticed there was no backlighting. The three colour mode is kinda cool to show off
Was there any mention of a model number for this remote?

Well no there wasn't actually. But I know for one thing that the seller is the same Mr.Sandeep of autotrends.in who sells TS200 universal remote. He has been discussed a few times on the thread of the the TS200. So you may ask him. I can PM you his number if you want.

[srishiva]

Maybe you should try removing the steering cover? Isnt there anything that suits the RHD mode of our cars?
Looks very convenient.

[swarnava.m]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Maybe you should try removing the steering cover? Isnt there anything that suits the RHD mode of our cars?
Looks very convenient.

For our RHD cars, the orientation has to be exactly the opposite, to fit onto the left side of the steering. Fitting it onto the right side puts it too far from the HU. However, they don't seem to be manufacturing those, at least I could not find a mention.

However, for the TS200, it fits on the left side of the wheel, so I believe that is for RHD cars.

[Champion]

Hi swarnava.m, nice remote. I have had one on my Swift for 2+ years now and comes in handy. However, if I recall rightly, you had said this remote would be for a Pioneer HU. In which case you could have settled for the OE remote as shown below. It can be installed on any preferable side since the remote body is detachable from the bracket. And this also costs just as much as the one you got now. I had bought it for AED60 (equivalent to INR700 at that point in time). My two cents. And perhaps, like somebody pointed out, IMHO, if you would change the steering cover to something lighter, it would look good.

Ciao
Champion

[cmdalvi]

Originally Posted by swarnava.m

Hi Friends,

After unpacking, I discovered that the remote has a nice handy feel about it, and build quality is average, usable. The remote body is attached to a bracket, which is supposed to be fitted onto the steering while.

The bracket is designed to be fitted onto the right side of the steering wheel (since it is originally designed for LHD). However, I figured out that this puts it too far away from the HU and out of range, hence ended up fitting it to the bottom of the steering wheel, as you will see in the pictures that follow.

The whole objective of a steering wheel mounted remote is that the controls are handy and you can do things with your system while driving without taking your hands off the wheel and eyes off the road

Since you have put it on the bottom of the steering wheel, i wonder whether it is still serving the purpose since i believe the bottom of the wheel is not generally used as a resting position for your hands unless you are turning, thats what i think but then again

[tasuray]

I am using Pioneer universal remote and it is good one. It also fits with any HU. It costs me Rs.1200/- about three/four months back. I like it very much.

[swarnava.m]

Originally Posted by Champion

Hi swarnava.m, nice remote. I have had one on my Swift for 2+ years now and comes in handy. However, if I recall rightly, you had said this remote would be for a Pioneer HU. In which case you could have settled for the OE remote as shown below...

Yes that is true, but I did search for Pioneer OE remotes, and none were available in any of the stores around my place. I found one online, and it was costing above 1k, 1.2 IIRC. Hence I decided to settle for this one, and so far it has been satisfactory. Serves the purpose just fine. However, I am not ruling out the possibility of getting an OE remote in future, specially if this one conks off, since I am pretty much going to stick with this HU for a few years.

Originally Posted by cmdalvi

..Since you have put it on the bottom of the steering wheel, i wonder whether it is still serving the purpose since i believe the bottom of the wheel is not generally used as a resting position for your hands unless you are turning, thats what i think but then again

What you are saying is true, but I generally have a habit of using only one hand on the wheel, in which case my left hand rests on my lap or on the gear knob. Within a few days, I have got pretty accustomed to using my left hand to operate the remote at the bottom of the wheel without taking my eyes off the road. So far so good, no issues!!

[Turbo Head]

Nice review swarnava.m

What exactly you mean by "Universal" remote ? Does it work on every HUD ?

I am using OEM HUD in my Skoda Rapid (which comes without any remote), does this one or any other remote will work on it ?

[swarnava.m]

Originally Posted by Turbo Head

Nice review swarnava.m

What exactly you mean by "Universal" remote ? Does it work on every HUD ?

I am using OEM HUD in my Skoda Rapid (which comes without any remote), does this one or any other remote will work on it ?

Yes, that is exactly what I mean by universal. It will work with all HUs that have their own remote. So I guess since you are not using an OE remote on your HU, you might need to first find a remote that works with your system, and then feed its functions onto this remote.

Let me explain. This remote has a learning function. What this basically means is that you can feed the functions of your existing remote onto this one. In other words, you can program this remote to do the functions of your original remote. The only problem is that this remote may not have as many buttons as your original remote, hence you may have to miss out on some functions. But in my opinion, it has enough buttons to provide decent usage.

[fast&furious]

@swarnava.n
Nice review. Thanks.
IMHO, the remote will be of no great use if you put it on the base of the steering wheel. I think it will be much better if you attach it on the left side of the steering, upside down(this is what they told me when I asked about this issue). It wont be easy to read the buttons but that's something you should never do while driving . I have a doubt : Why did you put the strap under the steering wheel cover?

[swarnava.m]

Originally Posted by fast&furious

@swarnava.n
Nice review. Thanks.
IMHO, the remote will be of no great use if you put it on the base of the steering wheel. I think it will be much better if you attach it on the left side of the steering, upside down(this is what they told me when I asked about this issue). It wont be easy to read the buttons but that's something you should never do while driving . I have a doubt : Why did you put the strap under the steering wheel cover?

I agree that it would have been much better to have attached the remote to the left side of the wheel, but if you observe the pictures, the remote has a translucent red part at the base, which houses the IR module that sends the remote signals. If I attached upside down, this part would be pointing upwards and away from the HU, and the remote does not work.

Secondly, as for putting the strap under the steering wheel cover, 2 reasons. Firstly, the strap is WAY!!! too small to fit over the cover. Secondly, even if it wasn't so small and it was possible to fit it over the cover, I wouldn't do it, because in my opinion, velcro strapped around the steering wheel cover would just look plain ugly. Everyone may not agree, this is just my opinion.

[New.Novice]

Ford gives a Kenwood, if I am not wrong, on Fiestas. And this one doesnt come with a remote (remember.. Fiesta's are for the self driven ).
In this case, can a universal remote be used with this HU? Are there any steering-mout(able) Kenwood universal ones available like the few Pioneer posted here?