R.L. Dane    🍵 16h ago

#Trivia: This was the world's first remote control (sold), the [Zenith Space Command], from 1956.
There were no electronics in the remote itself, but rather the buttons triggered a mechanism that struck an aluminum rod that produced an ultrasonic tone which an acoustic reciever in the TV itself picked up.
Ultrasonic remotes were the norm through the 1980s, although the mechanical remotes were soon replaced with electronic ones.

I still remember picking up a remote in the early 1980s and hearing the ultrasonic tones it produced.

Show threadjns15h ago
@rl_dane This design seems better? No battery needed!
Show threadR.L. Dane    🍵 15h ago

@jns

No battery, indeed!

I wonder if you could recreate that effect via a standard IR remote use by either a kinetic winder mechanism to recharge the battery, or some kind of piezoelectric energy harvester, either of which would be supplemented with solar cells.

I have a solar-powered BT keyboard that I have never had to charge manually in over 10 years. (Although it doesn't get daily use, to be fair)

Show threadkabel42
@rl_dane @jns enOcean has wireless switches that get their power from the pushing of the button :)
There is quiet a bit of resistance as you have to compress a spring
5:40pmWeb
Show threadkabel4215h ago
@rl_dane @jns feels a bit like a piezo lighter, but instead of hitting a piezo crystal it moves a magnet through a coil, Nice thing is, you get power twice so the switch can transmit press and release events.