I knew I was looking at something special, ten years ago in a Goodwill somewhere on U.S. 1 between Baltimore and Wilmington. I collect clock radios, a

The Clock Radio and Its Moment in Consumer Technology

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2021-05-29 20:30:05

I knew I was looking at something special, ten years ago in a Goodwill somewhere on U.S. 1 between Baltimore and Wilmington. I collect clock radios, and I had read about this one before but not yet seen one. It was a General Electric, model 7-4885: the “Great Awakening.” Weighing several pounds and resembling a home police scanner or tiny computer, its defining feature was a keypad, numbered 1-9, allowing you to directly punch in the current time, wake time, and even a radio station. In other words, if you want to listen to adult contemporary in the Washington, D.C. area, you press the “FM” button and then punch in “9-7-1.”

Goodwill wanted five bucks for it. I would have paid, well, a few more. A very nice 7-4885 on eBay can sell for close to $200. The keypads often stop working due to corrosion of exposed contacts, but some very careful sandpaper work can restore them completely. There’s a small community of enthusiasts for these devices, and I’ve restored more than one of them so far.

Clock radios were, and still are, fascinating to me. They’re less collectible, and seemingly less interesting, than other electronics, like retro video game consoles, vintage stereo gear, or early home computers. One of the most common devices in American homes for decades, clock radios came in a dizzying variety of shapes, sizes, and styles. They were also a sort of trickle-down beneficiary of a great deal of innovation that took place higher up in the electronics industry.

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