1989 GE Kitchen Clock Radio Does Everything!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 ส.ค. 2023
- A blast form the past, donated by my family for your entertainment. Enjoy!
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My fam had one of these workhorses in our kitchen for a decade or two. Even used the timed switched outlet to brew coffee in the percolator every morning!
These were actually great accessories for kitchens back in the day.
An Amazon Echo or generic web radio in this form factor could be useful even today (maybe without the light).
They still are!
We still use ours every day.
Looking at the TMS3450 datasheet, the clock display is duplex, using alternate cycles of the mains. Muxed displays weren't used in AM radios due to the noise - duplexing at mains frequency is a clever way to avoid switching noise. Even direct drive displays often used unsmoothed mains to save on the capacitor. Unsmoothed mains was commonly used as a nasty alarm tone for alarm clocks.
Was about to say the same thing. They did this because the chip is PMOS so it can not have the common cathode drive transistor on-chip. Instead of using an external transistor they just use a center tapped transformer and connect each cathode to one of the two outputs with a diode.
They used to make things to work for a long time. I’ve had my clock radio for 30 yrs. Don’t use the radio but the red digital clock works.
I remember when these were advertised. Good, solid unit. I'd love to have one in my kitchen today.
Hey Bob. How have you been. Miss you brother
I’m always in awe of how long lasting this stuff is. Just restored a vintage Taiwanese “Four Seasons” oscillating desk fan. It didn’t need much, just carefully buffed the marbleised plastic 13:59 casing to reveal its buff perfection. Internal clean and some grease. Probably go another 40 or so years now. And it looks charmingly retro too.
That would be great mounted in a breakfast bar to fire up coffee first thing!
Very few things in life can cheer a tired old soul up as much as 🎵 It's Fran! 🎵 Again! 🎵
Hi Fran. When I saw the thumbnail for this video I had to watch it! My mom has an identical radio in her kitchen. She loves it and uses the radio and kitchen timer all the time. I remember when we got it in the 80's. We moved in the 90's and I took it with us when we moved. I set it up in our parents' kitchen and it's been there and working ever since.
Going to share a link to this video to mom!
Love the yellowing patina that only happens with time and light exposure on the front panel. Theres something about old radio's. Love 'em.
When we bought our house 10 or so years ago, we inherited an Emerson under counter clock/radio/cassette player from a previous owner. I sprayed some Deoxit into the pots and it worked well up until about a year ago when the power switch quit working. I've since replaced it with a new model from Jensen which has a clock, radio, Bluetooth receiver and LED light. The old Emerson unit really made me realize how nice it is to have such a thing in the kitchen.
Great radios. I've got one mounted under a cabinet in my workshop, that lived under my kitchen cabinet 30 years before
I've got one of these. Same model, just with a grey-coloured lens film instead of black.
One year I found THREE of the SONY undercounter units from 5 dollars to 15.. CD players work, digital tuners with good reception and sound. And two of the radios even have the NOAA channels. Fantastic units.
Thanks, Fran! Great content as always. Love when you're at the bench. I listen to your work as I work during the day. It's like we are bench buddies!
We've become spoiled by appliances since then, but when this thing was selling it must have felt quite luxurious to walk into the kitchen in the morning to freshly brewed coffee and the news, traffic or music already playing on the radio.
I had one with a cassette player in it. Loved it.
COOL! My parents had one of those in our kitchen growing up. If I remember, it was a free gift given to my grandmother for upgrading her timeshare in Atlantic City. She in turn gave it to my parents as a housewarming gift. ^_^
I had that exact gizmo...I got it in the late '80s....I moved off and left it ( the apartment management people claimed it was there when I moved in..it wasn't), and it stayed in use until at least 2014. A coworker rented my old apartment, and mentioned it being there...
I have a GE clock radio I got as a graduation present in 1980 that works just fine.
The incandescent lamp is most likely in series with a diode for the low brightness setting, my grandparents had the same radio and it just used a standard 40 watt appliance lamp. Love the teardown, I haven’t seen one of these in years!
I have a GE clock radio from that era. It has the same clock display and same analog tuning bar as yours, and it was made in Hong Kong. I think I got it around 1985. I actually still use it. It plays cassette tapes, but I haven’t used that feature in decades.
