Cell phone display

[4123]

Hi folks,

Here is a photo of what we've managed to put together for our cell phone display in the Children's Traveling Telephone Museum.  Does anyone have anything that we can purchase to add to this display?   I sure would like to get a Motorola Brick Phone.  Maybe someone out there has a spare?  Also, I'll be trying to date these for ID labels.  Any help available out there for helping us put dates on these?
Also, does anyone have any ideas on a good way to permanently mount these telephones on a vertical wall?

Thanks,  Ron

[DavePEI]

Hi folks,

Here is a photo of what we've managed to put together for our cell phone display in the Children's Traveling Telephone Museum.  Does anyone have anything that we can purchase to add to this display?   I sure would like to get a Motorola Brick Phone.  Maybe someone out there has a spare?  Also, I'll be trying to date these for ID labels.  Any help available out there for helping us put dates on these?
Also, does anyone have any ideas on a good way to permanently mount these telephones on a vertical wall?

Thanks,  Ron

Hi Ron:

I have a few in my museum - I will have to check to see what one I could give you. It won't be my oldest, the first brick phone model (1984) with the deep battery and larger display  - I need to keep that one, but I do have more than one of the next version (ca. 1986) with half depth battery and smaller display characters which you could have just for the cost of postage if you would like. Give me a chance to double check on those I have right now, then I could send photos.

You don't seem to have any bag phones either? They were loved by fishermen around here until the end of analog because of their high power and long range. I may have an extra of them, too.

It wouldn't hurt to thin out my display of them anyway, as I have multiple bricks and bag phones. How about a pager?

Mounting? Double sided tape or velcro?

ƃuıʎɐS ʇsnſ

Dave

[4123]

Hi Dave,

Yes!  Thank you!  Please let me know what the shipping would be to Southern Oregon, zip code 97523. 
Please pardon my ignorance as I'm only knowledgeable about pre-1940 telephones.  I'm not exactly sure what a bag phone is.  I've heard of them and maybe even seen them but right now I can't picture what one looks like. 
I certainly would be interested in a bag phone and a pager as well.

I'm thrilled by the prospect of getting them for the museum.
If you have any brochures about your museum, please add them to the mix and I will make them available to anyone who wants one.

Also, we are having a plaque made with everybody's name who have helped or donated something so let me know what you want it to say.

Thanks again,

Ron

[DavePEI]

Hi Ron:

Here is a photo of the bag phone, brick, and the pager.   The brick has the smaller battery on it - it doesn't have the optional deeper battery. I am also sending you a charger base, but not the wall wart portion. Neither phone will function, but did up until analog service was pulled from our area.

I won't know the shipping cost until I post them, but I am sure you will be pleased. It will only be the cost of the actual shipping.

The bag phones consist of a transmitter and battery hidden in a leather bag, and a handset normally hidden in the bag. They are essentially the same as an early car mount cell, but mounted in a portable bag with a gel battery, and came out just after the Brick.

Dave

[twocvbloke]

I'd say that the Motorola StarTAC phone would be a good addition, as it was the first "clamshell" mobile phone, and named StarTAC as it was their vision of the communicators in Star Trek becoming reality...

I have several mobile phones (wish I could remember where they were though!!!), most of which are motorola flip phones, but pretty much all are GSM, so will take a SIM card and work on today's networks (for now at least), but it's the batteries that are problematic as a lot of them have died, leaked or corroded to the point of being useless, which is a shame as a lot of the phones are nice to use compared to things like my modern Samsung Galaxy SIII, and often get a better signal too thanks to the larger aerials sticking out of the top...

[rdelius]

I have a couple of Motorola tough talker portable cellular telephones.Very heavy but removing the brick sized battery would lighten them somewhat. Photos if wanted These were analog only

[Owain]

If you don't want to damage the phones then you could use perforated metal panels (pegboard) as backing and fix the phones with cable ties or with rods with screwed ends, with nuts on the reverse.

If the phones are to be played with, sorry, used as tactile exhibits, then the retractable security reels used by ... mobile phone shops. 

[HarrySmith]

I would like to see a picture or two of the Motorola Tough Talker, not a name I am familiar with. The size and the weight is the whole point of these things! Can you imagine the face of a 12 year old who has an I Phone if you handed him that and told him it was his new cell

[AE_Collector]

I'd say that the Motorola StarTAC phone would be a good addition

I think that is a StarTAC in Ron's picture isn't it? Top row almost dead center, light gray color with pull up antennae, just to the right of what looks to be an in car model. I knew of Motorola 555 and 888 models and the 888 was the first cel lphone I bought. I would guess I bought it in 1997 but could be a year either side fo that.

Terry

[DavePEI]

Hi Ron:

I won't know the shipping cost until I post them, but I am sure you will be pleased. It will only be the cost of the actual shipping.

Dave

Hi Ron:

I sent them this morning. Shipping rcpt. sent and invoice attached to that email in PDF format...

Dave

[twocvbloke]

I think that is a StarTAC in Ron's picture isn't it? Top row almost dead center, light gray color with pull up antennae, just to the right of what looks to be an in car model.

No, that's a MicroTAC, the StarTAC is what developed into the one on the far right there (assuming it's a Motorola, many brands came up with clamshells after the STarTAC became popular)...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_StarTAC

And one (of many) for sale on ebay:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/370790046928

[AE_Collector]

Oh right, I always mixed those names upas one would think that Microtac would be the smaller one but it isn't. The analog startac had a hopeless battery life!

Terry

[twocvbloke]

Oh right, I always mixed those names upas one would think that Microtac would be the smaller one but it sent.

There's three that I know of, DynaTAC (the bricks), MicroTAC (the Flips) and the StarTAC (the clams), and you're right, the MicroTAC was the small one, but only when compared to the DynaTACs...

One of the most popular StarTACs though are the car-brand supplied ones, people seem to pay silly money to put them with their 90's Jaguar or BMW or something...

And being car related, my mind just randomly came up with an alternative set of chorus lyrics for The Firm's "Star Trekkin' ":

"Star TACin' across the motorway
Yakking on your mobile phone, driving like a berk!
Star TACin' across the motorway
Speeding boldly forward 'til you hit that merc!"

Cheesy, I know...

[twocvbloke]

Actually, here's a good example of a Jaguar branded StarTAC:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271184666729