I have programmed so many of these phones over the years when I used to sell service for South Western Bell Mobile, I used to love to hack the phones by jumping the pins in the back, powering it on, pull the paperclip, enter the special code, and enter the test mode, you could monitor the cell phones channels of other callers by punching in 00 and the channel number... I do not even remember what the special code was anymore or how many channels there was actually back in 90's. Later on when and purchased a scanner and would sit on my friends front porch and we would listen for hours, which quickly taught people back then you did not give out your Credit Card number over a cell phone, we could have had 1000's of credit card numbers and personal information if we had wanted too, it was more that we could do it than actually doing it for identity theft when was not a real big problem back in the 90's. Those were the good ole days for sure, started going down hill once my best friend and business partner died in April 9, 1996, he was 26y 2m 3d old, way to young to die, just could not go into the store anymore where we used to have so much fun, all I could see was I guess you would call, ghosts of the past everywhere. I closed the store just a few months later and later even pulled all my car audio equipment out of my car and mothballed it all, which I still do have and works perfectly. But goes to show you that enjoy your friends everyday you can, you never know when you are going to loose them, and even to this day I think of him and even named my son after him. RIP Gerald B Braudaway... June 6, 1969 - April 9, 1996
Just got done taking IC classes last month and I got a hold of a DPC alpha (instead of the 2000e that i did have) and I bought a StarTAC cdma phone. I created a pcb keyboard and got a hold of a voltage regulator board and then re-wired the startac to the dpc. I melted down some transparent plastic to fit the startac screen on the dpc and cut away the interior notches where the dpc screen sat. All together I wired the DPC microphone and speaker to the StarTAC and the three buttons on the side too; with the middle button I melted a small hole through the plastic on the side. I also re-wired the antenna from the DPC to the StarTAC to give it better reception and NOW IT WORKS!!!!
I will be very impressed with that if the service providers give you service as it's not been FDA approved and the like. Let me know when you make a video.
Hi Thuan, The DPC550 in this video only operate on AMPS analog systems. If you want to use a microtac on GSM then check out some of the other videos I have. For example the Motorola Microtac international 5200, 7200 or 7500. You can also still use the Motorola MR601 on GSM900 and GSM1800. I have a few of them so if you're desperate I could hook you up with one. Where are you located?
There's a picture of a german Motorola Express Exchange phone box on mobilecollectors.net, and, translated, it appears to say that when Motorola lent you the phone they would transfer your phonebook onto it first. So the phones do have a phonebook, but perhaps not one that can be altered by the user.
+themaritimeman Oh most express exchange phones did have phone books but unless they used a cable to program the phone book it would have taken some time to punch them in manually.
I have 2 Motorola DPC550 Phones by USWest Cellular in the original box. Each phone came with a cradle type overnight charger, wall charger plug, NiCad Battery (Dead), Manuals Cards, original contract service copy ,and Cell Phone protective cover (Color: Red and Blue). Model 76248WNFSB. Both phones are in excellent condition. Date of purchase was 09-01-1997 for $0.00, monthly service was $23.90 per month per phone. Box showed a retail price of $218.99 each.
Would these sometimes come with an extended battery? The DPC I have was bought by my mom as her first cellphone, and the battery that's attached to it is a chunky Nickle-metal hydride battery (rather than NiCd), and is perfectly matched in colour. I don't know if my mom upgraded it or just bought a new battery... Now if only I had found her charging cradle...
***** I'm pretty sure that the original DPC phones came with NiCd batteries. I'm not aware that the later ones came with NiMh batteries. That's not to say that the later ones did come with the newer batteries! NiMh batteries were expensive at the time and DPC 550's were not the most upmarket phones available which is why I don't think the battery your mom has is the original. It may well be that the salesperson upsold your mom an extended battery as an upgrade....which is probably why it matches colour. Batteries were available in so many different colors back then. I still have wood effect microtac batteries somewhere! If you're wanting to charge a NiMh battery after all this time then you might struggle to get a decent amount of charge from it even with a genuine motorola crade....they are available on ebay for about 25 bucks plus shipping.
I'm not actually sure to be honest. Maybe couple hundred? Microtacs are only a small part of my collection though. I was actually also thinking of doing a new intro.... :)
It may well be because I also have a black DPC 550 which i had shipped from australia many years ago that was definitely used on the australian cellular networks.
