1985 Cellphone In Your Pocket
Ғылым және технология
The world's first pocket cell phone, Technophone PC105 explored inside and out.
This phone is a piece of history and a work of art.
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In 1985, surface mount electronics technologies were brand new. This phone has densely packed surface mount components on a dual sided, twelve copper interconnect layered main board. A stunning piece of engineering for the time.
Historic Tech - The Story of Technophone & The World’s First Pocket Cell Phone
historictech.com/the-story-of...
VHS effects made using real VHS equipment
Video and images from various Telecom Australia archive materials
Bloomberg - The First Cell Phone Call Was an Epic Troll
• The First Cell Phone C...
Images
www.mobilecollectors.net/phon...
collectionerus.ru/collections...
Music
037766_8039s-synth-67009.mp3
Engineered Vibes - SPACE BOUND
Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio - Androids & Sentient Beings
Пікірлер: 653
This video was BRILLIANT! The title card you made was spot on. So simple and yet it fit perfect! I love that one of the ladies said "the most intelligent mobile phone" she didn't call it a smartphone, but still :) I don't know if you care about this aspect, but when you said "I'm even more excited" after discovering the eeprom, you did not sound convincing. Since I was also excited, I'm certain you were too, just didn't sound like it. I have never heard of this phone or brand. Everybody skips from the Motorola brick phone to the startac usually. I was surprised just by seeing the title honestly. I didn't think there was a mobile made in the 80's that was pocketable. For reference, I am the same age as this phone. The effort you put into this video really shows. Just the research you must have done, wow! Then you presented it very well. Did you figure out the mystery of the solder across those processor pins? I was afraid something bad would happen when you connected the battery. I'm very shocked the phone still works as well as it does. Thank for sharing this true marvel of 80's era electronic engineering!
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
When I made this video I recorded the entire disassembly and powering up process. I try very hard to capture my genuine experience during this time. Then I wrote the story script with all the things I've learned, either in full sentences or bullet points depending on the section and record the story of my experience. The final edit is a combination of the two recordings. The moment of eprom reveal was in my head a lot and if I've been unable to capture and present that authentically then that's entirely on me. The aim of this channel is to explore technology and connect with people as I do this. Which is why I'm humbled by the feedback I get from everyone and why I love your comment in particular. You are helping me to grow and improve. Thank you for sticking with me as I learn to make better videos. I do find it really hard sometimes to properly express myself emotionally. But I also feel that I'm making progress with this over time. And from the wonderful responses I'm getting from everyone. Thank you all so much. I learned during making this video that the eprom was how the software was upgradable in this phone. I'm now even more keen to read the contents. Though it will need to be desoldered from the board to do that. That could take some time to set up. The bridged solder pins are very weird indeed. I'm keen to look further into these things in a second part one day. In the meantime I've got a couple of new videos in the works and I hope something good comes out.
@nevarDeathEHW
Жыл бұрын
@@JanusCycle idk, I thought the eeprom reveal was done well aside from my previous feedback. I knew exactly what it was when I saw it, so my perspective may be different from someone that didn't. You did an excellent job of describing *why* it was exciting. It was just that one sentence that your words didn't seem to match the emotion. I also LOVED how well you described the nature of the board, double sided surface mount, 12 layers. I knew that was uncommon for the year, but you helped me understand just HOW special and uncommon it was for the time. I have trouble expressing emotions too. Doing videos really helped me with that. The biggest thing I learned is that the camera works against you. For some reason, when I smile or sound angry, I never appeared to be expressing as much emotion as I thought I was. So I started exaggerating whatever emotion it was I was trying to express. Oddly that made me appear to be expressing myself more naturally in the video. I think for the most part your speaking rhythm and cadence match the subject matter and 'feel' of your videos. Your voice is easy to understand and pleasant to my ears. For my american ears, your accent is almost melodic. I'm excited to see what you upload next!
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
It's the encouragement and honest criticism like yours that's really motivating me to strive towards making better videos.
