Do remote controls talk to each other?

Never had that problem, but remotes can share some of the same frequencies. If you look at the "all in one" units you will see they can be programmed to work various units from different manufacturers. Check to see if one of yours can be changed.

??? The OP said when the A/C "automatically" comes on -- I took that to mean without anybody touching the remote.

Is your home equipped with an IR repeater system that has infrared transponders throughout the house?

A little confusing as he wants to know if remotes talk to each other. Could be that the AC is sending an IR beam when it turns on. I'd try taping over the sensor on the AC to see what happens. OTOH, it is late September and getting too cool

That would be strange. Why would it?

I'd try taping

The latest portable A/C's with IR remote control, went a step further and now have a time/temp thermostat built into the remote control. You can now set temp and time settings in the remote and it will control the A/C just like a wireless thermostat. Includes handy bracket for wall mounting. There are retro A/C universal remotes on the web for around $8 with these features for earlier Japan/ Korean/ Chinese A/C's.

Guess the remote A/C IR code could match a TV set code. There are over 1000 TV code "standards" alone, and I still have 2 TVs the latest universal remote doesn't have a matching code for. nothing like standards, there are so many to chose from ;-)

-- larry / dallas

I have a remote that talks to God......

Would you PLEASE tell the kids to stop pushing the hurricane button?

I'm too far south for September to be a fall month. However it was nice and cool for a few days after Ike hit, when people couldn't use their A/C.

BTW, this top-posting AND putting your sig in the wrong place AND not marking quoted text ISN'T a good thing.

You need to reprogram it to talk to the TV instead :-)

When the AC automatically comes on there is no IR activity. That only happens when YOU use the remote. The remotes Emit IR and entertainment system and air conditioner only Receive IR. They do not talk to each other. Sounds like a power drop causing the problem or vibration.

I had an IR remote once that was defective and intermittantly it would transmit random signals by itself. TV would suddenly come on, turn off, onscreen menus appeared, etc.

You can buy a cheap IR detector card at any electronics supply, or maybe even Radio Shack. It has a little patch of rare earth crytals that light up when the remote's IR hits it.

I forgot to mention that you can also see the output of an IR remote with any digital camera, including the one you may have in your cell phone.

Aim the camera at the remote, press buttons on the remote and look in the viewfinder.

Being able to detect the IR is especially helpful if you need to verify that all the buttons on the remote produce a signal when pressed. A common source of failure.

I have a little IR detector card. It's about 25 or 30 years old and still works as well as the day I got it.

Just a thought, I had a friend who's TV remote system was driven nuts by a compact fluorescent bulb installed in a table lamp. It could be possible, if you have a CFL near your TV, that a voltage drop occurring when your AC starts up could cause a frequency shift in the output circuitry of the CFL that mimics a remote control. A CFL lamp uses a high frequency electronic ballast operating in the range of 40 kHz which is similar to the frequency range that IR remotes operate in. I wonder if you are using any CFL lamps around your entertainment center?

I have also seen the neighbor's remote turning on the tv or changing the channels.

Well, we are trying the tape over the sensor first. Since it doesn't happen every time it may take a few days. After that I'll just go down the list. Thanks everyone. Lou For the person who has a remote that talks to god, I just want to point out, that you didn't say that god communicates to you through the remote. There is a difference.

No, that is baloney. The sensors are sensors, not emitters. They do not produce any signals.

The emitter is on the handheld remote unit. Yours has a thermostat function built into the remote. The remote is telling the AC to come on, and that signal happens to be the same signal that tells your entertainment system to come on.