So there I was, minding my own business, doom-scrolling my way through Facebook posts when I happened upon one that hit me straight in the nostalgia. A photo of a 1980s home computer, a cassette player and some tapes. The text underneath proclaimed "In the 1980s, people could download video
tl;dr: There are little “chimes” of different lengths that produce sound when struck. The sound is higher than what humans can hear. The four buttons on the remote lift strikers and then drop them against the chimes. It’s basically a toy piano.
We had one when I was a kid, hand-me-down from grandma. We also had a dog who wore a fairly loose stainless steel choker chain. When he’d bounce around, the chain links would clink, occasionally turning the TV on/off, changing the channel, muting the volume.
I had a cheap programmable multicolor LED lightbulb that used this technology but worse, as it used audible chirping produced by an app. The beeps were earsplittingly high pitched and had to be played LOUDLY to work.
Occasionally the bulb sensor would hear god knows what noise from outside (nothing in that neighborhood sounded even remotely like the app’s digital harpy screeches) and SUDDENLY ACTIVATE ITS PARTY STROBE LIGHT MODE.
After the rotary phones who used “ticks” to spell out numbers (you could hang up quickly to spell phone numbers, like click-click-click meant “2”) the newer used sound burst, or short beeps. Beep, boop, baap meant like 735. You could buy a little beeper that dialed a phone number for you. History goes people could mimic the beeps to dial a number, like taking up a phone and go beoueoeop and call comeone.
Phreaking (van eck) is when you listen in on radio waves from electronic equipment, as cool as it is, it has nothing to do with this little information nugget :-)
Reminds me of TV remotes that worked with sound. Both before my time but very interesting to read about.
Most notably the Zenith Space Command
https://www.theverge.com/23810061/zenith-space-command-remote-control-button-of-the-month
tl;dr: There are little “chimes” of different lengths that produce sound when struck. The sound is higher than what humans can hear. The four buttons on the remote lift strikers and then drop them against the chimes. It’s basically a toy piano.
We had one when I was a kid, hand-me-down from grandma. We also had a dog who wore a fairly loose stainless steel choker chain. When he’d bounce around, the chain links would clink, occasionally turning the TV on/off, changing the channel, muting the volume.
I had a cheap programmable multicolor LED lightbulb that used this technology but worse, as it used audible chirping produced by an app. The beeps were earsplittingly high pitched and had to be played LOUDLY to work.
Occasionally the bulb sensor would hear god knows what noise from outside (nothing in that neighborhood sounded even remotely like the app’s digital harpy screeches) and SUDDENLY ACTIVATE ITS PARTY STROBE LIGHT MODE.
I let my roommate keep it when I moved out.
The phone system worked like that! Rumors had it some people could do the sound to a number …
Phreaking, if you’d like to explore it more.
After the rotary phones who used “ticks” to spell out numbers (you could hang up quickly to spell phone numbers, like click-click-click meant “2”) the newer used sound burst, or short beeps. Beep, boop, baap meant like 735. You could buy a little beeper that dialed a phone number for you. History goes people could mimic the beeps to dial a number, like taking up a phone and go beoueoeop and call comeone.
Phreaking (van eck) is when you listen in on radio waves from electronic equipment, as cool as it is, it has nothing to do with this little information nugget :-)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phreaking
Your use of the word is probably also valid, but this is the more known form at this point.
The more you know, thanks! Didn’t know that.
When I was a kid my parents still called the remote control a “clicker” because of these.