@RowanHawkins
Жыл бұрын
@@JanusCycleyou should be able to read the programming with a clip lead set. Without desolding if you remove the battery. My guess that is how they would do programming too. If it was strictly programmed from the base, they would have done the erase from there as well. I was fixing cellphones in the early 2000 time frame, but I was playing with Amateur Radio before that, a 12 layer board is mind boggling complex for a decade before then. Techtronics would have been pushing their design software right up to the limit. 6 layer fab was much more common at least in the computer market though some places did more. It occurs to me that the RF modules separated by the battery may and likely at least 1 layer in the board was used for additional RFI reduction/isolation. I wouldn't know what to do with the information, but maybe you can find a technology service who can Xray it once you get the software backed up.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
@@RowanHawkins I have since found out that the Eprom is sitting in very low profile socket pins and easy to remove. I think I was quite wrong about it being programmed in circuit. This will be in part 2. I now need to find a good Eprom reader/programmer. I am going to desolder those RF modules as well. Great suggestions in your comment as well, thank you.
I was 14 in '89 and went to a police auction and ended up buying one of these for £5... I couldn't get it activated but used to flex and walk around with it. This was when a mobile, especially in the hands of a child, would still turn heads. Little did I know, they were all thinking 'what an idiot' 😂
@geometricart7851
Жыл бұрын
89 my dad had one of those grey bricks this would have been too expensive.
@stevenobrien557
Жыл бұрын
I remember about that time when people would walk through the mall pretending to talk on them. Adults.
@KenanTurkiye
Жыл бұрын
I had one of them too. I feel old. Life is so fast.
@johneygd
11 ай бұрын
Haha Well if you still got that phone you might could bring it to this man to repair it,only problem is he sounds like as if he got sex with his wife,damnit.
@SiikPros
10 ай бұрын
@@KenanTurkiyedon't remind me
I was the engineer that designed one of the application specific chips used in the PC105 series pocket phones, both AMPS ad TACS variants. I went on to be the worldwide software support engineer for the AMPS variant.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Hi Andy, thanks for stopping by. It's an honour to have you here. I hope you enjoyed the video. I understand I made some mistakes in this video. I intend on correcting these in a part two. If you have any stories you would like to share, I would be very interested in hearing them. Either here or you can also email me if you wish.
@AndyPevy
Жыл бұрын
@@JanusCycle One thing that might not be so obvious was that some of the variants of the main PCBs had buried vias on them. This was pretty revolutionary at the time, and hugely expensive as well.
@AndyPevy
Жыл бұрын
@@JanusCycle Me again... The Service mode was designed by me as an aid in field testing. My original version was a lot more comprehensive than the version that we eventually released on to customers phones though. the service techs out in the field absolutely loved this feature as it allowed them to have far more visibility of the system than any of the competitors phones gave them.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
@@AndyPevy This is all very interesting stuff. I really appreciate you sharing this.
@TonyWhitley
2 ай бұрын
Hi Andy, fellow Techophonist from a short while later👋 IIRC the processor was a standard chip, not in one of the gate arrays? Hitachi 6303? CMOS version of the Motorola 6800 family. Under the "GL" sticker perhaps.
Even as “the first pocketable cell phone” it’s still somehow the most 1980’s thing imaginable. It’s like a walkie talkie crossbred with a phone born in a Radio Shack store.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
great description :)
@MikeLaRock88
Жыл бұрын
Looks like a calculator with an antenna lol
@r3b3lvegan89
11 ай бұрын
I mean that’s basically what it is….a calculator that connects peoples voices thru antenna lol
@who_cares848
11 ай бұрын
Tv remote
KZread is not giving this man the number of views he deserves.
@dariussaulenas6603
Жыл бұрын
he is getting more and more subscribers x2 in 2weeks time
@geometricart7851
Жыл бұрын
this guys narration was brilliant.
@garrymcdonald5456
Жыл бұрын
Very small niche though isn't it. Interesting for the geekiest of geeks but that's it.