Oh and by the way I have just recently gotten a bone colored DPC 500 with the flat keypad and barrel tip antenna. It works fine except for when you recall phone numbers from the phone book. When you try to do that it just turns itself off. Is this normal for these early microtacs or not? It's not really that big of a deal I'm just kind of curious about it.
That's not something that should happen unless the phone book has been electronically disabled for some reason. Is your phone a motorola loaner? Does it have the keys in a different order to normal? I have a few loaners where if you press the Memory key nothing happens apart from the keys light up. They disabled memory in loaner phones to stop people from storing numbers in it as they only had the loaner phones on loan for short periods.
I'm pretty sure it's not a loaner. It has all of the normal keys for a DPC 500. And going from the serial number it was made in 1990. You can store numbers just fine it just doesn't like you to recall them for some reason. It actually got it to recall a number yesterday but it hasn't done it since.
if you can store numbers then it's not a loaner. it might just be a bad button you have on it or something that is shorting it if it worked once yesterday
what type of DC output cord do you need for the charging cradle. I bought a 15 V but it didn't fit! the description said it was for motorola microtac though
The majority of the batteries that I use to power up in the videos are Lithium Ion genuine motorola batteries. I do have a couple of nickel metal hydried ones too. if you're buying new then either will probably do you. My preference is Lithium ion though.
Kathy Reese Well count yourself lucky then. Maybe the battery has been stored in perfect conditions to prolong the life. I've not come accross any Ni-Cd cellphone battery from 1992 that still works to this day....and actually nor have any of my fellow elite phone collectors. Ni-Cd is old technology. It was superceeded by NiMh and nowadays most batteries are either lithium ion or lithium polymer.
Yeah I have a 550 with a green dot matrix "alpha" type display without volume keys and name and menu buttons too in light grey.....I have never figured out what phone that is. I bought it from someone and it came with the manual for a 550 but I don't think it is. if it is then its a cross over model and very rare because mine is the only one I've ever seen like it.
Yeah I think mine is round the same sort of year....maybe 96. I will ask some collector friends of mine if they know.....Need to find mine first though.
+Mark Mathosian Hi Mark, I have nowhere specific I can recommend. Have you tried googling for it? You best option is of course eBay or similar second hand sites like that. There's always second user cellphones and accesories for sale. you just have to find them and know what to search for.
What "brick" ?? I have microtac BRICK phones that are Gold edition as well as Dynatac type gold edition phones. which do you mean please? I will dig it out of storage again and try and let you know.
Hi, These phones (DPC550) operate on an older analog technology called AMPS. Most cellular providers in America have ceased AMPS service and replaced it with digital cellular systems that are more efficient in the use of spectrum....so unless you're lucky enough to live in a remote area where AMPS is still available then no, you will not be able to get service on a DPC550 Motorola microtac. Check out some of the other Microtac videos - there are still some models that are digital and compatible with GSM cellular networks which are still widely used today. Hope this helps. Apologies for the slow reply.
+George Belev these are just regular old DPC550's. there's more than 20 on ebay right now in the USA. heck there is even a boxed one for 30 bucks. These are so common and cheap to buy....you should be able to pick one up easy.
Hi, I bought a Motorola flip phone which I think is a microtac and when I turn it on it says loc'd and it says I need to put in a 3 digit code which is supposed to be in the manual but I don't have that so i would really love it if you can help me...it's the Motorola lazer...
Oh if you don't have the 3 digit lock code then you can't get into your phone and it'll probably be setup to power off after like 10 or 15 seconds without the right code. There is no fix for not knowing the lock code except if you have an unlock box or know the security code to the phone. With the security code you can over ride the lock code. You could always try the last 3 digits of the cellphone's phone number. This was the default set up by many airtime providers. Maybe the phone number is written on the box or receipts? sorry i can't help further.
I realize this comment is a year old now, but, actually there's a built-in way to get the unlock code that's actually not hard. Press Function, then type 0 13 times. Then press RCL, which should prompt you with "01". Press and hold the pound key. If the phone doesn't reboot, continue, then press pound until it displays the next screen, and keep pressing until a 3 digit number comes up. That number should be the unlock code. I can't find my MicroTAC charger at the moment to test this, but I remember doing it on a Profile 300e years ago and it worked.
