A look at the first talking clock radio
I've wanted to take a look inside one of these for years. It's the Panasonic RC-6900, a talking radio alarm clock from 1971. If you've seen my videos about the Panasonic 20-cassette carousel and Akai's overly complicated Auto Reverse deck you'll understand the reasons behind my fascination with this device. Its electro-mechanical early 1970s Mission Impossible-esque pre integrated-circuit ingenuity piqued my interest.
How did they make an alarm clock Talk fifty years ago? Press play and we'll figure it out together.
In other news - how are you doing? I feel I'm getting over the New Year blues a bit and settling into the routine of 2021. I decided to stop having a drink or two (or three) in the evenings. It was getting a bit too routine. It'll probably result in less random Ebay purchases, but hopefully I'll see some health benefits - or at least a slower decline. It's easy when you're always in the house to fall into bad habits. I feel when 'The Event' is finally over (or as near as we get) many are going to struggle with a return to normality. I'm just thankful that my normality isn't a million miles away from my current situation. If I had to put on a suit and tie again now and get on a packed commuter train at 6:15am I really don't know if I'd be up for it.
I should mention that if anyone feels a need to chat about anything with others on here there is a mostly unused Community tab somewhere near the top of the page. I believe that if you do post something there then everyone should be able to read it. I can't personally respond to everything posted on there - but if there's anything you want to share with your fellow patrons I just wanted to mention that it's there as a feature.
Anyway - that's it for the moment, take care and keep smiling.
UPDATE: I've swapped out the video for one that adds a still of the brochure entry for this clock. It's at 04:06. (A couple of people suggested this should be included - better to find out now rather than when it goes live).
UPDATE 2: Added on an addendum (at the end) that should pre-emptively clear up a few things before the video goes live.
Comments (76)
Sorry, just now getting around to watching this. It's a fascinating mechanism. I do wonder if the disk could be replaced by cutting up the innards of a floppy disk. Then it would be quite a job to re-record sound back onto it.
It definitely wouldn’t be worth taking the time to do this with mine - it’s got a lot of issues, more than I went into in the video.
Greatly enjoyed a look at this vintage tech. Another great, well produced, video. The magnetic head seems to be somewhat non-standard? Maybe to not snag as it travels between the discs. Interesting design. I'm sure they probably used a similar designed recorder to the playback to create these discs. May be possible to re-record them if they have lost magnetism? In any case. Fantastic work.
You know ... watching this again and enjoying the printed collateral info. I think those names are all suburbs of various US cities ... Collingswood, NJ, is outside Philadelphia; Darien, CT, and Scarsdale, NY, are outside NYC; Scottsdale, AZ, is outside Phoenix; Marietta, GA, outside Atlanta, etc, etc
One of my friends once brought into school (early 80s) an Assmann dictation machine that used similar magnetic disks - although it recorded in a conventional spiral and the disk had locating grooves in it. But it was magnetic and reusable. It was supreme piece of German engineering and the mechanics were fascinating. The disks looked like brown 7" singles, which was the attraction at school as it held out the hope that we could make our own records. Several of us had a go at trying make it sound better, but not surprisingly it wasn't good for music. I must admit it took me a while to realise that the clock played the disk in an arc - right up to the first demonstration I was still trying to imagine how it could play as a spiral.
Yes you’ll see a couple of mentions of these earlier in the comments. I have a couple of these both non functional at the moment. One day I hope to feature one.
The “ kent gramophonic water level meter”
Makes me wonder how they made the discs in bulk. Also reminds me of a previous employer, George Kent of Luton, who made a level measuring system for rivers and reservoirs that had a grooved disk with the numbers on which connected to a float mechanism. This in turn connected to a telephone line Someone in the local water company would have the job of ringing round the sites a couple of times a day to check levels. Ingenious for it’s time.
That reminds me of a small tape playing mechanism that I once had - it just played a loop of 1/4" tape and would have fitted in an alarm box in commercial premises. I think it dated from 1980 and the explanation I was given was that, when the alarm was triggered, this would be involved in calling the police or control centre. I always imagined it had a repeating recoding of someone saying "Help" (plus some identifying details). But thinking about it again for the first time since the mid 80s, I wonder if it actually held a recording of the pulses needed to dial the number. It's interesting now to think that the most practical way to have an automatic call-out from an alarm in the late 70s was to use a recording of someone saying "Intruder at (address)...".