@Keepskatin
Жыл бұрын
I am 6 months late, but the Algorithm is working. ☝🏾🧠🥸
excellent video, thanks a lot! In case you're not aware yet, the osmocom-analog project allows you to build open source SDR base stations for a variety of analog cellphone systems, including AMPS, TACS, MTS, IMTS, NMT, ...
@JanusCycle
11 ай бұрын
This is something I would like to try one day. I have more learning I need to do with SDRs.
This video brought back some memories. I was a very junior engineer at Technophone back then; I left in 1989. The back lighting wasn’t great but it worked better than on your example - maybe that’s something to do with age! The battery pack comes off much more easily if you unclip the front cover first.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching! It must have been amazing to work at Technophone during such an innovative time. I'm glad you enjoyed this.
@rhuttrho88
Жыл бұрын
Did you sign those QC stickers?
@johnclifford9853
Жыл бұрын
@@rhuttrho88 not personally, but someone did!
@markfrost2707
11 ай бұрын
I worked there then! Do you remember that crazy Steve guy?? Those were fun times
@TonyWhitley
2 ай бұрын
With the hair? Claimed he stuck his fingers in the mains every morning to get it like that 🤪
The sheer engineering behind this thing is incredible. I can see why Nokia would be proud of this acquisition.
@conradogoodwin8077
Жыл бұрын
Yes, you can see a lot of tender loving care went into each connector.
The second that sticker came off with the window visible I gasped and started panicking the eeprom was getting erased. Glad to hear it needs a focused UV light.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
It's very hard to erase an eprom without strong UV. Still it's good practice to keen them covered.
@nevarDeathEHW
Жыл бұрын
This was also my reaction as soon as Insaw the window! I'd only learned about those in class, never encountered one. I'm glad to know it takes a focused UV beam.
@nuttysquirrel8816
Жыл бұрын
I think the "eprom's" memory is UV erasable. The "eeprom" or as you computer nerds like to call it, e-squared prom (😂😆🤣) is Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. Also, I didn't know surface mount was a thing in 1985.
@larryleisuresuit3566
Жыл бұрын
Used to place eeprom under desk fluorescent lamp overnight to erase them during my EE degree days, about the same year when this phone came out.
@stevenmoomey2115
Жыл бұрын
I was Working a Trade show back in the 90’s, we had a Liebert Deluxe on the Floor, Powered up the Controls with 115 Volt Cheater Cord. These Japanese came up and started taking close up Flash Pictures of the Board(s). I got into a tussle with them. Yes, they wounded the EPROM. Luckily it wasn’t enough to destroy it working’s at the show.
I used to fix these back in the late 1980's. I still have that exact model on display in my office (just for fun - to show visitors). I also have half dozen old eproms in a black UV proof case (try to keep yours out of any light sources or the data may get corrupted - hence the funny characters you are starting to see on yours). The eproms could be programmed with anyone's phone number and their ESN, then you could make phone calls on their account. A huge cyber security risk by today's standards, allowing technicians that kind of power. But getting hold of the ESN/phone number pair that the carrier had allocated to a specific device was difficult (unless you worked for one of the carriers, or maintained a register of peoples data). I recall all the one's I worked on had that eprom socketed, so it was easy to test the phone on a working account by simply popping in a 'test' eprom with a registered esn/phone number pair. I still have the charger with mine as well as a charger stand where you could pop the phone into the stand like a modern looking Qi charger, but I haven't pulled the phone apart since the 80's so I imagine the PCB has leaked batteries all over it by now. This was back in the day when you could still fix mobile phones at a component level - but that only lasted another 3 or 4 years, then we started doing board replacements in the early 90's and simply threw away the faulty PCBs.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
It must have been amazing to work on these at that time. I did make a few errors in this video. For example I have since discovered the Eprom is removable. Sitting in very low profile socket pins. And the upgrade would not have been done while in the phone. I will correct that and other things when I can read this Eprom and make a part 2 video. My battery didn't leak too much and you could still try and clean yours up. Really awesome that you keep one on display.
