Talking Clocks of the 1980s
Added 2022-04-05 01:07:26 +0000 UTCThis one has been in the planning for over a year now. Finally found the time to make it. I'll do a new thumbnail and closed captions before release tomorrow.
I'll at the Lanfest "Lan all night" convention in Grapevine, Texas this weekend if anyone wants to stop by. I should be there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at my own booth.
Comments
My clock radio from about the same period has exactly the same display unit, I'm trying to replace that now with color LEDs and an Arduino: when I had a bad fever once as a child, I got angry that the numbers wouldn't turn green and unplugged it, I want to create one where the display can turn green :-P. Also, the other designs look (internally) familiar to the cheap stop watches I had as a kid. But the Radio Shack one looks definitely more retro than the mid-80s! And the watch: how did the teachers at school like that? :-P
MrHammond
2022-04-06 18:15:50 +0000 UTCthat episode needs a strong language warning ;))
Oliver Baumann
2022-04-06 07:16:33 +0000 UTCI really enjoyed this! I also remember the Radio Shack non-pyramid talking clock, and my grandfather had the weather radio. I hope the video does as well as the time you put into it.
Jim Leonard
2022-04-06 06:02:11 +0000 UTCInteresting. Sounds like there were different revisions of the clock.
The 8-Bit Guy
2022-04-05 21:34:39 +0000 UTCOur VoxClock 2 has been announcing the time on the hour since the my childhood (80s) and also the longest lasting electronic item in our house. The clock has the same front, but a plain back with 3 buttons and no screen. The alarm is also different. 5 minutes before the alarm time, it plays a brief tune and announces "5 minutes to (alarm time)". At the alarm time, it says "It's now (alarm time)" and plays what I think is a Humpty Dumpty tune. It also has a countdown timer, which periodically announces the remaining time, until saying "Time is up".
Seán Byrne
2022-04-05 20:30:50 +0000 UTCReally nice video. I must also admit that I think the Mattell was quite nice, especially considering it is as old as I am ...
Thomas Lövskog
2022-04-05 18:48:24 +0000 UTCI remember the VoxClock, never had one. I just checked my catalogue, and it was new in 1982 in the Netherlands and it cost 199 guilders. Not sure what the exchange rate was back then.
Doeke Zanstra
2022-04-05 17:00:06 +0000 UTCLooking good! I miss Radio Shack :(
Drew Moncada
2022-04-05 16:08:02 +0000 UTCAt one point the watch can be heart to say "Fuck it! Fuck it!"
The 8-Bit Guy
2022-04-05 15:34:44 +0000 UTCThose batteries look about like hearing aid batteries? The sticker on the back (orange one) is to keep the air out of them, since they're zinc-air style batteries, I think they only last for about a week once you remove that sticker? That has to be a different battery than what they used originally. Was it originally designed for Mercury 1.35v batteries?
Kaz Redclaw
2022-04-05 09:27:31 +0000 UTCCool video about cool products - especially that watch!
Wizardling
2022-04-05 09:09:51 +0000 UTCAs a non-native speaker, the joke with the 5 o’clock time at the end of the video eludes me 😉
Counter Surprise
2022-04-05 07:42:48 +0000 UTC
