Hmm. That does sound like it could be a timing issue. The folks on hifi-remotes set their VIP1853 keyset carrier frequency to 56K and seemed to get good results from it, but I managed to pull up a datasheet on the vip1853 that says it uses a 36K frequency for the IR. It is possible that Motorola has manufactured different 1853s that use different frequencies; I've seen that happen with other manufacturers...

Let me go ahead and set up a "2a" keyset with a 36K frequency and see if it helps.

Also, if you feel adventurous, you could try changing the carrier frequency manually from the preferences panel. You can find a control for it by scrolling to near the end of the panel. Unfortunately, it will by default say that the current frequency is 38000, even though the CanalSat protocol sets it to 56000; another Pierogi bug I still need to fix. But if you change this number to 36000, you may be able to get the keyset working...