Still using a 1990's GE Spacemaker 7-4290 (with CD, front-panel stereo speakers, and a sub-woofer port on the underside)
My parents had one of these and we used it every day!!
I love those old digital number displays
Funny when you tuned the radio at the end there around 18:00, the music was modern but it was all bands that sounded very period correct and 80s with heavy synths and chorus effects haha
Damn, my family had one of those. Was on a good 18hrs a day. Awesome.
If this works the way I think it does you can get a hidden seconds display by moving the big outlet control to "timer" and the clock control switch to "auto set." Now what I find super interesting is that the "Timer" function is right next to the "Auto" setting on the switch. The timer setting holds closed what is normally a sleep timer momentary button and this timer is cancelled by pressing the snooze button. So moving the switch up to "Auto" must activate the snooze input, but this would seemingly prevent activation of the alarm clock output which runs the relay in this mode. There must be a circuit (probably just a capacitor) to only activate snooze for a moment when you move the switch. If they rearranged the switch this could be eliminated.
We had one of these in 1990 in our condo. So the 1989 date on the chip makes sense.
Had it, loved it, I’d buy one today 100%.
My mother bought one that had the giant VFD display clock in it back in the early 90's. She just sold the house and on the MLS pictures there it was with it's beautiful green display lit up. It was one of those under the counter models like that one with the outlet on the side and had no trouble running a separate Faberware coffee maker that would make PERKED coffee in time for when you got up in the morning. I forgot about it and it sold with the house. The house sold again shortly there after and was remodeled WITHOUT the clock in the latest pictures. I wish they still made VFD Displays and I that I thought to ask for that clock radio!
Thanks!
I had one I used for years. Thanks for letting us see the inside. It ensured I had fresh coffee when I woke up for a long time!
You should find a really old B/W TV to take apart. We had one with an oil filled magnifying glass as the CRT was so small. I threw a brick at the screen and smashed it. The oil ran out and trashed the carpet. I was only 5 but even back in the 50s the programs were crap. Simultaneously ruined the TV and carpet. Job done.
My parents and grandparents had one, they used the timer outlet for automatic coffee each morning, until they got a coffee maker with a timer built in
Those things last forever. Today´s consumer articles like that mostly break after 1-2 years.
Can´t remember how many of those cheap radios my parents had in the last years - but the 80ies stuff is still working until today.
my parents had this clock radio, it was installed under the counter near the microwave. I wish we still had it.
Ge brought good things to life,for sure.
I had this in my house growing up!
Had a similar era woodtone styled GE nightstand radio that I got as a premium item from a Gabriel Sensamatic shock absorber coupon redemption campaign back in the 80s. That little rig had a big sound that belied its rather petite form factor and never failed to function as it should.
There was a General Electric radio factory in Utica NY. The building is still thete just used now for storage.
Hi Fran! That cab front needs an "8 bit guy's whitening" 😸🤗🇦🇷
This looks neat. I think it could have benefited from external antenna connectors in the back: it would be fairly easy to rig a decent antenna up in the cabinetry without being obtrusive.
My parents have a newer version- mid 90's I think. I should take it and clean up the switches, they don't use it much anymore. Looks identical except the black front panel is grey. Thanks for sharing, will make my job easier fixing ours!
My mom had one my uncle got her, I loved the thing. She had it set up to start the percolator coffee pot in the morning
...percolator coffee...I can hear it, and smell it
I have one of these on top of my fridge on a wire basket still working today
TFK brand says Telefunken in Germany, later on borged into being a part of Phillips, but one of the large early manufacturers of radio and TV chipsets, which made manufacturing cheaper. Board also is date coded 1989 as well in the silkscreen. Spare nut is from the mounting bracket, glued in to the top, and obviously the glue has failed from age, and thus fell off when the bracket was undone.
13:06 I've done the same thing for a while, and if anyone watches me do that, they tell me I'm going the wrong way. 😛
This is vintage, for sure👍
My mom had this and used it to turn on the coffee maker in the morning before she got up
Time warp! I am back 40 years in the kitchen. These were very functional units and looked great. I still like them.
