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Fitted my new car phone-1980s retro style!!
#1
I fitted my eBay bargain 1980s car phone today, it's an NEC Aircall and I thought it would make a great addition to the car-no holes were drilled anywhere,apart from the replacement ashtray kindly provided by Mr Parnham and it may well have been designed to fit in a DMC (or not!).
I haven't wired it up yet,but an auto electrician pal is looking into sorting it out so at least it lights up-the network it used is long gone. 8)
#10556 'Ol Stainless' running surprisingly well,Audi A5 2.0T Quattro smug as usual,Wenault Slaguna stationary for the mo',the R.V.Enterprise clocking the U.K.miles up,new fleet addition-Jessica the Daewoo Matiz,silly but 55mpg....!
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#2
Nice Brian.

Make sure you get a period licence disc to display in your windscreen that used to be issued from the post office.

Permit to operate a radio telephone from a motorised vehicle :wink:
VIN 4532

DOC-574
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#3
Love it. Just out of interest, Are you allowed to use this kind of fixed telephone in a car?
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#4
It would be great if you could fit modern mobile phone innards to the shell of that phone, much in the same way you see new old-style bakelite and candlestick phones.
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#5
That's pretty awesome!

For what it's worth MML, you can buy the Motorola Bricks on ebay that use a modern SIM card. It's a digital phone that looks like a cellular old school model.
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#6
I've got a 'period' tax disc Darren, bought it way before they started going for silly & stupid prices (chose one where the written in details had faded so it was easy to put in my own!)-do you need a permit for something that looks good but doesn't work? Might need to get a permit for owning a DeLorean........ :lol:
#10556 'Ol Stainless' running surprisingly well,Audi A5 2.0T Quattro smug as usual,Wenault Slaguna stationary for the mo',the R.V.Enterprise clocking the U.K.miles up,new fleet addition-Jessica the Daewoo Matiz,silly but 55mpg....!
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#7
Hi Brian,

I didn't mean a period vehicle duty tax disc.

I meant the disc you used to have to have and display in your windscreen to operate a radio telephone in a car, in addition to your road fund licence. Big Grin
VIN 4532

DOC-574
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#8
I never knew that Darren! I think that's next on the list then-cheers for that! Big Grin
#10556 'Ol Stainless' running surprisingly well,Audi A5 2.0T Quattro smug as usual,Wenault Slaguna stationary for the mo',the R.V.Enterprise clocking the U.K.miles up,new fleet addition-Jessica the Daewoo Matiz,silly but 55mpg....!
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#9
The UK's first mobile phone users were motorists in Manchester. A car radio phone system began in Manchester in 1959. The state owned, General Post Office or GPO, ran the network . Subscribers, as they were called, in South Lancashire could connect for £195 (more than £3000 in today's money. This is when you had to display the operators licence disc). There were only six channels which meant only six calls could take place at the same time and all calls were placed through the operator. There were eighty-six subscribers by 1963, but the GPO made a loss on the service.
Nevertheless, the GPO persevered with the car radio service. In 1965, the same year as the Post Office Tower (now the BT Tower) opened for business, a new car radio telephone service, called 'System 1' started in London. The Postmaster General made the first call to Richard Dimbleby. Calls cost from 1s 5d for the first three minutes.
By 1983, the service was 'System 4' and could handle calls automatically without an operator. It was still highly exclusive as radio bandwidth was a scarce resource.
When cellular networks arrived in 1985 (the licence disc was phased out) car phones remained one of the most popular ways to go mobile. The cost of miniaturising the technology was high, so hand held phones were much more expensive. Powerful car mounted transmitters and receivers could also make the most of the limited coverage.
VIN 4532

DOC-574
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#10
Could carry 6 calls! Brilliant.
What about their legal status? They used to be legal to use, Were they ever out-lawed?
Could you have one converted for CB usage, which still are legal?
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#11
that looks brilliant Brian.

Phill used to have a licence that permitted him to use a 'mobile phone whilst driving',
as the old Radio Ameteur Licence permitted it.

Police found people using this 'loophole' to get away with using a mobile whilst driving though
and it was done away with a few years ago.
Claire Wright  - Club Treasurer
Jul 1981 DeLorean - Flopsy #2292 
Aug 1989 Cavalier 1.6L - Guinney
Apr 2021 Mokka-e Launch Edition - Evie
#170
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#12
Nice find, it fits perfectly in the car, so '80 Smile
Do you have a picture in the dark to see how it lights up?
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#13
Thanks for the approval guys-Domi, my mates going to hopefully sort the internal electrics out so it will light up, he seems to think some LEDs may have to be fitted-watch this space! 8)
#10556 'Ol Stainless' running surprisingly well,Audi A5 2.0T Quattro smug as usual,Wenault Slaguna stationary for the mo',the R.V.Enterprise clocking the U.K.miles up,new fleet addition-Jessica the Daewoo Matiz,silly but 55mpg....!
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#14
Cooooollllllllll Smile
Claire Wright  - Club Treasurer
Jul 1981 DeLorean - Flopsy #2292 
Aug 1989 Cavalier 1.6L - Guinney
Apr 2021 Mokka-e Launch Edition - Evie
#170
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