Silicon Sound novelty '90s Windows PC clock radio

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  • Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025

Комментарии • 192

  • @ragenfio
    @ragenfio 7 месяцев назад +179

    The funny thing is that today it would be possible to create a real working computer of that size, perhaps by reusing the shell. 😅

    • @-arGru
      @-arGru 7 месяцев назад +22

      Slap a raspberry pi and a tiny screen in it!

    • @electronicsfixer
      @electronicsfixer 7 месяцев назад +11

      just casually wearing android on my wrist

    • @davidlee9074
      @davidlee9074 7 месяцев назад +7

      Yeah, perfect for running 86Box (or other x86 emulators) that hosts a copy of Windows 3.1 that in turn runs a clock program just as originally designed.

    • @absalomdraconis
      @absalomdraconis 7 месяцев назад +2

      Nah, that's not the fun thing.
      The fun thing is that some have floppy slots the right size for MicroSD cards. I should know, _I have one._ Just need to build myself the internals.

    • @puffitale
      @puffitale 7 месяцев назад

      The question is: am I going to have to use a soldering iron for it?

  • @techbaffle
    @techbaffle 7 месяцев назад +43

    I miss the days where novelty desk accessories were more popular. Love a novelty clock or radio

    • @alanlovesheidi1
      @alanlovesheidi1 7 месяцев назад +4

      Same, remember at Christmas time, you go into a department store and see them by the cash register as a gift

    • @techbaffle
      @techbaffle 7 месяцев назад +4

      @@alanlovesheidi1 Ah yes! Loved seeing the gift ideas which were little gadgets and gizmos

    • @Holabirdsupercluster
      @Holabirdsupercluster 6 месяцев назад

      That space still exists, think about pomodoro timers and other little productivity tools, and there's a whole universe of Japanese desk toys and gadgets online

  • @video99couk
    @video99couk 7 месяцев назад +29

    They have used a stereo 3.5mm socket and applied the signal between L and R. That way it "works" with stereo headphones and also a mono earphone. If they had wired it properly for stereo then a mono earphone would have shorted out the signal. Clearly it's been built around a watch chip, and it's had to use the beeping output to trigger the radio. They failed then to fully isolate the beeper from the radio. That also explains why the radio and clock have their own batteries.

    • @eDoc2020
      @eDoc2020 7 месяцев назад +1

      Most traditional digital clock radios (at least hose with the TMS3450NL and similar chips) also use the beeping output to trigger the radio. The difference is they clearly do a better job filtering the signal.

  • @Recordology
    @Recordology 7 месяцев назад +7

    “Friendly candy company” 😂

  • @Joshcom88
    @Joshcom88 7 месяцев назад +53

    I was watching your video on my TV using my Onkyo receiver for audio. During your demo of out-of-phase audio, where you explained how it would sound in stereo and mono, I had you on Dolby ProLogic 2x. Since Dolby ProLogic routes out-of-phase audio to the rear speakers, it sent the audio exclusively to the rear speakers during that part of the demo. It took me by surprise & it was kind of funny because I wasn't expecting the audio to shift to the back on a RUclips video like that. Lol

    • @warre1
      @warre1 7 месяцев назад +8

      Same here with my Denon receiver in Dolby Surround mode.

    • @branhicks
      @branhicks 7 месяцев назад +2

      Same with my Onkyo. It sounded completely normal but in the rear speakers

    • @BilisNegra
      @BilisNegra 7 месяцев назад +3

      What an interesting tidbit!

    • @sheik124
      @sheik124 7 месяцев назад +2

      #4 with a Yamaha in DTS Neo:6 mode

    • @mojave5661
      @mojave5661 7 месяцев назад +1

      tried this with my Technics receiver hooked up to my Mac mini, and yeah, the demo played only through my rear speakers

  • @andrewinnj
    @andrewinnj 7 месяцев назад +53

    This feels like a product pharmaceutical companies would've loved to dish out as swag, if they could slap a Viagra or Celebrex label on it somewhere.

    • @dashcamandy2242
      @dashcamandy2242 7 месяцев назад +4

      I actually have two Pfizer "stress relief" squeeze thingies, one is bull-shaped for one of their livestock medications, the other is an actual Viagra one. Circa 1998-ish.

