Using a rotary phone in 2021

[Doug Rose]

I think I've found the mobile phone for me:

$390 for it kit pre-order.

[Jim Stettler]

Another post here

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=23691.msg236821#msg236821

[dsk]

I had to stop using rotary phones over a decade ago when my VOIP carrier decided to "upgrade" their system, removing support for pulse dialling. I tried mutliple workarounds, but eventually it became futile. (I'm in Canada with limited options - and the remaining options are absolute crap!)

Well, after having no phone whatsoever more than 10 years (and constantly questioning why communications had become so utterly retarded) I decided to try again. I discovered "Magicjack" and decided to give it a try. I had no hope... but I must admit I'm pleasantly surprised. Everything worked! I can't manually dial yet, but soon I'll try the Rotatone with it. I can still dial out with the "app" with no problem, even though I have an old OS. (and even that impresses me)

I'm wondering - how many people.. in 2021 still use rotary?

Not so many, but some of us. IP telephony is still an option, and if the equipment is able to ring your old phone a rotary to tone converter will usually make you call out with most old telephones. DialGizmo is one who use to work. you dial a digit, and it sends the tone one by one.   Just plug it in the jack, and the phone(s) in the dialgizmo.
dsk

[shadow67]

As far as VoIP goes, I have a Google voice line set up on an Obi200. i could not get rotary to work on it so I connected an Xlink Bttn I already owned to it. Since the room I put it in has no wired connections at all, I also purchased the wifi usb adapter for the Obi. I put a WE 5302 on this setup and it works great. I even set up the Obi so that I can call using 7 digits within my area code, which is nice. Also, I have a FreePBX system on a raspberry pi that I play with and have several rotary phones on via ATAs. I have read that you can create a trunk between freePBX and the obi so that any extension can use the google voice line, but I have not looked into that thoroughly yet. All fun stuff to play with.

[MMikeJBenN27]

I have an aqua 554 wall phone that I put a Rota-Tone inside.  It haven't used it for quite awhile, but it seemed to work pretty well.  Sometimes would get "stuck".  You would have to hang up and dial again.

Mike

[Hill Haven Telephone Company]

My charter spectrum MTA supports pulse dialing out of the box which is nice,  I can just dial out. 

[Babybearjs]

LOL! at least I'm safe... the mobile home park wont upgrade to fiber... too expensive. so having rotary is no problem for me... funny how they are attempting to keep rotary around even in a cell phone style.

[MMikeJBenN27]

That rotary cell phone is kool!

Mike

[19and41]

I have an OOMA unit that I use with a Panasonic key unit.  Until my surgery, after which I hope to be able to do some spelunking beneath the house to reconnect the rooms' phone jacks, I rotate units in my collection at my computer desk.  I put my AE40 back on line last month.

[rp2813]

I was forced onto fiber for my land line from AT&T after I moved to a new house.  It was the exact scenario described above by MMike -- existing copper was no longer being maintained or provisioned so fiber was the only option.  In my case, it was a trade-off for high speed internet access.

The difference with my situation is that my dial tone still comes from the CO and is not, I repeat, NOT VOIP, and my rotary phones work fine.  However, my supposed "POTS" service must pass through the gateway for my fiber high speed internet access, so in the event of a power outage, my land line goes dead. 

The reason I have kept a land line has always been about the reliability, even during a power failure or natural disaster such as an earthquake, as well as to keep using my rotary phones.  It's not making as much sense to pay for land line service anymore, but I doubt my rotary phones would work over VOIP.  I have been wondering if I quit AT&T for my high speed service if they'd be forced to provide me with copper since their gateway would be eliminated, or if they'd be able to rig it through the fiber gateway from my new provider.

The interesting thing about rotary phone use today is that at over the past few years ARU/VRU systems began accommodating pulse signaling.  It's hard to come across one that doesn't.  I'm confident that this was all about forcing callers to use the ARU/VRU navigation by eliminating the option of, "If you're calling from a rotary telephone, please hold for the next available representative."  It was likely a cost-cutting measure in order to reduce the rep headcount, since even people with touch-tone phones would simply hold instead of use the menu.  In my experience, this is no longer an option except on the smallest of systems.

One would think that if ARU/VRU systems can be adapted to respond to pulse signaling, so could VOIP systems, but the same financial incentive to pursue it is not present in that scenario.

[MMikeJBenN27]

I don't know about your provider, but the decendents of Pacific Telephone over here will provide you with a battery box for your fibre, (of course, you have to buy and maintain the batteries), so that will NOT go dead in the event of a power failure.  Besides, cell is not confidential.  Anybody with a scanner can evesdrop on your conversations.  Not so good if you are talking to, say, your doctor or your bank.

Mike

[countryman]

Anybody with a scanner can evesdrop on your conversations. 

Definitely not. Not saying cell phones are the way to go, but the communication is digitally encrypted and it takes "some more" equipment to listen into it than just a radio scanner.

I am surprised that rp2813 is on a fiber line but the voice service is not VOIP? Or did AT&T just install equipment providing an analog and pulse dial capable port on your premises? They are out there. Once it works as it should it's hard to tell where the dial tone comes from.

[rp2813]

Yes, as a former Pacific Bell/SBC/AT&T employee, I was able to speak with the installation team in telco lingo regarding my concerns about copper vs. fiber and they explained to me that the dial tone would still be coming from the CO.  I really pushed them to just give me a copper land line connection but they wouldn't budge.

I'll inquire about battery back-up.  That would make me feel better about not having copper.