Quote:
Originally Posted by marty59
Mine is a very early 64 before the UHF mandate and no space command.
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Put a DTV converter box or cable box on that set and you won't need Space Command, as these boxes come with their own remotes that will operate the set's basic functions -- including on-off in most cases (see my note below). The Zenith DTT-900 and DT-901 are two very good DTV converters from what I've read here (never had any experience with one because my flat-panel set already has an ATSC tuner and remote, though I am presently using a GE universal remote with the TV, my VCR and DVD). Unfortunately, however, the on-off button on the DTT-900/901 boxes won't work if your TV doesn't have remote control, but the other basic functions (channel +/-, volume +/- and probably mute) should work just fine. VK member Electroking in Montreal has one of these boxes on one of his older TVs without remote; the power button on the DTT-900/901 remote won't work on that set either. In these cases, you must switch the TV on and off manually, or else get a switch on a long cord that plugs in between the AC outlet and the TV. I don't know if this type of "wired remote" is still available (I had one back in the '70s), but if you can find one, it will more than compensate for the lack of on/off switching at the converter box remote, although you will need to be wary of the cord. Zenith's first TV remote control system, the "Lazy Bones", was introduced in 1950 and had the control unit on the end of a very long cord; that cord was unsightly and also created a tripping hazard, as it often ran across the room in which the television was located. The Lazy Bones system was replaced with the Flash-Matic remote, Zenith's first wireless TV remote control, in 1955; the Flash-Matic, after only one year (!) and many customer complaints, was replaced by the Space Command ultrasonic remote system . . . and the rest, as they say, is history.