Remote control, '50's-'60's

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by old_tv_nut

Yes, a quick click was enough to advance one channel, but if you wanted to advance more than one, the timing of the release was more critical.

All the Zeniths and RCAs I have seen (IIRC my Admiral too) had a star wheel on the tuner shaft that actuated a motor stop switch. The motor had a latching circuit that would keep it spinning as soon as it started moving. So it didn't matter how long you pushed the button. The star wheel tabs could be set to skip empty channels so if you had only 3 active stations the tuner could skip 5 channels and spin for 2-3 seconds on a half second button click.