The Mystery of the Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo Remote Control (with an update)

One of my favorite radios is the Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo, which I bought for $105 plus $10 shipping about six months ago. No radio fills my kitchen with such warm, friendly sound. The reception is great.

But here's the rub. The Duo often will not respond to its remote control. I aim and I aim and I press and I press and I get nothing. I have changed the battery. I have contacted Boston Acoustics and they replaced the remote with a new one. When the new one fared no better, I put in a new battery but with little improvement.

In the kitchen, I toggle while seated at the breakfast table, aiming upward. I thought perhaps the upward motion is not friendly to the relationship between the Duo and its remote.

So I moved the Duo to the piano/workout room, sat it on the bench and while standing I pressed the remote and the radio works fine and with ease. 

I see two potential factors as to why the remote works in the piano room but not the kitchen. One theory, as I surmised earlier, is that the remote doesn't work pointed upwards, but works fine pointed downwards.

My second theory is that there is sunlight coming through the kitchen window and the light obscures the communication between the remote and the radio. The piano room is darker. 

But here's the rub: The Duo and the remote exist in a happy marriage in the piano room, but the Duo does not perform on FM with the same strength as it does in the kitchen. When I rigged it in the kitchen, I elevated the wire antenna, looping it around a tapestry hook. In contrast, from where it is in a lower position, elevating the wire on the bench back support does not bring in the same strength of FM performance, no matter which way I manipulate the wire.

For now, the Duo is in the workout room, but I have another Duo in transit, which I will use, once again, in the kitchen.

I'll figure this thing out. I don't think I'd be happy unless I had some radio "problem" to dabble with. 

Update:

The day after this post, I elevated the Duo to the piano, hung the wire on the framed painting and received much stronger FM, comparable to the good FM I was getting in the kitchen. So problem one was resolved. Now for the remote: It works easily. That solves problem two. 

Conclusion:

It appears that ambient light (too much light) impedes the function of the remote. 

One of my favorite radios is the Boston Acoustics Horizon Duo, which I bought for $105 plus $10 shipping about six months ago. No radio fills my kitchen with such warm, friendly sound. The reception is great.

But here's the rub. The Duo often will not respond to its remote control. I aim and I aim and I press and I press and I get nothing. I have changed the battery. I have contacted Boston Acoustics and they replaced the remote with a new one. When the new one fared no better, I put in a new battery but with little improvement.

In the kitchen, I toggle while seated at the breakfast table, aiming upward. I thought perhaps the upward motion is not friendly to the relationship between the Duo and its remote.

So I moved the Duo to the piano/workout room, sat it on the bench and while standing I pressed the remote and the radio works fine and with ease. 

I see two potential factors as to why the remote works in the piano room but not the kitchen. One theory, as I surmised earlier, is that the remote doesn't work pointed upwards, but works fine pointed downwards.

My second theory is that there is sunlight coming through the kitchen window and the light obscures the communication between the remote and the radio. The piano room is darker. 

But here's the rub: The Duo and the remote exist in a happy marriage in the piano room, but the Duo does not perform on FM with the same strength as it does in the kitchen. When I rigged it in the kitchen, I elevated the wire antenna, looping it around a tapestry hook. In contrast, from where it is in a lower position, elevating the wire on the bench back support does not bring in the same strength of FM performance, no matter which way I manipulate the wire.

For now, the Duo is in the workout room, but I have another Duo in transit, which I will use, once again, in the kitchen.

I'll figure this thing out. I don't think I'd be happy unless I had some radio "problem" to dabble with. 

Update:

The day after this post, I elevated the Duo to the piano, hung the wire on the framed painting and received much stronger FM, comparable to the good FM I was getting in the kitchen. So problem one was resolved. Now for the remote: It works easily. That solves problem two. 

Conclusion:

It appears that ambient light (too much light) impedes the function of the remote. 

Comments

[Bill W]

The higher the better for me as well, mine is on the frig in the kitchen near an outside wall where the antenna can go all the way to the ceiling. I have not really had any issues with the remote, no difference compared to the one I had with the sound 100. Not great but not bad.

[Jeffrey McMahon]

Mine may be defective. A second Duo is arriving next week and I'll test it. Let you know.

[Huesby]

I bet you a dollar that the remote control doesn´t function properly if you put the radio in front of the Giant LCD screen TV Of course when the TV is ON !...