This is weird!

[didikai]

For some time now, all my hand held remote controls have not worked properly. I mean to my TV, DVD player, Digital TV box, surround sound amplifier.
These are all individual components with individual remote controls. It was just a s if all the batteries were going flat. I had to stand close to the appliance to get the remote to work.
I checked and changed batteries with no improvement.
Now, all of a sudden everything is back to normal.
Any ideas what happened?

[gadgetguy]

sunspots?
alien visitation?
dust build up over the lenses of the remotes and/or devices?

[MackemX]

although I can't offer any reason why this is happening with IR home remotes, a couple of years back in a local pub car park, my car remote wouldn't work. I just thought it was my battery but it was the same with all the other cars. One guy got into his car using his key but couldn't turn off his alarm as unlocking the door with a key didn't disarm it but luckily mine did.

it's a pub at the end of a countryside road with no buildings beside it apart from a housing estate around 50 metres away
Maybe someone had a jamming device and was having a bit fun. I still don't know what the cause of it was but it was strange and I don't think it happens now as there's always cars parked there when I go past

[ZAPPER]

So one day a blonde is standing in the parking lot crying her eyes out. I asked her what the problem was and she said that the batteries in her key fob had died and she didn't have any money to buy new batteries and couldn't get home.......................................

[Conquest10]

You want to hear something really weird?

In my bedroom, I cannot get a radio signal. If I wanted to listen to radio, I would have to put the antenna outside my room. Another thing is that cellphones do not seem to work reliably in there either.

[KBeee]

Talking about weird remote things
Some years ago a friend of mine bought a second hand TV, that was controlled by one of the early sonic remotes, but the controller itself was missing. Then one day he found that if he sniffed in really hard, the TV would change channel. I guess it saved him money on batteries, but channel hopping could make you dizzy

[hudsonf]

I did have a problem with my wireless router once. No matter what I tried I could not get a signal on my laptop. I even tried putting my laptop right next to the router. I thought for sure I needed a new router. The next day everything was working fine again. I still don't know why this happened.

[didikai]

Talking about weird remote things
Some years ago a friend of mine bought a second hand TV, that was controlled by one of the early sonic remotes, but the controller itself was missing. Then one day he found that if he sniffed in really hard, the TV would change channel. I guess it saved him money on batteries, but channel hopping could make you dizzy

Did he have a straw up his nose, and some gear on the coffee table at the time? And then did the man poke his head out of the TV screen and say 'Hello Robert.'
That happened to me once. Only it was a bit strange as my name's not Robert.

[MackemX]

I did have a problem with my wireless router once. No matter what I tried I could not get a signal on my laptop. I even tried putting my laptop right next to the router. I thought for sure I needed a new router. The next day everything was working fine again. I still don't know why this happened.

my mate gets that problem sometimes as the wireless router just disappears from wireless adapters! It's not the router as he's tried a few models now (in various places) and all have displayed the same symptoms. We've tried various channels also and it gets a bit tiresome having to mess around with it often. There's only one other router we can see from someone else in the area and it's not the same model either. Maybe their devices are trying to access my mates router and it's affecting it that way but surely there must be a reason why it happens. I guess I could Google to find out but that takes away the fun of trying to fix it blindly

[hudsonf]

I think it's alien visitation. I don't trust them little green men.

[ZAPPER]

Talking about weird remote things
Some years ago a friend of mine bought a second hand TV, that was controlled by one of the early sonic remotes, but the controller itself was missing. Then one day he found that if he sniffed in really hard, the TV would change channel. I guess it saved him money on batteries, but channel hopping could make you dizzy

Knew a dude that had an old TV that you could change the channel by jiggeling your keys in the air. Sooooo he liked to show this trick to all of the folks that visited his place for the first time at parties. Wellllllll one time he tries to show off to a couple of young ladies by putting on his Hocus Pocus act and nothing happens. He tries again, and again and still no results. Now he is kind of the Butt of the joke and deeply hurt/embarrased. Even back then I carried about a three pound ring of keys so I took out my keys and tossed them up into the air and caught them on the way back down, yep the TV changed channels. The owner was pissed off like I had something to do with his keys not working, so I played along and told him that I adjusted the tuner to try and fix it, he just got madder as I laid it on thicker. I bet that he still thinks that I messed with his old POS TV til this day!

[MeDiCo_BrUjO]

Maybe...

[zoobie]

That sounds like the Zenith remote commander, the first remote control ever. It worked off musical tones that were hammered inside the remote. Of course, any matching tone changed the channels...ha ha...including the mixer.

[didikai]

That sounds like the Zenith remote commander, the first remote control ever. It worked off musical tones that were hammered inside the remote. Of course, any matching tone changed the channels...ha ha...including the mixer.

I got one of the first remote control TVs in England way back when.
My brother in law came for the evening, and I told him it was a new TV that recognised your voice commands. We only had 3 channels then, so I told him he had to ask for the channel number but he HAD to say PLEASE..
I had the remote by the side of the chair and he had a blissful 10 minutes changing the channels by asking very loudly NUMBER ONE PLEASE, NUMBER THREE PLEASE.