Actually the talking clock was invented in the 40's (but not commercially available I guess). In the inventors movie "Gizmo!" (from 1977) there is a grandfather clock with a 78rpm record player telling the time etc. I have tried to find the sequence in the YouTube upload of the movie, but I can't find it anywhere. I will check my own copy for proof :)
That's why like Panasonic I was very careful to call it the first consumer talking clock radio. There were talking clocks but 'talking consumer clock radio alarm clocks'...for that it must be the first.
Awesome stuff, as always. In the Addendum, you seemed to be saying that Panasonic was ... . . . . . . . Just slightly ahead of our time ...
i realise now how I could have joked how in this case they were falling behind the time - but trying to joke on youtube is as safe as smoking a cigarette in a fireworks factory.
I bet there's an interesting story behind the genesis of this product. It probably didn't start with "Let's make a talking clock. How would we do that?" It probably started with a brainstorming session about other things they could do with their magnetic playback technology during the decade or more they had to kill before somebody invented the boombox...
That is genius! Awesome find.
If I would get one of these(*), I'd probably try to record the sounds into a computer, polish them up a little, reconstruct the missing ones and then try to record them on a blank floppy disk or something. Oh well. (*) oh... and lots and lots of spare time with nothing else to do ;-)
Cool video! I used to work at MECA in Seacaucus, New Jersey. Never thought I’d hear that reference again! My group, desktop computer support, was located in a back corner of a building next to the Panasonic test kitchen. An interesting place....
Great video as always Matt. No need to apologize for your interest in the packaging and documentation...I'm right there with you. As I was watching the electro mechanics, I couldn't help but hear the Blue Danube Waltz playing in my head! As, always, the best to you and yours Matt.
Considering it's age and the design of the sound 'disc' (which is subjected to quite a lot of wear) I'm quite amazed that the machine still worked as well as it did. I was surprised to see the disc facing upwards as that would make it susceptible to gather dust. I thought it would be mounted 'upside down'. I was actually surprised to see a disc like set up at all. I was expecting more of a drum like arrangement. Great machine though.
In the 50s and 60s console TVs had distinctive names for each cabinet style; I have a 1961 RCA Wynnewood, but the same chassis came in a number of other styles including the Abigton, Crawford, etc. (see http://www.earlytelevision.org/Reitan/ctc10_gallery.html) I bet Panasonic was trying to emulate that tradition, even if it was a bit outdated by the early 70s.
Don't you just *love* the ingenuity? An inner- and outer disk. Nice video Mat! I did stop using alcohol during the week. It seemed difficult before I did it, but it was just a habit. Now I just have tea in the evening. Hope it will improve your health.
'The Event' - a reference to That Mitchell and Webb Look?
Do NOT think about The Event! *REMAIN INDOORS*
Did I pick that hint up at the end correctly? Warmest birthday wishes! 🥳
I'm flattered with the amount of chips inside this late 1960's looking thing. 1971 you said?
Mat, I think this is a very cool video in the vein of "how they it did it then" like the video you have of in the trailer or a cassette player physically flipping the cartridge. In my humble opinion (and this is not my channel) there is no reason to be so tentative in the video. My thought would be to put a very upbeat spin on it, like "Here is a crazy solution to a problem that no longer exists. It didn't age well and it is why we should all be thank for solid state technology that won't crack, tear, melt and demagnetize. Still this how you make a modern product with "bearskins and stone knives" like Spock had to in that episode of Star Trek."
The video was shot sequentially and with live audio. What I mean is that the intro was really shot before I opened it, then I went through everything in the order you see in the video and the Outro was shot after I’d put it back together. Unfortunately (?) this way of shooting didn’t give me any opportunity to throw in any prescient observations - it all just happened as it happened. I really didn’t know if it was going to work at all. So I’m happy with what I was able to achieve, unfortunately from past experience I know that the average viewer will feel short changed or ripped off because they’ve been raised on a lifetime of pre-arranged scripted TV where everything can be repaired and all things work perfectly at the end of every show. All the completely knackered stuff never makes it to the show. As a result if I show something that’s imperfect it seems impossible that such a situation could occur and as a result I’m a terrible failure of a man and rubbish at what I do - when all I wanted to do was look at a broken device and explain how it once worked - a repair was never on the agenda.
