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Canadian General Electric C-50, cousin of Telechron's 8H59 Musalarm, a 1946 4-tube TRF Radio Alarm Clock and the First ever made Alarm Clock Radio, Serviced and Perfectly Working
In a Nutshell
It's a General Electric radio alarm clock C-50 made in Canada- it is the first alarm clock radio ever made, and possibly the last TRF radio ever made
Introduction:
As explained there, this radio is identical (except the cabinet) and contemporary to the Telechron 8H59 Musalarm, the first alarm clock radio ever made (ref.1). The claim is substantiated in that reference. There is also a US model 50 with several cabinet variants.
General Electric acquired 50% of Telechron sometime in the 1930's, but took over the prospering company completely shortly after the war, ran it into the ground over a period of several decades, and then sold what was left to Timex. The fact that we have here two almost identical radio alarm clocks, may reflect the problems during that transistion period after the war. The two Telechron Musalarm clock radios 8H59 and 8H67 sold like hotcakes due to a shortage of alarm clocks in general so shortly after the war. One may also speculate that Telechron's and Francesco Collura's patent for the clock radio, which concentrated on the cabinet design, was forcing General Electric to come up with a different cabinet, in order to enter the lucrative market. Anyway, the chassis is the same - a very interesting late TRF (Tuned Radio Frequency) radio with only 4 tubes and a very rare inductive tuning (see sketch above and picts. 8 and 16), both dictated by the small space left over after having already a clock inside the cabinet. The chassis is made from expensive copper. This radio has still the early set of all octal tubes.
Additional information:
ref.1: http://www.greenhillsgf.com/IndexOwn_Telechron_8H59.htm
About my radio alarm clock:
The radio is in mint condition. It comes with its original cardboard back plane (pict.s 7,13), all four original knobs and its two original paper stickers (pict.12). It works with a sensitivity, selectivity and volume that is amazing for a 4-tube TRF. The clock works quietly and keeps time. For more on clocks see ref.1 under techies. Please
e-mail me (Kris) for any questions, ich spreche Deutsch, je parle Français.
Here are the specifications:
| Technical Description of Item |
| Manufacturer |
Canadian General Electric Co. Ltd., Toronto |
| Model |
C-50 |
| Type |
4-tube AM/BC TRF radio alarm clock |
| Production Year |
1946 |
| Serial Number |
unknown |
| Cabinet |
Brown mottled bakelite |
| Frequency Range |
AM 540-1600 kc |
| Controls |
Volume, tuning, 2 clock control knobs |
| Tube line-up |
35Z5(Rect.), 12SG7 (RF), 12SQ7 (Det.), 50L6 (Audio) |
| Size (WxDxH) |
9½ " x 5 " x 6 " |
| Weight |
5 lbs |
| Comment |
Cousin of Telechron's first clock radio 8H59, perfectly working |
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