I mentioned this in a different thread and felt it was good enough to deserve its own.

Back 30+ years ago before TV remotes were commonplace, if you were the youngest then once you were tall enough to reach the dial, were YOU the remote? I was.

"Hey Alan, get up and go over to the TV. Now turn it to Channel 3. Now Channel 6. Now 7. OK that's good, sit back down now."

And it wasn't just the dials either. "Now grab the right antenna. Right a little, now back...back a little more...little more...perfect!" Not just that but before TV's had electronic tuning, you had to adjust the picture manually. By the time I was 6 I knew what the little TUNE, CONTRAST, HORIZ, AND VERT. HOLD knobs were for.

The worst part is, my younger brother was born in 1975 and by the time he was big enough to take over for me, guess what? We had a TV with a remote by then.  :P

Anyone else?

I don't recall being the remote but I was the T.V. Guide (I knew when EVERY show was on) and I do recall being the antenna from time to time.

I have mentioned this a few times but we had a small b&w t.v. To change the channel you needed to use pliers. Our rabbit ears was a wire hanger and to turn it on & off-you plugged it in or unplugged it. Needless to say, that poor little t.v. had seen better days. 



Cat

I was never the remote control because the TV we had with the rotary dials was a secondary TV.  Our main TV was a Zenith that had a remote control that was the size of a brick.  It had a 13 channel memory and when you changed channels, the screen would briefly fade to black while a "chh'k"sound could be heard.  I kind of miss that TV

I was never the remote control because the TV we had with the rotary dials was a secondary TV.  Our main TV was a Zenith that had a remote control that was the size of a brick.  It had a 13 channel memory and when you changed channels, the screen would briefly fade to black while a "chh'k"sound could be heard.  I kind of miss that TV



I do remember that story you told about using the remote on the neighbor's t.v.  ;D ;D ;D  I tell people about that because I think it was SOOOOO funny!



Cat

Although I am the youngest I don't really recall acting as the remote.  Of course you have to remember that in the UK there were only three channels at the time so it was like you were searching through lots of programmes deciding what to watch.

I do remember having to move the aerial about the room sometimes.  Occasionally you could only get a good picture with the aerial held high up near the curtain rails or somewhere else awkward.

I do remember that story you told about using the remote on the neighbor's t.v.  ;D ;D ;D  I tell people about that because I think it was SOOOOO funny!



Cat


Best gag I ever pulled.  It didn't just take one night, but a few weeks worth of nights to pull off that one.  lol

Vaguely remember being the remote and rabbit ear adjustor a few times.  Must not have been a permanent thing though.

I think, since I am the oldest, my two younger sisters were usually the remote, lol.

Yes I was the remote when my father was just too damn lazy to change the channel and get off his butt to change it himself.  ::)

Best gag I ever pulled.  It didn't just take one night, but a few weeks worth of nights to pull off that one.  lol


I never saw that post. Sounds hilarious!!!


Like cat I was the tv guide.  I'm currently still the imdb for my parents  ::) and appointed googler for all info  >:(

I wasn't the remote, because for a while there back in the mid 70's, we had the ultimate "ghetto" remote.

We had an old Motorola with a two big plastic up/down channel buttons that stuck out about 3 inches from the set.

One day, after fighting over who was going to get up, my brother threw an old flip-flop at the TV and managed to change the channel. 8)

From then on we threw the old flip flop (or anything that wouldn't break the screen) to change the channels on that old set until it died.

Our Mom and Dad yelled at us for doing it till we caught them throwing stuff (when they thought we weren't around) at the TV to change channels too.

And to make the antenna turn, we had to turn the dial uphill, both ways!

http://www.recycledgoods.com/product_images/p/946/s_p_26287_1__40628_zoom.jpg

Luxury, I tell you!

(The punchline is that with the transition to over-the-air HDTV broadcasts a few years ago, the antenna rotator folks had the right idea all along.  It's easy to build your own HDTV antenna out of spare parts.  Building the rotator is left as an exercise for the student, or flea market browser :)

Yes, I was. I changed the channels with a remote and chose the program my family had to watch  ;D

I guess my family already had a remote TV in the late 70s so I don't remember a time without remote. However we still used a rotary secondary black and white one in the early-mid 90s when our primary TV was broken, so I am not unaware of the technology.

Remote here.  Youngest, and remotes were like science fiction even after I had grown and left the nest.

I never saw that post. Sounds hilarious!!!


Like cat I was the tv guide.  I'm currently still the imdb for my parents  ::) and appointed googler for all info  >:(


Hey Q What's on Tv tonight?  :D ;D

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Zenith_Space_Commander_600.jpg

The Zenith 1980 Space Commander Remote Control.

