Electronic Home Controller
date: label: date made
content: 1986
name: label: maker
content: Mastervoice, Incorporated
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: This is a commercial version of "Butler In A Box", an electronic home controller system designed by professional magician Gus Searcy and computer programmer Franz Kavan. This unit sold for between $1500 and $3000 depending on the accessories needed to meet a customer’s requests. Butler In A Box required microphones for users’ voice inputs, and different controllers for thermostats, light circuits, alarm systems and telephone access. Aside from sales to luxury-home owners, Mastervoice also marketed the product to physically challenged people who might have difficulty operating traditional electrical switches and controls.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
label: See more items in
content: Magnetic Recording
label: See more items in
content: Communications
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: from Gus Searcy
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1991.0079.01
label: catalog number
content: 1991.0079.01
label: accession number
content: 1991.0079
label: serial number
content: D05076-A00001
objectType: label: Object Name
content: answering machine component
label: Object Name
content: electronic home controller
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: plastic (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 10 cm x 23 cm x 28 cm; 3 15/16 in x 9 1/16 in x 11 in