1961 Zenith Space Command Black And White Television Console Analysis2

[@nomercy4338]

You brought back many memories when i was 9 years old with this Zenith set. In 1962 my parents bought a Zenith just like this one. It replaced our old 1949 Hoffman in the living room that ended up going into my bedroom. We were one of the few households with two Televisions in their home. I would stay up late to watch Johnny Carson in my bedroom, but the parents said NO and would turn it off. I would just turn it back on again. My father would then pull a few tubes out of the set and set them aside to disable it. I would then replace them to get the set workin again. After a while I got to know what tubes did what and got familiar with how the TV worked. This started my career in Television. In 1966 my parents bought our first Sears Silvertone Color TV. One of the first color sets with a rectangular screen. I got to upgrade with the Zenith in my bedroom. I kept it going for years until the CRT when bad. I did keep the remote control unit which is a stand alone chassis and used it to control lights and other things. By the time I was in high school I had over 12 tv sets I would collect out of the neighborhood trash and got them all working. I was also the neighborhood TV repair kid. I majored in Television Broadcasting in College and was able to get job at NBC in Burbank California. A job I still have today. My hobby turned into a job. I was very lucky. I loved the old tube days. They were the best and most fun and rewarding. Today all you can do is just swap out boards or in many cases just buy a new TV. They just are not worth the cost of repair. The days of mom and pop TV repair businesses are over.

[@vcv6560]

My TV repair hobby took me to engineering. I didn't choose my career I was captured. It was staring into the vent holes of the radios and TV of my grandparents home. Oh and to Mr. shango066 it was 40KHz range, I remember seeing this in a the in Sams Photofacts

[@Andrewtatesbiggestfan]

@@vcv6560 there are still a couple mom and pop crt repair places in my area, so their not entirely gone, however I am in a very low income area so everyone keeps their stuff for 20 years

[@godfreypoon5148]

A remote control that's powered by the mere force of the user pressing the button and never needs batteries changed! We are living in the future, folks.

[@mikedrz]

I see why ppl used to call remotes "the clicker"

[@eccentriceric]

I know. I've always wondered before too. The remote literally clicks. lol.

[@brettlw2]

Left ea heard it Right ear didn;t. I use to her horizontal. Thank to rock

[@AiOinc1]

Slideshow projectors had "clickers" long before this. They operated a motor inside the carousel and when you released the switch, you could heard the cartridge drop down inside the machine with a "clack."

[@dave1135]

In 1956, Robert Adler developed "Zenith Space Command," a wireless remote. It was mechanical and used ultrasound to change the channel and volume. When the user pushed a button on the remote control, it struck a bar and clicked, hence they were commonly called a "clicker," but it sounded like a "clink" and the mechanics were similar to a pluck. Each of the four bars emitted a different fundamental frequency with ultrasonic harmonics, and circuits in the television detected these sounds and interpreted them as channel-up, channel-down, sound-on/off, and power-on/off.

[@thirstypilgrim97]

You're a modern archeologist, except your relics are brought back to life.

[@millibilli7058]

People should appreciate and respect old stuff.

[@pafoofnic]

My parents had one a little older, the remote would quit every two to three years. We would go to White Front and I would test the tubes on their self service tube tester, the 5Y3 on the remote was always weak. Replaced and worked again. The guy in the electronics department would get upset because a ten year old was using the tester. I appreciate your videos, they are informative and entertaining.

[@davidjames666]

Alameda Repair Shop i was also about 10 years old when i would go to my local Sav-on-Drugs and use the tube tester. When i would need a tube, they sold them behind the counter next to the cigaretts. This was in the early 1980's!!

[@ericschmitt5390]

@@davidjames666 yup. Always in the tobacco section 😀 you could sneak a smell of apple flavored pipe filer while watching the dials move. Good times as a kid.

[@Patchuchan]

Space Command has to be the coolest name for a TV ever.

