It's been a good while since any post has made me laugh out loud like this one did.
Thank you sir.

As for the problem....
It might be possible to solder in a replacement high output IR LED in the remote to assist with better transmissions. There are many instances where if you do some good research, one can find a IR High Output LED with the same power (current)\voltage\wavelength\more efficient requirements that match closely enough to be a direct replacement for the existing LED.
It’s as simple as... More Luminance = better range.
Unless of course the sun is confusing the Empegs IR receiver and preventing the electronics\software to decode the incoming remotes IR signals against the suns unorganized rays.
I have beefed up more than one or two home TV remotes in my time. But then again, I'm an LED freak... kind of a hobby…. Or a sickness, depend’s on how you look at it.


12Gb MKII 080000516 Blue