Zenith Space Command TV remote

[5th T/A]

Jack started a thread on ranking our favorite Firebirds. It developed into talking about Older TV's and remote controls. To avoid totally hijacking his thread I started this one.

This 8 minute video clip interviewing the man who was responsible for the invention of the Space Command remote. Robert Adler got his PHD from the University of Vienna in 1937. Because of growing Antisemitism he emigrated to the US, taking an engineering job at Zenith Electronics in 1941. He was later credited with 180 patents and went on to become the VP and director of research at Zenith. Zenith Electronics has been credited with many electronic innovations such as developing the standard for stereo FM radio, developing the technologies for digital TV and HDTV that were adopted by the FCC. Zenith was absorbed by LG in 1999.

I should mention the clicking heard from these remotes was not the noise that triggered the volume or channel change. The sound we hear is the unloading of the spring driven mechanism that strikes the metal tubes causing it to resonate at a frequency humans can not hear.

https://youtu.be/eAyWuC4cIz0

[81Blackbird]

Very cool.  I remember the the first Color TV my parents bought.  Yes it was a Zenith.  But it wasn't called a remote then.  It was called a clicker. And if you had several keys on a ring and shook them the channel would change.

[tajoe]

Is it just me, or is the site screwed up again, and won't post...anything.(?)
Funny, I can post here, but can't start a new topic, or post in the "posting Pictures" thread.
Maybe my bottom photo is too big?

[kentucky yeti]

Photo test.

Edit:  photo worked for me.

[Jack]

Larry, thanks for posting, very interesting interview.

[firebirdparts]

That was interesting.  I left home before my parents ever bought a color TV.