Like you totally fascinated by the ingenuity of this product. Totally unaware of this type of design, so thanks for sharing it. (I was thinking - surely no speech chips in 1971!)
I was really excited to see Radio Equipment Corp. I grew up just a few blocks from there. My father took me there a few times.
The top of the clock, with the round green light, looks completely contemporary, almost like a cover for a CD player, or Wi-Fi charging pad for mobiles.
That is a genius design.
Thanks for the video Mat - really enjoyed this, and was great to see you feeling a bit more on top of things. We'll pull through this together imho
Very cool clock...would be fun to get it working 100% just for the kitsch factor. BTW, welcome to the half century club Mat!
Really enjoyed this one! Also kudos to you on your added “how are you?” portion of the description on this page.
I moved to Buffalo, NY in 2012, while the streetview looked very familiar, some whole blocks look just that building. I don't remember seeing the radio shop. Another great video BTW and happy birthday!
Brilliant video, I really enjoyed seeing the inside of that. That magnetic disc mechanism is quite ingenious. I also enjoyed the look into that catalog. Amazing how they accomplished what would be a simple cheep gadget today in an analog world.
I recon back in the UK if you had to dial the speaking clock several times a day then It might have been better value for money.
Did they charge money for that service in the UK? I was only born in the 80s, but in California at least, you called POP-CORN (no idea why that was the 'number'!) and it was a free call.
My attempts to build one working Commlock from Space:1999 , a story of victories and defeats... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euvi68DuCXo P.S. I am glad you're feeling better!
I seem to remember hearing once that Space 1999 was quite popular in Italy - or am I imagining that.
I am glad you're feeling better! That clock radio is fascinating. I found myself set back to my childhood when I watched the TV series Mission Impossible. :-) Thanks for sharing!
Not that it would be very useful as a time-keeper, but is it at all possible to clean the head? Might that help? Also, weren't there versions of this which had vinyl records instead of magnetic discs?
I cleaned the head - shot a whole section about that, but cut it out as it made no difference and I felt I was just wasting the viewers time going through it all for nothing
Hiya Mat. Thanks to your video, I now know that my Panasonic 8-track player is “The Collingswood.” How fancy! Hope you’re well!
Im doing OK - thanks. I’d be tempted to call your 8-track Colin from now on.
Is the spoken time being out by an hour to the displayed time possibly down to a misalignment of the inner disc by the last person who repaired it?
I think it’s all just slipped over time - in all honesty it’s knackered. It slips out of position on the hours so they’re often not read out at all.
Interesting that this came out the same year as an IC called a Microprocessor by some company called Intel. I wonder whatever happened to that product or company :-) p.s Belated Happy Birthday Matt.
It's featured here (and without all the US names!) 1971 http://www.hifi-archiv.info/Technics/National71/ Also in 1972, German brochure: http://www.hifi-archiv.info/Technics/National72/ Still there in 1973: http://www.hifi-archiv.info/Technics/National73/
This video also reminds me of the one that The 8-Bit Guy did about the history of voice synthesizers. In one of the examples he showed there, I learned how the voice reminders were done on my parents' 1985 Chrysler.
Any chance for a full scan of that brochure? It sounds like it would be great fun to flip through!
It’s a bugger to scan - on my flatbed it’d take all day. It’s 75 pages and my scanner takes a few minutes per page.
I saw the reel to reel recorders as you flipped through the brochure. Did the Technics name exist yet? I thought I saw a 10 1/2” reel deck. I have a very nice Panasonic branded 7” deck, but I didn’t know they sold decks for larger reels. Is it called “The Schenectady?” Maybe “The Hamtramck?”