@davewright1212
Жыл бұрын
I worked in the UK for both Vodafone and Cellnet at different times repairing analogue and gsm phones to component level well into the mid 90’s, I went on training courses and was an authorised tech for the likes of Motorola, NEC, Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Sony and Ericsson to name but a few, thought it was a job for life given the cost of the handsets but then it got to the point where you could almost get a free one with a gallon of petrol! I work in industrial electronics now but still miss those days, the good old Marconi 2955 / 2960 test sets etc, thanks for making me feel so old 😂 Great Vid.
@kaitlyn__L
Жыл бұрын
SIM cards for GSM must’ve been so much easier! Though in a way even 3G CDMA phones kind of still worked like that, with the subscriber info hard-programmed in
@chrisyboy219
Жыл бұрын
It was only difficult to get the ESN pair if you didn't own a snarfer. If you did have one, you just drove around the city centre for an hour or so and you'd hear the constant PING of pairs being logged. Not too hard to build one with an old scanner and some decoding logic. No security whatsoever, ah those were the days, lol
@steve1978ger
Жыл бұрын
I like to imagine that to get someone's ESN/phone number, all you had to do is schmooze a middle aged office lady named Tilda who kept them all in a binder.
I worked on cellphones I'm 1987 to 1990. I can't imagine how many uv eproms I erased and burned. This is how we set the phone number and carrier information like the ESN (yes the electronic serial number), kind of like a SIM card. That circuit board is amazing for 1985. Incidentally, 0.6 watts is still a lot of power for a portable, way more than a modern phone.
Those 37 years old handwritten stickers are so wholesome 😊
Thank you for a lovely engineering history perspective. The 12 layer PC board blew me away. Just a tip, if you ever get a chance to acquire an Oki 900 handset, it truly was the hacker's/phone phreak's handset of the AMPS telephony era. The bottom connector of the phone exposed a LOT of the bus. I think it even carried some of the CPU lines. The internal service menus were superbly comprehensive. Some people reflashed them with custom firmware, but there was an almost turnkey plug-in integration with the HP 200LX MS-DOS palmtop and some scanning software that turned it into an impressively powerful and portable scanning platform.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
I wold love an Oki 900, that is a legendary phone in hacking circles. I didn't know it worked so well with the HP 200LX, another legendary device. What an amazing combination that is.
The found footage you show in each video continues to amaze me. How long do you spend searching for this stuff.
@edwardfletcher7790
Жыл бұрын
Totally agree, finding phone TV ads & news from the mid 80's !! WOW
@wazaagbreak-head6039
Жыл бұрын
The footage used is australian, there is a few paid services that have the entirety of our major channels archived with footage stretching back to the 60s
@supermaster2012
Жыл бұрын
@Ryan Lewis the US is the exception, not the rule.
@thatbillguy5211
2 ай бұрын
@wazaagbreak-head6039 Amazing. Here in Greece the different stations archive their own programs for free, but some of it has been lost to time, for example our first ever entertainment program (mix of game with contestants and humorous skits, was named Louna Park) was all lost except a part of the last episode in a devastating fire that occurred on the (then) state owned station ΕΡΤ's (formerly ΕΙΡΤ) archives. Very sad to see a part of history be erased, even sadder as most of the Greek populace wasn't wealthy enough to own VCR's at that time.
If not already, you should really read "Ghost in the Wires" by Kevin Mitnick. He hacked several companies to get the source codes of some of the earliest mobile phones. It really blew my mind how that stuff worked back in the day and I think it will fascinate you too. Thanks for putting up these videos!
OG HD44780, what an amazing thing to see! everything is modular, and it's really small compared to the other phones of that era, just incredible!
Fascinating. My first experience of having a mobile phone was covering a renal unit in 1994. They had been around for a few years by then but they were still exciting to use in public.Within four years I had one of my own, and have kept the same number until the present day (2023). Weird to think they have been part of my life for almost half my entire existence. They are actually getting to be quite an old technology, and I may be part of the last generation to have proper, adult, memories of what the world was like without them.