Hi Jacob, thanks for your interest. I actually use a samsung s4 or samsung s5 to film these videos on this channel. It's a cellphone channel so I figure why not use the camera on a cellphone to do the filming too!! the S4+ does full 1080 HD and the S5 does full 4K UHD. To edit and produce I use a pair of servers. why do you ask?
joepassive Thanks. But there is other cameras you can use to film videos that are probably alot better. I just figured that if I do a channel about phones then it's appropriate to film with a phone!!
You need to know what make and model of phone....before you start talking about money. work out what make / model you want and then mail me or leave a comment and we'll take it from there.
My father had both the rod and brick under GTE MOBILNET in the bay area. I still remember the orig Phone #. We are still with the same currier but Verizon bought them
![[UA] NAVI vs MOUZ | BO5 | IEM Rio 2024](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CMBYk0cbGoA/mqdefault.jpg)
I have programmed so many of these phones over the years when I used to sell service for South Western Bell Mobile, I used to love to hack the phones by jumping the pins in the back, powering it on, pull the paperclip, enter the special code, and enter the test mode, you could monitor the cell phones channels of other callers by punching in 00 and the channel number... I do not even remember what the special code was anymore or how many channels there was actually back in 90's. Later on when and purchased a scanner and would sit on my friends front porch and we would listen for hours, which quickly taught people back then you did not give out your Credit Card number over a cell phone, we could have had 1000's of credit card numbers and personal information if we had wanted too, it was more that we could do it than actually doing it for identity theft when was not a real big problem back in the 90's.
Those were the good ole days for sure, started going down hill once my best friend and business partner died in April 9, 1996, he was 26y 2m 3d old, way to young to die, just could not go into the store anymore where we used to have so much fun, all I could see was I guess you would call, ghosts of the past everywhere. I closed the store just a few months later and later even pulled all my car audio equipment out of my car and mothballed it all, which I still do have and works perfectly. But goes to show you that enjoy your friends everyday you can, you never know when you are going to loose them, and even to this day I think of him and even named my son after him. RIP Gerald B Braudaway... June 6, 1969 - April 9, 1996
Hi just got my DCP 550 and charger and am 18 it really cool to see how technology has evolved
Just got done taking IC classes last month and I got a hold of a DPC alpha (instead of the 2000e that i did have) and I bought a StarTAC cdma phone. I created a pcb keyboard and got a hold of a voltage regulator board and then re-wired the startac to the dpc. I melted down some transparent plastic to fit the startac screen on the dpc and cut away the interior notches where the dpc screen sat. All together I wired the DPC microphone and speaker to the StarTAC and the three buttons on the side too; with the middle button I melted a small hole through the plastic on the side. I also re-wired the antenna from the DPC to the StarTAC to give it better reception and NOW IT WORKS!!!!
Wow! that sounds really impressive! Do you have photos or a video about the phone. I'd love to see that.
Sure, i'll make a video as soon as I get the phone registered so I can demonstrate that it actually makes phone calls.
I will be very impressed with that if the service providers give you service as it's not been FDA approved and the like. Let me know when you make a video.
Hi Thuan,
The DPC550 in this video only operate on AMPS analog systems. If you want to use a microtac on GSM then check out some of the other videos I have. For example the Motorola Microtac international 5200, 7200 or 7500. You can also still use the Motorola MR601 on GSM900 and GSM1800. I have a few of them so if you're desperate I could hook you up with one. Where are you located?
i love those phones i have a collection of newer phones
Recently picked up a dcp 550 in good condition. Too bad we can’t get them to work with today’s service providers. 👍
There's a picture of a german Motorola Express Exchange phone box on mobilecollectors.net, and, translated, it appears to say that when Motorola lent you the phone they would transfer your phonebook onto it first. So the phones do have a phonebook, but perhaps not one that can be altered by the user.
+themaritimeman Oh most express exchange phones did have phone books but unless they used a cable to program the phone book it would have taken some time to punch them in manually.
I have 2 Motorola DPC550 Phones by USWest Cellular in the original box. Each phone came with a cradle type overnight charger, wall charger plug, NiCad Battery (Dead), Manuals Cards, original contract service copy ,and Cell Phone protective cover (Color: Red and Blue). Model 76248WNFSB. Both phones are in excellent condition. Date of purchase was 09-01-1997 for $0.00, monthly service was $23.90 per month per phone. Box showed a retail price of $218.99 each.
