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  #1  
Old 07-04-2017, 06:47 PM
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init4fun init4fun is offline
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Ever seen one of THESE !?!?!?

I'll tell ya , I've collected old radios for a long time . Mostly Cathedrals but pretty much anything vacuum tube equipped . Never , ever , before have I seen a radio such as this , so tell me , have any of you ever seen one of these ?

This is a GE clock/radio that at a first glance didn't seem all that remarkable when I got it . As we all know GE used the "Musiphonic" name in the same way Philco used the "Transitone" name and I have seen dozens of GE Musiphonic radios over the years ...

But this ? No , this is no GE musiphonic , instead it's a "Musitherm" , yes that's right this clock/radio is specifically designed to be wired into your furnace and to provide a nighttime reduction in house temperature while you sleep . Yea sure I've seen programmable thermostats for years too , but never have I seen a freestanding clock/radio intended to be hardwired into an HVAC system . Tube lineup is the standard AA5 7 pin ; 50C5 35W4 12AV6 12BA6 12BE6 .

Any and all comments welcome
Attached Images
File Type: jpg GE 1.jpg (42.5 KB, 90 views)
File Type: jpg GE 2.jpg (47.3 KB, 67 views)
File Type: jpg GE 3.jpg (51.8 KB, 63 views)
File Type: jpg GE 4.jpg (62.0 KB, 61 views)
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  #2  
Old 07-04-2017, 07:35 PM
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Boobtubeman Boobtubeman is offline
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I would think the tube heat would affect its accuracy...

SR
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  #3  
Old 07-04-2017, 10:53 PM
WISCOJIM WISCOJIM is offline
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Schematic: https://www.dropbox.com/s/zlybo1grp9...radio.jpg?dl=0

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Old 07-05-2017, 11:06 AM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boobtubeman View Post
I would think the tube heat would affect its accuracy...

SR
According to the diagram, the thermostat is mounted remotely of the radio.
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Old 07-05-2017, 11:20 AM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by init4fun View Post
I'll tell ya , I've collected old radios for a long time . Mostly Cathedrals but pretty much anything vacuum tube equipped . Never , ever , before have I seen a radio such as this , so tell me , have any of you ever seen one of these ?

This is a GE clock/radio that at a first glance didn't seem all that remarkable when I got it . As we all know GE used the "Musiphonic" name in the same way Philco used the "Transitone" name and I have seen dozens of GE Musiphonic radios over the years ...

But this ? No , this is no GE musiphonic , instead it's a "Musitherm" , yes that's right this clock/radio is specifically designed to be wired into your furnace and to provide a nighttime reduction in house temperature while you sleep . Yea sure I've seen programmable thermostats for years too , but never have I seen a freestanding clock/radio intended to be hardwired into an HVAC system . Tube lineup is the standard AA5 7 pin ; 50C5 35W4 12AV6 12BA6 12BE6 .

Any and all comments welcome
Never actually seen one, but I remember reading about it or seeing the schematic.
The T/S option was probably sold separately. The clock possibly had a set of "dry" contacts, that only worked on the alarm function. Can't quite make out the radio schematic.
The contacts are only rated for 10vac, 1amp, so you had to use a separate transformer. Most furnaces used a 24 vac control circuit, like today.
I don't think they were thinking about a milivolt system used in some furnaces of the day.
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  #6  
Old 07-05-2017, 06:13 PM
WISCOJIM WISCOJIM is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dieseljeep View Post
Can't quite make out the radio schematic.
You can enlarge the image, or download it full size.

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  #7  
Old 07-05-2017, 09:47 PM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WISCOJIM View Post
You can enlarge the image, or download it full size.

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I tried it, remained the same! I'll try it again.
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Old 07-06-2017, 04:07 AM
WISCOJIM WISCOJIM is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dieseljeep View Post
I tried it, remained the same! I'll try it again.
As you hover your cursor over the schematic, the control box should pop up at the bottom of the screen with the +/- buttons.

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  #9  
Old 07-06-2017, 09:02 AM
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init4fun init4fun is offline
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Thank You guys for the responses , Jim I really do appreciate the schematic and yes indeed dieseljeep it's a set of dry contacts only with no internal thermostat , leading me also to believe there likely was a companion thermostat that went with it . It would seem that anyone who did spend the extra money likely would have also gotten the thermostat unit to go with it whether it was a separate purchase or not , why spend the extra money for a feature such as this and not use it . I'll bet the companion thermostat was mounted on the wall in the house the system was originally installed in , only to be thrown away when the programmable "system" was scrapped for an upgraded "all in one" programmable thermostat .

One things for sure , two weeks ago had someone asked "have you ever seen a bedside alarmclock/radio designed to control your furnace ?" I'd have answered "nope , never seen one" ...
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Old 07-07-2017, 11:47 AM
dieseljeep dieseljeep is offline
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They probably only made one model year of those radios. It couldn't have been that good of a seller.
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  #11  
Old 07-07-2017, 12:07 PM
user181 user181 is offline
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Early example of "smart home" technology/automation.
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  #12  
Old 07-08-2017, 04:48 PM
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init4fun init4fun is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dieseljeep View Post
They probably only made one model year of those radios. It couldn't have been that good of a seller.
And this is a great example of rare , but not desirable , = not valuable . Most folks automatically associate rarity with high value , but without the all important desirability factor rarity means little . I wouldn't hook this thing up to my own house's furnace and wouldn't think most other folks would , either .

Quote:
Originally Posted by user181 View Post
Early example of "smart home" technology/automation.
Yep , for sure , and I really would like to see the companion thermostat , if one went with it . I almost think one would have had to have come with it , opening or closing one set of dry contacts on a regular thermostat would have it running or not depending on whether the contacts were opened or closed , but such an "all or nothing" approach really wouldn't work well if it was gonna turn the furnace totally off for the timer's set time . A companion thermostat I would think should have , for instance , lowered the set temp by a programmable amount when the clock activated the contacts .
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