A TechLore "Ask the Experts" Question...

Question:

Help! We have an older, portable Emerson tv that the kiddos use for PS2. The remote is missing. The channel was accidentally manually shifted from channel 3 or 4, whichever channel the tv needs to be on for the PS2 to work. Anyway, we can't get it back there by using the button on the tv. The channels just sail on by themselves. We don't have channel by channel control. There are a few channels it will stop on on its own, like 69 for example, but not the ones we want. Any help would be greatly appreciated

-submitted by harmony 

Answer:

It's never fun to attempt to operate devices when you don't have the remote. The channels are sailing by due to one of two reasons:

1. The channel memory is not setup to stop on the channels you would like it to.
2. There is a problem with the channel button getting stuck and continuing to change channels by itself.

I'm going to guess that the cause is the channel memory, since it always stops on channel 69. 

There are a

few simple and inexpensive solutions. 

• If you have the ability to access the TVs menu without the remote control, add channel 3 or 4 into the memory manually. The only problem here is that the remote is usually required to do this, but not always.
  
  
• Go out and purchase one of those inexpensive universal remote controls (just make sure it has the number pad on it) which should have the necessary code to control your TV. One For All tends to have the best code library for cheap remotes. The 6131 has 14 different codes for Emerson TVs. You can buy the 6131 here.
  
  
• If, for some strange reason, the 6131 doesn't work, you could contact Emerson directly and try to acquire an original OEM replacement. These are usually more expensive, but will get the job done.
  

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Matt Whitlock - Editor, TechLore.com