Would these sometimes come with an extended battery? The DPC I have was bought by my mom as her first cellphone, and the battery that's attached to it is a chunky Nickle-metal hydride battery (rather than NiCd), and is perfectly matched in colour. I don't know if my mom upgraded it or just bought a new battery...
Now if only I had found her charging cradle...
***** I'm pretty sure that the original DPC phones came with NiCd batteries. I'm not aware that the later ones came with NiMh batteries. That's not to say that the later ones did come with the newer batteries! NiMh batteries were expensive at the time and DPC 550's were not the most upmarket phones available which is why I don't think the battery your mom has is the original. It may well be that the salesperson upsold your mom an extended battery as an upgrade....which is probably why it matches colour. Batteries were available in so many different colors back then. I still have wood effect microtac batteries somewhere!
If you're wanting to charge a NiMh battery after all this time then you might struggle to get a decent amount of charge from it even with a genuine motorola crade....they are available on ebay for about 25 bucks plus shipping.
Just wondering, how many Microtacs do you have? :D
Also, I like the intro :).
me to
I love that VIP dpc 550
Yes the black microtacs are my favourite too because they all just look better, especially with the red displays.
I'm not actually sure to be honest. Maybe couple hundred? Microtacs are only a small part of my collection though. I was actually also thinking of doing a new intro.... :)
Why don't you use a Tektronix CMD80 in order to place test calls to analogue phones?
I think that black VIP one might actually be called a MicroTAC 1500. Which was basically a version of the 550 for the Australian market I think.
It may well be because I also have a black DPC 550 which i had shipped from australia many years ago that was definitely used on the australian cellular networks.
Oh and by the way I have just recently gotten a bone colored DPC 500 with the flat keypad and barrel tip antenna. It works fine except for when you recall phone numbers from the phone book. When you try to do that it just turns itself off. Is this normal for these early microtacs or not? It's not really that big of a deal I'm just kind of curious about it.
That's not something that should happen unless the phone book has been electronically disabled for some reason. Is your phone a motorola loaner? Does it have the keys in a different order to normal? I have a few loaners where if you press the Memory key nothing happens apart from the keys light up. They disabled memory in loaner phones to stop people from storing numbers in it as they only had the loaner phones on loan for short periods.
I'm pretty sure it's not a loaner. It has all of the normal keys for a DPC 500. And going from the serial number it was made in 1990. You can store numbers just fine it just doesn't like you to recall them for some reason. It actually got it to recall a number yesterday but it hasn't done it since.
if you can store numbers then it's not a loaner. it might just be a bad button you have on it or something that is shorting it if it worked once yesterday
what type of DC output cord do you need for the charging cradle. I bought a 15 V but it didn't fit! the description said it was for motorola microtac though
what does the lower orange light mean on the charging cradle when you dock the phone?
hello, can you advise How it can work on GSM900 band network or it just work on TDMA/NAMPS ? thank you very much
Hello, I’ve got one of these phones that I found in an E-wage bin. I’m happy to give it to you if you want it.
I have one of those limited edition Olympic dpc 550's.
80sCompaqPC Cool. I'm not sure how "limited" these limited edition olympic phones are.
Hey just curious what type of battery do you use to power these phones on?
The majority of the batteries that I use to power up in the videos are Lithium Ion genuine motorola batteries. I do have a couple of nickel metal hydried ones too. if you're buying new then either will probably do you. My preference is Lithium ion though.
Vintage Cellular Mobile Phones OK cause my Ni-Cd for my MicroTAC still works and has a really strong charge and its from 1992
Kathy Reese
Well count yourself lucky then. Maybe the battery has been stored in perfect conditions to prolong the life. I've not come accross any Ni-Cd cellphone battery from 1992 that still works to this day....and actually nor have any of my fellow elite phone collectors. Ni-Cd is old technology. It was superceeded by NiMh and nowadays most batteries are either lithium ion or lithium polymer.
@brickcellphones do you know how to unlock the dpc 550 ?
Same question
Please help to unlock phone, don't remember the code, thanks
I have a phone that is basically a 550 but it has the alpha type display. It doesn't have volume buttons on the side or the name and menu button.
Yeah I have a 550 with a green dot matrix "alpha" type display without
volume keys and name and menu buttons too in light grey.....I have never
figured out what phone that is. I bought it from someone and it came
with the manual for a 550 but I don't think it is. if it is then its a
cross over model and very rare because mine is the only one I've ever
seen like it.
