From: et472@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black)
Newsgroups: alt.cellular,rec.radio.amateur.equipment,rec.radio.amateur.homebrew,sci.electronics.design
Subject: Re: old cellphone reuse/salvage and schematics/tech info?
Date: 5 Jan 2003 03:21:11 GMT
Organization: The National Capital FreeNet
Message-ID:
References: <8u6f1vkr6r7mmvcj8rdvmt8ail0h9agnli@4ax.com>
Reply-To: et472@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Michael Black)
NNTP-Posting-Host: freenet10
NNTP-Posting-Date: 5 Jan 2003 03:21:11 GMT
X-Given-Sender: et472@freenet10.carleton.ca (Michael Black)
Spehro Pefhany (speff@interlog.com) writes:
> On Sat, 04 Jan 2003 13:18:45 -0500, the renowned "Smile, it can only
> get WORSE" wrote:
>
>>Has anyone hacked into these and published any information on using
>>them for alternative purposes???? Or gaining control of these things
>>in service mode? Does anyone deal in Service Manuals for these
>>things??
>
> Not very exciting, but you can salvage a pager motor out of
> most of them. They also have a very accurate temperature-compensated
> oscillator.
>
> Best regards,
> Spehro Pefhany
But they are also a source of other interesting radio parts. IF filters,
usually at exotically high frequencies (and crystals that convert
those IFs to 455KHz, complete FM IF strips for that matter, frequency
prescalers, diode double balanced mixers, synthesizer ICs of various kinds,
sometimes interesting RF transistors, and sundry other parts. For that
matter, I have more than enough NE570 companders because I've stripped
cellphones. Except that they are often oddly shaped, cellphones supply
nice metal cases.
Of course, I'm referring to older and bulkier phones, when the components
were nice and big, and just as important standard and not too integrated.
I've bought them for fifty cents to five dollars (I think that's my limit)
at garage and rummage sales, and if it's old and bulky and you want RF parts
they are worth the money.
I can't say the same thing for more recent ones. Certainly hand held
cellphones yield increasingly fewer parts. I got a recent one for
fifty cents, and there was virtually nothing that I could recognize
inside. Another one at least had a recognizable first IF filter.
Michael VE2BVW