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Vintage Telephony and Telecomms Vintage Telephones, Telephony and Telecomms Equipment |
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9th Sep 2019, 1:45 pm | #1 |
Hexode
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Bishop Auckland, County Durham, UK.
Posts: 373
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Vintage mobile phones
I am not sure if this is posted in the right section but does anyone collect "vintage" mobile phones? I mean the digital ones from the late 90s to around 2005. I went through a phase of collecting them but found that batteries were a big problem. Not obtaining them, but I found that new ones deteriorated if the phones weren't used regularly. Sometimes the batteries could be revived by passing current through them from a variable power supply. In the past I have used Ericsson T10s, old Nokia models in bright colours and Motorola Startacs (beam me up Scotty). Of course today any phone over 5 years old is considered ancient. One advantage the old phones have is that you can see the display in bright sunlight.
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Regards Martin Last edited by martin.m; 9th Sep 2019 at 1:49 pm. Reason: grammar |
9th Sep 2019, 1:54 pm | #2 |
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Exeter, Devon and Poole, Dorset UK.
Posts: 6,875
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
Don't really collect them but I seem to have kept a few over the years.
A couple were in my bag when my car was broken into and my laptop stolen. £1800 worth of damage to my car for a 3 year old laptop with a knackerd battery and a Bitlocker on the motherboard so scrap! But I was more upset about loosing my first 2 GSM mobiles. Worthless at the time (2004) One of my favourites Is my Motorolla Razor But I got fed up after changing the flex pcb twice Cheers Mike T
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Invisible airwaves crackle with life or at least they used to Mike T BVWS member. www.cossor.co.uk |
9th Sep 2019, 2:55 pm | #3 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Cumbria (CA13), UK
Posts: 6,130
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
No, but I do have a small collection of earlier analogue 'phones in both the "brick" and "handbag" formats. Needless to say, these are display-only items.
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Mending is better than Ending (cf Brave New World by Aldous Huxley) |
9th Sep 2019, 3:11 pm | #4 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Wiltshire, UK.
Posts: 14,007
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
I've never hung onto old cellphones; when upgrading I usually give the old one to the provider of my new-one so they can transfer my contact-lists etc over to the new one, then let them recycle the old one for me.
I _do_ still have one aged Nokia "Featurephone" from about six years ago though. It's great to prop in front of my 'remote' field-strength-meter (several wvelengths away, down in the forest) when doing antenna experiments, so I can make a video-call to it and see the meter. So much more-convenient than the old method which involved a telescope and was often impeded by foliage..... |
9th Sep 2019, 3:56 pm | #5 |
Nonode
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Coningsby, Lincolnshire, UK.
Posts: 2,820
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
I’ve still got all my old mobile phones, and the ones I had from new still have their boxes too. Best phone I had was an iPhone 4, I got 7 years out of it, but then it got killed by a crap USB charger all my old ones were working when put away, most were Sony-Ericsson, One was an Ericsson, big one with a rather large aerial, a Sharp GX-10i, one of the first camera phones, pictures were rubbish of course! I have some others too, Nokia 9210i, I used to work for a Nokia service centre back around 2002-2004, then worked for another phone refurb company, who shall remain unnamed, they mostly did Motorola, Sony-Ericsson, Sharp... I hated the Motorola RAZR things! Awful things to refurb, that god awful keyboard flex cable, we had to peel them from the case and re-use them! I may have purposely destroyed a few that were a bit flakey, I know I got into trouble once because it took 45 minutes to fully refurb one, that was the V3, I also snapped one in half whilst having a bad day, although most days were bad at that place.
Regards Lloyd |
9th Sep 2019, 8:18 pm | #6 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: W.Butterwick, near Doncaster UK.
Posts: 8,935
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
I have a Nokia Communicator that sends faxes.
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9th Sep 2019, 9:05 pm | #7 |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Stockport, Greater Manchester
Posts: 1,215
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
I still use my Ericsson T39. All I need is a (tele)phone and to be able to send basic text messages. The "smartphone" is not for me. I think I have had my T39 for around 12 years now. Sound quality has always been excellent. Oldschool.
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Robert |
9th Sep 2019, 11:02 pm | #8 |
Nonode
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK.
Posts: 2,004
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
I've got almost all my old mobiles, & some of their boxes too.
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10th Sep 2019, 7:44 am | #9 |
Nonode
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worcestershire, UK.
Posts: 2,052
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
Sony Ericsson t39m, P800
HTC TyTN II Nokia 3300 ... all in g.w.o. The P800 was my favourite for a long time because of its incredible versatility. Guy |
10th Sep 2019, 12:50 pm | #10 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 9,642
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
I used to think that, and still don't play with it much, but many Sundays I have a bus journey to my old local pub which include a 40 minute hop on a wifi equipped omnibus. Reading the news is much preferable to staring out of the windows. As to the telephone side, £10 credit has lasted the best part of two years.
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10th Sep 2019, 4:35 pm | #11 | |
Octode
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Stockport, Greater Manchester
Posts: 1,215
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
Quote:
Staring out of the window will do fine for me
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Robert |
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10th Sep 2019, 5:02 pm | #12 |
Nonode
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Halifax, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 2,587
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
Like many of us I have a stash of old mobiles which are largely useless because of the battery problem and I feel guilty since I haven't yet recycled them.
Alan |
10th Sep 2019, 5:21 pm | #13 | ||
Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Exeter, Devon and Poole, Dorset UK.
Posts: 6,875
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
Quote:
I do thinks it's poor though that some buisnesses fail to realise not everyone is "on line" it's one of my Mum's pet hates! He reads the news keeps up with sports scores, the weather, uses WhatsApp to keep in touch with his Children, Grand Children and now his Great Grandchildren. He has a facebook acount, Email, and a Google account to Sync his device to his PC. He plays computer games and computer scrabble. He's also on PAYG and by getting WiFi where ever he goes it costs him Pennies. He prefers WhatsApp to calls since he is hard of hearing and he enjoys the pictures and video of his extended family. Mum on the other hand has a simple phone which she only has for emergencies but she does enjoy all the family stuff which Dad usaully shows her on the PC using WhatsApp Web, he's pretty Tech Savy considering he has never been in any Tech trade of any kind. His phones get recycled as soon as they are replaced as they then become junk Cheers Mike T
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Invisible airwaves crackle with life or at least they used to Mike T BVWS member. www.cossor.co.uk |
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10th Sep 2019, 6:14 pm | #14 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Fakenham, Norfolk, UK.
Posts: 4,259
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Re: Vintage mobile phones
A far more appealing occupation for me too. My wife has just brought back into service the very basic Nokia mobile she briefly used about eight years ago, really just to help with clearing (including multiple Freecyclers) and marketing our former house, and it may well languish in its sideboard drawer again once such complications are over. I've never had one of any description myself, but given my propensity for harbouring various electronic items once their orthodox usefulness is far enough back in the past - early VCRs, Nixie tube calculators etc. - I suppose I could even wind up building a modest collection of the things, so long as they're decommissioned and there's no competition to own them.
Paul |