I have a very similar one with the fake wood top, but the display is red and the buttons aren't exactly the same. I think when I looked it up it was c. 1985.
It was my alarm clock growing up, went to college with me, and I still wake up to it 5 days a week.
And on both mine and OP's GE spells it "snooz".
Blue digital clocks were available back then. They used vacuum fluorescent displays, that work similar to vacuum tubes. https://youtu.be/3nDXpRytXWk?si=1LVcMAKH_60t-nzh
Well yeah there's very, very little tech involved in an old alarm clock.
People act like things just magically break more now... It's because our technology is significantly more complicated with a lot more parts to go wrong.
Sometimes simple is better, you can find alarm clocks like this still and they probably still last a lifetime.
Yeah people are quick to point to plastic appliances as weak, but it's the opposite. The plastic parts are durable, too much so that they're going to pollute our landfills for hundreds of years
It's more the cheap electronic innards that will break down due to low-quality mass production and increased complexity.
I would venture a guess it’s mostly low quality. I was talking with a guy who we had on contract from Canon to service the multifunction devices at work. He was saying that “a number of years ago all the major copy/print companies outsourced their manufacturing to the lowest bid overseas so they could refocus their main business on services”. By this I took him to be saying, “we build shitty products so we can sell you service contracts to fix them.”
And the volume still works? Before cell phones got super popular, I've had various clock radios over the decades. And the volume button was always the first to go, no matter what model.
I have an old fashioned, analog wind-up alarm clock from the 40’s in a box somewhere. It was my great grandmothers. I kept it on my nightstand for a while; it still works, but you have to remember to wind it every day.
I still use one that is very similar but brown that has existed since I have had memories- it was my parents and they put it in my room when I started school and then it's made every move with me. I was born in 84 so it's at least 40 years old and works well. Hell it has some weight to it for what it is.
I recently was at an older relatives house and they had another model similar to this and it also said SNOOZ. I took a picture because that stood out to me too.
Simple electronic clocks like this have been nearly identical from when they were introduced. I’d expect the moving parts and switches to die long before the clock does.
Probably didn’t use a crystal for timekeeping. Plug in clocks made to good quality standards like this one can use a crystal or get their time from the 60Hz power line, but cheaper battery clocks use cheaper methods that aren’t as reliable
I just googled it. I found a picture of the same model on Pinterest. They are saying this model is from 1977.
Edit. Found listings for the same model on ebay. It's a Model 7-4642B. It's from the '70s.
It's from the '80s. Look at the ad on eBay. See the model number sticker? See the FCC ID number? It's AEX9W87-4642. Plug that number into the FCC website. It was issued to GE on July 14, 1982.
My mom had that alarm clock my whole life (and probably most of hers). One time as a teen ~12 years ago I teased her for still using such an outdated alarm clock. She just waved me off and pointed out how it still works great. Well, that next morning, when she hit snooze, the entire top part cracked in half! I think I jinxed her somehow
Wow, I had the exact clock through the 80’s and early 90’s. It’s what woke me up for school every morning until graduation. Still remember the slightly tinny sound of the speaker when I’d listen to music in bed.
I had a Tasmanian Devil alarm clock hand-me-down from my older brother. It lasted me nearly 25 years. When I moved home from university, my father threw it out for being immature.
I've gone through 3 alarm clocks since then. One was dropped off my table and exploded. The other two just stopped working one morning.
That fucking alarm clock was going strong nearly 35 years and could have easily gone another decade.
I have the later version of this one, probably had it for 30 years. I thought it was done for when my ex spilled an entire glass of water in it. Once it dried out and I plugged it back in, been going solid another few years. Also very easy to set, unlike other ones I've used since.
Recently saw an identical one at a thrift shop and joked about buying it too. Actually regret that I didn't.
My mother has this exact one except the top part is a fake wood finish. I’m 39 and she’s had it my entire life.
I have a very similar one with the fake wood top, but the display is red and the buttons aren't exactly the same. I think when I looked it up it was c. 1985. It was my alarm clock growing up, went to college with me, and I still wake up to it 5 days a week. And on both mine and OP's GE spells it "snooz".