It's simply amazing how everything was modular and so easy to take apart!
I admire how modular the internal design is of this phone, reminds me of the add-on board "hats" for the Raspberry Pi single-board computers. And the overall design for this phone is amazing for 1985, a very compact and advanced design for the era, thanks to it's SMT (surface mount technology) build. SMT circuit technology in the mid 1980s was just making its debut (I have a Kenwood TR-2600 handheld 2-meter transceiver from 1984 that's all surface-mount, probably one of the first SMT-designed devices manufactured). Thanks for producing this video, I actually wasn't aware of this phone, or even the Technophone company, until now.
What an incredible thing this is, a real feat of miniaturisation for the mid 1980's that I'd never heard of before now. Thanks for showing off these things and giving a demo of not just their insides, but also the work you put in to bringing them back to life as well.
I don't miss interlaced video.
My mate worked in the factory in camberley and we had one of these. It had an old school eprom under the flap
Great video and really interesting for electronic enthusiasts. I would warn you though that the sticker on the EPROM window also stops it getting wiped from normal 'white' light which also contains UV. So it would be better to keep the window covered to stop wiping or corrupting the EPROM.
@JanusCycle
10 ай бұрын
Thanks, I am keeping it covered. At least until I can back it up and hopefully make a part 2 video.
The engineering on that board is beyond impressive, even to this day I would say other than surface mount package sizes changing it's still considered impressive with 12 layer boards, ASICs, etc. Very impressive. I've always had a thing for these old phones!
This really was a tidy, mini 8bit computer. The problem with many IC's used for data storage is they sometimes use capacitor or static switching and can become corrupt just because they have not been powered up for a long time. To power this up after so long is rather amazing.
11:50 this goofy 1 minute conversation probably cost $250 in 1985. lol - That board is a work of art. Wow. Thank you for sharing this!!
Ahhh, a blast from the past - better times in my opinion. Nice work!
This video takes me a good few years down memory lane. My first phone was an old Motarola. It was far too big to fit in my pocket. It had a belt clip so that I could hook it onto my belt. It weighed as much as a half brick which was very comforting to me because if I threw it at somebody, it would mortally wound them.
@paulstubbs7678
Жыл бұрын
What a feature 'Mortally wound them', kind of like the extra long flashlights full of 'D' cells, that security personally used to love carrying. A policeman's truncheon is illegal to carry, a flashlight is ok, same weight, same effect.
Wow! What an awesome experience exploring this phone. This was a long one, I hope you enjoyed it all. I'm curious to know how familiar you are with the Technophone brand? Also, what did you think of that main board? That eprom is fascinating. I will be asking people I know that have eprom readers if they can help me read this thing. I'm just so curious to see the contents. Also inside those RF modules, one day I will go there. Possibly in a sequel I hope. Thank you for supporting the channel and being here in the comments. It really means a lot to me knowing that these videos are worth your time and how much you enjoy them. Thank you so much.
@edwardfletcher7790
Жыл бұрын
Those Kodak batteries are trash. It's really difficult to find cheap NiMH batteries in Australian shops now. IKEA is the best for Nimh and Bunnings have really cheap Varta alkalines. I've got an OKI 900 battery of yours with a printed cheat sheet on it. I'll give it to MM if you like ? Also let me know if you want any Palm accessories, I've got rather a lot. Including Mikes old Sony P800.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
@@edwardfletcher7790 A P800 hey? If I can get bluetooth working then 'Browsing the Internet on a 20 year old Smartphone' could be a very interesting topic. I'll happily take any old tech you have, there are so many stories to tell.