[@DougDingus]

Zenith had an overall air of cool about most of what they made. Check out their higher end AM Radios. Lots of cool tech, spiffy names.

[@wacoflyer]

Back in 1963, my dad treated our family with a brand new Zenith "roundie". We were the 1st house in the neighborhood to have a color set....and it was Awesome! It also had the the space command and motorized tuner. So with the remote's click/ping!, the "eharrreh" of the tuner and the "chunk chunk" of the Alliance "Tenna Rotator" box, it was a raucous beast. But we loved it!

[@sixtyfiveford]

That remote and channel changing system is impressive.

[@TechHowden]

@Raphael Davion ok bot

[@TechHowden]

@Aidan Remy ok bot

[@deltabloo]

My Father was able to do this. Our first color tv came home from the dump. He got the schematics and pulled every board and diagnosed any failed components . That was late seventies or early eighties. Watching you do this brings back memories

[@alancordwell9759]

8 tubes just in the rototweebulator discomglobulator alone... amazing!

[@drfalcon4102]

they needed the Hi FI, when sitting at home,,in 1963, having a Marlboro, and sucking down a schafer beer, and watching Hazel

[@waltschannel7465]

Right, finish the beer first, then use the can as an ash tray for the Lucky Strike! 🚬

[@NuttyforNissan]

I had one of these ultrasonic remote sets but I didn't know it was, until it started changing channels when the wife was vacuuming

[@Sta2200]

That was one of the problems..the air rushing in the vacuum hits ultrasonic frequencies..and activates the remote..often in a chaotic way..

[@darikdatta]

I used to have a 70s Space Command color set. It would occasionally turn on or off when I sneezed.

[@RoughJustice2k18]

Then it would be known as a "Sneeze Command" TV.

[@19seventy97]

Sounds like a cool party trick. Also sounds like it would get very annoying in the winter with a cold...

[@19seventy97]

That would be so annoying.

[@petermaxwell2965]

That's funny ..ahh chooo

[@EddieJazzFan]

I remember we had a Zenith space command set with a channel changer and a "stepped" volume control, but the volume only had three settings, "barely hear it", "normal" and "ear-blasting"

[@MsCori76]

The old clicker remote tv. They sure invented it well back then for a battery-less remote.......& that beautiful wooden cabinet....certainly no crap chipboard! Can’t wait for part 2, Shango. Love always, Corinna xoxo

[@HelloKittyFanMan.]

"Battery-less"? What's the hyphen supposed to be for, according to you? Why not just "batteryless"?

[@MsCori76]

She's Sometimes Double Chocolate! - Sorry for being dyslexic! That’s how my phone autocorrected it. 🤷🏼‍♀️ But hey, thanks for the spelling correction.

[@KAFKUBA]

I love how you talk to the camera and ask us questions as if I'd know...nice work

[@ooze9808]

I'm astonished to learn about the remote controlling the tv with different pitches instead of RF or IR, I had no idea the older ones worked like that

[@2300cbrown]

Really loved this. Thank you for taking me down memory lane. I still remember basic electronics from years ago. Schematic troubleshooting is hard core and very rewarding once the problem is found.

[@kall399]

I remember when the digital TV came here it had so many problems with bad signal and outages the massive amount of crappy converter boxes didn't help either.

[@kevtris]

friend had one of those ultrasonic remote sets in the 80's. It was later than this one, since it was transistorized. the remote had a transistor oscillator in it instead of the tuned bars that it struck. Every time his dog would scratch, the jingling of the dog tags would cause it to change channels, or turn on/off

[@ethelryan257]

I grew up with the TV. When in its heyday, it was stunningly shiny and pretty.

[@DrewskisBrews]

That arrangement that allows the coarsly- controlled induction motor to drive the tuner in a stepped fashion is known as a "Geneva Drive" or "Geneva Machanism". Great little bit of 19th century tech they used there.

[@tonyjones9442]

I seem to remember that mechanicism being used in cinema projectors.

