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

[Telecolor 3007]

Hello. Remote control for tv sets was introduced in U.S.A. in the '50's and more sets started to have it the '60's. But I do have one curiosity: how the knob for changing chanels (station) was moved? There was an electric motor, I know that, but at the old tv sets that I've seen in Romania you needed a lot of force to rotate it, more force that at mechanical timers of washing machines. Or did the sets that had this feature quited the clasic stuff and used some kind of varicap comuter?

[old_tv_nut]

It was the same type of tuner as a non-remote set, not a varicap. The motor was big enough when geared down to do the job.

[ChrisW6ATV]

The only time I ever got to use one of those motorized-tuner TV sets was when I was in a hospital for about a week, in 1968. I remember that the motor was quite fast, so I had to only briefly hit the channel-change button, otherwise I would have to go all the way around the dial again (including, turning the TV set off when it hit the normally "UHF" position below channel 2, then right back on again).

The set I watched was likely a modified set for use in hospitals; maybe the typical ones for home use were easier to use.

[maxhifi]

Geared down shaded pole induction motor makes quick work of rotating the tuner in my Zenith with the SC100 remote. There are contacts to stop the motor at every channel, and there's a way to program it mechanically to skip non active channels, or to use one as a standby position which shuts the tv off.

[old_tv_nut]

Originally Posted by ChrisW6ATV

The only time I ever got to use one of those motorized-tuner TV sets was when I was in a hospital for about a week, in 1968. I remember that the motor was quite fast, so I had to only briefly hit the channel-change button, otherwise I would have to go all the way around the dial again (including, turning the TV set off when it hit the normally "UHF" position below channel 2, then right back on again).

The set I watched was likely a modified set for use in hospitals; maybe the typical ones for home use were easier to use.

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.

[AlanInSitges]

Those old 50s sets with the motorized tuners were quite a spectacle when changing channels. The noise the motor made, the loud clunk as they lumbered from channel to channel, I remember I briefly had a console with a wired remote that would shake the floor with each clunk.

[damen]

GE black and white sets in the early to mid 1960s with the rocker bar switch were very fast. The lighted numbers were almost a blur as they rotated.

[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.