Great review. In the industry, these flat keypads used on the 9800x are known as "membrane keypads" as it is all just one membrane of keys laid onto the key switches. Given the flat profile of these layouts, I wonder why Motorola didn't just continue this trend with their other phones, especially the very thin Lites or Elites. Interesting indeed.
TechRetroviews Interestint to note. thanks for the info on the keypads. I'm not sure why the didn't continue with these membrane keypads. They are certainly better than individual buttons as there's no dirt or moisture that can get in to the phone. I guess maybe they realised that making phones too good would not stimulate people to buy new handsets after a year or two...
Hi. I have a question. One some of the MicroTAC battery packs and the Profile 300E's....the battery has a black switch on it near the battery terminals on the side of the pack that faces the inside of the phone. What would that switch be for?
MrWolfSnack I'm not 100% certain actually. I know that the switch only exists on newer batteries with 4 or 5 outside charging contacts. Going from experience when I tried to charge a battery with the switch on it wouldn't charge on the phone whilst having a charging cable connected to the phone so it might be a switch to isolate the positive terminal of the battery....but I'm not sure as this has only happened once and I've stopped using the switches. On some other batteries that I still use daily like the Lithium Ion ones the switch doesn't appear to have any function. I may do a video about taking apart a battery with such a switch just to find out....That would answer the question once and for all!! thanks for your continued interest and support.
Vintage Cellular Mobile Phones You should, thanks! Some have a red or white colored dot on the switch, others have nothing. I wasn't sure what the switch was for, as some batteries had them to the left, and others to the right.
Let me see if I have a duff battery and the tools to rip apart a microtac battery. You need quite a bit of force to pry one open....and I don't recommend anyone to do this as taking apart any electronic device or battery can be dangerous.
MrWolfSnack I took a look at this switch you mentioned, and all this switch does is remind you (when the red or white dot is visible) that you have either charged/depleted this battery. Same scenario with camcorder batteries, as it was not uncommon to carry multiple batteries around, and it helped to have some way of knowing which batteries were full, and which were dead.
Very nice phone. I have one of the generic badged 9800X TACS models. Still powers up ok too. Made in 1990. I would very much love to get a 9800X AMPS version though, then I could use it with my test set. So hard to find ! Some are on ebay now, but at very high prices. Will keep looking. I also have the cool Audiovox PT-300 phone you have in the background. Now that is a hefty brick phone alright ! I believe this was the very first Audiovox handheld phone bought out in 1989/1990, right ? Cheers, Chris.
Hi Chris, Yes BT badged microtacs are some of my favourite microtacs. BT badged 9800x are somewhat very rare. I fought long and hard for my ones and recently I think one sold for about 150 pounds. 9800x AMPS versions are rare but not as rare as DPC950's. There is one on ebay but its' 600 bucks which is insane! I need to speak to you about a test set and also putting up my collection on mobilecollectors.net The PT300 is a beast of a handheld but not as big as the biggest phone that I did a video about recently. Not sure if this was the first audiovox though....It could be but without doing some research I wouldn't be certain.
Those are ferrite core antennas that use inductive instead direct coupling and are fully functional. The bottom part is not antenna itself but induction coil.
I appreciate that they could be inductive antennas (and that the bottom part could be an induction coil) but that doesn't explain the fact that the pull out part is just plastic when you cut right through it.....and you only see a difference in service level when you remove the "coil" and not when you pull out the antenna.
It's most likely some kind of polymer ferrite rod. Antenna probably provides some 3-5dB gain which is too little to be really noticeable on "bars" s meter. Try it in engineering mode on 5 or 7k series gsm moto with dB readout for active cell. Use [] [] [] 113 [] 1 [] to enter it ([] = long press "*" key)
Well I had tried it a couple of years back with a microtac and a flare....althought the GSM flare had a pull out metal antenna that is much more rigid and can't be bent like the plastic microtac antennas. 3 dB increase....thats double !! I'm sure that would be noticable on any readout...nevermind 5dB. surely?
What did the display show when the device received an incoming call? Was there Caller ID (or similar)? Did it depend on the market? Could the user "save" an incoming phone number to memory?