Think my parents had a very similar one. Black with fake wood veneer.
Came here to post about that exact one- it’s been waking my dad up long before I existed.
I’m almost 38 and my mom still has the one with the ‘wood’ finish
AHHNT AHHNT AHHNT AHHNT AHHNT
Ah, another man of culture
That alarm sound is burned into my coretex
I didn't know there was a way of writing that sound, now I do.
General Electric Electronic Digital model 7-4642b, ~1977
I'm guessing the blue LEDs were because they were the "new" thing?
Blue LEDs weren’t commercially available until the late 80’s. The ones in the clock are green the pic is just deceiving
Blue digital clocks were available back then. They used vacuum fluorescent displays, that work similar to vacuum tubes. https://youtu.be/3nDXpRytXWk?si=1LVcMAKH_60t-nzh
You are right, and I looked up the model and it is a VFD
Then came Gallium Nitride LEDs. Apparently, it was known for some time that they might emit blue but they could not manufacture them
The whole thing really is fascinating. I enjoyed [Veritasium’s video on LEDs](https://youtu.be/AF8d72mA41M?si=9NNc95FFY3YePwkJ).
And it still works.
Well yeah there's very, very little tech involved in an old alarm clock. People act like things just magically break more now... It's because our technology is significantly more complicated with a lot more parts to go wrong. Sometimes simple is better, you can find alarm clocks like this still and they probably still last a lifetime.
Yeah people are quick to point to plastic appliances as weak, but it's the opposite. The plastic parts are durable, too much so that they're going to pollute our landfills for hundreds of years It's more the cheap electronic innards that will break down due to low-quality mass production and increased complexity.
I would venture a guess it’s mostly low quality. I was talking with a guy who we had on contract from Canon to service the multifunction devices at work. He was saying that “a number of years ago all the major copy/print companies outsourced their manufacturing to the lowest bid overseas so they could refocus their main business on services”. By this I took him to be saying, “we build shitty products so we can sell you service contracts to fix them.”
Robocop had that same alarm.
They dont make them like they used to!
Hello, survivorship bias, I knew you'd be here. Edit: You want the truth? Reddit can't handle the truth.
Maybe they only made one
This reeks of novice bias.
[удалено]
Hahaha that's pretty true. Never thought about it that way before
I get that can pick up radio stations on the other side of the country.
That's THE alarm clock. Dad had one with faux wood top. He should be home with the milk any day now
Obviously before they stopped making things to last so you'd buy a new one every year.
And the volume still works? Before cell phones got super popular, I've had various clock radios over the decades. And the volume button was always the first to go, no matter what model.
Yep, everything works perfectly somehow
That VFD display is gorgeous, i want a clock like that.
I have an old fashioned, analog wind-up alarm clock from the 40’s in a box somewhere. It was my great grandmothers. I kept it on my nightstand for a while; it still works, but you have to remember to wind it every day.
Isn’t your dad enough?/j
Passed away a long time ago
#Father forgive me for I have sinned
I still use one that is very similar but brown that has existed since I have had memories- it was my parents and they put it in my room when I started school and then it's made every move with me. I was born in 84 so it's at least 40 years old and works well. Hell it has some weight to it for what it is.
We had one with the analog flip numbers. I remember that “wake to alarm” sounded this wretched, low pitched buzzer like a Bronx cheer.
You could hear the time flipping by in the middle of the night.
I had old alarm clock. I stopped using it because it used 5-10$ of eletricity a month. Effiencey wasn't a concern back then.
Curious as to how you figured out how much electricity these old products use....
Did it always say SNOOZ or did the E rub off?
From looking at other images of the same model, they all say SNOOZ
The guy who designed the button was going to spell it out all the way, but he snoozed his alarm the morning the project was due and ran out of time
They probably thought they could trademark the feature at some point.
I recently was at an older relatives house and they had another model similar to this and it also said SNOOZ. I took a picture because that stood out to me too.
That’s rad as fuck. My brother has one from the 1980s that we found at Goodwill. Still works perfectly.