    • @ZakkandtheJ
      @ZakkandtheJ 5 месяцев назад

      I'd love to have something like this branded with like an oxycontin label or something like that honestly any opioids would be hilarious personally since I'm already on a prescription for dilaudid I can have a laugh with that too what with every medical procedure I've had recently they give you fentanyl with operations now which is freaking insane but it makes it so the surgery doesn't hurt at all and it goes really good.
      But yeah something like this with the logo of an opioid drug on it would be freaking amazing and I would pay a decent amount of scratch for that

  • @mgofficial5470
    @mgofficial5470 7 месяцев назад +39

    Your videos are honestly so amazing to watch and so soothing you make great tech videos

  • @RaoulDuke77
    @RaoulDuke77 7 месяцев назад +8

    I greatly appreciated that deep cut Seinfeld/Van Wyck reference, thanks for the laugh, your channel is a gem 👍

  • @aswarmofdeadinsects
    @aswarmofdeadinsects 7 месяцев назад +35

    Whoa. The out-of-phase stereo segment positioned the sound perfectly a couple of meters to the right of my TV.

    • @RadeonVega64
      @RadeonVega64 7 месяцев назад +1

      same

    • @braelinmichelus
      @braelinmichelus 7 месяцев назад +3

      I was playing around with some audio effects in Easy Effects, and found that the audio is so perfectly out of phase, when you sum the channels, it perfectly cancels out to just some distorted background noise. Thought that was pretty cool.

  • @jamesslick4790
    @jamesslick4790 7 месяцев назад +8

    A Windows 3.x clock radio was not something I needed until now!

  • @TheOriginalCollectorA1303
    @TheOriginalCollectorA1303 7 месяцев назад +6

    This computer is so portable that it fits in your hand and it only needs easy to swap out batteries! Definitely cool to see the attention to detail on this, wasn’t expecting it to be like that at all.

  • @JohnSmith-xq1pz
    @JohnSmith-xq1pz 7 месяцев назад +9

    Even tough the signal reception would suck, I'd love to have one for my retro gaming space in a corner of our unfinished basement

  • @SconVideos
    @SconVideos 7 месяцев назад +10

    8:34 I could be going to hell because I laughed at the timing

  • @kakd1870
    @kakd1870 7 месяцев назад +1

    for me, the radio being able to be controlled by alarm has been pretty rare in tat like this.

  • @jamesslick4790
    @jamesslick4790 7 месяцев назад +13

    I think people who design devices that take 3 batteries are in cahoots with the battery makers. You are ALWAYS gonna forget that 4th one in the pack!

  • @dean6816
    @dean6816 7 месяцев назад +3

    Now they could make a fully functional PC that size!!

  • @kiwatech
    @kiwatech 7 месяцев назад +7

    wow that beeping with the radio on alarm brought me back to when i was 10 years old, i had an alarm clock that did that too

  • @BilisNegra
    @BilisNegra 7 месяцев назад +3

    It's hard to deny that there's not much of interest about the guts of this thing. Yet the styling of it has gone better with time by mimicking the looks of what is now a vintage PC. And anyway, nearly anything explored/reviewed by Kevin makes for an interesting conversation piece and video experience, however cheap and mundane it might appear. He really has a gift for that.

  • @Ale.K7
    @Ale.K7 7 месяцев назад +2

    Cute little radio, I love the attention to detail.
    I remember seeing the one with no clock and the speaker grill on the front of the monitor back in the day, but I don't recall seeing this one.

  • @beatrute2677
    @beatrute2677 6 месяцев назад +2

    That’s really neat, I like it

  • @cjsebes
    @cjsebes 7 месяцев назад +2

    As a kid, I don't remember the first AM/FM radio that I took apart going back together as it should have.

  • @Saavik256
    @Saavik256 3 месяца назад +2

    Adorable little thing. :) Built down to a price, obviously, but adorable nonetheless.

  • @barovelli
    @barovelli 7 месяцев назад +5

    I have a computer toy that looks like a Power Macintosh LC. It has a paper picture of an AOL page and when you press the keyboard it says "You've Got Mail!"

