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Vintage Telephony and Telecomms Vintage Telephones, Telephony and Telecomms Equipment |
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18th Mar 2018, 4:11 pm | #21 |
Nonode
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Dukinfield, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 2,034
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Re: Rabbit - the almost mobile telephone of bygone times
Graham - I am acquainted with Keith RTU, but it wasn't him who gave me the Zonephone. It was Ian, a G7xxx, and I'm blowed if I can recall his full callsign now. 'Twas a long time ago!
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Andy G1HBE. |
19th Mar 2018, 5:42 pm | #22 |
Octode
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 1,999
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Re: Rabbit - the almost mobile telephone of bygone times
I remember one of the IT technicians at my college had a Rabbit phone with a base station, he could be paged by pressing a button on it.
IIRC when Hutchinson Telecom launched Orange they offered a discount if you were an existing Rabbit customer. |
19th Mar 2018, 8:21 pm | #23 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK
Posts: 6,118
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Re: Rabbit - the almost mobile telephone of bygone times
Yes, there is a button on the base station, unsurprisingly labelled "page". Its operation of the ringer should be distinguishable from an incoming call as it rings continuously until the button is released.
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21st Mar 2018, 12:50 am | #24 |
Octode
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 1,205
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Re: Rabbit - the almost mobile telephone of bygone times
The frequencies used by the Rabbit system were later re-purposed for licence-free radio microphones, commonly referred to as Channel 70.
The base station aerials (a short white stick co-linear with a TNC connector, made by Racal) used to turn up at radio rallies, mis-sold by a dodgy trader as "wideband scanner antennas". I still have a couple for use with radio mics and they work very well. |
21st Mar 2018, 8:28 am | #25 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK
Posts: 6,118
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Re: Rabbit - the almost mobile telephone of bygone times
Now that has potential for embarrassment if my Rabbiting were to end up being broadcast with the karaoke in the local pub! I suppose the first thing to test is how far from home I can roam with the handset and still communicate with the base station - then make discreet enquiries about any radio microphones used in the village's pubs and clubs.
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Mending is better than Ending (cf Brave New World by Aldous Huxley) |
21st Mar 2018, 10:15 am | #26 |
Nonode
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Dukinfield, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 2,034
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Re: Rabbit - the almost mobile telephone of bygone times
As an inveterate nosey-parker, I like to listen around the less-used parts of the spectrum and 864/5 MHz comes alive in the evenings with baby alarms and wireless headphone signals. Last night someone was watching 'Rowan & Martin's Laugh-in', something I hadn't heard since it was originally shown.
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Andy G1HBE. |
21st Mar 2018, 7:22 pm | #27 |
Heptode
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK.
Posts: 671
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Re: Rabbit - the almost mobile telephone of bygone times
It's a digital signal so no chance of you being overheard on a radio mic receiver.
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22nd Mar 2018, 8:56 am | #28 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK
Posts: 6,118
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Re: Rabbit - the almost mobile telephone of bygone times
Yes, I have since realised that.
By the way, a quick test showed that the signal degraded quite rapidly as I moved away from my house anyway. Two-foot-thick stone walls are probably a contributory factor in this!
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Mending is better than Ending (cf Brave New World by Aldous Huxley) |