[@RuneTheFirst]

Ultrasonic remotes, ugh. Surprisingly, they were still sold/in use into the 80s. We had installations in corporate and educational facilities that still used them (New!) They became a problem later on as controls got broken, lost, etc. We tried rigging up electronic oscillators to take their place but that did not always work reliably. Probably a tone/duration issue. The remote sensor would also fail. I think some were crystal mics and may have failed from heat or humidity. If you opened up the remote you would find that the "tuning forks" (bars) were adjustable. Woe unto anyone who ran into a system where both the receiver and the remote had been monkeyed with... Keys: Modern keys are often of different metals than 50 years ago. There were more brass and steel keys back then and they were more musical-sounding when jiggled. Aluminum keys that are common today are dead sounding and damp things down when shaken.

[@astral16]

I love your process. The time taken just observing(and showing us)

[@oldmaine4314]

Made back when “planned obsolescence” engineered into sets like this meant only fifty years useful life.

[@millibilli7058]

Exactly and you could tear it down clean it up patch it together and pass it down through generations

[@waltschannel7465]

Old Maine - weren't these sets about $800-1000 in today's money? No wonder they could use real hardwoods, and steel hand wired chassis.

[@sobolanul96]

Back then obsolescence meant that you replaced an appliance only when it was "morally obsolete" and no longer relevant, not because it broke down after two years of use and there are no parts to fix it.

[@HelloKittyFanMan.]

@@millibilli7058: You can do that with today's TVs too, though.

[@POKEMANZZ3]

not the same extent as something like this man

[@1995voyagerES]

Oh nice. Your long videos make it worth waiting for mondays :-)

[@mtssvnsn]

As a kid in the 70's I used to get old TV's to take apart. The old models often had a complete service-manual tucked away inside the box, with circuit-diagrams, photos of the boards, and even oscilloscope screen-grabs etc. So it definitely wasn't a question of IF anyone would have to open it up and service it, but WHEN.

[@EnergeticWaves]

what voltage was all that stuff running at?

[@mtssvnsn]

@@EnergeticWaves Its in Sweden, so 220V back then. (its 240V now)

[@EnergeticWaves]

but what about the internal voltages being amplified by tubes and stuff, is that also line voltage?@@mtssvnsn

[@mtssvnsn]

@@EnergeticWaves You are asking me for the specs for some random stuff I saw as a kid in the 1970s ? How would I know that now?

[@connormason7907]

@@EnergeticWaves Some of them had transformers and some ran the b+ directly off rectified line voltage

[@craignehring]

Great, most enjoyable Thanks for again hosting the Shango066 channel and almost an hour of logic preponderance Woo hoo ... NOW I can begin my week

[@ButchNackley]

I grew up with one of these. It had a different console, but was basically the same. Ours was probably bought around 1963 or 64. It was the first TV I remember (born in 62). There is a kinda cool feature on those TV's, you may already know of. The little Zenith emblem on the front of the TV is also a mount for the remote to be stored on. On the backside of the remote are slots that slide over the lips on the emblem.

[@gregorymalchuk272]

I noticed that the Zenith emblem was standing significantly off the front of the set, but I didn't realize it was a remote hanger!

[@Idelia412]

I remember the next door nieghbor had a 1950's remote controlled Zenith. When the channel was changed, the turner knob would rotate. It had a three step volume control on the remote as well and of course the on and off.

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Good diagnosis Shango, thanks for sharing! I bet the servicemen back in the day loved this design when doing house calls. Nothing like getting a physical workout when repairing electronics!

[@jsciarri]

Looks like Jason Cruz will be excitedly waiting for next week's video with shiny new capacitors being installed.

[@midsouthexpress]

That is the same type TV and remote Archie Bunker had in his house. Even on one show the set chassis was gone to the shop for repair and Archie comes in and sits down and says 'where's the guts to my tv?' All it showed was a cabinet just like that one with four speakers and everything else was gone.

