i have a homey buff ceiling fan that is a 6 speed forward and reverse fan. it has a harbor breeze remote and i bet the receiver is als a harbor breeze. anyway i got a spare remote off ebay that looks the same and when i got it it has the exact same numbers but it will not run the fan. it seems the harbor breeze tech people are telling me these receivers can't be easily re programmed. so i took the remotes apart and they are identical but one does not have the little toggle buttons on it for a few options like the one that runs the fan has. but the techs claim that would not make the remote not usable to the receiver only some features would not get coded to the receiver.

so because the little for lack of a better word transistor. or that little oblong unit that i believe to be the transmitter to the receiver having different numbers, if i could source the correct unit that i may be able to un solder it and exchange it and then have the remote work. it looks to me to just be soldered at the ends? or it may just be a plug in unit? so what is your thoughts? and if it can be done and that may be the reason for this remote not working the fan where can i get one? i'm thinking the numbers on the back of the unit would be when i look for just like any other transistor. or would i also have to exchange the ic unit as well. i'm thinking all that might need to be done is the transmitter unit and the boards are about the same but for 5 functions on the recent remote that we just would never need. as all i connected to this remote was fan speed and directions. the light is wall switched. thanks for any ideas and help.

i took the other remote apart just now and the rf transmitter on that one is KXY13.560 so from what i have found out they are 315 or 433 mhz now maybe different but most of the remote transmitters i have found so far that is there freqs. no the board is missing some of the button disks but i do not think it is sending different codes i think the reason it is not working is just the rf transmitter is a different freq. and the receiver cant get the codes. also if this is the case it looks like i can unsolder it and replace it. but there is not solder spots on the bottom of the board so maybe just pressure points? maybe someone can point me to a YT showing this being done? thanks.

ok this seems to be the crystal and it seems to be 13.560 mhz and 2 pins so i may ebay one and take this apart and see if installing a 13.560 mhz crystal will do the job. again if anyone has a YT showing this it would be great and save me a bit of the learning curve. i have done lots of electronics repair but i never had to take the crystal out with out seeing the pins for soldering? i think this is a sandwich type board. i could be wrong and the pins are just pressing on the conductors or a small spring. thanks

 

These things likely send a digital code over their broadcast frequency, which is probably set by the crystal. To succeed, you'll need to know what codes are sent by the working remote and then reproduce those codes with the second remote. Step one may not be too hard if you have an oscilloscope. It's even possible that someone has already done that. However that second step may be nearly impossible.

I think it's likely that the radio frequencies are fine. It's those darned digital codes.

 

it looks like i can unsolder it and replace it. but there is not solder spots on the bottom of the board so maybe just pressure points?

There are two different methods for connecting components to the board. Old school is what's known as "Through Hole" technology where a component with legs is mounted through a hole in the PCB (Printed Circuit Board). The current trend is called SMT (Surface Mount Technology) which doesn't have legs or leads that go through the board, they're soldered in place to pads on the component side of the board. If you've never soldered (or unsoldered) parts that are SMT then there's a high probability you'll damage the board trying to remove the crystal. (the part you show in your last photo).

Also, wayneh said:

These things likely send a digital code over their broadcast frequency, which is probably set by the crystal.

What he's telling you is that the crystal sets the radio frequency that the receiver listens for. When you push a button you set a frequency that wakes up the receiver. The remote also sends a code which the receiver is programmed to understand as commands. High, Medium, Low, Off, Forward, Reverse, Lights on, Lights off and maybe even Dim the lights. In order to use another remote it has to be both on the same frequency as the receiver AND use the same command codes. If the codes are not the same then the remote won't work.

It's unlikely you'll get the new remote to work. There's a chance, but it might still not work even if you change the crystal. And again, working with SMT is not hard ONCE YOU KNOW HOW, but given the level of understanding you possess it's unlikely you'll succeed in changing the crystal. Also, often crystals are flanked by specific capacitance values which can not be read on the caps directly adjacent the crystal. You'll probably have to replace the caps with the correct value as well. Those caps are marked C1 & C2. They're specific to the crystal. And since they, too, are SMT removing and replacing those without the proper equipment is likely going to damage the caps and PCB as well.

In short, I'll be happy for you if you get it to work. But I don't have high hopes for your success based on several factors.

 

First: how sure are you that the remote from abay even works??
Then, is it for the exact same model receiver? Are you able to verify that they actually ARE set to the same frequency? One other possibility is that the serial numbers are not the same.
All that i can verify from those two photos is that both PCBs are green. The one set of white characters ends in a 5, on the other PCB it looks like it ends in a 3. In addition, the black lettering on the two PCBs is entirely different. THAT tells me that they are from different production runs. So they may not even be using the same digital code.
Do the ICs on the boards have the same part numbers?? If not, they may not even be the same generation of IC.