I have one of those in my kitchen! I just use the radio and clock.
I am using a GE bedroom alarm clock I bought in 1983. It still works 100%. I doubt I'll need a new one before *I* wear out!
At 15:39 , "Peg, it will come back to you......" 😁
I remember getting excited about having an under counter radio in my kitchen- 40 years ago- and l still think it’s cool
We've got one of those hooked up in our garage. Still works fine.
Had one when I was a kid.
WE HAD ONE OF THESE!!! We also had an under the cabinet COLOR TV. Glorious times...
It would be interesting to find what's emitting all that noise thats killing AM. Some ballast or switching mode something is doing that, AM should work good inside
Hey, that’s my dad’s shop radio!
Yep, my dad had one in NE Philly. It stayed in the house when it was sold and demoed when the kitchen was remodeled.
We had one of those - clever use of space under a cabinet. The audio quality wasn't as good as the tuned Tivoli radio speaker system. The slide mount had a problem where if you bumped the radio while working on the counter it would come off the mount. We should have put a retainer on the slide mount because eventually it came off and broke the case.
Awesome !
Would love to see that retrobrighted. But getting that clock out may make it too difficult with those melted tabs.
I had one that was equipped with audio over 110 power and ab switch on the side for two audio channels and remote speakers you plug in anywhere.
Can't wash dishes without rocking the kitchen. 🎶
GE has an amazing history originally set up by Thomas Edison and JP Morgan in USA , i have a vintage GE Transistor AM Radio from the 1960s still works fine (:
Maybe someone will send you an old in-wall-mounted home wired intercom "master station" - which included a radio for piping music into every room that used to be installed as an "ultra-modern convenience" in new houses in built in the late 50s and 60's. They were never popular and probably not a single one was replaced or repaired when it broke - the holes in the drywall were repaired and the wiring inside the walls abandoned.
I owned both the 90’s cassette version - which I loved - and sadly got left behind in a chaotic move out - and currently - the CD version (early 00’s). The radios are solid. The CD player version got greasy and stopped working after a couple years. User error - no doubt. Radio still sounds amazing. I’d take one these over some fancy digital radio anytime.
There was a line of Spacesaver appliances. We did not have this clock radio/radio, but we did have the coffee maker and can opener.
The radio and clock modules look very familiar, GE must have used them in just about every clock radio/alarm clock they made in that era. Never opened up one of those kitchen radios, but they were in just about every house when I was a kid so they must have been popular at least around here. I have a small collection of the earlier GE clock radios with the blue-green VFD screen, just something about that VFD glow,. The tuner is surprisingly decent in all of them considering there's no external antenna.
I wonder what the designer(s) of the above would make of today's SMD and CAD manufacturing processes...?
I love the thought and care that went into this. Thanks for the teardown Fran 🙂
They had both in the mid/late 80s, but they weren't as popular.
i can not for the life of me remember which friend in school or family had one of these in the kitchen
I've got one of those!!
The off lo hi switch has a diode switched in so the bulb gets half the sinewave for diming the bulb maybe?
You know what Fran, The amount of people who fix something then screw all the covers back on before trying to see if the thing works. Ok I understand if its a simple repair, But I always test things before I screw it shut OR (button it up) as we say over here in the UK.
Got rid of mine a few years ago - had a Cassie built-in. The best part was the timed outlet. Plugged the coffee machine in to have hot coffee when I walked into the kitchen. Didn't need it when the coffee machines became programmable as standard. Never could get much reception this far into the house, so bye bye.
the way they put those warning labels on electronics telling you not to open it cause of the risk of electric shock they act like there will be a million volt arc that will fly out of it as soon as you open it
Pretty cool.
Easy to see in the video where that brass nut goes, there is one missing in the cover on the left side, looks like there are 3 of them used for attaching the unit under a cabinet.
The radio IC looks like a Telefunken device; abbreviation TFK. I found one in a shower radio I was given. Quite a capable IC.
wow a clock radio.
You're right. GE certainly didn't skimp on parts, Fran. They even threw in an extra nut!
I'm still looking for a kitchen radio that hasn't been dropped too many times.
You forgot to put that brass nut back. It goes to left side front support for under the cabinet install.