[@Pyridox]

We had one of these TV's with the ultrasonic remote control in the late 60's/early 70's. We used to throw keys up in the air and let them hit the carpet, it would either change the channel or turn the set off. LoL

[@HelloKittyFanMan.]

Haha, back in the early '90s, my grandparents had given me their old wood-grain-colored plastic-cased RCA with this kind of remote control, probably from the later '60s or early '70s, and one day I was just clinking a handful of quarters back and forth, and then I heard the channel dial on that TV spin-click a time or few, and I was like, "Huhh, what?" And then I discovered that I could do it again and again! So then I opened the remote control up and watch it work, and went, "AHHHH, that explains this!"

[@dvdavid888]

Love looking at the old stuff thank you for showing this

[@garymckee8857]

Those old cowboys and indians movies would really be loud on that set.

[@philhalo66]

always makes my day when you upload a video this long fixing a tv. i always found this sort of thing fascinating.

[@williamcarr8080]

I agree Philhalo66. even tho I don't always know what each and every part shango66 is alluding to does, I still find it fascinating. and I almost always have a good laugh at something he says too! I'm learning and being entertained at the same time. what more could you ask??

[@foureyedchick]

The only things is: Will there be a Part 2? Will he get lucky and be able to fix the old junk or will the TV have to go back in the alley?

[@foureyedchick]

@billyfromtheusa 78 and 79 is when I was in high school, took electric shop for 2 years

[@fredfabris7187]

I grew up in the Chicago area. My friend’s uncle worked for zenith and worked on developing the “clicker”.

[@danilorainone406]

zenith 'back in the day' had 20k US workers,a couple hundred in chgo, & melrose park,layoffs in the 70s,again in 85,

[@onemoremisfit]

My dad was an E.E. working for Motorola in Franklin Park during 50s and 60s, worked on things such as 8-track cartridge audio and automotive electronic ignition, cutting edge back then.

[@rugrataudio]

I have hundreds of channels that I subscribe to, and this one is my favorite. thanks so much!

[@Gmon750]

My childhood was spent in front of one of these TV's. I remember that click remote very well. It was built like a tank, and just as heavy as one. Brings back memories. It's great to see you giving these the respect that they deserve. :) I had no idea (back then) that the remote worked by sound. Funny how one thinks as a kid. :)

[@RayBeek]

nice video again ! keep up the good work.....like vintage stuf....greets from Holland

[@judges69]

Great part 1, looking forward to next part. Thank you.

[@RODALCO2007]

Great video and commentary. Keep up the great work. will watch Part 2 now.

[@hugeshows]

Wow, that's some seriously good troubleshooting technique. I've often seen the value of using an audio probe, but I've never seen it used so well and so quickly. It goes to show just how much an understanding of the circuit components leads to the ability to quickly rule out suspect components and narrow down the possibilities. Anyway, my hat's off to you. Although if I were to come up with one criticism, it'd be to lay off the 'making things great' comments. I suspect they won't age as well as this TV set. If that doesn't make you hate me enough, then I'll confess that I was one of the engineers who took part in the 2009 broadcast TV digitization, at least for one small TV station. I have a lot of respect for those who keep analog TV alive though, and as someone who has been fixing circuits for years, your skills impress the crap out of me. Circuit fixers should watch this channel!

[@Mark-bb2zx]

Back in the 60's when I was a kid , we would play with my grandma's Zenith remote control but not for the intended purpose. She lived up in Grass Valley Calif. and in the Summer the bats would hang around the porch light because it attracted the bugs. We found if we hit it just right, it would confuse the heck out of the little critters.

[@gregorymalchuk272]

Lol, that's really interesting. Who's idea was it to point an ultrasonic remote at some bats?

[@MrChief101]

In 1961 I was 7 and I loved playing with that very remote. Some friends had one of those brand new TVs so that was a nice place to hang out after school. We called them "clickers" and I've still heard some older people still call remotes that! Fun vid.

