fun with a remotes and things
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We used to rent a TV of DER in 1980's one day the remote failed and they said bring it in the store we replace it.
So we did. While waiting at the bus stop which happen to be outside the shop. I found through shere curiosity that i could change all the TVs over in the shop display through the glass which amused me specially when i turned the volumes up and down and the woman on reception was doing her crust. She got the engineer or manager out the back and they did not realise what was going on.
This dominoed into some real mischief when we got home i found i could go upstairs and look across the street point the remote and change my neighbours TV. He was not very pleased to say the least.
Anyone ever go to the Sunday markets We went to Matchams market one day and bought a video sender
Set it up in our flat we watched a rail movie that night thought nothing of it. Till during the week chap downstairs said you like Trains don't you? I said yes . He said Sunday there was a great film about diesel engines Those class 37's you like. I nearly come up to tell you it was on.
Me and my partner looked at one another and thought how embarrassing if he only new..
So we did. While waiting at the bus stop which happen to be outside the shop. I found through shere curiosity that i could change all the TVs over in the shop display through the glass which amused me specially when i turned the volumes up and down and the woman on reception was doing her crust. She got the engineer or manager out the back and they did not realise what was going on.
This dominoed into some real mischief when we got home i found i could go upstairs and look across the street point the remote and change my neighbours TV. He was not very pleased to say the least.
Anyone ever go to the Sunday markets We went to Matchams market one day and bought a video sender
Set it up in our flat we watched a rail movie that night thought nothing of it. Till during the week chap downstairs said you like Trains don't you? I said yes . He said Sunday there was a great film about diesel engines Those class 37's you like. I nearly come up to tell you it was on.
Me and my partner looked at one another and thought how embarrassing if he only new..
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Comments
Really??
for that to work you'd have to have the same make tv, with remotes on the same freq.
...and even then.... the remote signal went through your glass.... across the road..... through HIS glass..... across the room..... and into his TV?!?!
hmmm,... im not sure
Happy days.
clearly infra red can pass through glass...well lots of glass but some metalsised glass could block it and other wavelenghts... go try it!
I've stood outside Dixons window and sucessfully operated their tv's and with the remote in my pocket (this was 20 years ago!)
I've controlled my digibox outside when testing dish signals etc
Obviously most glass does pass infra-red, apart from remotes working with glass cabinet doors you only have to sit in a car in sunlight to feel infra-red passing through. Mind you getting this to work in a house across the road seems pretty unlikely.
An infra-red remote shouldn't do this (at least the infra-red part) though an RF remote could. If the remote is infra-red then it would be interference from electronics of the key being pressed (not the infra-red) and you shouldn't need to point the remote however I doubt it will have any affect and suspect that your original remote was RF.
This works because cameras pick up the infrared we can't see as well as visible light we can.
How stupid is this though?
My Panasonic super dupa DVD/PVR/SD gizmo has an IR receiver with a 30deg Rx cone. My TV (actually the PC) puts the set at about 45deg or more .
That's progress for you.
And years ago remote/TV codes were pretty crude anyway.
Now you can get a remote that fires the off code for ALL makes. And that is all it does!
I remember YEARS ago, my Auntie had a TV that had a sonic remote control (the controller emitted a "crack" noise), which only had a basic channel up/down & volume up/down buttons.
Every time I visited & she was watching something (usually Crossroads), I'd clap my hands loudly, resulting in the channel changing
I wasn't popular....
The sensitivity of the receiver for that Ultrasonic clicker was astonishing. If a window was open just a crack anyone jangling a set of keys out in the street would change the channel on the TV. One of our customers would call us out to repair her telly because it kept changing channels all by itself. The cause, or rather the culprit, was her pet Macaw. It had learned how to imitate the clicker and would change the channel if it didn't like the sound from the telly. We finally out foxed the bird by changing the TV to a Phillips set with infra red remote control.(Have you ever seen a Parrot take the huff? I have!!). Some early infra red remotes had a very high output and could cut through window glass,even reflect off opposite walls. or bounce down hallways into open doorways. Some of the keyring universal remotes today can do the same trick and, being tiny and discrete, be the cause of hours of confusion and amusement. When "touch action" channel change became the latest rage for TV MANUFACTURERS. It lead to all sorts of call outs for the poor TV repairman. Everything from Stuck on one channel, to changing channels by itself. One model of GEC/Mc Michael set had a stock fault that would result in over sensitivity of the touch pads. A restistor(usually 4.7M ohm ) would rise in value to around 900M Ohm or higher. The resulting sensitivity change in the touch pads was so dramatic a fly walking over the contacts or a change in humidity would trigger a channel change. Spooky to the poor customer who'd think their set had become posessed.
Ah! those were the days!
That said, some modern sets can display a mind of their own, though these days it's usually down to Processor failure, failing Electrolytic capacitors, or scrambled instruction code. Talk about having a Ghost in the Machine. A Sony Bravia TV on display in a shop window came to my attention recently. The set seemed to have developed the electronic equivalent of a mental breakdown. To the annoyance of shop staff the set would suddenly up the volume, change channel, or switch off. Particularly when showing Parliment TV!! No remotes in sight, no sniggering kids, just component failure. Scared the living daylights out of the cleaning staff one night by jumping out of standby at full volume on a channel showing late night "Psychic TV" show! I wasn't the one who fixed it, but I know the engineer that did. The faulty component was a 1uf 50v electrolytic capacitor of Chinese manufacture!
I used to have my stereo under the bed and could control it by bouncing the signal off the opposite wall and then when my parents got Sky Digital I was able to use my cheap universal to change the channel from my bed by pointing it through the gap in the bedroom door - it would then bounce down the stairs and across the living room :cool: Had to remember to put it in TV mode when my dad was watching the footie, didn't want to accidentally change the channel! - nowadays all the remote need to be aimed at the right place - and that's called progress - meh!
They had a posh proper ultrasonic (inaudible) remote.
Two buttons. One for channel and one for volume (or was that 4 buttons?)
35 years ago, I forget.
My SAGEM PVR has a bloody awful remote. Very directional and squidgy rubbery keys that must be pressed in a variety of ways to work. The receiver lags badly anyway but does have a buffer, so can suddenly process 5 remote presses.
I bought a OneForAll Comfort 5 to replace it.
(£18 from Tesco but I am not sure they still stocking it, just Technika now)
Anyway it is fabulous.
It didnt map exactly to the SAGEM but allows keys to be reprogrammed, shifted keys, macros and a learning mode.
The buttons are positive and work every time and I can point it anywhere.