@eldoradoboy
Жыл бұрын
these phones were modular so they could be sold all over the world.. right off the bat there were battles of frequency for cell networks.. making the radio transceivers modular allowed the phones to be adapted for any place they got regulatory approval (without a whole new phone). the EPROM also was there obvipusly so phone software could be updated easily.. I used to "mess" with the NAM modules in phones back in the day.. there was a lot of neat stuff you could do on the old analog networks.. im surprised that phone still had its NAM data unless they burned the defaults into the EPROM.. many of them were simply battery backed RAM so the NAM would lose its program when the 'CMOS" battery would die.. typically the little battery only got load on it when the main battery was dead thus they had a long life typically until a phone was tosed on a shelf someplace forever like yours was.. it is really interesting seeing so much SMT.. amazing for 1985.. I never remember seeing that much of it back then.. as a teenager (I was 19 at the time) I won a motorola "brick" and a year free unlimited service in a local radio station comtest... that thing was heavy but the looks it got walking in a shopping mall or sitting at a restaraunt talking on the phone was priceless!
@backguy837
Жыл бұрын
Could you share the infographic with Nokia phones in decent resolution?
@mjouwbuis
Жыл бұрын
You might want to double check if that EPROM is really soldered in. The pins look too round and too thick from the bottom, could be socket contacts.
My second mobile phone was a TECHNOPHONE PC205 with a car charger!!! Red light on the display, and 2 kind of batteries, one long duty and one slim but shorter life.
SMD components were around even in consumer electronics for at least 10 years at that point, but I would agree that a 12 layer PCB was mind blowing back then.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
The percentages I've seen suggest maybe 10% of mid 80s consumer tech had SMD. I guess it depends on how much of the board had SMD vs through hole. There was a long transition period.
I love watching these videos about ‘old’ tech, especially when they talk about he innovations for the time. While not as old as this one, I’ve watched the 2007 iPhone Gen 1 release event about a dozen times. So many things features that we don’t even think about today we ‘invented’ for the first iPhone. It’s especially interesting watching old cell phone releases, since the ‘phone’ feature of most cell phones (if you’re anything like me, at least) is the least used of everything you get on a modern smart phone.
That cut-away was all I needed... one minute in and I'm satisfied :D
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Awesome!
Absolutely amazing video! Your channel really deserves more views, I'd even argue it's a crime that the algorithm hasn't rewarded you yet.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Thank you, that's an awesome compliment. I just hope that over time, the people that enjoy this kind of thing are able find the channel.
This is the first video of yours I have seen, and man, I really did enjoy it. Thanks!
What an amazing piece of 80's tech. I didn't even know this existed. Great video!
@JanusCycle
10 ай бұрын
thanks!
10 years ahead of its time! Like tech from the future!
“Upgradeable software to ensure non-obsolescence…” 80’s advertising blurb for a now obsolete phone. There’s a lesson here for everyone perhaps.
Very interesting piece of history! Thank you for this amazing video.
the PCB design is insane!
@TonyWhitley
2 ай бұрын
I posted above that I think it was a 12 layer board *all laid out by hand*, no CAD software! I'm not certain, it was a long time ago but that was one of the reasons for the 12 layers and the hidden vias.
Wow that backlight is world class !!!!!!!!!!!!1
When I was watching the video, I was having the sensation of watching a thriller movie. Excellent job not only for giving us the thrill but for bringing back a piece of history to life.
@JanusCycle
11 ай бұрын
That is an awesome description, thank you :)
I remember those phones. I started work at Technophone in Camberley in 1989. I was sent to Brooklands college to study BTEC and EITB electronics, machine shop work, fabrication, welding in the first year full time. Then part time for 3 more years to do more electronics, and microprocessor study. I worked in the wiring shop in the factory and Ashwood House for about 2 years making test jigs and wiring looms, cables. Then I moved on to various production lines assembling and doing ATE testing of phones, boxing and packing. I assembled the PC205 which were more compact but still large by todays standards. The company was taken over by Nokia and the interior of the factory went through a huge makeover. A second floor was built and the production lines for phones were replaced with new equipment for manufacturing cellular base stations. I was assembling these huge cabinets for several months. Then went on to testing assembled boards and finally base station RF modules and transmitters. I left in 1994 to go to Hastings college and Brighton UNI and study HND electionics.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
That must have been amazing to learn and work during that time in such a fast developing industry. I really appreciate hearing your story, thank you for sharing.
