car phone

[91Limited]

does anyone have one of those old car phones in their xj? I don't have the phone, but i have all the wiring. The main unit is under the seat and it was made by motorola. There was also an antenna going through the drivers side rear window. I want to just get rid of all this stuff. I traced the wires to under the dash, and from there they go in all different directions. Is it ok to just cut the wires and put electrical twists on them? do these wires affect any of the Jeep's electrical system?

probably wont need it, but...
91 XJ 4.0/AW4/power everything, Limited

 

[scorpio_vette]

got any pics??? i don't remember ever hearing that as a factory option, but might be kinda cool to play with.

 

[casm]

got any pics??? i don't remember ever hearing that as a factory option, but might be kinda cool to play with.

It probably wasn't factory, and given the relative complexity involved in installing the old analogue phones compared to modern ones I'm not surprised to hear that there's wiring going everywhere. Also, on that generation of phones, the transmitter / power supply (which is what it sounds like is under the seat) is largely worthless without the handset - that is, it won't be able to be used.

91Limited: I don't know what model phone is installed but if you look at the transmitter, you should see two or three plugs going into it. One's antenna, one (typically broader than the others) carries power and other wiring, and if there's a third it's usually for the handset.

You should be able to unplug all of them and at least get the transmitter / power supply out from under there. Without knowing the model it's hard to tell you what goes where - if you can pull it out and get the model number, it may be possible to start determining endpoints by wire colour since these things used to be documented in the manuals. Don't start just ripping stuff out without knowing where it goes, though - monkeyed wiring was not uncommon on installations like these.

Oh, and one other thing: some of the older units actually switched ignition power separately from the vehicle's ignition system in order to isolate themselves from potential spikes during startup. This wasn't really all that common, but don't be surprised if you can't turn the XJ on after removing the transmitter. Plug it back in and you should be good to go.

 

[langer1]

I do and it's the only phone that always works everywhere, with full 5 watts I can always connect.

 

[91Limited]

ok ive got some pics
would really like to just get rid of the whole system(scorpio_vette if you're so intrigued by it ill sell it to you :laugh3: ), but maybe im just better off taking out the main part and stuffing the wires somewhere?

the main unit and the wire that plugs into it...

where the antenna was mounted and the cable that ran from the head unit to it...

what im thinking as the power cable and the cable to the handset...

where it all gets complicated...

im not too good at wiring or electronics so i would like to just cut these wires off and be done with it. can i do this without having a problem?

thanks

 

[techno1154]

The wires to lookout for are:

The ignition sense; + when the key is in the accessory or on position,
The Positive; This one is hot at all times.
Both these wires should have an in-line fuse in them. disconnect them as close to the source as possible and insulate any remaining bear wires.

The other two wires are ground and the horn option (when activated, the horn will blow when there is an incoming call but only when the key is turned off). All other wires are data wires. ther will pose no problem to just cut / disconnect them and through them out along with the main box.

Hope this helps.

 

[scorpio_vette]

wow. i've never seen a setup like that. i have an old one laying up in the attic. it's more of a portable car phone with the transmitter and handset and everything in a leather bag. i've gotten it to power up, but never managed to make a call.

 

[casm]

91Limited: thanks for the photos of the labels and equipment, but, well, they're out of focus. I have no idea what's under your seat as a result.

The wires to lookout for are:

The ignition sense; + when the key is in the accessory or on position,
The Positive; This one is hot at all times.
Both these wires should have an in-line fuse in them. disconnect them as close to the source as possible and insulate any remaining bear wires.

That's likely part of the equation (and is phone-dependent), but not all of it. See my comments above re:wiring AMPS car phones. Without the pinouts, there's no way to know what goes to what.

The other two wires are ground and the horn option (when activated, the horn will blow when there is an incoming call but only when the key is turned off).

I have never, ever heard or seen of this. I'm not calling you a liar, but I've had cellphones since 1992 and installed and maintained them between 1993 and 1996. Why on earth would the horn blow when you've got an incoming call? If you're nowhere near the car you wouldn't have any way of knowing it's coming in, and if you're close to it it doesn't matter because you'd hear the ringer.

Further, not knowing exactly what phone he has in place, there's no way to say how it's powered or otherwise. Let's wait for better photos.

All other wires are data wires. ther will pose no problem to just cut / disconnect them and through them out along with the main box.

What exactly do you mean by 'data wires' in this context? The transmitters were all generic in that they had no idea what cars they were installed in; the only possible 'data' (a term I use loosely as we're dealing with analogue voice carriage here) connections between them and anything else involved transmitter connections to the handsets. Calling SPOBI on this.

wow. i've never seen a setup like that. i have an old one laying up in the attic. it's more of a portable car phone with the transmitter and handset and everything in a leather bag. i've gotten it to power up, but never managed to make a call.

Either charge it overnight or run the transmitter directly off of the power adapter (best bet). Numbers to try initially: 611 or 0. As long as you're in range of an analogue cell tower, it should work.

By any chance is it a Panasonic EB-2501? Those were damned good phones. Used to keep one in the trunk of my car for emergency use out in the desert.

 

[scorpio_vette]

mine just says: American series 821 motorola on the handset. it has all the portable car plug in stuff and it also has a huge battery pack that it can run off of. i tried searching a little online but couldn't find anything. i'll try to post some pics soon.

 

[AZ Jeff]

Why on earth would the horn blow when you've got an incoming call?

I work for Mot, as an engineer on cellular phone networks. The flashing of headlights and blowing of the horn when the phone is ringing was a feature called "Quick Call". It was designed to alert the owner that he was recieving a call on his phone when he was outside the vehicle (such as at a construction site). Mot also had this feature for their vehicular mounted 2-way radios. The advent of good portable phones and radios has made this feature obsolete.