  • @belstar1128
    @belstar1128 7 месяцев назад +4

    i had the one you showed at the start of the video very nostalgic seeing something i owned and remember clearly. most of the stuff you show looks similar to things i had or only remember faintly but this was the exact thing had in the 90s

  • @AltimaNEO
    @AltimaNEO 7 месяцев назад +4

    Oh man, now i want to listen to The Outfield

  • @bkid8626
    @bkid8626 4 месяца назад +1

    10:19 I get all the way to the end of the video and I'm attacked at the last second 🤣 My brother and I had shoeboxes of toys and electronics that we took apart to see how they worked. Not everything made it back together in one piece 😅

  • @betamaxuser1282
    @betamaxuser1282 7 месяцев назад +16

    3:55 - It may be possible to make it display 24-hour time. I had a similar little clock-radio made by Suntone, and when setting the hour, if I went past "11:P", it would display "0:H" and cycle thru all 24 hours in 24-hour format ("0:H" to "23:H") before going back to 12-hour time ("12:A").
    Many of these cheap clocks and watches appear to use the same chip and probably have similar feature sets.

  • @dashcamandy2242
    @dashcamandy2242 7 месяцев назад +2

    7:00 - "Trouble" by Lindsey Buckingham; yes, the guy from Fleetwood Mac. (EDIT: ONE of the guys from Fleetwood Mac. Mick Fleetwood was the drummer, Lindsey was the guitarist. Lindsey is probably most known for being lead singer on the 80s smash hit "Big Love.")
    9:37 - "Be Good to Me," my favorite Tina Turner song. Running a close 2nd, "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)."
    I'm actually impressed with the reception on this little thing. Love the faux-Windows on the "monitor," brings back some strong nostalgic feelings.

  • @chezsnailez
    @chezsnailez 7 месяцев назад +2

    So pleased you played that Seinfeld clip about the Van Wyck...

  • @johanslabbert2869
    @johanslabbert2869 7 месяцев назад +12

    Haha, the volume control literally says “buzz” and that’s exactly what it does (at first)

  • @chriscluver1940
    @chriscluver1940 2 месяца назад +2

    For how often it happens, I feel like you should have some kind of audio stinger or cut-in graphic for "the audio is out of phase".

  • @alanlovesheidi1
    @alanlovesheidi1 7 месяцев назад +2

    I always love when these little radios have a headphone jack, like I don't too many people ever plugged in headphones

  • @kepuexe1
    @kepuexe1 7 месяцев назад +18

    I saw this PC-styled clock radio sometimes on Ebay. Very neat little collector things. Remembers me of the Mesonic MS-200B I got in 2018 with a calendar and a somehow "real" keyboard with numbers.

  • @The_Magic_of_Zelda
    @The_Magic_of_Zelda 7 месяцев назад +10

    Not bad for a novelty item. I remember seeing a portable radio in the shape of the DMG Game Boy called "Radio Boy". Probably a fun little novelty item for the retro gamers and collectors.

  • @lawrencehansen6788
    @lawrencehansen6788 7 месяцев назад +1

    That beeping thru the radio sound when the alarm goes off must be an artifact of the chip that controls the alarm function. I have a Philips clock radio that does the EXACT same thing. I always have it set to wake up to the radio, and I can clearly hear the "buzz/beep" sound faintly in the radio output. Probably got that radio ca. 12 years ago at Radio Shack (now, there's a walk down electronics Memory Lane!). Weirdly enough, the Walmart across the street didn't have any clock radios.🤷‍♂

  • @parasocialsnail
    @parasocialsnail 7 месяцев назад +1

    I had a CRT iMac version of this that also had a calculator on it, and the puck mouse had the radio scan buttons. It was pretty neat.

  • @ACBMemphis
    @ACBMemphis 7 месяцев назад +2

    When I saw this, it reminded me of a time machine! Back in the late 70s, there was a version of "The Time Machine" movie (after the 60s one w/Rod Taylor, but before the 2000s version w/Guy Pierce), and it used a monitor/keyboard for controls. The funny thing was in order to show investors, the scientist built a working prototype about 6 inches high, including the miniature computer, and he had to use a pencil to be able to enter commands on the tiny keyboard... And as I recall it was gray and looked kind of like this... no floppies probably though...

