#zenith space command

Yes Man on the 1983 Zenith Space Command 💙🥰

This gorgeous thing is the 1970s-era Zenith Space Command remote control. It was the first TV remote control I had ever seen, and it is the only one I think about fondly. Brilliant in concept and satisfying to use, the Space Command utilized an analog process. When you pressed one of the buttons, which made a pleasing metallic click, a small spring-loaded hammer would strike one of the corresponding metal rods, sending an ultrasonic signal to the TV set. Since there were only four buttons and only one for volume (on/off, volume, channel up, and channel down), the volume could only go up incrementally, then on the fourth click it would reset at the lowest volume. This is one of the first things I think about when people talk about good industrial design. It actually felt and looked like something out of Star Trek, which just made it even cooler.

For more about its history, here’s an article about it:

Well, she's still there... it's kind of sad. But also kind of interesting to see what a year outside has done to the poor thing!