The phone in your XJ is called a "mobile", as opposed to a handheld "portable" that is common today. It uses TWO power sources: One that's directly from the battery/fusebox that goes to the actual transciever under the seat, and a "switch A+" line that goes to the handset/cradle (which you appear to not have). The switched A+ line comes from a 12V source that is only on when the ignition is on. The installer probably spliced into some line under the dash with a "Scotchlock" connector to find this switched A+ source.

If you want to remove this phone, here is what I would do:
1. Remove the transceiver (XCVR) under the seat
2. Remove all the wiring that goes to the XCVR. Focus specifically on trying to disconnect the main power lead that feeds the XCVR, as that's always "hot".
3. Try to remove all the wiring that goes between the XCVR and where the handset/cradle was mounted.
4. Just cut and tape/insulate the wires that go up to the switched A+ connections under the dash.

Good luck. Those old mobile installations were a PITA to put in neatly. (Lots of fishing of wires under seats, carpet, etc.)

 

[casm]

I work for Mot, as an engineer on cellular phone networks. The flashing of headlights and blowing of the horn when the phone is ringing was a feature called "Quick Call". It was designed to alert the owner that he was recieving a call on his phone when he was outside the vehicle (such as at a construction site). Mot also had this feature for their vehicular mounted 2-way radios. The advent of good portable phones and radios has made this feature obsolete.

Interesting, I'd never heard of that before. FWIW, the installs I was doing were strictly on ETACS equipment, so may not have been an option where I was. Or I just never had to do it

Good luck. Those old mobile installations were a PITA to put in neatly. (Lots of fishing of wires under seats, carpet, etc.)

God, they were horrible. Didn't get paid enough for the amount of pain I had to go through to put them in, but for a college job it was pretty cushy.

 

[techno1154]

Sorry guys, Back in the BVI, in the mid '80s I worked for the cellular carrier as the head of the technical department. I put one of thoes same phones in my wife's car with an extended trunk mount antenna and a 5dB gain antenna (the standard antenna was a 3dB gain). I had the previlage to carry one of hand helds, the one that could be used as a weapon commonly known as the brick before upgrading to the flip. That was then. I am surprised they ar still around especially since all carriers are now using digital transmission instead of the analogue of the early days.

 

[AZ Jeff]

Sorry guys, Back in the BVI, in the mid '80s I worked for the cellular carrier as the head of the technical department. I put one of thoes same phones in my wife's car with an extended trunk mount antenna and a 5dB gain antenna (the standard antenna was a 3dB gain). I had the previlage to carry one of hand helds, the one that could be used as a weapon commonly known as the brick before upgrading to the flip. That was then. I am surprised they ar still around especially since all carriers are now using digital transmission instead of the analogue of the early days.

Not ALL the networks in the US are entirely digital. There are several reasons for this:
1. the FCC mandates that some analog channels must remain operational indefinitely
2. the analog channels have a longer effective coverage range, which is particularly useful in rural areas, where cell towers are few and far between
3. not all of us have converted to digital. If all you want to do is just "talk" (do pictures, no internet, etc.), analog will do just fine, and will actually tell you much more effectively when you are about to get your call dropped--voice quality will degrade steadily as you approach the drop point. If you have digital, the voice quality will remain unchanged, right up until the digital converters cannot make any sense out of the data stream, and the call abruptly terminates with no advance notice.

 

[langer1]

Not ALL the networks in the US are entirely digital. There are several reasons for this:
1. the FCC mandates that some analog channels must remain operational indefinitely
2. the analog channels have a longer effective coverage range, which is particularly useful in rural areas, where cell towers are few and far between
3. not all of us have converted to digital. If all you want to do is just "talk" (do pictures, no internet, etc.), analog will do just fine, and will actually tell you much more effectively when you are about to get your call dropped--voice quality will degrade steadily as you approach the drop point. If you have digital, the voice quality will remain unchanged, right up until the digital converters cannot make any sense out of the data stream, and the call abruptly terminates with no advance notice.

Well put my phone is Tri band Amps.tdma,cdma here in central Ohio I'm on analog most of the time.
The Analog system is the only system the phone companies ever completed.
They started CDMA then went to TDMA now they want to add GSM
I have never been to deep in the woods or down by the deepest river that my 5 watt Analog phone was out of service, It’s used mostly now by emergency services.

 

[Dave in Eugene]

Ah the old mobile phones. Surprised to see people here that never heard of them. Then I look at the calendar and see how long it's been since that was the way it was done. But back in the day there were quite a few around, they used to have to have operators, and operated on high band VHF. By the '80s new units came into use that worked without an operator, and I think at UHF. Pretty sure that's what we're looking at here. Incompatible with any cel system, legacy or digital. You might find a Ham operator that wants the radio unit to build a repeater or a packet node something. We have been known to do things like that. There was a time I would have killed for one, but no I don't want it. I have built all the repeaters I need or want, and have spent all the long nights on mountaintops in snowstorms or lightning storms or worse fixing them that I care to for the forseeable future.

There is still a network of the old high banders being used in these parts, the service caters mostly to loggers working in remote areas. Also in my business I still see a lot of phones, cel and otherwise, rigged up to honk the horn. On a landing you can't hear the puny little ringers on pocket phones plus if you're working you're probably wrestling with logs or iron and you'd wreck a pocket phone lickety split. So - the phone stays in the pickup and the horn blows so you know you have a call.

 

[johnnyc]

My phone is really old too. But at least it's wireless.

Sorry... :laugh3: