Thanks for the replies.
Here is what I have so far.
I tried getting a code from Remote Central. I loaded it into the IR Learner software. The software said that the frequency was 57 kHz. I then used the IR Learner's test function to send the code to the IR Blaster. The receive light on the IR Blaster did not light up at all - at least as far as I could tell.
I picked a different code and did the same thing. The frequency this time was 38 kHz, and testing the same way with the IR Learner's test function, the IR Blaster's receive light did light this time and the rule was triggered.
Trying one or two codes from the Remote Central does not make for a large set of test cases, but it seems like the IR Blaster's receiver will not respond to a 57 kHz code.
I then copied the CCF code and loaded it into my Android, and the custom service that I wrote to send IR from the Android. I set a repeat of 10 times, with a delay of 500 ms between transmissions. This seems to work reliably; however, it intermittently works if I send the code only once, although, the receive light on the IR Blaster lights up every time that I send the IR code from the Android. (I expect that you guys are not too happy with my use of the IR transmitter in the Android).
The main reason that I decided to try an external receiver is that even though the receive light on the IR blaster was indicating that it was receiving IR, the rules would not always trigger. I have my IR blaster in a equipment rack that has an "IR Transparent" grill on it, and it does trigger reliably if the door on the rack is open. I've tried repositioning the IR blaster, but on sending the code only once, it would not trigger reliably. Therefore, I thought that adding an external receiver would help the situation. The rack's maker, "Salamander Designs" seems to no longer have any racks with "IR Transparent" grills on them - all the racks they currently have have smoked glass doors - perhaps because they had problems with IR control of equipment behind the grill. Transmitting IR from the IR Blaster, on the other hand, works quite well behind the grill.
At this point, the door on the rack is closed, and I have an external receiver mounted with perhaps 5 meters of wire. Sending the code ten times works reliably, but I am not sure which receiver is picking up the code. I will attempt to isolate which receiver is working in the next few days. It has become less of an issue since sending the code multiple times is, so far, working reliably.