Zenith Space Command, the first 20 years

You have to love this damn Internet we have here. The answers are out there. Granted, you can’t simply Google anything to answer all the obscure questions, like which exact models of remote controls came out fifty years ago, but what you can do is find the people who probably do know. And then just ask them.

Doug Harland is an avid collector and restorer of old Zenith televisions. He finds them, fixes them, keeps them alive. He’s one of those people that develop a passion for saving a particular piece of history, an increasingly important thing to do in our throwaway culture. I know there are other avid collectors of televisions, radios, and all sorts of technology out there, but Doug is the one I found. Should/when I write a book about the history of the button, it’s these caretakers of history that are going to save my bacon. They’re saving the knowledge that could easily be lost forever. Thank you.

In early 2006, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the remote control, Doug posted images of his collection of Zenith remote controls. I take no credit for this work, I just put it in a pretty table.

Here you go, all the Zenith Space Commander remote controls, from 1956 to 1976. Enjoy.

	Space Commander 200 2nd generation 1957-58 B&W
	Space Commander 400 2nd generation 1958 B&W
	Space Commander 400 3rd generation 1959 B&W, 1962-63 color
	Space Commander 300 1st generation 1960-61 B&W
	Space Commander 300 2nd generation 1962-72? B&W
	Space Commander 400 4th generation 1963-66 B&W
	Space Commander 400 Color 1st generation 1964-65 color
	Space Commander 600 1st generation 1965-72 color
	Space Commander 500 1st generation 1971-72 color
	Space Commander 500 1st generation 1971-72 color
	Space Commander 600 2nd generation 1974-76 color
	Space Commander 500 3rd generation 1974-76 color
	Space Commander 300 3rd generation? 1974-76? color

There. That’s three posts in a row on Robert Adler and the Zenith Space Command remote control. I think I can let that topic go for a while.