+George Belev the 9800x aren't power saving! I accidently left a fully charged battery on a 9800x with the phone powered on and it beeped low battery about a day and a half later on one of my extended batteries. but an original slim battery.....I d guess it would only last a day if you had one that was new and hold a good charge.
Hi. yes I have found it today. I'm am looking for my ME59 / ME52's today. Are you wanting to see what the charger looks like or need some help technically or just want to see the phone in a video?
Vintage Cellular Mobile Phones Yeah, if you could send me some photos to my email. It is olli.jokinen7@luukku.com. And yes it would be nice to see it in video too, because I cant power mine on.
I gotta say, having one of these in 1990 would have made you stand out. If I were born earlier on I'd probably have saved the 3 grand to drop on this back in the day. Hahaha. Certainly would have been useful.
yeah but even if you dropped the 5 grand to buy the phone at the time....you still needed a big wedge of cash in your back pocket to place calls as they were expensive! Phones back then were also not freely available....they were in short supply and you couldn't just go into a cellphone store and pick one up!!! well at least not in the very beginning.
They work as in power on but these are analog so you can't use them for placing or recieving phone calls....and they are from an era before text messaging or SMS so you cant use them for SMS either.
Great review. In the industry, these flat keypads used on the 9800x are known as "membrane keypads" as it is all just one membrane of keys laid onto the key switches. Given the flat profile of these layouts, I wonder why Motorola didn't just continue this trend with their other phones, especially the very thin Lites or Elites. Interesting indeed.
TechRetroviews Interestint to note. thanks for the info on the keypads. I'm not sure why the didn't continue with these membrane keypads. They are certainly better than individual buttons as there's no dirt or moisture that can get in to the phone. I guess maybe they realised that making phones too good would not stimulate people to buy new handsets after a year or two...
How much programming and hardware modifications you'd have to do to make one of these work nowadays?
I have one of the US ones and it keeps saying LOCKED and turns off? Any ideas how to bypass that?
Fucking badass 😎
I love the red screen 😍
I have 2 fully working Motorola 9800X with LCD from the Norwegian Market because i am from Norway ^^
GamerA1 very nice. Do you want to sell me one? or swap one for a Dot matrix LED display one?
Hello! Can you, please, tell me where can i check my microtac’s serial no.? I just want to know the exact model and year. Thank you!
I have to repair a 1990 9800x do I need the service manual or does anyone know which is the processor that controls the keyboard?
Hi. I have a question. One some of the MicroTAC battery packs and the Profile 300E's....the battery has a black switch on it near the battery terminals on the side of the pack that faces the inside of the phone. What would that switch be for?
MrWolfSnack I'm not 100% certain actually. I know that the switch only exists on newer batteries with 4 or 5 outside charging contacts. Going from experience when I tried to charge a battery with the switch on it wouldn't charge on the phone whilst having a charging cable connected to the phone so it might be a switch to isolate the positive terminal of the battery....but I'm not sure as this has only happened once and I've stopped using the switches. On some other batteries that I still use daily like the Lithium Ion ones the switch doesn't appear to have any function. I may do a video about taking apart a battery with such a switch just to find out....That would answer the question once and for all!! thanks for your continued interest and support.
Vintage Cellular Mobile Phones
You should, thanks! Some have a red or white colored dot on the switch, others have nothing. I wasn't sure what the switch was for, as some batteries had them to the left, and others to the right.
Let me see if I have a duff battery and the tools to rip apart a microtac battery. You need quite a bit of force to pry one open....and I don't recommend anyone to do this as taking apart any electronic device or battery can be dangerous.
MrWolfSnack I took a look at this switch you mentioned, and all this switch does is remind you (when the red or white dot is visible) that you have either charged/depleted this battery. Same scenario with camcorder batteries, as it was not uncommon to carry multiple batteries around, and it helped to have some way of knowing which batteries were full, and which were dead.
TechRetroviews
Oh I see, interesting! Thanks!
Very nice phone. I have one of the generic badged 9800X TACS models. Still powers up ok too. Made in 1990.
I would very much love to get a 9800X AMPS version though, then I could use it with my test set. So hard to find ! Some are on ebay now, but at very high prices. Will keep looking.