    • @DuncanWEDD2019
      @DuncanWEDD2019 7 месяцев назад

      Wow. By sheer coincidence, I watched this video today, and both the 1960 and 2002 "The Time Machine" movies at the weekend. I want a novelty radio model of each of the two time machine props. (with authentic rotating wheels).

  • @Recordology
    @Recordology 7 месяцев назад +1

    Well chosen video.

  • @applescruff1969
    @applescruff1969 7 месяцев назад +2

    9:36 If you go into your phones settings and set it to output mono audio, it sounds like water dripping from a faucet. Lol.

  • @marcinwilk5718
    @marcinwilk5718 7 месяцев назад +1

    As always a very interesting and entertaining video. Thank you. That joke about the law film was funny.

  • @El-Ritmo
    @El-Ritmo 7 месяцев назад

    I genuinely misread this video title as "Silly" Sound Novelty, which actually kinda fits. I still love miniature stuff like this, though, especially if it has a lot of attention to detail. And even better if it's in some way functional, though I question whether it ever really got much use as a radio by those who bought it at the time. Fun little novelty, though.

  • @braelinmichelus
    @braelinmichelus 7 месяцев назад +3

    Would've been cool if the alarm played a MIDI tune or something 😅

  • @sdk77
    @sdk77 7 месяцев назад

    Damn that beeping through the radio sounded just like some shortwave station with cw in one sideband.

  • @STR82DVD
    @STR82DVD 7 месяцев назад +2

    Oh damn, my Canada Day just got better. Thanks lad!

  • @MikesFutureRetro
    @MikesFutureRetro 7 месяцев назад +1

    now I want one of these ...

  • @STR82DVD
    @STR82DVD 7 месяцев назад +2

    Christ I'm weak. I actually want one of these.

  • @Hugh_Hunt
    @Hugh_Hunt 7 месяцев назад

    This is what I call, a meeting timer.
    Perfect for the IT professionals for meetings or EoD!!

  • @edwardbianchi192
    @edwardbianchi192 7 месяцев назад +1

    I was surprised with headphone output and also coming out of both channels.

  • @irontobias
    @irontobias 7 месяцев назад +1

    I've got one of the radio only ones like the first shown; my favorite feature is the age yellowed plastic - just like a real greige pc!

  • @MrAwawe
    @MrAwawe 7 месяцев назад +3

    1:28 "Not intended for use as computer device" sounds like you can use it as a computer, but it will void your warranty or something.

  • @Dallen9
    @Dallen9 7 месяцев назад +1

    Well this mold got a bit of use back in the Day. there was a candy dispenser, the shown alarm clock, and I believe even just a plain Jane desk ornament. My brother at the time these came out had a little collection of them he used to have decorate his Desk at the time.

  • @AMDRADEONRUBY
    @AMDRADEONRUBY 7 месяцев назад +1

    Nice find i love these small clocks congratulations on the find

  • @LightTheUnicorn
    @LightTheUnicorn 7 месяцев назад +1

    Aw, that ones pretty cute. I had a couple of these sorta things when I was a kid and, yes, I know what the innards look like!

  • @DeathInTheSnow
    @DeathInTheSnow 7 месяцев назад +10

    5:52 - Man, every time I hear that song I thing of that Ed Edd 'n' Eddy fan video.

  • @miked4377
    @miked4377 7 месяцев назад

    that's a very well done computer replica......nice device!

  • @rizzlerazzleuno4733
    @rizzlerazzleuno4733 7 месяцев назад +2

    All across the RUclipsverse lil kids are dismantling mom and pops classic transistor radio. "Hey, whadyadodatfor"? "Cause the guy on RUclips told me to".

  • @SunnySidePups
    @SunnySidePups 7 месяцев назад +1

    need one of those on my desks now

  • @frankowalker4662
    @frankowalker4662 7 месяцев назад +1

    I like that, it's pretty cool.

  • @rayphoenix7296
    @rayphoenix7296 7 месяцев назад

    I kept thinking he would tune the station to some station and it would be playing the, Everyone Knows That song.

  • @excrono
    @excrono 7 месяцев назад

    6:32 “Let’s try AM…”
    Can be more dangerous than any content ID match in 2024.

