"Antique" cell phone questions

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mdreger

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Mike
A friend brought an old Motorola Mini T-A-C 6800XL that her son had purchased shortly before he died 15 or so years ago.

She brought it to me because she thought it might be something for the Mooney he also was in the process of purchasing at the time. I know nothing about such things and figured that the only reason he might have installed this in his plane was if it was a satellite phone. This phone has never been installed in anything and has a speaker and microphone accessories for hands free use.

Anyway, is this a cell or satellite phone?

Is it of any value?

It would seem the only real use for this device any more would be someone that has a Boat they live on, or some other application where they need cellular type features, don't want to use a tiny cell phone, and don't mind the cord.

I called Motorola, they didn't know anything about it, except it may be an old cell phone.
 
Is that one of the old 'brick' phones?

It's probably about a museum piece.

You will not find any of the major cell carriers willing to activate it. They all want you on digital - and the FCC is pushing for 100% tracking <er> E911 ability. VZ won't even activate some of the older cellphones they used to sell.

A small local carrier might be willing to activate it.

It's probably only got a few years left, the FCC will allow cell carriers to start decommissioning analog in 2007 or 2008.

It probably holds the most value to somebody who already owns one and needs a spare. EBay, here we come... ;)
 
mdreger said:
A friend brought an old Motorola Mini T-A-C 6800XL that her son had purchased shortly before he died 15 or so years ago.

She brought it to me because she thought it might be something for the Mooney he also was in the process of purchasing at the time. I know nothing about such things and figured that the only reason he might have installed this in his plane was if it was a satellite phone. This phone has never been installed in anything and has a speaker and microphone accessories for hands free use.

Anyway, is this a cell or satellite phone?

Is it of any value?

It would seem the only real use for this device any more would be someone that has a Boat they live on, or some other application where they need cellular type features, don't want to use a tiny cell phone, and don't mind the cord.

I called Motorola, they didn't know anything about it, except it may be an old cell phone.
Click to expand...

It is an analog (AMPS Standard) phone. It is good for almost nothing any longer and by the end of 2007 will not even be able to obtain e911 service on it. There was a company that provided analog service for airplanes but even they have converted to digital service.

There are collecters of these things and you might be able to get $10 for it.
 
wsuffa said:
It's probably only got a few years left, the FCC will allow cell carriers to start decommissioning analog in 2007 or 2008.
Click to expand...

Part 22 cell phones systems, those that operate in the 800MHz band, are required to have analog support. As one of the authors of the 'sunset' clause in Part 22, i can tell you that when the requirement in removed in 2007 to have analog many a carrier will simply turn off their 1 analog channel/cell site. Only a few mom and pop rural carriers will keep it.
 
smigaldi said:
Part 22 cell phones systems, those that operate in the 800MHz band, are required to have analog support. As one of the authors of the 'sunset' clause in Part 22, i can tell you that when the requirement in removed in 2007 to have analog many a carrier will simply turn off their 1 analog channel/cell site. Only a few mom and pop rural carriers will keep it.
Click to expand...

Yep. They're already chomping at the bit. Even many of the rural guys. I've been to a number of the older analog sites. My bet is that Cingular will have their TDMA network decommissioned before analog goes away.

There are still parts of the country where analog is the ONLY choice. Once analog is gone, there will be no such thing as universal service.

Up until a year or two ago, the digital spectrum was so crowded in Las Vegas during major conventions that having an analog phone was a really good thing.
 
Thanks, I will pass this on. It is not a brick phone. It is, or appears to be, intended to be hard wired into a vehicle. The hand set is as big as a regular phone, with the keypad on the back and is corded. In the box is a 8"X8"X2" power box/computer/reciever, quite a bit of wire, 5"X5"X3" speaker, mounting brackets and various and sundry other items.
 
Mike,

From your description it sounds like the standard "give away" phone a person would get when signing up for a plan, circa 10 or so years ago. If you could post a picture...

