LogFAQs > #952947146

DrYuya posted...

Audible clicks are still better than the way we do buttons nowadays. True for remotes and especially true for keyboards.

The remotes clicked because they were entirely mechanical, with no electronic parts at all. Inside were several aluminum rods. Pressing a button would cause a hammer to strike the corresponding rod like a xylophone, except the sounds produced were ultrasonic. Each rod was tuned to a specific note and the TV would listen for those specific tones.



While the remotes themselves were fairly cheap to produce, the receiver inside the TV was not, requiring six extra vacuum tubes and adding about 30% to the price of the set. The price began to fall after the advent of the transistor made the receiver circuit smaller and simpler.

---

Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum,
Minutus carborata descendum pantorum.