Top: The Zenith Space Commander Three Hundred is reportedly the first-ever, wireless television remote control. It "used mechanical switches underneath its four buttons that sent out ultrasound in different frequencies... A receiver on the television used those frequences to change the channel and the volume."It was introduced about 60 years ago (circa 1956).
Right: Motorola transistor radio, vintage unknown. The first such radio offered to the public was the Regency TR-1, released in 1954, and cost $49.95 or roughly $450 in 2017 dollars.
I'm guessing this is a late fifties or early sixties model, but perhaps one of our expert commenters might be able to identify it more precisely.
Bottom: The Unisonic 931 was first manufactured in 1975. it offered 8 digits of precision and basic algebraic logic functions.
Left: The Zenith Space Command 1000 remote with a fancy, red Zoom function. This was the most modern of this quartet, manufactured around 1975.
It's hard to believe how far we've come; nowadays, an enterprising 12 year-old can control every appliance in a home from an iPhone.
Related: BadBlue Tech News.
1 comment:
"That's the way it was, and we liked it."
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