The R2Rs don’t mention a brand name - so I’m guessing they’re Panasonic too, however they’re one of the few things without customer friendly names. Perhaps that’s because they’re considered Pro equipment, who knows...but the models are: RS1030-US (the only 10.5” machine), RS715-US, RS714-US, RS740-US, RS-736-US.
Those TV names were an interesting bit. It sounds like Panasonic folks put a US map up on the wall and threw darts at it and picked out the names they liked.
That's exactly what IKEA does. 🤣
My first clock radio was a flip clock (numbered leaves) with a basic AM/FM radio. I got it in the early 70s, so it was roughly the same vintage as this gadget. I'm afraid to ask my parents what it cost, but that thing worked for over 20 years.
Thanks Mat, I appreciate you 'checking in' with us. I have made the same changes with my nightly drinking habits and am glad to report I feel and sleep better already. Keep up the great work with your channel, I always look forward to seeing your videos!
That is totally a floppy disk in there! The likeness is uncanny — "sectors" and all — but not surprising as the floppy was invented around the same time. IBM started selling the original 8-inch version in 1971: https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/floppy/ Matsushita engineers were probably inspired by IBM's project Minnow. Or else there was another magnetic disk predecessor for both inventions? 🤔
Magnetic disc voice recorders go all the way back to the 1940s(?) but this crescent striped track arrangement is unusual. Also usually the discs rotate to play them. Assmann made a load of these.
Dear Mat, I'm glad to hear that things are getting better. Even though we don't know each other, I often think of you (not only when I get to watch a new video). Of course that's nothing that could help you directly, but be assured, you matter to us!
Your Apple Mac allows you to emulate this. Click on the time (top right) then "Open time and date preferences" At the bottom of the box that pops up you'll see an option "Announce the time" and you can choose the frequency and from a very long list of voices. Not sure what use it is other than to remind you how your life is slipping away infront of you in what seems like an endless WFH blur...
Half Life 2 is one of my all time favourite games, so this clock game me some serious Combine Overwatch vibes https://youtu.be/W-LMXP5sQTk
Can't reply to your message directly, so hopefully you see it here. Look at BigClives' livestream, it's just people chatting around, lots of dead air and it's always fun. Whatever you do, we appreciate your content.
I’ll take a look. incidentally to reply to a comment on Patreon you have to reply to the very first comment in a thread, so in this case you’d reply to your own post...it’s a bit odd I know.
Meh! 🐑 Cool stuff, always nice to see how people invented complex ways of getting stuff done before the digital age, Alec from Technology Connections also made some very nice movies about that, especially the juke box. I'm still very excited about how my 80s auto reverse cassette deck uses only one solenoid and complex mechanics to switch between playing forward, reverse, winding with the heads engaged and without, the computer only engages the solenoid longer or shorter, the mechanics decide how to work! "There are some other things in this video that are 50 years old as well, and they are not quite functioning as they once did" 🤣 Wish you good health, yes, drinking a bit less, to me it did more good than bad 😊
The voice reminded me of number stations. Muffled, monotonic and fluttery. Maybe some of them used the same tech, but with more stacked disks.
That's not a bad guess as many speaking clock telephone services had a mechanism like you describe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaking_clock I'd venture to say that numbers stations probably used (uses?) something similar to those.
Good on you Mat for seeing the wrong trajectory and changing paths. Ever considered doing a live stream with the patrons? Kind of a LiveMoan where we can vent, chat about whatever, and have a sense of community. You've got the switcher, but it could be as simple as your phone in a tripod. Might be a fun experiment.
I’m not sure I’d be good live. I do a lot of coughing spluttering and stopping when I’m shooting videos.
If all the stuff in the catalog has a name, does this clock have a name?
Yes, it’s the Tele-Time.
Ha! You are like me. "It doesn't work properly" and your head you're thinking "good, fixing time".
Good to hear that you are finding your way, sounds a bit like we're on the same path! Here's smiling at you Kid! Clink!!
Thanks Mat, I was in the middle of a TechMoanathon while I'm doing other things and we were just coming up on an hour of minidisk machines, so I'll watch this instead :)
I've gotten into the habit of having a beer or two with dinner, so I will be less likely to head back upstairs to the laptop "to finish that one thing off".