If you want to zap while watching TV, sometimes the remote doesn’t seem to work. A ‘trick’ that sometimes seems to work is to tap the palm of your hand with the remote control; after that you can continue zapping to your heart’s content. How come? Does this have to do with the batteries, which release more energy by tapping?
Answer
Dear Bart,
I know that phenomenon. Now the most likely cause is a bad contact between the batteries and the contacts in the remote. When batteries get old, they can start to leak and damage the contacts. This also leads to a bad contact. By shaking, the batteries shift a bit or at least there is a mechanical movement that moves the contact and then possibly gives better contact. This seems to me the most likely explanation. That shaking the batteries would give more energy seems less likely to me. This could also be a sign that it’s time to replace the batteries and then I would gently wipe the contacts with a dry cloth.
Regards
Answered by
Prof. dr. Dirk Vanderzande
Agoralaan University Campus Building D BE-3590 Diepenbeek
http://www.uhasselt.be/
.