  • @jeffreyhickman3871
    @jeffreyhickman3871 7 месяцев назад +1

    That's a VERY COOL 😎 alarm ⏰️ clock radio, especially amongst computer 🖥 buffs. Always remember, the product inside the box may vary slightly from the one shown. This may answer your question on the color of this computer shaped clock radio. Ya may want to check into the electrolytic capacitors. Capacitors these days, have only about fifteen to twenty years of service life on them. Your friend, Jeff.

  • @nellayema2455
    @nellayema2455 7 месяцев назад +1

    Cute little clock radio!

  • @TeamGeist06
    @TeamGeist06 7 месяцев назад +22

    Very nice I wish they still made clock radios that take batteries only instead of needing to be plugged in always.

    • @woldemunster9244
      @woldemunster9244 7 месяцев назад +8

      There is a reason for clock radios to have to be plugged in, most i've used had battery as a backup.
      At least i wouldn't trust alkaline-powered crap to wake me up, putting in fresh batteries monthly, just to be sure, is kinda wasteful imho.

    • @JessicaFEREM
      @JessicaFEREM 7 месяцев назад +4

      Oh yea you can still buy SHARP alarm clocks that take batteries, even analog alarm clocks.

    • @belstar1128
      @belstar1128 7 месяцев назад

      they stopped ?

    • @Nookdashiddole
      @Nookdashiddole 7 месяцев назад +1

      Ever heard of a watch?

    • @firenado4295
      @firenado4295 7 месяцев назад

      tbh, I just use the timer function on my stereo and set it to start up a cd.

  • @AustrianDeathMachine9
    @AustrianDeathMachine9 7 месяцев назад +3

    nice! a new VWestlife video

  • @pault6533
    @pault6533 7 месяцев назад +1

    A missed opportunity to light up the clock display instead of a indicator LED. Also, to put the battery in the bottom instead of having one of the floppy drives come out like a drawer. I am surprised that battery didn't leak!

  • @no1DdC
    @no1DdC 7 месяцев назад

    This video is not just about a novelty '90s Windows PC clock radio, it was also filmed on a novelty '90s Windows PC clock radio.

  • @Markimark151
    @Markimark151 7 месяцев назад +5

    I remember these novelty radio alarm clocks, there was also one that looked like a laptop that folded.

  • @Angel_the_Bunny
    @Angel_the_Bunny 7 месяцев назад +1

    I really like you, Westie.

  • @NJRoadfan
    @NJRoadfan 7 месяцев назад +6

    I actually have one of these. Got it as a gift 25 years ago. Great clock, terrible radio.
    Fun Fact: I've driven the Van Wyck mid-day and did the speed limit..... miracles do happen sometimes.

  • @CARLiCON
    @CARLiCON 7 месяцев назад +1

    cool radio video V-dub! makes me wonder, what was the all-time smallest PC, with separate working: monitor, KB, & mouse?

    • @MrDuncl
      @MrDuncl 7 месяцев назад +1

      Probably some point of sale terminal. For a while loads of tills had those cute little 9" CRT monitors. Then over a few years they all disappeared.

  • @vdivanov
    @vdivanov 7 месяцев назад +1

    Would’ve been funny if the law firm managed to cram in an AM stereo decoder

  • @casultaser
    @casultaser 4 месяца назад +1

    Why do I actually want this

  • @volvo09
    @volvo09 7 месяцев назад +8

    Remember the commercials "as seen on TV" for that novelty "baby boom box" that was all over stores for a while?
    I've never been fond for novelty radios, they sound so atrocious that it almost makes me sick!

  • @RealEpikCartfrenYT
    @RealEpikCartfrenYT 7 месяцев назад +3

    i had the one at the beginning of the video. unfortunately i was poorly designed and the output transistor would heat up and it eventually cooked itself, plus it would eat through batteries.
    also the clock radio is a computer in of its own, because it computes time

  • @thebottomband
    @thebottomband 7 месяцев назад

    Perfect for getting some work done on the flight.

  • @avtips4779
    @avtips4779 7 месяцев назад +4

    I'd be sweet if someone took one of these and crammed a computer in there not unlike a raspberrypi, and put some tiny LCD screen in place of the clock. Of course it would need to be running an age appropriate operating system as well!

