Talking Clocks of the 1980s

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[geekyprojects]

35 years later David still enjoys his watch saying "f*ck it". Some things never get old.

[Grayfox]

Talking watches still exist, for the blind. Technology evolved in a way that they now have enough memory to have enough phrases pre-recorded, instead of voice-synthesizing.

[Lim]

Dude made a watch swear, absolute legend

[CreachterZ]

My dad was blind, so we had quite a few of these in our house. Very cool. I remember that Vox Watch so well. We were a Radio Shack family!

[randomschittz]

When he made the watch say “F$&k it”, I giggled like I was twelve again, and then looked around to make sure my mom didn’t hear it... from three states away.😆

[benjamineldridge]

Being totally blind, I have owned several of these products over the years. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. It was fun. :-)

[JordanOrlando]

I had the Seiko pyramid one! It was a gift from my step-grandmother (who specialized in awful gifts). It took so long that I had to resist just picking it up to see the time.

[Sparkette]

Pro tip: if you live an apartment, you can use anything loud enough as a talking clock, at least in the middle of the night. If you make enough noise, you'll inevitably hear a voice telling you the time before long.

[weirdproq]

I love the design of that pyramid clock. I can imagine it on the desk of a business man in one of those late 80's business buildings that have a metallic look, like the one in Gremlins 2 or the one in Who's Harry Crumb.

[verdatum]

In the early 90s when watches were cheap, we'd all sync them to the second with the electronic school bell system, then turn on the hour chime, so we'd all sound off at once, and we thought that was cute. But then, one of us got the idea of getting every kid to offset by exactly one second and turn on the hour chime, resulting in a different watch beeping for about 20 seconds. Oh boy did that upset the teachers. The principal prohibited the hour chime school-wide really quick. (The ADHD kids like me were still allowed to use the alarm to remember to go to the nurse to get their meds, heh.)

[ResortTV]

Love looking at these older clocks to see how the technology evolved. I still use an Alarm Clock (non-talking) that was manufactured in the late 80’s, and it works great! They definitely made things better in those days. Also, the tune playing on the Watch Alarm is a version of Bach’s Minuet in G. Cool! Enjoyed the video!

[anotheruser]

This must be LGR's favourite episode with all the wood grain.

[retropuffer]

In the 80s my friends and I would set our watches one second apart and sit next to each other. When the hourly beep would happen it sounded like the beep was moving along the row. 😁

[mastadon]

I used to work at Radio Shack back in the 80s and they had a lot of cool shit. This was when they had those cell phones with the giant battery case that you had to carry like a suitcase. Ah...Good times.

[OmegaHellHound]

RadioShack was amazing. They literally made some of the best stuff for the price, and it’s all built to last. Some of it is near indestructible

[perochialjoe]

It was fun hearing the discoveries of 11 year old 8-bit guy

[huntereddy]

The pyramid clock looks like it would fit in perfectly on the desk of some evil mastermind or super villain at the top of the tallest and most menacing skyscraper in the city

[asteroidrules]

That Spartus clock was an absolute work of art, a fantastic blend of rather tacky aesthetic design and built like a tank functional design.

[DCRACY]

My great Aunt collected clocks, she had one of those pyramid clocks and use to chuckle at the Japanese accent. I don't remember it sounding as bad as it does in the video, but it has been many years since I've heard it. It may still be in the family somewhere. I also remember that weather radio from Radio Shack, I think that must have been very popular.

[cwa]

What a blast from the past! My mom had the "Micronta" alarm clock from the Radio Shack ad for many, many years. The voice was identical to the TI-driven alarm clock you demoed first. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.