Vodafone / Nokia Mobira Talkman

[Gulliver]

I just thought I would share this. A few years ago I came by a Vodafone branded Nokia Mobira Talkman mobile phone from the mid 80s.

Of course there is no signal but it still fires up if I apply 12V to the correct pins. They don't make 'em like they used to!

[Nickthedentist]

I found one of those dumped in the street by car thieves! It got handed back, but I hung onto the 2x6V Dryfit lead acid battery pack which was used to power a cassette player when we went on holidays to a cottage with no electricity in France. This would have been c.1986.

The main unit was beautifully made with a diecast aluminium chassis and case. The battery pack even has a moving coil meter to indicate state of charge!

Nick.

[Gulliver]

Yes it does have a moving coil meter, and the whole thing is a quality product.

The battery on this one is dead, I cannot make it take a charge. but the phone itself appears to work, inasmuch as a phone with no network can. I do have the rubber antenna somewhere too.

[G6Tanuki]

I recall having the BT equivalent of that in the late-1980s. When fitted to the "in-car recharge/mounting cage" it took up half the passenger footwell-space of a Ford Sierra.

[Wellington]

Originally Posted by Gulliver

inasmuch as a phone with no network can…

Out of interest, what kind of network did this phone use?

[cmjones01]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_...ication_System

If you're interested in the technical details of what goes on behind the scenes in an analogue mobile phone network, the most recent Amp Hour podcast has an interview with Mike Harrison (of Mike's Electric Stuff fame) describing his antics working with the phones. It's entertaining as well as educational!

Chris

[Jon_G4MDC]

Nice 86 MHz crystal filter in there and the synthesiser is interesting too.
Some bits useful for 1296MHz work.
Would have made a quality 934Mhz CB back in the day by defeating all the signalling and control. I'll get my coat....

[BigClick]

Originally Posted by G6Tanuki

I recall having the BT equivalent of that in the late-1980s. When fitted to the "in-car recharge/mounting cage" it took up half the passenger footwell-space of a Ford Sierra.

I had a BT Crystal which I think was a badged Motorola. That also took a lot of room, but the battery and transceiver was in the back of my Sierra with just the handset mounted in the front on the gear stick prop shaft console thing

It was a real status symbol at the time lol

[G6Tanuki]

Originally Posted by BigClick

I had a BT Crystal which I think was a badged Motorola. That also took a lot of room, but the battery and transceiver was in the back of my Sierra with just the handset mounted in the front on the gear stick prop shaft console thing

Mine - a BT "Steel" - needed to be easily accessible for "grab and go" duties outside the car so the entire lump fitted into the cradle in the footwell. Still needed to manually unscrew the antenna lead [a TNC connector] and refit the stubby rubber whip, so it wasn't really a proper 'docking station' setup.

THere's a pic here: http://www.retrofones.com/index.php?...product_id=206

Originally Posted by BigClick

It was a real status symbol at the time lol

Yes - and with airtime at 50 to 70p a minute you kept outgoing calls short! [or got someone else to call you].

[Biggles]

I remember having to lug a Panasonic? version around radio sites in the eighties and early nineties. Very useful at the time, but sadly overtaken by technology. I think it used one of those long thin 12V dryfits. Later on I had a Motorola 4800X car mount with a remote box in the boot. The handset was a smallish unit with the keypad etc on it. The speaker and hands free mic were mounted up front. Our guys used to fit these to officers' cars so I have been almost through a complete history of car and transportable and then demountable kits fitted to vehicles over the years. The audio quality was pretty good on calls...if you could get a signal! I think I might still have the 4800X in a box somewhere. I seem to remember that you used to hear the odd data burst on calls when the phone used to hand off between cells.

[g8jzyian]

The same box held the R58 mid band trunked radio.
http://www.jrc.co.uk/pmr/nokia

Ian