The brand of the AM/FM radio chip is probably Telefunken (German brand, well known in Europe)
A kitchen swiss army knife, cool.
Nice! I love exploratory electronics "surgery". Just need to "DE-Yellow" that front bezel. Ever find where that nut goes? Thanks Fran
My family was poor, we bought the Emerson version 😂
We have one of those but its a Coby about 2012
I had one of these back in the day. It was well made, sounded pretty good (big speaker with a serious magnet!) and was very handy. Unfortunately, my ex decided that we needed a DVD player there, so she bought a supposedly similar unit that also had a DVD player with a flip down screen so we could... watch a movie while making breakfast? Anyway, the new unit didn't last long and I had already disposed of this GE unit, so now there is nothing there.
From a time before every stove and microwave had a clock.
*$^& me, I remember when those came out!
+1 for the trip down memory road & a look inside!
After the Sinclair, I'm really glad to see this one made it back! It just feels nice. Also, "way down inside" never gets old.
On my bedside drawer unit I have a GE Nite Jammer AM-FM Clock Radio from around 1987 which is still fully functional. The earphone socket is connected to my bedroom's computer speakers with woofer, and it sounds great. I have generally found USA products of that period to be well-made. At work, I was impressed by the Teletype brand.
Does it slice? Does it dice? Does it mix and cook too? At least it can start a Rube-Goldberg integrated multi-functional meal preparation system, brought to you by Emmett Brown & Co.! :D
TFK T900BI... TFK stands for Telefunken of the vacuum tube fame. These chips can be bought at www.ebay.com/itm/121069932898
There's some on this single-chip radio ASIC here: www.antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=379251 so its equivalent would be ULN2204, TDA1083 or TA7613.
Love the touchyfeeliness of the power switch. Always appreciating... unless it's a seized part, haha!
12:40 is it just me or is that electrolytic cap bulging?
Doesnt appear bulgy to me....
Just perspective, capacitor made around 1980/90, well beofre the cap plague time, and also a 85C unit, so regular ESR and not really prone to bulging either. Guaranteed low in capacitance, and ESR will be around 2R by now, but on 120Hz ripple it will still work for another decade or three, especially as it does not run toasty hot.
@@SeanBZA ha! I'm restoring a '50s tube radio whose main filter cap (Elwa can electrolytic, 2x50u/350V) is like 0.5Ω ESR. Gotta reform the thing, and it'll be going strong :).
@@KeritechElectronics Got a small PSU, 0-12V, with 1952 date coded Mullard transistors in it. Main ERO capacitors all were replaced, because they either acted like diodes, or were very high ESR. One was still fine, capacity and ESR wise, 6200uF on a 5600uF 25V one, with ESR around 1R, just that it was also leaking into the sleeve. Another had nothing left of the case, which was just yellow white powder. All dated from around 1952 to 1955.
"Does it slice and dice"? Early in her career, Bonnie Raitt answered a similar question about her own "appliance" in the song "Blender Blues", which you can find in TH-cam; it's a spicy double-entendre, for sure!
Beutiful thing.
45 W input, 1500 W output. You would almost think it was the solution to the energy crisis.
1500w is the breaking current limit of the relay contacts for the switched outlet.
The only thing it's missing is one of those wireless intercoms so you can yell at the kids downstairs to come up for dinner for the 10th time!
I wonder why they did'nt want it ? It's the perfect retro item for the kitchen. Just needs a bit of a clean up.
Have you considered retro-brighting the case? I sense that you're not big on slavish restorations, but your viewers might appreciate learning about that process, and seeing how it works.
Hello there almost-Grampa's-Radio
Fran. That Bulb in the back Is just a Normal 1 Filament Bulb... The switch on the front inside it has a resistor as a fixed Dimmer on switch position 1. on switch position 2 is full brightness.. If you remove the bulb from its socket and have a closer look Maby put a you tube video on about that. thanks adam
Definitely a standard 1-filament bulb. Instead of a resistor it's probably a silicon diode for the dim setting as that would be cheaper and more efficient than a high-power resistor.
Yeh Maby. But the bottom line That Bulb inside that clock/radio is Just a Normal single Filament bulb.@@eDoc2020