#landlines

@teidar dropped this in our Discord server this morning, and it reminded me of something from my middle school years.

Back in the '70s, we had an assembly at my school to listen to a presentation by some shill from The Phone Company about telephone technology and the Dazzling Amazing Future of Telecommunications.

(Like I said, it was the '70s.)

It included a pretty accurate version of compact portable phone technology.

"You'll never be out of touch! People will always be able tp reach you, wherever you are! You could be surfing on the beach at Maui, and your boss could call you to talk about work!"

He seemed utterly baffled when someone asked, "what if you don't want people to call you? Who wants their boss to call them on vacation?"

How could anyone not want this glorious future utopia of constant communication?

I will note that his version of Amazing Future Phones were strapped to your wrist at all times. Someone asked, "couldn't you just take your phone off and leave it in your hotel room?" and he answered, "well, no, you couldn't."

Old ass landline phone collection (mostly Sony)

Clockwise from top right:

Sony SPP-320 base unit: works, but the speakerphone function howls. It does not currently transit mid-40 mHz range frequency to cordless unit due to signal interference. This design looks like it belongs in an office more than a home, but was sold as a household system.

Brother IntelliFAX-2840: My cactus keeps it company. I use the output tray as a tissue box holder, when I seldom do print something I just take the tissue box off. This does not actually work as a fax machine in my setup, because the bridge I use to connect my cell phone to the analog devices, Cell2Jack, only transmits with enough fidelity for voice signals.

Sony IT-B3: not actually connected to the wall jack, just hooked on the same wall plate and daisy chained to the other phones. The end of the RJ-9 cord that connects to the dial pad broke off, so it had to be super glued in.

Sony SPP-320 cordless handset: powers on, but does not work due to above mentioned radio frequency interference. I would love to get it working at some point, but I've read that since so many modern objects - household appliances, IoT devices - emit signals of various frequencies, the technology this device uses is rendered useless due to the interference. Brick is beautiful.

Sony IT-B5: purchased in order to have full modularity, and due to slight difference from IT-B3 - three one-touch dial keys, mute function, heavier handset. Currently connected to my computer via RJ-9 to 3.5mm audio jack adapter. I plan to add the dial pad into the network and use the AirPods case as a hook weight.

Sony TAM-100 answering machine: works almost flawlessly. One of the grip feet underneath broke off, so it wobbles. The "three mailbox" function does not seem to be working, also perhaps due to the limitations of the Cell2Jack. I discovered this model at a thrift store, but upon getting a power adapter for it, I found that the unit did not work, so I purchased a second (pictured), and plan to repurpose the first broken machine. It and the SPP-320 base are placed on top of a pair of stereo speakers.

Cortelco 2500: the company that manufactures these phones is still in business, and is a direct descendent of Western Electric, the company that manufactured phones for the AT&T monopoly before the breakup of the Bell system. I love the simplicity of this phone, and wanted to make it as old school as possible, so I placed lace underneath, and a phone book in the drawer below, along with a pen and notepad. This reminds me of the phone setup my great aunt had, complete with a gossip bench. I also wrapped the cord around the base, just like the front man had it in Squid Game.