Len
 
mdreger said:
Thanks, I will pass this on. It is not a brick phone. It is, or appears to be, intended to be hard wired into a vehicle. The hand set is as big as a regular phone, with the keypad on the back and is corded. In the box is a 8"X8"X2" power box/computer/reciever, quite a bit of wire, 5"X5"X3" speaker, mounting brackets and various and sundry other items.
Click to expand...

Any chance this is a lineman's phone?

Sounds kinda like the phreaking phone I used to use when I was really stupid and young.

If it is - then it would look kind of like a normal handset, but it will have two wires that come off, usually with alligator clips on the end.
 
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mdreger said:
Thanks, I will pass this on. It is not a brick phone. It is, or appears to be, intended to be hard wired into a vehicle. The hand set is as big as a regular phone, with the keypad on the back and is corded. In the box is a 8"X8"X2" power box/computer/reciever, quite a bit of wire, 5"X5"X3" speaker, mounting brackets and various and sundry other items.
Click to expand...

Probably very little market for that. The activation problems will still exist - it's an older analog phone.

I've got a Mitsubishi version of that in the garage somewhere. Nice phone in its day. Nobody wants 'em these days.
 
NickDBrennan said:
Any chance this is a lineman's phone?

Sounds kinda like the phreaking phone I used to use when I was really stupid and young.

If it is - then it would look kind of like a normal handset, but it will have two wires that come off, usually with alligator clips on the end.
Click to expand...

Nope it is a Joan mobile phone. The type meant to be mounted in cars or used as a bag phone with a 2300aH battery. It is one of the higher end mobiles of its day as well.

Joan was an internal name for all of the transceivers that the mobile and bag phones were built upon. Joan was the name of one of the secretaries in the VPs office.

Some of the other internal names were fun like the first flip phone was called Richard. It had originally been called the Dick Tracy phone but everyone shortened the name to.. well I think you get it. SO the more formal Richard was used.

The portable phones or brick phones were called Sam which was short for Samantha another secretary. Most of the circuitry used in the Joan phones was used part for part in the Sams with only a PCB change. Once the flip style took over as the most popular the mobiles and bricks died a quick death. But at one time that was the lead technology.
 
I have often speculated that one of the old AMPS phones like that might be the best bet for a functional (if not entirely legal) in-air-use cell phone.

I do know of people whose travel territories take them to remote enough areas that the analog phones (vehicle-mounted, full power with appropriate antenna) are the only viable mobile phone technology, and some of them assert the "cold, dead fingers" analogy to parting them from their phones.

Few years back, when there was resistance to changing to the digital phones in Australia, the government assured the populace that the digital network was completely adequate, and pulled the plug on the AMPS network... thus leaving huge areas of the outback once again dependent upon short wave, or VHF with repeaters.
 
mdreger said:
Thanks, I will pass this on. It is not a brick phone. It is, or appears to be, intended to be hard wired into a vehicle. The hand set is as big as a regular phone, with the keypad on the back and is corded. In the box is a 8"X8"X2" power box/computer/reciever, quite a bit of wire, 5"X5"X3" speaker, mounting brackets and various and sundry other items.
Click to expand...

That's an AMPS (analog 800 mhz) cellphone from back when "portable" meant a car phone in a bag with a 10 lb battery. It was intended to be mounted in a vehicle.
 
That is just the handset, needing the transceiver unit to be made operational. The xceiver for that unit is about the size of a small brick. I have one around here, somewhere...
 
THey really were advanced compared to the old IMTS systems.
 
That is just the handset, needing the transceiver unit to be made operational.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know, well at least I figured. I also have what I think is the transciever, as well as what looks like the housing for a battery. (It has a spring in the bottom reminicent of the spring in the bottom of an old "D" cell flashlight. It also has a key that locks both the "battery" door and a bayonett type mount.) Several different sizes and lengths of wire/cable, a ball mount and probably other stuff I can't remember. I was just too lazy to unpack it all and photograph it. I could if anyone wants, but I figured the handset would identify the unit by itself.
 
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