Radium wrote:
On Jul 1, 7:24 am, wrote in
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.e...0c8ed13?hl=en&
:

how would u like to change the cell phone industry?

Analog cell phones should stop using FM and should start using AM at
whatever practical radio frequencies available.

That idea was touted and attempted over twenty years ago. Back when
cellphone handsets were better described as concrete blocks instead of bricks.

Gosh...I miss my 70 watt Micors and darn near crystal clear audio on IMTS
systems with 30 mile range. But that was thirty years ago.

DTC hath wroth:

Radium wrote:
On Jul 1, 7:24 am, wrote in
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.e...0c8ed13?hl=en&
how would u like to change the cell phone industry?

Analog cell phones should stop using FM and should start using AM at
whatever practical radio frequencies available.

That idea was touted and attempted over twenty years ago. Back when
cellphone handsets were better described as concrete blocks instead of bricks.

Gosh...I miss my 70 watt Micors and darn near crystal clear audio on IMTS
systems with 30 mile range. But that was thirty years ago.

Who said they were gone? Fire up your scanner or service monitor on
the old IMTS frequencies and you'll hear the idle tones or sometimes
idle chatter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMTS_Frequencies
There's still some IMTS phone systems running in "rural" areas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improved_Mobile_Telephone_Service
Brings back fond memories of the "RCC wars" (radio common carrier).

However, you're right. I really miss my Motorola T1234 mobile
telephone and giant Secode control head. It really impressed the
various ladyfriends in college.
http://www.privateline.com/PCS/mobilephonepictures.htm
Too bad (for Mr Radium) it was FM.

I did work on an AM/SSB mobile telephone system in about 1974. I
never saw it but as I vaguely recall, it operated on various HF
frequencies in some part of Africa. Operation was similar to operator
assisted MTS (mobile telephone service) but on HF. It was basically a
phone patch hung on an HF base station. We were trying to add
signaling so that users would not have to listen to the channel noise
all day in order to receive a phone call. Our scheme sorta worked on
SSB, but the tones drove those that didn't have muted receivers nuts,
so it was eventually abandoned. I think the system was up until about
1990, when something blew up and the operator couldn't find parts or
something.

Of course, there's always the HF marine radio telephone service, which
still operates on various HF frequencies with real live human
operators. They're all currently using SSB, although that wasn't
always the case. In the 1960's and 70's, almost everyone was using
AM.

I got a great name for Mr Radius's system. Reactionary Radio.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
DTC hath wroth:
Gosh...I miss my 70 watt Micors and darn near crystal clear audio on IMTS
systems with 30 mile range. But that was thirty years ago.

Who said they were gone? Fire up your scanner or service monitor on
the old IMTS frequencies and you'll hear the idle tones or sometimes
idle chatter.

As far as I know, all the Southwestern Bell mobiles were given to local
Motorola Sales and Service (MSS) shops. I never paid attention to the
defunct MTS/IMTS channels, but all the RCC channels went over to paging.

Brings back fond memories of the "RCC wars" (radio common carrier).

In Texas, they were all pretty cooperative with reciprocal roaming. Rates
in the '70s were typically $40 a month which included mobile radio rental
and unlimited minutes and free roaming. Denton Texas with the two
universities had like 300 users in the early/mid '70s. When the rates
jumped from $20 to $50 per month (on *TWO* VHF channels), it dropped to
like fifteen users.

However, you're right. I really miss my Motorola T1234 mobile
telephone and giant Secode control head. It really impressed the
various ladyfriends in college.

The Secode was indeed much easier to program than the Motorola control
head. I used the Secode head on my RCC radio and the Moto on my SWBell
radio. In line with the Jackie Gleason and Michael Todd story of one-up-
man-ship, I had both control heads mounted next to my 4WD shifter on my
trucks. My local RCC would not mute the repeater when dialing 2805, so when
my mobile answered the code, it ack'ed with a burst of 2805...which
canceled out the four second 2805 ringing tail and my horn would only beep,
so I had to disable that feature.