I also have the cool Audiovox PT-300 phone you have in the background. Now that is a hefty brick phone alright !
I believe this was the very first Audiovox handheld phone bought out in 1989/1990, right ?
Cheers, Chris.
Hi Chris,
Yes BT badged microtacs are some of my favourite microtacs. BT badged 9800x are somewhat very rare. I fought long and hard for my ones and recently I think one sold for about 150 pounds. 9800x AMPS versions are rare but not as rare as DPC950's. There is one on ebay but its' 600 bucks which is insane! I need to speak to you about a test set and also putting up my collection on mobilecollectors.net
The PT300 is a beast of a handheld but not as big as the biggest phone that I did a video about recently. Not sure if this was the first audiovox though....It could be but without doing some research I wouldn't be certain.
Those are ferrite core antennas that use inductive instead direct coupling and are fully functional. The bottom part is not antenna itself but induction coil.
I appreciate that they could be inductive antennas (and that the bottom part could be an induction coil) but that doesn't explain the fact that the pull out part is just plastic when you cut right through it.....and you only see a difference in service level when you remove the "coil" and not when you pull out the antenna.
It's most likely some kind of polymer ferrite rod. Antenna probably provides some 3-5dB gain which is too little to be really noticeable on "bars" s meter.
Try it in engineering mode on 5 or 7k series gsm moto with dB readout for active cell. Use [] [] [] 113 [] 1 [] to enter it ([] = long press "*" key)
Well I had tried it a couple of years back with a microtac and a flare....althought the GSM flare had a pull out metal antenna that is much more rigid and can't be bent like the plastic microtac antennas.
3 dB increase....thats double !! I'm sure that would be noticable on any readout...nevermind 5dB. surely?
What did the display show when the device received an incoming call? Was there Caller ID (or similar)? Did it depend on the market? Could the user "save" an incoming phone number to memory?
Very nice phones!
80sCompaqPC Thanks. :-)
A review will be on Motorola M3688 ?
For how long does the battery hold charge on these phones?
+George Belev the 9800x aren't power saving! I accidently left a fully charged battery on a 9800x with the phone powered on and it beeped low battery about a day and a half later on one of my extended batteries. but an original slim battery.....I d guess it would only last a day if you had one that was new and hold a good charge.
Can you use the Motorola 9800x with a new SIM card
Hey sorry if I'm a bit unpatient, but have you found the charger for Mobira ME59? :)
Hi. yes I have found it today. I'm am looking for my ME59 / ME52's today. Are you wanting to see what the charger looks like or need some help technically or just want to see the phone in a video?
Vintage Cellular Mobile Phones Yeah, if you could send me some photos to my email. It is olli.jokinen7@luukku.com. And yes it would be nice to see it in video too, because I cant power mine on.
OK. I will try and get some photos to you in the next couple of days. Most phones that old won't power on because the batteries collapse due to age.
Vintage Cellular Mobile Phones Ok thanks. :)
Can I use a 9800x phone for everyday use
Can you find me a SIM card to fit a 9800x phone please
I gotta say, having one of these in 1990 would have made you stand out. If I were born earlier on I'd probably have saved the 3 grand to drop on this back in the day. Hahaha. Certainly would have been useful.
yeah but even if you dropped the 5 grand to buy the phone at the time....you still needed a big wedge of cash in your back pocket to place calls as they were expensive!
Phones back then were also not freely available....they were in short supply and you couldn't just go into a cellphone store and pick one up!!! well at least not in the very beginning.
What sim card did this take?
"non std" Well, nice to know the phone won't give you an infection!
MrWolfSnack :-)
Does these still work in 2016??????????
They work as in power on but these are analog so you can't use them for placing or recieving phone calls....and they are from an era before text messaging or SMS so you cant use them for SMS either.
Can you still call somebody on this phone?
Not from these particular motorola microTAC phones....but there are other similar models you can still use with a normal SIM nowadays.
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Can I use a motorola microtac phone
Can you find me a SIM card to fit a 9800x phone please
Can I use a motorola microtac phone
Can you find me a SIM card to fit a 9800x phone please
Can I use a motorola microtac phone