Are you going to setup the thing as VoIP-box? Speaker and microphone in the handset? That would be rather cool
That's a really sweet board there. Still the question... are you going to keep the handset functional as a handset to use it with Skype etc? Oh... and I really dislike the price-point of the picoITX-boards :/
You guys ever see the inside of a stock 1950's rotary phone? Not enough room in there for dust! All mechanical. john
I have to agree with everyone. Rip out the mechanical parts and put a speaker and mic in the handset and use it for skype.
I have a Skype headset for Mod Brothers pod casts. The EE in me wants to restore it. Numbers and dates all are 1954 on all the internal parts. But... The modder in me says whack a hole, fool! john
I second (third, fourth?) the Skype PC suggestion. speaker and mic in teh handset, PC in the body? You know that's some winning sh*t there.
hey, new to the forum, i'm thinking that if u're gonna go with this voip mod, you should go all the way what i mean is that you buy a small screen (max 7 inches) and either embed it on the front or even better, create a bezel and somehow fix it on the back with a stand or something. also, i believe that a small webcam can be fitted above the dials. just my 2 cents
I like your idea, John. Personally, I think it would be a little silly to build a dedicated VOIP box, but then, I hate telephones. Little pair of speakers in the handset, and you've got a Pandora box (with terrible sound). Ooohh, and wire up the power switch to the rotary dial. 'To boot, dial 0' Is that phone from South Dakota? 605 area code?
Why not do both? Presumably the restoration process will entail a certain amount of disassembly (why is it my brain immediately shifts to Short Circuit mode whenever I hear the word disassemble) so when you have it conveniently in pieces, take a latex mould of the necessary parts, and make a glass fibre (or whatever other method you choose, casting, etc. etc. etc.) copy of your phone a nice, convenient case to fit your pico-itx into.
Yes, 605 is South Dakota. These things are all over the US for dirt cheap. This one was free. Only the very most rural areas even support rotary phones anymore. The only reason for rotary compatibility is Govt. sanctions that phone companies have to support existing equipment. When the last rotary phone customer leaves, the services will be all touch tone then. Oh, and yes the phone company can tell who has rotary. Former Bell Labs staff john
I don't know if these quick snaps show it but all the internal parts are date stamped 8/54 which indicates this unit was never upgraded. That's why the EE in me wants to clean and restore it. john
