Flash-Matic
Flash-Matic was the first wireless remote control for televisions . It was developed in 1955 by Zenith Electronics Corporation . The shape of the Flash-Matic was a mixture of flashlight and shower head. In every corner of the television set there were photocells that had to be aimed at with the Flash-Matic. Each of the four photocells was designed for a different function. With the remote control, the television could be switched on and off, the station selected and the sound switched off and on. As with the Lazy Bones remote control, the transmitter was set by an electric motor .
history
After the Lazy Bones remote control flopped on the market, the President of Zenith Eugene F. McDonald decided to invest further effort in developing a usable remote control. Zenith engineer Eugene Polley then developed the Flash-Matic. However, this remote control could not prevail either, as the associated television sometimes switched itself on using the light available in the room. That was because the technology was based on (visible) light. As a result, ultrasound was used as the information carrier before the pulsed infrared signals that are common today in remote controls became established.
See also
Web links
- Operating Guide And Technical Manual To Enjoy Your New Zenith Flash-Matic Remote Control. (PDF) Zenith Radio Corporation , Chicago, p. 16 , archived from the original (English).
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Sven Stillich: Operation, please! Television earlier. In: one day. Spiegel Online , December 2, 2008, accessed on April 10, 2018 (with picture gallery).
- ↑ Father of the zapping culture. Article in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung , February 23, 2007, accessed April 10, 2018 .
- ^ TV remote control inventor Eugene Polley dies at 96 . In BBC News , accessed May 22, 2012