XERC 2 SE

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Tue Jan 9 15:11:42 PST 2007
Roger C. Pao <xerc2se-review.20.rpao "at sign" xoxy.net>

I'm Lazy

I want to turn my Xbox on and off remotely. I use a calculator to do math too.

I originally attempted this Cheaper and Easier XBox RF (Radio Frequency) Remote Power On/Off Mod (v0.2). Home Depot sells the doorbell for $15 in December 2006.

After figuring out the left side "-" was wrong in the picture and correcting my circuit, the doorbell mod was very unreliable. Sometimes it would turn on, but it would never turn off. It also required another remote, the doorbell push button.

There had to be a better way. Google is my friend.

The X3IR is more expensive (US$28) than the XERC 2 SE (US$19) and appears to be highly integrated with the X3 mod chip and control panel. I bought the XERC 2 SE for US$23 total at http://www.sickmods.net/index.php?site=shop&cat=XERCs.

XERC 2 SE

The XERC 2 SE allows you to use your IR remote to turn on and off your Xbox. It requires soldering six wires to the bottom-side of your Xbox motherboard and three wires to the IR receiver which I mounted outside the Xbox case.

At the time I was ordering, the SE version of the installation guide was not yet available, or I was looking at the pablot.com site instead of the sickmods.net site. I ended up soldering the IR receiver to IRd instead of IRs, so the remote did not work.

I power tested with just the motherboard sitting in the bottom of the case with one screw to hold it and with the power supply plugged in. The LED blinked twice and continued the fade in / fade out cycle, but the remote's DISPLAY button did not turn on or off the Xbox. The power button on the Xbox worked fine. Elapsed time: 2 hours.

The Support forum quickly identified the problem. Removal of the motherboard and moving the appropriate wire from the IRd pad to the IRs pad worked.

It took me 3 hours from opening Xbox to using the fully reassembled and operational Xbox with XERC 2 SE.

Scan the forums before you buy and just before you install.

Items received in a Ziplok bag: