Schulmerich question

[samou812]

First time post - please go easy:) Frankly, I'm not sure if this is the proper venue for quations about my device, but I've seen other posts about devices from this maker here, so I'm hopeful. I have what I believe to be an an analog church chime generator or controller of some kind that I picked up sometime in the 1970s. The brand is Schulmerich and the location listed is Sellersville, PA. There now seem to be two Schulmerich companies, one for electronics and one for physical bells. I'm guessing that the two were once one, and I have no idea to which this device would belong. There does not appear to be any model, serial number, or date of manufacture on the device. When I picked it up it was in a metal cabinet which was discarded at some point in the interests of saving space. As far as I know, all of the "guts" are still there. Photo attached. My inquiry is twofold: I would like some general information on what the device is, and its use; I would also like to determine if it has any possible value to anyone. If it has no monetary or historical value, I'm happy to pitch it. I'm retired, looking to relocate within the next 2-3 years, and trying to begin my downsizng effort now (I have collected a _lot_ of junk :) Any information/advice will be appreciated. Thanks.

[NoTalent]

I'm going to guess you only have the controls and not the parts that make the sound. But put up pictures of the backs.

[AllenAnalog]

I agree. Those look like controls that would have been mounted on panels in a rack. The tone generating section would have either been in the bottom of the rack or in a separate cabinet.

There are folks who collect and restore old chime systems so perhaps putting these items on ebay might be a be a better fate than pitching them.

[toodles]

Samou812--I empathize with your situation, since I am facing the same issue--too much stuff accumulated over too many years and looking to relocate as well!

Schulmerich made a wide variety of bell-related products. These included real bell tower carillon systems, tubular chimes (at one point, I believe), a very popular "Chime-A-Tron", tape recordings of chimes, and digital chimes. Along with the sound producing products, they offered automated bell ringing sytems that caused those sound systems to play, such as hourly chimes, daily play of the carillon, and "call to service" bell ringing. the timer and control you show is one of those automatic ringing systems and undoubtedly was connected to some sort of bell sound production system.

One of the systems was the Chime-A-Tron which used small, short rods (up to about 18 to 24 inches long and about 1/8 inch diameter) which were struck by very small solenoids. An electrical pickup was used to detect the sound, which was amplified and sent to loudspeakers. A small keyboard was provided to play the system, but of course it could also have been played by the automatic system.

So you'll have to dig further into what you have to determine if it is just the automatic clock system or if it has the sound production incorporated into it.

The business that made these systems was Schulmerich Carillons, and was acquired by the Verdin company, manufacturer of Carillons and Carillon systems. See: http://www.verdin.com/

The Verdin company might be able to help you identify what you have.

[CarillonBells]

Suppose that I should "chime in" here. The right item is a commonly used clock for certain Schulmerich systems. Someone may be interested for parts as they are no longer available. The other panel looks like the switches to determine what programs were enabled/disabled. These could have been part of a tower bell controller or an electromechanical carillon, but the latter would have many other items (bell rods, amplifiers, etc).

You may very well find someone interested on eBay that is wanting to repair a clock that has failed or would like a spare.

Unfortunately, after the sale of the company to Verdin there is now zero support for anything except present model systems. In the past, Schulmerich support used to be very helpful for customers and other interested parties alike.

[samou812]

Thank you! Very helpful replies, all. I will put the items on eBay and see of I get any bites...