A Mobile Phone from 1985
It might seem quaint through the lends of history we have the luxury of looking through, but in the mid 1980s it was a major symbol of status to be …read more Continue reading A Mobile Phone from 1985
Category Archives: phone hacks
Linux Cell Phone? Build OURPhone
[Evan] couldn’t find a phone he liked, so he decided to build his own. There are advantages and disadvantages, as you might expect. On the plus side, you have the …read more Continue reading Linux Cell Phone? Build OURPhone
Using An Old Smartphone In Place of A Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi was a fairly revolutionary computing device when it came on the scene around a decade ago. Enough processing power to run a full Linux desktop and plenty …read more Continue reading Using An Old Smartphone In Place of A Raspberry Pi
Cold War Military Telephones Now Usable Thanks To DIY Switch Build
The TA-1042 is the most badass looking telephone you’ll ever see. It’s a digital military telephone from the 1980s, but sadly non-functional unless it’s hooked up to the military phone …read more Continue reading Cold War Military Telephones Now Usable Thanks To DIY Switch Build
Glowscope Reduces Microscope Cost By Orders of Magnitude
As smartphones become more ubiquitous in society, they are being used in plenty of ways not imaginable even ten or fifteen years ago. Using its sensors to gather LIDAR information, …read more Continue reading Glowscope Reduces Microscope Cost By Orders of Magnitude
ATtiny85 Automates Your Smartphone
It might not seem too impressive these days, but when microcontrollers with hardware USB support were more expensive and rare, the VUSB library was often used to create USB devices …read more Continue reading ATtiny85 Automates Your Smartphone
Homebrew Telephone Exchange Keeps the Family in Touch, in the House and Beyond
It doesn’t happen often, but every once in a while we stumble upon someone who has taken obsolete but really cool phone-switching equipment and built a private switched telephone in …read more Continue reading Homebrew Telephone Exchange Keeps the Family in Touch, in the House and Beyond
Acoustic Coupler Gets You Online Through Any Desk Phone
Up until the mid-1980s, connecting a computer to a phone line was tricky: many phone companies didn’t allow the connection of unlicensed equipment to their network, and even if they …read more Continue reading Acoustic Coupler Gets You Online Through Any Desk Phone
Virtualizing iPhoneOS 1.0
Virtualizing computers is nothing new. However, Apple devices always present challenges. Just ask anyone who has built a Hackintosh. At least computer hardware is usually exposed, but on phones, the …read more Continue reading Virtualizing iPhoneOS 1.0
Stack Trace from the 1950s Punches Again
This repair/tutorial video by the telephone Connections Museum of Seattle features an amazing piece of electro-mechanical technology from the 1950s — the 5XB trouble recorder. Museum volunteer Sarah the “Switch Witch” has …read more Continue reading Stack Trace from the 1950s Punches Again