Yeah. I was quite happy to find this phone since I had never seen one before. Judging from the serial number mine was made in 1997.
Yeah I think mine is round the same sort of year....maybe 96. I will ask some collector friends of mine if they know.....Need to find mine first though.
Do you know how to unlock a DPC 550?
ware do i find a motorola cellular plus charger
Wondering, can you tell me where I can get a charger cord for a model 550?
+Mark Mathosian Hi Mark, I have nowhere specific I can recommend. Have you tried googling for it? You best option is of course eBay or similar second hand sites like that. There's always second user cellphones and accesories for sale. you just have to find them and know what to search for.
What model is the gold edition "BRICK" that you showed to us?
What "brick" ?? I have microtac BRICK phones that are Gold edition as well as Dynatac type gold edition phones. which do you mean please? I will dig it out of storage again and try and let you know.
The dynatac
its a F09MFD8471BG
serial starts with 991
Are any of those phones usable in the U.S. to call on?
Hi, These phones (DPC550) operate on an older analog technology called AMPS. Most cellular providers in America have ceased AMPS service and replaced it with digital cellular systems that are more efficient in the use of spectrum....so unless you're lucky enough to live in a remote area where AMPS is still available then no, you will not be able to get service on a DPC550 Motorola microtac. Check out some of the other Microtac videos - there are still some models that are digital and compatible with GSM cellular networks which are still widely used today. Hope this helps. Apologies for the slow reply.
Does this model contain a place to put SIM cards??
Sin City Picker HI. No the DPC550 was a purely analog cellular phone. This was released long before digital GSM cellular networks were in place.
gosh i wish i owned one of them
+George Belev these are just regular old DPC550's. there's more than 20 on ebay right now in the USA. heck there is even a boxed one for 30 bucks. These are so common and cheap to buy....you should be able to pick one up easy.
I'm getting one of these, is there a way to hear the ring tone?
which particular microtac are you getting? A DPC550 or one of the others featured in this video?
Vintage Cellular Mobile Phones a normal DPC-550
yes if you press function and then volume you will be able to hear the ringtone and change the volume of it.
Vintage Cellular Mobile Phones thanks
Hi, I bought a Motorola flip phone which I think is a microtac and when I turn it on it says loc'd and it says I need to put in a 3 digit code which is supposed to be in the manual but I don't have that so i would really love it if you can help me...it's the Motorola lazer...
Oh if you don't have the 3 digit lock code then you can't get into your phone and it'll probably be setup to power off after like 10 or 15 seconds without the right code. There is no fix for not knowing the lock code except if you have an unlock box or know the security code to the phone. With the security code you can over ride the lock code. You could always try the last 3 digits of the cellphone's phone number. This was the default set up by many airtime providers. Maybe the phone number is written on the box or receipts? sorry i can't help further.
I realize this comment is a year old now, but, actually there's a built-in way to get the unlock code that's actually not hard. Press Function, then type 0 13 times. Then press RCL, which should prompt you with "01". Press and hold the pound key. If the phone doesn't reboot, continue, then press pound until it displays the next screen, and keep pressing until a 3 digit number comes up. That number should be the unlock code. I can't find my MicroTAC charger at the moment to test this, but I remember doing it on a Profile 300e years ago and it worked.
Hey nice video, what camera did you use to record this?
Hi Jacob,
thanks for your interest. I actually use a samsung s4 or samsung s5 to film these videos on this channel. It's a cellphone channel so I figure why not use the camera on a cellphone to do the filming too!! the S4+ does full 1080 HD and the S5 does full 4K UHD. To edit and produce I use a pair of servers. why do you ask?
Vintage Cellular Mobile Phones Because the quality is beautiful :) thanks for the info and nice video
joepassive
Thanks. But there is other cameras you can use to film videos that are probably alot better. I just figured that if I do a channel about phones then it's appropriate to film with a phone!!
Can I please have one of your Motorola microtac phones?
Dude I own over a thousand cellphones....and easily more than a third are motorolas....You gotta be more specific!!!
Model?
BrickCellphones for free? any Motorola microtac or how much would it cost?
You need to know what make and model of phone....before you start talking about money. work out what make / model you want and then mail me or leave a comment and we'll take it from there.
My father had both the rod and brick under GTE MOBILNET in the bay area. I still remember the orig Phone #. We are still with the same currier but Verizon bought them