In the 60s and generally throughout the 1970s, we all took turns being the remote. Course there weren't too many bad TV shows like these days so we were lazy buggers and just watched what was on.
This was one of the shows we watched.

http://www.pharis-video.com/indian.gif

Hey Q What's on Tv tonight?  :D ;D



Something really good.


I said I WAS the tv guide. Now with the guides right on the tv I don't have to be anymore.

Now I'm imdb.... It goes like this.

You know that one guy in that movie I liked? What's his name?
Richard dreyfuss from Mr Hollands Opus?
Yes.
::)

I'm given the most minimal info and have to guess who she means and then have to try and identify a movie or two that she's actually seen.


Or I get...when you have time can you find a kindle cover for me?
Or can you where the closest (insert store) is to the house.
Yep just call me Q-oogle

Something really good.


I said I WAS the tv guide. Now with the guides right on the tv I don't have to be anymore.

Now I'm imdb.... It goes like this.

You know that one guy in that movie I liked? What's his name?
Richard dreyfuss from Mr Hollands Opus?
Yes.
::)

I'm given the most minimal info and have to guess who she means and then have to try and identify a movie or two that she's actually seen.


Or I get...when you have time can you find a kindle cover for me?
Or can you where the closest (insert store) is to the house.
Yep just call me Q-oogle


I am the same reference guide for the people around me for movies and music.

"Hey, you remember that one song, you know, the one that had the video with the guy in the powder wig? Sang something about armadillos."

"Amadeus by Falco"

"Yeah! That's it! There was another video that had a rapper in a powder wig too..."

"That's Biz Markie, Just a Friend."

"Yeah! That was so cool..."

or...

"What was that movie it was probably out in the mid-80s, had the guy from Mask and the girl that was in Back to the Future?"

"That's Some Kind of Wonderful. Eric Stoltz and Leah Thompson."

"Yeah! That's it! That was a great show. Wasn't she also in a show that had a duck in it?"

"That would be 'Howard the Duck'."

"Yeah, that's the one. It was sooo lame. Almost as bad as that I get no respect guy's movies."

"That was Rodney Dangerfield."

"Oh yeah.."

;D ;D ;D ;D

Something really good.


I said I WAS the tv guide. Now with the guides right on the tv I don't have to be anymore.

Now I'm imdb.... It goes like this.

You know that one guy in that movie I liked? What's his name?
Richard dreyfuss from Mr Hollands Opus?
Yes.
::)

I'm given the most minimal info and have to guess who she means and then have to try and identify a movie or two that she's actually seen.


Or I get...when you have time can you find a kindle cover for me?
Or can you where the closest (insert store) is to the house.
Yep just call me Q-oogle



Yup. I am extremely proficient in Googling. If there is something to be found, I can find it.




Cat

In the 60s and generally throughout the 1970s, we all took turns being the remote. Course there weren't too many bad TV shows like these days so we were lazy buggers and just watched what was on.
This was one of the shows we watched.

http://www.pharis-video.com/indian.gif


or how about this:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_T961o3r1ib8/TJZDcCReYUI/AAAAAAAALE8/SN0x5oQUWvs/s1600/this-is-only-a-test_emergency_broadcast_system.gif

Something really good.


I said I WAS the tv guide. Now with the guides right on the tv I don't have to be anymore.

Now I'm imdb.... It goes like this.

You know that one guy in that movie I liked? What's his name?
Richard dreyfuss from Mr Hollands Opus?
Yes.
::)

I'm given the most minimal info and have to guess who she means and then have to try and identify a movie or two that she's actually seen.


Or I get...when you have time can you find a kindle cover for me?
Or can you where the closest (insert store) is to the house.
Yep just call me Q-oogle


Shouldn't it be pronounced Kugel?  :D ;D

Shouldn't it be pronounced Kugel?  :D ;D


not when my name is Q (not K)  :P

not when my name is Q (not K)  :P


;D

I never saw that post. Sounds hilarious!!!


Like cat I was the tv guide.  I'm currently still the imdb for my parents  ::) and appointed googler for all info  >:(



Basically, back in the 90s, I played a trick on my neighbours.  I could see their TV from the sidewalk, and saw it was a JVC just like the one I had, so I ran home, got my TV remote, and as I stood on the sidewalk, I was able to change the channels on their TV.  I did this for quite some time until one night as I was coming home from college, I seem them getting a new TV, and the old TV was at the curb of the street LOL

Basically, back in the 90s, I played a trick on my neighbours.  I could see their TV from the sidewalk, and saw it was a JVC just like the one I had, so I ran home, got my TV remote, and as I stood on the sidewalk, I was able to change the channels on their TV.  I did this for quite some time until one night as I was coming home from college, I seem them getting a new TV, and the old TV was at the curb of the street LOL


Ha ha. Did u take the curb tv home?!? What a great way to get a free tv!
Did you ever fess up?

