Ultrasonic remote.

[repairman 1234]

Hi All,

This ultrasonic handset was used in our first ever remote TV, as far as I can remember it was a 26" Autovox. I remember the touch sensor chch, and shaking keys to make it change channel! Does anyone have a pic of the set that this was for or the make and model (think it was Autovox, but could be wrong).

It was a real blast from the past when I saw this little unit come up recently, and I just had to have it!
The little hammer is spring loaded and strikes the bar which is a specific length for each function. (IIRC the chch was sequential 8 channel and the vol was mute,step 1,2,3 then back to mute)

[60 oldjohn]

Hi Chris I had one given many years ago, It was unused and in a two part polystryrine container held together with an elastic band instead of a cardboard sleeve. I always thought Pye but don't know why. Japan is printed on rear so you could be right. John.

[repairman 1234]

Hi John,
Mine has Japan on the back too, maybe you are thinking Pye because of the G8 that used the pinger remote as in Gary's (System A) post about his G8.

As far as I can remember about our set it was Autovox? oh, and may have had a tint switch, that said I never saw the insides so it could well have been a Pye in there.

[chip-chop]

You're right with Autovox, mended loads of them when I worked for Comet in the 70's and 80's.
For the life of me though, I can't remember any of the model numbers, 260something rings a bell but I'm most likely wrong.

I've just spent the last hour or so looking through some old photo's from the time but alas none with an Autovox on.

Edit; No Pye inside, the sets were an Italian made effort as far as I remember, all solid state and a modular construction.

[repairman 1234]

Thanks for that Chip-Chop, It's good to have confirmation that Autovox did indeed exist, as I don't think I have seen the name since.
It seems about right that comet sold them, as we got our set from my Uncle who at that time worked for Trident (TAM techserve)

So I suppose now we know what the beast is, we just need a pic of one, or maybe someone with a garage full of them.

[chip-chop]

Just found a link, Autovox 2694 was one of the models, there was a 22" version too, and yes they were exclusive to Comet.

I also seem to remember a batch of them came in (and were sold) complete with woodworm - caused a bit of a fuss at the time!!

http://obsoletetellyemuseum.blogspot...year-1973.html

Shame there's no pictures of the inside though.

[repairman 1234]

Hi Clive,

Brilliant, thanks! That looks like the monster, I can imagine that a batch with woodworm would have caused a bit of a stir.

All the best and thanks again for sorting this one out for me.

[Tazman1966]

Now all you have to do is find one!

And you never have to replace the battery, oh how things have improved.

In the last minute I have discussed this with SHMBO with regards battery replacement, she said 'I bet they drove cats mad', anybody know if they did (or do)?

[repairman 1234]

Originally Posted by Tazman1966

Now all you have to do is find one!

Hi Tas,
Haha, the next part of the challenge, I suppose the remote would be first bit to be lost, so maybe more chance of a set still living somewhere minus its handset.

I just clicked the clicker near our cat, he did look up but he didn't seem to go any more mad than usual.
No animal was hurt in this test:laugh:

[AndrewM]

Here is a couple of pictures of a sad Autovox CTR 2685 model that I rescued from imminent destruction. It is missing it's clicker remote so seeing the pictures of it in this thread has been very interesting.

Set is untested and in my very large "to do" pile. It is Italian made with a Westinghouse A67-140X CRT.

[Heatercathodeshort]

They were very reliable sets. I had many full of woodworm booked in for service [the receiver not the woodworm..] and there was often a pile of dust behind the receiver. Customers scrapped a number of these models due to the extent of this. John.

[repairman 1234]

Originally Posted by AndrewM

It is missing it's clicker remote so seeing the pictures of it in this thread has been very interesting.

Hi Andrew,
Great pictures, let me know if you would like any more detailed pictures of the clicker.

Originally Posted by Heatercathodeshort

They were very reliable sets. I had many full of woodworm booked in for service [the receiver not the woodworm..]

Hi John,
Our set went on for a good few years (and it wasn't new when we got it) It was nice to see the pic of Andrews set with the back off.
I now have a mental image of woodworms making appointments in your workshop .....interim or full service?

[TV_Madness]

What was so appetising about these sets for the woodworm? Interesting... Even more so if customers had bought them in from relatively dry environments. That was an assumption!! Deviating off topic slightly...

[AndrewM]

I am curious about the details of the remote. From the picture it appears to be a solid metal rod that is struck at the end to make it "ping". It is a little unclear how the rod is supported. It looks like it is mounted in the center metal bracket. Is this correct?

Interesting to hear that these sets were generally reliable, when it comes time to wake mine up it should hopefully be fairly easy. Looking at the PSU schematic, they use a dual gate SCR in a couple of places - fingers crossed that they are intact as I doubt they can be sourced anymore.

[TV_Madness]

I would have thought that the single mounting point would aid the resonance of the bars when struck. Kind of like a tuning fork I guess? If you were to secure the bar at either end, it wouldn't resonate when struck by the hammer.

[chip-chop]

The "pinger" rods are mounted through the central bracket but are actually held in place at their centres by wires which pass over and under them in a machined groove, you can see where the wires are soldered to the bracket in the second picture.

A common fault with these was that the spring that keeps the hammer in the right place would break, allowing the hammer to rest on the rod rather than bounce off and remain a mm or so away, thus deadening the resonance, otherwise a very reliable unit, albeit with very limited functionality.

The sets too, as John says, were generally very reliable. Probably the most common fault by far was failure of the BU208? line OP transistor, but that caused no real drama, you'd just get a pulsating buzz - buzz noise from the PSU as it repeatedly came on, detected a short and shut down again.

Simple check as it's on a plug, disconnect it, buzz - buzz stops - change transistor - set works. Only don't forget to turn the set off while changing the transistor, you get a hell of a flash from the LOPTX overwind connection to the back of your thumb otherwise - how do I know?

[repairman 1234]

Originally Posted by AndrewM

I am curious about the details of the remote. From the picture it appears to be a solid metal rod that is struck at the end to make it "ping". It is a little unclear how the rod is supported. It looks like it is mounted in the center metal bracket. Is this correct

Indeed, as Chip Chop has stated the rods are solid, and the central supporting bracket has a wire spring that is fed around both bars. (the bars have a groove in them for the wire to sit in)

Hope this helps,

Chris.

[AndrewM]

Thanks for the details. The mounting arrangement makes sense as at would have minimal effect on the rods resonance.