[@mysticvirgo9318]

cor! the audio section of that set is INSANE! even with a couple shot caps!

[@iamdarkyoshi]

Stoked for part two! What a fascinating set!

[@elcocineroamericano]

Not the prettiest set Zenith ever made but damn...built like a tank and what a sound system.

[@DanafoxyVixen]

The speakers look very nice, but what looks like a single tube output stage might be alittle bit limp.. I was hoping for push-pull

[@andythrasher5789]

Those 6x9"s were used in some certain AA5 or AA6 Zenith AM table-top type radios with a 50C5 or 35C5 output, give or take 3/4 watt to one of them - and they rocked with that. So a pair of those with a single EL84/6BQ5 pushing a powerhouse 3-4 watts would indeed be quite loud in that huge cabinet of that Zenith. I bet it would sound gooood with those electrostatic tweeties.

[@colclumper]

@@DanafoxyVixen anything from back then is limp tech wise

[@IBWatchinUrVids]

I own an 1962 Wells-Index milling machine, and you're right, they had quality in mind.. 2019, and I'm making parts with it, any repairs I've made to it are due to user error or loading / unloading damage. Built like a tank.

[@alphabeets]

Shango is a rock star. Always a treat to find a new Shango video upload!

[@thebestisyettocome4114]

Greetings: I was around when this was cutting technology! Interesting video. Thumbs up 👍

[@vader0ne]

Great TV. I remember living with my grandparents ,and they had on of these sets in the breeze way. In the morning time my friend that lived across the street come over early and we would watch Bullwinkle and when that show was over we knew it was time to leave for school. And when school was over we rush home to watch Speed Racer. My grand parents never use that old set and the remote worked. If memory serves me the channel indicator you turned the ring and it fine tuned the channels.

[@nancydarling4918]

Great video. Very interesting. Thanks for filming.

[@mikepascoe4120]

on the remote,we had a 1959 space command and there were 4 tunig bars in the remote and as kids we took them out and switched them around . cool video

[@webchez69]

I was a child in the 1960s and the remotes were fun to play with... Sometimes the more channels would go by too fast and you had to go all the way around the channels again. Also, my father had a big keychain with many keys, and he could make the channels go around by shaking his keys...

[@Srinathji_Das]

This is a great video! I appreciate it.

[@tukorodrigez3307]

First time see your video..i m stuck here..is brilliant...i m love it...thank you that you make so many peoples happy...

[@rpn000rpnca]

We had a Zenith with Space Command when I was a Kid. No one believes that we had remote control back in the 50s.

[@blok_pitaniya_460_watt]

ух вот это телевизор!!! да красота да и только. да ещё и пульт к нему и это в 61 году!!

[@sinadontis1]

1,9К 61FPS

[@blok_pitaniya_460_watt]

@Felix Cotov ага крутой телек! в совке даже и близко нечего такого небыло

[@blok_pitaniya_460_watt]

@Felix Cotov о да знаю я эти совкокондёры) армянский сухостой! ну а насчёт потребительской техники то да. всё это было говно низшего качества! хуже чем китайскии балалайки из 90-х

[@elit3darkness]

I remember pulling speakers from a similar tv with the same speakers, put them in a box and they sounded amazing!

[@stephenwilliams5201]

Used to work for Sylvania. The new York shop made some handsome sets. Real furniture. Also for Curtis Mathis. Good to restore

[@Synthematix]

Bloody brill m8, what a beast for a black and white set

[@MrsG7swr]

You went a bit beavis and butthead with the remote at the start. Great video though and a very interesting old TV. Cheered me up on a Monday afternoon. Hope part two is not too far off. I am playing with a 1974 Riga radio made in old soviet union I am trying to decide why it has a massive buzz on AM that other AM radio near it does not have, both are running on battery, FM works fine and quiet on aux input.