  • @shayne87
    @shayne87 7 месяцев назад +4

    Van Wyck is an automatic deal breaker for any road trip. Same goes for 1&9, Cross Bronx, Pulaski Skyway, LIE, and I-80 express. And while I may take Rt 287, I wil NOT venture north or west of it because is is apparently beyond the arctic circle and ALL the bad weather happens there

  • @UrbanoDagrippino
    @UrbanoDagrippino 7 месяцев назад +2

    Very nice item

  • @briangoldberg4439
    @briangoldberg4439 7 месяцев назад +2

    might make a cute project. you could replace the screen with one of those tiny OLEDs and wire up a Pi Pico inside

  • @8_Bit
    @8_Bit 7 месяцев назад +2

    Looks like Atari ST grey to me!

  • @mea_sapientia_supra_tua
    @mea_sapientia_supra_tua 7 месяцев назад +1

    Nice one Bro ! - I've the same one on my desk :-)

  • @slotec
    @slotec 7 месяцев назад +1

    The sound only came out of my rear speakers 😂😂

  • @twocvbloke
    @twocvbloke 7 месяцев назад +1

    And now there's the temptation to gut one and build a raspberry pi-based emulator inside it with a little screen to turn it into a (somewhat) useable, era-appropriate miniature PC... :P

  • @croquette_fr
    @croquette_fr 6 месяцев назад +2

    This out-of-phase audio is one of the most unpleasant things I have ever heard through my headphones.

  • @dhpbear2
    @dhpbear2 7 месяцев назад

    9:22 - I'll bet all they did was tie one channel of the jack to ground and attached the 'hot' to the other channel and leaving the 'common' of the plug unconnected.

  • @tunix79
    @tunix79 7 месяцев назад +4

    Runs up to 108 Mhz!

  • @dardevil
    @dardevil 7 месяцев назад +1

    #VWestlife Hello my friend You know, you made my day and you made me feel like a child showing me this radio alarm clock
    When I was a little boy I had exactly the same 😃😅Memories come back my friend 💪😎greetings from Poland, thanks my friend

  • @netoe
    @netoe 7 месяцев назад +1

    10:18 the greatest advice to today's kids, thanks!!!

    • @DuncanWEDD2019
      @DuncanWEDD2019 7 месяцев назад

      No, that would be - don't put watch batteries in your mouth.

  • @LastofAvari
    @LastofAvari 7 месяцев назад

    A neat little thing :3

  • @fungo6631
    @fungo6631 7 месяцев назад +1

    9:33 If you use Dolby Pro Logic, you'll hear the audio from the rear channel.

  • @cuoops
    @cuoops 7 месяцев назад +1

    Lol, Love the Seinfeld part😁

  • @_MasterLink_
    @_MasterLink_ 7 месяцев назад +1

    I bet it's out of phase because the headphone jack is mono, but the pins are connecting ground to the right channel positive, and sound to the left channel positive (since both audio signals share grounds/unbalanced audio). That would create an out of phase sound such as this which sums to nothing.

  • @markhesse2928
    @markhesse2928 7 месяцев назад

    🎵Some gotta win, some gotta lose…🎵

  • @paroxet1ne
    @paroxet1ne 7 месяцев назад +1

    OH MY GOD I WANT IT

  • @feieralarm
    @feieralarm 7 месяцев назад

    10:00 I don't know what it is, but something about that sound signature makes my left ear feel inside out.

  • @mushroomsamba82
    @mushroomsamba82 7 месяцев назад +6

    Can you believe no one bought this?

    • @Mizai
      @Mizai 7 месяцев назад

      its cooolol t s

  • @anon3631
    @anon3631 7 месяцев назад +1

    Nice.

  • @Jared-91
    @Jared-91 7 месяцев назад +1

    I kinda want one.

  • @frankkersky5510
    @frankkersky5510 7 месяцев назад +9

    Make sure you type in radio when eBay searching; otherwise you get sex toys…

  • @Louis-px9ie
    @Louis-px9ie 7 месяцев назад +1

    5:52 GTA Vice City vibes