Hello! 
I'm working on a lil project with some NeoPixels being controlled by an IR remote, and with there being multiple strips, I felt it would be best to first select the desired strip, and then the colour. The code is getting there, albiet with a few bugs. I've set the serial monitor up for debugging.
When a strip is selected (I call them 'shift buttons', like on a keyboard), the program and serial monitor detect it flawlessly, every time. However, when I press ONLY a colour button to test the input, a seemingly random, HEX code pops up on the serial monitor which changes with each press. This seems to cause the whole code not to function past selecting a strip.
Would anyone be able to give me a hand as to why this incorrect code might be popping up please? I've tested the function of the buttons on a IR remote testing script and the buttons correlate to the HEX displayed everytime so I know the physical route to the Arduino isn't flawed
Below is the code:
#include <IRremote.h> //include IR library
#include <Arduino.h>
#include <FastLED.h> //include LED library
#define NUM_LEDS1 18 //say how many leds is in row 1
#define NUM_LEDS2 17 //say how many leds is in row 2
#define NUM_LEDS3 20 //say how many leds is in row 3
const int RECV_PIN = 8; //say what pin IR sensor is plugged into
const int LEDPIN = 13;//say what pin blue STATUS led is plugged into
IRrecv irrecv(RECV_PIN);
decode_results results;
unsigned long key_value = 0;
int shiftbutton = 0;
CRGB leds1[NUM_LEDS1]; //link leds1 with how many leds are in it
CRGB leds2[NUM_LEDS2]; //link leds2 with how many leds are in it
CRGB leds3[NUM_LEDS3]; //link leds3 with how many leds are in it
size_t NumLeds[3] = { NUM_LEDS1, NUM_LEDS2, NUM_LEDS3 };
CRGB* strips[3] = { leds1, leds2, leds3 };
void setup()
{
 Serial.begin(57600);
 irrecv.enableIRIn(); //Enables IR
 irrecv.blink13(true); //Flashes onboard LED when IR input detected
 pinMode(LEDPIN, OUTPUT); //set signal led as an ourput
 FastLED.addLeds<NEOPIXEL, 5>(leds1, NUM_LEDS1); //setup for row 1
 FastLED.addLeds<NEOPIXEL, 3>(leds2, NUM_LEDS2); //setup for row 2
 FastLED.addLeds<NEOPIXEL, 6>(leds3, NUM_LEDS3); //setup for row 3
}
void loop()
{
 readIR();
 ShiftButtons();
 LEDStrip();
}
void readIR()
{
 if (irrecv.decode(&results))
 {
  // debug
  Serial.println("processing received IR");
  // if not repeat key
  if (results.value != 0XFFFFFFFF)
  {
   key_value = results.value;
   // debug
   Serial.print("using new value ");
   Serial.println(key_value, HEX);
  }
  else
  {
   // nothing to do
   // key_value still contains the result of the previous read
   // debug
   Serial.print("using old value ");
   Serial.println(key_value, HEX);
  }
  irrecv.resume();
 }
}
void ShiftButtons()
{
 switch (key_value)
 {
  case 0xFF30CF:
   shiftbutton = 1;
   break;
  case 0xFFB04F:
   shiftbutton = 2;
   break;
  case 0xFF708F:
   shiftbutton = 3;
   break;
 }
 // debug
 Serial.print("shiftbutton set to ");
 Serial.println(shiftbutton);
}
void setStrip (size_t index, CRGB color)
{
 fill_solid(strips[index], NumLeds[index], color);
 FastLED.show();
}
void LEDStrip()
{
 if (shiftbutton == 0) return; // no strip selected
 // debug
 Serial.print("LEDStrip: using key value ");
 Serial.println(key_value, HEX);
 CRGB color = CRGB::Black;
 switch (key_value)
 {
  case 0xFF1AE5:
   color = CRGB::Red;
   // debug
   Serial.println("color set to red");
   break;
  case 0xFF9A65:
   color = CRGB::Green;
   // debug
   Serial.println("color set to green");
   break;
  case 0xFFA25D:
   color = CRGB::Blue;
   // debug
   Serial.println("color set to blue");
   break;
 }
 setStrip(shiftbutton - 1, color);
 shiftbutton = 0; // reset the flag
}
Thanks!
Tom