[@zx8401ztv]

We all make mistakes, yours are momentary and often quickly corrected. Love the ultrasonic remote system, heavy duty and reliable :-) Looks in great condition, the underside hasn't been hacked about by anyone.

[@keithperry8098]

Zenith. The quality goes in before the name goes on👌

[@KLM817]

Growing up we had a Zenith Space Command with that tuning fork remote. If I remember correctly, our remote had 4 buttons. The two outer buttons were channel up and down, one of the inner buttons was power/volume and the last inner button was a mute button. The power/volume button had 3 presets for volume, basically like a low, medium, and high. You turned the volume knob on the set to about 3/4 of the way up. So you could push the power button to turn the set on, then click the button 3 more times for higher volume. After the 4 click it would shut the set off. If you pushed the mute button, then pushed the channel up or down button, it would change the hue of the picture. The hue knob on the set had a little motor that would turn it one direction or the other. Really a cool remote set for it's time. TV set is long gone but I still have the remote!

[@davidraezer5937]

Awesome “Make Zenith Great Again” video:)

[@miker252]

While in high school, I was a member of a band. While practicing CCR's Proud Mary, in the drummer's living room, we had to unplug his TV because it kept turning on.

[@gerardcarriera7052]

Great video! You are correct about the integrators being a weak spot in Zeniths. I've replaced a few in the late 50s early 60s B&W sets. I'm looking forward to the next part!!

[@bigmotter001]

Another great video from the master. Take care!

[@kirbyyasha]

Your set is very similar to my Zenith SpaceCommand 400. Mine is a chassis 17B20Q, it is a table top unit with only one speaker. Sadly, mine is in much worse condition. The clicker does not work at all, the tuner does not work and is seized up, I only get a raster with some hum, but I am too lazy to actually dig into it. This video is giving me some inspiration to start digging into it to see if I can get it to function again. Bought it as a project as it was only $25 WITH the original remote, but then once I got it home, I haven't gotten around to it. It deserves some love after watching this. The seller was getting ready to salvage it as there were no interested buyers in it, so, I saved it at least.

[@michgunnut]

I was 12 years old in 1965 and we had one of those, and I used to be able change the channels on the TV without the remote just by dropping coins on each other (nickels or quarters, I don't remember) on the carpet near the TV :D There were little motors in them that turned the channel.

[@garybevis8691]

Feel really lucky to live here in Tacoma, where I pay about 9 to 11 cents a kilowatt/hr. depending on time of day for electricity. I remember this was the first remote tv we had (hand me down from Grandpa) circa 1964-65. I was glad to be off channel change/tune duty after the introduction of the remote control. My curiosity about the remote control and our home tube radio sparked my lifelong love and interest in electronics! Far out Shangoo, very cool!

[@mr.grumpygrumpy2035]

Awesome videos! I wish I could learn radio/TV repair.

[@jrocco36]

I think the little red light by the ultrasonic pickup is to let you know the tv is in "Stand-By" and it keeps the tubs warmed up to reduce warm up time on old tube sets.

[@mrshankj5101]

That is a nice looking Zenith TV!

[@townhall05446]

I had a 70's Sanyo color TV with the same kind of remote control and you could definitely jingle your keys and the channels would change. Bought it in 1975.

[@johnlawfourtyfyve]

loved the great trip back. Good memories.

[@toppledgod]

My grandparents had a tv with a single button remote control like this, which we referred to as the 'clacker', when I was a toddler in the 70's.

[@retiresoon5639]

The memories..This was a big step above what we had.

[@LarryBlowers]

glad to hear spring is showing up there,, getting plenty of bird noises here too!!

[@kennethhacker1341]

Soooo freaking cool...oh the memories thank you Shango

[@robertosamartin9385]

For a moment I thought I heard a speech from Maduro! Creed!! HIHIHIHI !!! Thank you! Great appliance and excellent class once again!