To get access to a busy channel in Dallas, I'd drop into manual mode and
listen to the channels for a conversation about to end, then let go of the
chrome hookswitch arm and slam the roam button and the appropriate channel
button - forcing it to roam in IMTS mode to the only free channel. Of
course I would never whistle off the connect tone of an incoming call meant
for another user and grab the channel when it went back to idle.

I eventually upgraded to the all solid state Motos and smaller control heads.

DTC hath wroth:

Brings back fond memories of the "RCC wars" (radio common carrier).

In Texas, they were all pretty cooperative with reciprocal roaming.

In California, specifically the Orange County area near Smog Angeles,
the RCC's were perptually suing each other. About 5 years ago, I got
an invite to do a deposition on a running case that started in about
1970. The original parties are dead or gone, but the new business
owners have picked up the torch.

Rates
in the '70s were typically $40 a month which included mobile radio rental
and unlimited minutes and free roaming. Denton Texas with the two
universities had like 300 users in the early/mid '70s. When the rates
jumped from $20 to $50 per month (on *TWO* VHF channels), it dropped to
like fifteen users.

L.A. had a 3 year waiting list for VHF channels. My license was from
Nevada.

The Secode was indeed much easier to program than the Motorola control
head.

Program? I just had a Secode control head in my car connected to an
ordinary G.E. Progress Line on the shop channels. I was just trying
to impress the ladies, not talk to anyone on the phone. If I needed
to make a phone call, I would use one of the ham systems. I
eventually replaced the Prog Line with a T1234 mobile phone using the
same control head.

Of
course I would never whistle off the connect tone of an incoming call meant
for another user and grab the channel when it went back to idle.

I had two pieces of brass pipe tuned to 1500 and 2805 for the purpose.
Incidentally, my senior project in kollege was designing an all solid
state Secode Selector. The original Secode model 70 or 90 selector
was a mechanical marvel and a nightmare to fix.

I eventually upgraded to the all solid state Motos and smaller control heads.

That would probably be a Motorola Pulsar. The T1234 was solid state,
but with one pair of crystals per channel.

--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:29:35 -0500, DTC
wrote:

That idea was touted and attempted over twenty years ago. Back when
cellphone handsets were better described as concrete blocks instead of bricks.

http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/pics/office/slides/radio-mess.html
The phone with half the buttons red and the rest white, is a G.E.
"brick" phone. Not only did it look like a brick, but it also weighed
about the same as one. Behind it, against the wall is an Audiovox
TCT-100 "Tranportable" phone, another heavy weight. Just to the left
of the Audiovox but halfway covered is the original Nextel handset.

Someone is sure to ask why I have all that garbage. I sometimes give
talks on the history of mobile phones and like to drag in the
antiques. I drew the line on some of the old trunk mounted MTS, IMTS,
and AMPS phones, as they're just too big and ugly to bring to
meetings.

Gosh...I miss my 70 watt Micors and darn near crystal clear audio on IMTS
systems with 30 mile range. But that was thirty years ago.



--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

On Thu, 19 Jul 2007 07:29:35 -0500, DTC
wrote in :

Radium wrote:
On Jul 1, 7:24 am, wrote in
http://groups.google.com/group/sci.e...0c8ed13?hl=en&
:

how would u like to change the cell phone industry?

Analog cell phones should stop using FM and should start using AM at
whatever practical radio frequencies available.

That idea was touted and attempted over twenty years ago. Back when
cellphone handsets were better described as concrete blocks instead of bricks.

Gosh...I miss my 70 watt Micors and darn near crystal clear audio on IMTS
systems with 30 mile range. But that was thirty years ago.

Spectral efficiency be damned as long as you get yours?

--
Best regards, FAQ FOR CINGULAR WIRELESS:
John Navas http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cingular_Wireless_FAQ

John Navas wrote:
Spectral efficiency be damned as long as you get yours?

Damned right