Having always had an interest in spies, attache and briefcases, I couldn't resist buying this on Ebay. It popped up around 2005, was very reasonably won and it came all the way from the USA.
Its a Bell American VOX XXI Portable Telephone circa 1979, part of the origin of today's tiny mobile phones!
There's a dial handset and whole console of big buttons, none of which I can fathom! The blue metal cover is atop a huge battery, which takes up most of the case and weighs an absolute ton! Needless to say its flat and I have no way of charging it.
It came with dealer correspondence and information.
The letter dated 1979 explains that such a telephone would cost around $4,000 all in! God knows how much that would be now! It was clearly a rich kids' toy this!
The letter hails from General Electric in Ferndale, Michigan, USA.
A 1983 spec sheet was in there too!
The base of the case has four feet, two maker's plates and a plug socket.
The socket, close up above, has 10 pins. is this for power or something else? there is a jack plug socket next too it. As to what for I'm unsure.
I'd love to charge it up and make a call! ha ha.
It's the closest I've ever come to one of those iconic cases from 2001 A Space Odyssey containing a complete office like the one below, complete with television! Anyone got one of those beasts?
Ooooch... no, it's okay Woodsy... that's just my jaw hitting the floor! What a striking example of first generation mobile phone technology. I can definitely see why you bought it - straight from an episode of Mission Impossible... as well as being a very unusual vintage phone/case. What a wonderful time capsule gem and I'm gobsmacked :)
ReplyDeleteCheers Tony. It is a lot of fun. I had it out this week to show my older Brother. He wondered if I could get a power lead on Ebay? But would it even work in the UK? How would it connect to a phone network?
DeleteAbsolutely brilliant, Woodsy, and what a find!
ReplyDeleteKnowing you you will have trawled the interwebs for information about it. Have you tried contacting Bell directly to ask for manuals or spec sheets?
Cheers (literally)
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Paul
No, not done much research at all on this Paul for some reason. I suppose up till now its been a nice thing to have around as I like 'old' modern technology. I was looking at a 8 track cartridge player last Saturday in a Vintage shop in Matlock, Derbyshire. With its pile of 8 track tapes I was sorely tempted!
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