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In a recently purchased home (early '70's), there is an intercom system with the main base mounted in the kitchen wall (photo) and little speakers mounted in nearly every other room throughout the two-story house. They still work but obviously they don't serve any purpose these days.
Has anyone uninstalled these systems and put something more creative in its place? These are a wired system with each speaker/room have three wires per box.
I like the idea of them, I would put in a modern system using the existing wiring. Just go to the Nutone site and click on intercom systems. There may also be other manufacturers at this point...
I like the idea of them, I would put in a modern system using the existing wiring. Just go to the Nutone site and click on intercom systems. There may also be other manufacturers at this point...
That would be my suggestion as well, though if it isn't working, it usually the wiring that is shot on intercoms of that age. The nice thing about new intercoms is that they have radios, cd player, ipod inputs etc, so you can have music in all the rooms.
That's so funny, I grew up in the '70s, and one of the kids I played with on out block had the intercom system in their house. I remember thinking that was so neat!
The kids today still think it's a fun idea. Their favorite is piping the radio throughout thehouse. ThenI'll switch it TO the seventies music, which drives them crazy.
, though if it isn't working, it usually the wiring that is shot on intercoms of that age.
Its extremely rare that you would have a problem with the wiring. If none of the system works, its something at the base unit; could be a dead power supply or something blown on the board.
I use, at nutones recommendation, a company called Space Age Electronics to do repairs. A total rebuild will run about $250 max plus return shipping shipping and installation costs.
As for installing a new unit to be able to play cd's or iPod, you can do that with most units even from the '70's. There is an auxillary input inside that many people connected record players or tape decks to; you can use this for anything.
As for replacing your system to a newer model, call nutone and tell them what you have. They can tell you what fits your current frame. Otherwise you'll probably end up patching drywall as newer units are a bit smaller. They do have some options though.
Also, if you change an older base unit to a nee model, you will have to replace every station in the home.
A total upgrade (base unit and 5-6 remote stations) is going to be anywhere from $4k-$7k depending on what you have and what you're changing to.
The kids today still think it's a fun idea. Their favorite is piping the radio throughout thehouse. ThenI'll switch it TO the seventies music, which drives them crazy.
A friend's house had one of those gizmos; it looked just like yours! We loved playing with it; we could even get the music out on the covered porch. We'd spend hours out there on rainy days, listening to music and generally goofing off.
And her mom would do the same -- switch our Top 40 radio station to the beautiful music station. It used to drive us nuts!
Oh, and if your kids enjoy it -- it does still serve a purpose!
we bought a new base and also had to replace every speaker.....ordered it online thru Ebay.....then hired an electrician to install. The whole thing cost us about $500. We don't use it, simply making sure everything in the house is functional for the time when we sell the house. At the time we were planning on listing the house but with the economic crisis we are holding off. Our house was built in 1981 and the old Nutone system didn't work. The new one looks more contemporary but we didn't get anything fancy, basically radio and intercom.
Maybe this is too simple, but our phones have intercoms on them. We bought a set of phones (6) at Costco and use the intercom i.e. #1 kitchen #2 garage #3 workshop #4 basement #5 family room #6 master bedroom. Cost was about $69.99.
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