[@zhaohaigaogu7821]

電源回路には真空管整流がありましたね！ほとんどは整流ダイオードでした。😮とても面白かったよ！❤❤❤

[@michaelrobertson575]

A T.V. Remote Control Handset that has more than one function and yet contains no electronics or even a battery is pretty cool especially as it is from so long ago.

[@pleasecho2]

This one hit home literally. My dad was a TV repairman and ran a dealership so we always had the latest, I was a kid when we got one of these, One night we were all watching the news and it was something really important, The dog scratched an itch under his collar and the tags made the channel change. Everyone yelled and scared, the Kennel Ration out of the poor thing.

[@cerealexperiments8865]

That remote control receiver design is kind of the most beautiful thing ever.

[@markmarkofkane8167]

Thank you for a new video!!!💃🤸 That one remote sounds like Ravi Shankar.

[@IrishvintageTVRadio]

Nice to see a bit of effort went into the sound reproduction, over here you'd find a tiny 3x6 in speaker (if you were lucky!)

[@scottex8370]

My uncle Gary lived in Arizona and he recently died from heavy metal poisoning.

[@davek12]

I don't understand the eBay prices for the Space Command remotes. Why would someone pay $300 for a remote for a TV that you can hardly give away free? Edit: Electrostatic speakers in a TV? Suddenly you have my attention. They are a capacitor, you have that part right, but they have to have a bias volts applied to make the other signal voltage differential cause sound. I've made electrostatic drivers before, and I'm blown away that a TV came with them. High fidelity, indeed.

[@bitrot42]

I didn’t realize just how steampunk the Space Command remote system was... great to see it up close and personal.

[@billmyke746]

I was happy when I first saw those electrostatic tweeters. nice.

[@williamcarr8080]

growing up my parents had a 21" Dumont tv Hi Fidelity with an 8" woofer and one of those electrostatic tweeters. when my parents sold the TV I absconded with it before the people came to pick it up!

[@_Frank_the_Tank]

My grandparents had a color Zenith console similar to this one. I vaguely remember it working and seeing a similar remote control when I was a young kid in the 80's. Anywho when that console Zenith bit the dust my grandma just threw a table cloth over the dead console tv and put a couple plants and her new plastic wood trimmed late 80s/early 90s box tv on top of it.

[@donsurlylyte]

she wasnt the only one to do that LOL

[@stuartarundale6219]

That method of sonic control is interesting. I think the US had wire free remote control sets before we did in the UK, but the only ultrasonic sets I saw (in the mid to late 70's) used electronic remotes with a transducer in, rather than mechanical. They soon gave way to infra red. I think they ran at 40 KHz. Really enjoyable watch, looking forward to part 2

[@ytSuns26]

I remember going to our neighbors home to look at their brand new remote controlled Zenith. So futuristic, incredible, what will they think of next . Change channels, change volume all from your couch.

[@sambrose1]

I flinched and jerked my hand back when it arced to the remote. I was so into watching the solenoids.😅

[@arbutuswatcher]

I knew a retired state trooper in Iowa, that would take old console TV's like the one in this video, and rebuild them. In some cases, at the owner's request, he would refinish the wooden housing, replace the speakers, their fabric, and retrofit the entire thing with newer electronics. He did some nice work. Hard to believe that was almost 20 years ago.

[@t.allred5629]

I have a 1962/63 Zenith Sp Command 400 B&W console with record player and AM/FM. Started having an intermittent picture. Prior to that it had a sharp picture aside from some mild distortion along the top of the picture. It's been at a repair shop for 3 years and still hasn't been repaired. Since I have the Sam's for it I'm thinking about taking it home and troubleshooting it myself

[@vintageceilingfans]

My step father had a TV set back in the early 80s that would change channels when jingling the keys in front of it.. I don't remember the type of set it was, but I thought it was a bit more modern than this one, but I could be wrong. I was only 4 or 5 years old at the time..