@TonyWhitley
2 ай бұрын
I was software lead for the PC205, I like to think it was that phone that really made Technophone as it sold in much greater numbers than the first generation PC105 etc.
@NickT6630
2 ай бұрын
@@TonyWhitley what a great job!
Ty for sharing the story of this phone
Wow. This was amazing to see! What a great piece of history. Thank you for bringing this to us!
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
I'm glad you enjoyed this, thank you.
Surface-mount tech goes back to the late '70's, but it did not get into mainstream consumer gear until the mid-80's. Nice soldering technique on those pins, BTW. (13:43)
@klaasj7808
Жыл бұрын
1960s baby, nasa used it big time.
@ScottGrammer
Жыл бұрын
@@klaasj7808 Not surprised.
Thanks for memories, I remember using one of these phones back in 1988 when I started in the IT industry. We also had the Telecom brick phone with the red LED display :)
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Those red LED displays with full dot matrix characters are amazing!
Thank you so much for this high quality content!
I was born in march 86 and as wonderful the phone is ( and your content ) Admittedly im gettin old 😢
How fascinating. Way ahead of their time.
I remember seeing someone using one of these at the cafe behind the Wintergarden in Brisbane 87/88. It mightily impressed me
Wow. This video is insane! Just what needed to watch to start my Monday.
Thanks for sharing a look at this artifact. I remember my father's Nokia bag phone. I loved the sounds it made when powering on, and connecting to the network. Kind of wish I could emulate that on my iphone. LOL
Great Edit, Great narration and of course good expertise. Well chosen music and awesome to watch ads from the 80s ! Thanks ! Definitely subscribed and waiting for more videos.
@rsc9520
Жыл бұрын
Me too! I am glad I found this AMAZING channel.
that's amazing. it's so cool seeing the early computers that were used in some of these devices that you wouldn't expect there to be a computer in... i have a couple of bang and olfusen turntables from the mid 1980s that i noticed having a software version printed on a label on back, and when i looked at the service manual found out there's a simple 4 bit microprocessor for controlling the logic of moving the tonearm, controlling the speed, and auto stop. microcontrollers were already becoming so ubiquitous even back then
This is amazing Sir. And your voice is so soothing too! I could listen all night. Thank you so much for this excellent work. 😊
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for your compliments :)
Well done! Very interesting and relaxing.
I have no reason to need to know this much about an old phone - but your passion had me sitting through the entire thing!
@JanusCycle
9 ай бұрын
I'm glad you got a kick out of this :)
Thank you so much for this video. This is wonderful.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed this.
Excellent video. Great channel.
The character set is in the ROM built into the HD44780 LCD controller. If memory serves, it has ASCII, plus katakana for Japanese, and it's possible to download a few custom characters to it as well, but they don't persist. It's not an all-pixels addressible display--you send it characters. [Edited: I missed the "is" in the first sentence.]
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Very interesting, I will include this in part 2 when I am able to make that.
Awesome as always. Nice video.
This was fascinating. Thank you!
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
glad to hear, thanks!
awesome as always
Fantastic content - keep them coming!
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Thank you, I hope you keep enjoying.
That build quality is quite nice.
Amazing! Thank you
Thank you for doing this video, I was fascinated by this device as a child. By my teens, I came to know one of the sales guys and technicians from Mobile Tronics.
@JanusCycle
11 ай бұрын
That is cool, thanks for letting me know.
KZread clearly knows at this point that "Disembodied hands against a backdrop of brown furniture messing around with obscure technological devices" is apparently my favourite genre of media, and popped this into my recommendations. Damn you KZread, you know me too well. Subscribed!
Very cool tech man, my father, who didnt stay around long, was a part of these beginnings, one of the few higlights of my youthnwas seeing things like this as a kid and to see one today brings back memories.
This is an incredible video! Also an exciting phone!
