WD200711ZA-sm.pdf

Gadget Hall of Fame
0 9 2 WIRED TEST
Zenith Space Commander
Remote Control
Which came first: the TV, or complaining about what you’re watching?
For years, changing channels meant an arduous climb out of the La-Z-Boy,
until electronics pioneer Zenith came to the rescue. The company hit on
a winning wireless design in 1955 and started production a year later.
The Space Command system was pure genius: Pushing a button caused a
clapper to hit an aluminum rod, which emitted an ultrasonic tone. The TV
interpreted the various tones as commands to switch the channel up or
down, mute the sound, or turn itself on or off. The gadget was an immediate
hit, despite increasing the cost of compatible Zenith sets by 30 percent,
and the technology endured until the dawn of infrared in the 1980s.
1956
HISTORYOFTHEBUTTON.COM