Ha ha. Did u take the curb tv home?!? What a great way to get a free tv!
Did you ever fess up?


I never fessed up, and never took the curb TV .  It was an older model of JVC

I never fessed up, and never took the curb TV .  It was an older model of JVC


Free tv is still free no matter how old it is  :P

Free tv is still free no matter how old it is  :P


You pay in headaches!

You pay in headaches!


and the cable bill comes once a month!  ::)

Best gag I ever pulled.  It didn't just take one night, but a few weeks worth of nights to pull off that one.  lol


I also liked that particular tale!    I can just see it as it played out....;D

Shouldn't it be pronounced Kugel?  :D ;D


http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V4UVWh_nyuE/StkBCg4COCI/AAAAAAAAAf4/52LdsDwTTiQ/s400/kegelcizer.png

Nope.

(My curse is that before I decided to become an encyclopedia of PMV, I was an encyclopedia of Futurama.)


Basically, back in the 90s, I played a trick on my neighbours.  I could see their TV from the sidewalk, and saw it was a JVC just like the one I had, so I ran home, got my TV remote, and as I stood on the sidewalk, I was able to change the channels on their TV.  I did this for quite some time until one night as I was coming home from college, I seem them getting a new TV, and the old TV was at the curb of the street LOL


Oh dear.  How did this little TV-B-Gone get here?  And if you were operating from home, and powered it up with a big array of LEDs and a 9V battery, I wonder what sort of range you could get?

vVJDlxabv0w

I'd forgotten how lulzy it could be to, you know, be the remote.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_V4UVWh_nyuE/StkBCg4COCI/AAAAAAAAAf4/52LdsDwTTiQ/s400/kegelcizer.png

Nope.

(My curse is that before I decided to become an encyclopedia of PMV, I was an encyclopedia of Futurama.)

Oh dear.  How did this little TV-B-Gone get here?  And if you were operating from home, and powered it up with a big array of LEDs and a 9V battery, I wonder what sort of range you could get?

vVJDlxabv0w

I'd forgotten how lulzy it could be to, you know, be the remote.


Wow a remote control in a jacket. CRAZY!

Wow a remote control in a jacket. CRAZY!


Not just a remote control.  A remote control that cycles through every TV manufacturer's "off" code.  So if you're walking past a big bank of TVs at a store, lulz can be had.

(Note: It uses infrared LEDs, which often show up very noticeably on black-and-white security cameras, so it's not as discreet as it might appear.)

Not just a remote control.  A remote control that cycles through every TV manufacturer's "off" code.  So if you're walking past a big bank of TVs at a store, lulz can be had.

(Note: It uses infrared LEDs, which often show up very noticeably on black-and-white security cameras, so it's not as discreet as it might appear.)


Is there a law against doing such a thing?
???

Ha, my parents are so behind the times we still had a remoteless TV set into the early 90's, and yes they often made me get up to change the channel.

I wonder if I'm the only person born in the 1980's that still had the misfortune of being "designated remote"? ::)

Is there a law against doing such a thing?
???


Yeah, the one that says "don't get caught" :)

To get serious for a bit, the answer's a definite maybe.  Not sure if it qualifies as disturbing the peace; you could argue it's kinda like restoring the peace.  Disorderly conduct, maybe.  In a sane society, the worst a mall should be able to do to someone wearing a tv-b-gone is ask them to leave.  Maybe the cameras that are present in every mall aren't yet configured to query every shopper against a facial recognition database, like the casinos are widely suspected of doing.

Not just a remote control.  A remote control that cycles through every TV manufacturer's "off" code.  So if you're walking past a big bank of TVs at a store, lulz can be had.

(Note: It uses infrared LEDs, which often show up very noticeably on black-and-white security cameras, so it's not as discreet as it might appear.)


but won't the manager be angry?

Yeah, the one that says "don't get caught" :)

To get serious for a bit, the answer's a definite maybe.  Not sure if it qualifies as disturbing the peace; you could argue it's kinda like restoring the peace.  Disorderly conduct, maybe.  In a sane society, the worst a mall should be able to do to someone wearing a tv-b-gone is ask them to leave.  Maybe the cameras that are present in every mall aren't yet configured to query every shopper against a facial recognition database, like the casinos are widely suspected of doing.


Come to think of it, the Dept. of Homeland Security could pick you up and and detain you indefinitely.  Call it terrorism by interruption of commerce!
:o