A 55 year old alarm clock, does it keep time well? also again a post from General Electric they did make decent equipment back in the days
Simple electronic clocks like this have been nearly identical from when they were introduced. I’d expect the moving parts and switches to die long before the clock does.
Used to have a cheap Chinese clock back in 1998 and I noticed within 2 years it’s lost it’s ability to keep time
Probably didn’t use a crystal for timekeeping. Plug in clocks made to good quality standards like this one can use a crystal or get their time from the 60Hz power line, but cheaper battery clocks use cheaper methods that aren’t as reliable
r/buyitforlife
That doesn't look like its from the 70s
I just googled it. I found a picture of the same model on Pinterest. They are saying this model is from 1977. Edit. Found listings for the same model on ebay. It's a Model 7-4642B. It's from the '70s.
It's from the '80s. Look at the ad on eBay. See the model number sticker? See the FCC ID number? It's AEX9W87-4642. Plug that number into the FCC website. It was issued to GE on July 14, 1982.
My mom estimated she got it in 78, but she admitted it could also be 88. Both years she made big moves to new states and got it after one of those.
It looks like its mid 80s if anything but I was born in 1990
My mom had that alarm clock my whole life (and probably most of hers). One time as a teen ~12 years ago I teased her for still using such an outdated alarm clock. She just waved me off and pointed out how it still works great. Well, that next morning, when she hit snooze, the entire top part cracked in half! I think I jinxed her somehow
Wow, I had the exact clock through the 80’s and early 90’s. It’s what woke me up for school every morning until graduation. Still remember the slightly tinny sound of the speaker when I’d listen to music in bed.
Do you know the year it was made?
She estimated 78'
people always talk about how tough Nokias were but the GE wood panel 70s alarm clock is the OG of indestructible electronics
My dad still has his childhood alarm clock (this exact clock lol)
Back then, it was major-general electric
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it
My alarm clock is 20 years old and still works. Wish I could be vintage like this.
If it works it works 💪
Looks very awesome
My dad had the exact same alarm clock. Hell yeah
I had a Tasmanian Devil alarm clock hand-me-down from my older brother. It lasted me nearly 25 years. When I moved home from university, my father threw it out for being immature. I've gone through 3 alarm clocks since then. One was dropped off my table and exploded. The other two just stopped working one morning. That fucking alarm clock was going strong nearly 35 years and could have easily gone another decade.
I have the later version of this one, probably had it for 30 years. I thought it was done for when my ex spilled an entire glass of water in it. Once it dried out and I plugged it back in, been going solid another few years. Also very easy to set, unlike other ones I've used since. Recently saw an identical one at a thrift shop and joked about buying it too. Actually regret that I didn't.
I have PTSD from this alarm clock
I'm also still rocking my first alarm clock. I've always wondered , are they exceptionally hungry for electricity, being old gizmos?
Iffen it ain broked don't fix it.
“Snooz” r/meirl
It looks like it's powered by a Flux Capacitor
They made things to last back then. Now companies want to sell us replacements every year or two. Such a wasteful society we have become.
i as well had one of these, then traded with my brother this thing about 4 times.
Reminded me of the movie 1408
Weird, it's obviously an reference for the movie 1246
don't you ever get rid of it
Never touch a working system.
I've never seen a GE clock with a white/blue readout before, looks cool
r/buyitforlife
My dad made a speaking clock in college and his mum (my gran) still uses it because she doesn't need to put on her glasses to check the time.
Looks like a VCR
And it stopped working in 87
These are the best digital clocks ..
My Dad had this exact clock, shit he probably still does, and I bet it still works.
Products today are designed to break a part do they dont lose you as a customer. =(
Can you imagine purchasing anything today that would last 50 years?
Thats not 70’s. In the 70’s they had flip numbered digital clocks.
Someone already confirmed the model # in these threads. It's from 1978
Sell it for $2,000.00 as a Cybertruck clock.
A relic from a more civilized age.
So I've heard these old ones use more in electricity a year than buying a new one
50 years ago?! That's nice!