I Want a Cool Cellphone!

September 10, 2004 9:58 PM

Can anybody help me with instructions on re-wiring this old navy ship's phone to fit my cellphone (2.5mm jack) a la Pokia ? Thanks!
posted by azul to technology (11 comments total)

While you're at it, you should totally rig up a circa 1970s portable reel-to-reel as an answering machine and hang it on your belt.
posted by waldo at 10:02 PM on September 10, 2004

I appreciate your suggestion, Sir. I'm only using the handset part, thank you.
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posted by azul at 10:09 PM on September 10, 2004

An iPod sized reel-to-reel MP3 player... Now *that* would be retro-cool.

azul: get one of those wired earbud things. Cut the wire between the thing that goes into your ear, and the thing you speak into. Insert a long wire segment and solder (or crimp) the wires appropriately. open up the navy phone, remove guts. Place the ear thing near the earpiece, and the microphone near the mouthpiece.
posted by b1tr0t at 10:43 PM on September 10, 2004

Why would you want to ruin a nifty piece of industrial design and history (in mint condition no less) in such a pointless manner? Do you really think anybody except for a few status-craving hipsters thinks the Pokia crap is cool? By the time you rewire (and ruin) that handset, they'll be on to the next pointless trend.

It pains me greatly to see stuff being wasted on things like this. People would probably be willing to buy that phone for a goodly sum of money. Including myself, if I had any disposible income at the moment.

Please, please, please reconsider.
posted by keswick at 11:11 AM on September 11, 2004

:::Reconsidering::::
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Thanks kewsick and everyone for your comments. You've been most helpful. I now see the light of waldo's post.
posted by azul at 1:46 PM on September 11, 2004

If you did actually decide to do this, it is definately going to be more complicated than "solder the green wire there, and the red on there". There'll be plenty of electronics involved as the impedance of that handset won't even be *close* to what the phone is expecting. I bet a navy ship handset like that would have a really high impedance. Just my guess.
posted by shepd at 6:43 PM on September 11, 2004

I think the pokia crap is cool... but then again, I love a good, pointless hack.

anyway, is it essential that you use the actual innards of the ship phone itself? You might be able to get off easy by just ripping out the speaker and microphone and replacing 'em with parts from a standard headset you buy from somewhere like radioshack.
posted by ph00dz at 7:56 PM on September 11, 2004

Somebody is already offering me more than what I originally bought the phone for so I might just keep it as is for now.
posted by azul at 8:36 PM on September 11, 2004

I think that navy phone would far more cool as a phone in your house, than with a cellphone. Quite cool, in fact. But then, I'm an ex-sailor.
posted by Goofyy at 11:46 PM on September 11, 2004

*phew*
posted by keswick at 3:34 PM on September 12, 2004

You probably aren't reading this thread anymore, but if you are check out these instructions for turning ye olde tyme phones into Bluetooth handsets.
posted by revgeorge at 10:03 AM on September 14, 2004