Help me PIMP OUT my CAR PHONE

October 22, 2006 1:11 PM

My '92 Nissan Altima has a freakin' CAR PHONE in it. What can I do with it?

Indeed, an old-fashioned touch-tone car-phone, wired into the car. It's been sitting under our seat for over a year and we've never really thought about it. But I'm curious: are there any crazy hacks one can carry out on a car-phone? Here's the type of stuff I'm thinking of:

- Miraculously free phone calls using some unknown third-party connection service
- Laptop connectivity by hooking up a modem to the car phone
- Using it as an in-car PA system by connecting it through the radio

I dunno, let's be creative. Does anybody know of a website that offers instructions for car-phone reappropriation? Has anybody modified a car phone on their own time? Do any companies even still offer car-phone services?

posted by Milkman Dan to technology (5 comments total)

Do any companies even still offer car-phone services?
Yes. My father still uses a car phone. He is a fogie of a technophobic dinosaur. His service is through Verizon in the 612 area code.
posted by whatzit at 1:19 PM on October 22, 2006

FWIW, Given the era, it's probably just an old Analog cell-phone. I don't think the old analog cell network has been decomissioned, but I imagine it could be difficult trying to find a carrier who will sign you up for analog-only service (since analog cellular is a much less efficient use of RF spectrum). Your best bet is to look for a budget off-brand mobile service, which surely won't be free. The thing about analog service, if you can get a good signal, it generally sounds better than digital.
posted by Good Brain at 1:49 PM on October 22, 2006

The thing about analog service, if you can get a good signal, it generally sounds better than digital.

It's that "getting a good signal" that's the problem, though, then. I usually found analog service inferior to the digital of today.

Analog service will probably disappear in the next two years.
posted by grouse at 1:55 PM on October 22, 2006

If the phone works, and you get signal indication, you can use it to dial 911 in an emergency, for free. If it is the oldest generation of full 3 watt mobile phones, with an external antenna, it is a bandwidth hog, so be nice, and don't leave it on all the time. But these older rigs reach out better from cars, in hilly terrain, than the newer 600 milliwatt digital handsets, particularly along interstate corridors where first generation cell systems were often first deployed. Not a silly thing to have along on road trips, at all, particularly if travelling sparsely settled territory.
posted by paulsc at 2:09 PM on October 22, 2006

Find instructions online for turning an old phone into a bluetooth headset (google it, I know they're out there somewhere).
posted by cebailey at 6:36 AM on October 23, 2006