I had a trunk mount Novatel cellular in 1985. It had a test mode which allowed tuning in on the various channels. Cell phone minutes cost $.38 each. No unlimited or metered monthly plans then.
@daviddun1389
Жыл бұрын
Had the same one
This is so GREAT!
Oh what an awesome video. Fun to watch!!!
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Pleased to hear that, thank you!
Why is this stuff so addictive! Nice work 👍🏻
Great vid,Thank you.
I had a tecnophone water bottle! My Aunt worked for ComSat, the satellite phone company in the mid 1990's. She have me a swag bag from the company for my 9th birthday; it had all kinds of models and mock ups of cellular equipment, and satellites.
Amazing video
Very cool, thank you.
This video is a work of art.
Great stuff! And so soothing :)
That was a seriously good transition in the beginning 😮😮😮❤
Great Video
Thx for the amazing video :)
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
I really enjoy making this, I'm glad you though it was good, thank you
Amazing video!! Regards from Brazil!!
@JanusCycle
11 ай бұрын
Thank you :)
When i was little kid n i love electronics....my uncle bought me dead cell phone from abroad it was 1986 ....i was having led screen...old school glowing red Matrix.....i open it n was fascinated by it ....wished one day i could have cell phones in india .....n in 1999 gsm cellphones were interdouced in india
Very informative!
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Thank you
Oh, royal playboy! I got the Technophone Type 107/3. It certainly is quite pocketable! Cheers from Sweden.
@TonyWhitley
2 ай бұрын
That has "my" chip in it.
@TonyWhitley
2 ай бұрын
OK, there were 3 of us and I can only claim the least of the credit.
Fascinating.
Fabulous exploration of this often forgotten groundbreaking phone. As I child I vaguely remember my uncle having one of these and that my dad still had a Motorola 8500X (I think?) handset. As the late 90s wore on I was given a well used Technophone PC 405 just before the first-generation networks went dark at the end of the 90’s. While I couldn’t make outgoing calls as it was given to me so my parents could contact me, it was fun to have something many other kids didn’t have at the time. Informative and awesome video as always! I love that nostalgic lo-if pre and end roll :D If you get to follow up on this with a base station, it would be fun to see if will work and also if there is anything interesting in that EPROM as well (which was not something I was not expecting to see in this phone either. Crazy stuff!). Great to see that this relic still works after a bit of love.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Great to hear your Technophone memories. I hope I can make a follow up one day.
Thank you.
Sometimes I think that there should be a law against any network to be shut down. I would still like to use NMT-450 network, for example.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Maybe reduce the number of available channels on older networks as new systems are built. Really old networks could have one or two channels still available for occasional use. It's not practical, but I like the idea.
Very interesting video. On a side note, you can safely use 6 standard AA batteries, since 1.2V is the nominal voltage of NiCd batteries, but they reach 1.5 (even 1.6V) a brief period when fully charged, so the phone must be prepared to be powered with such voltages. I do not think this is the only reason for the lackluster backlight, but might be a part of it.
@Covid-me1xf
10 ай бұрын
and you can charge them too under supervision
@djosearth3618
6 ай бұрын
Yes also that was prolly a good nuff decently priced LED for 85. LED tech has gonr far!
@emreayar2652
5 ай бұрын
NiMh AA batteries have maximum 1.2V and are rechargeble. So maybe a better overall solution. Sorry for my English.
Fascinating Subscribed
Amazing 💜 thanks so much….
That was awesome 👌 subbed
Its got a beautiful chip layout.
Excellent
That EPROM is not soldered. It is sitting in the same turned-pin sockets as the RF modules and the keypad. So it is possible to take it out. Also i really don't believe anyone would erase the EPROM in-situ - you would just pop it out and replace it.
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Thanks for noticing this. I have since also found this out. This will be included in part 2 one day.
New subscriber i love how calm and informative this video was i love the accent too
@JanusCycle
Жыл бұрын
Thank you, I really appreciate your compliments.