Converting a 1960s rotary dial phone to work as a modern day phone

In this video I refurb an 1960s model 500 rotary dial telephone and make it work as a modern day phone
Link below Matt Millman's blog which explains the electronics and code required.
tech.mattmillma...
Please note you can buy adapters to do this rather than make them yourself, see the link below. They are about $80. If you have the tools you can make one for less than $10.
www.amazon.ca/...
This project uses an Atmel ATTINY85 which is basically a tiny Arduino and I explain how to program it using an ArduinoISP (In Circuit Programmer).

[@clementegarcia3277]

I have installed the original circuit of Boris in my phone Heraldo in Spain and it works fantastic! Great work. It is fantastic to make these old phones work again.

Around 1998 or so, some students (of electric engineering) at the university had the crazy project to have an "old phone / cell phone" solution, it was quite funny to have an old phone like this portable, with built-in battery and can be used to receive and make calls over the GSM network ;)

[@robingrosset6941]

That’s kinda cool. And there is a lot of room inside these handsets for a big battery :-)

[@danteerskine7678]

@@robingrosset6941 does the rotary phone use the same LAN cables??

[@robingrosset6941]

@@danteerskine7678 the phone uses standard rj11 phone cable. You can use lan cables for this if you want .

[@marcelclark5860]

Genious, a lot of work and precision went in to it, nice job! I love these old good strong rotary phones, they don't make phones like that anymore, I hope to get my old rotary phone to work with the new technology now.

[@lightshift3431]

Love this. I would rather use this phone and get my privacy and life back and everyone is the world out of my hair with all their opinions.

[@90sbuickguy84]

Tell me about it I’m 23 and I’m ready to get the life out of my hair to which is why I picked up a 1966 western electric 500 rotary song for $12 at a garage sale made it work not to mention I checked every single part because every part on this phone has a date code and they all match up to win the phone was made so it’s really never been tampered with the only two things I had to use. I had to buy a little white box on Amazon. It was some sort of converter or something to give me the ability to make phone calls so when you run your finger along the rotary to do the number dialing, it would beat without that little device that was possible I can only receive calls on it, and the other thing is that it just needed to plug into the wall because I didn’t feel like putting a new power cord on it since this was an original one with the old for 4 prong set up and I don’t know how to splice wires and all that jazz I just decided to go with an adapter that took the four prong style and turned it into a phone jack also bought from Amazon end it works, and the phone lives in my room and it makes a beautiful ringing noise from the original brass bells not to mention it’s already last outlasted every smart phone ever made and it’s pretty fun to watch the dial spin back around as your dialing number at least to me it’ll probably outlast me but I don’t have to worry about any social media interfering with me anymore or people that I don’t want to be in my hair in my hair I understand exactly what you’re saying it’s best to simplify your life. I think you live longer that way to be honest when it comes to social media you’re under a microscope for one and two it makes you miserable because you’re become a slave to it when I was 15 I didn’t have social media. The closest thing I had was a Gmail account but I was a very happy man I cannot say that these days now that I have social media and have had it to keep up with friends and things, and that was my original purpose with it but it still drags you down it’ll find away I suppose it, but and I’m also an old soul and I like keeping old things going and I love mechanical things in the age of everything digital. It’s boring take me back to the days when every mechanical thing pretty much have a soul know all this technology that’s designed to break planned obsolescence you say it in phones, cars, computers TVs just about anything refrigerators whatever it touches planned obsolescence will be there and besides when old stuff does break it’s easier to fix only two self tapping flathead screws to take my 66 western electric Bell System phone apart and then everything else is just pretty much simple basic electronics for that and also KZbin is a good source for that information. That’s how I fixed my western electric phone so when it comes to new technology the only thing I like about it is KZbin. Oh yeah, one thing you can’t escape from on an old rotary phone is sales calls unfortunately I get them all the time he’s coming he’s got on a bit Sorry

[@RaymondHng]

Radio Shack use to sell these microphone replacements for the Western Electric 500 telephone sets that had built-in DTMF pads embedded in the microphone.

[@andysimmons8]

Oh. I wish I could do that. I’ve been having this idea for a while now. Would like to use it at home

[@3ggshe11s]

It's too bad a lot of people have no option but VOIP for these old phones. We can still use old-fashioned pulse dialing over copper wires where we live, but I don't imagine the option will exist much longer.

[@GeekandTea]

I didn't understand 99% of the jargon but I am total going to give this a go!

[@sylvi73]

I love those telephones and I have a collection of them. I would like to use them but there is no way I can do what you did here!

[@josesantamaria7305]

Most of the system you can use them

[@astragreen]

I to have several ‘old’ 1950s phones I really love them, and they plug into my router they work via the VOIP system I purchased a. ‘dial gizmo’ device bought from Australia when plugged into the phone box supplied by my ISP the gizmo box plugs into it and that box plugs into the router and now I have the phones all working!

[@mariofalfan2997]

You Sir are a very talented individual! I just bought the converter .....

[@Hot80s]

I want a nice old rotary phone converted to a cell phone so i can walk around town with a vintage phone in one hand and the receiver in the other.

[@nihasilev]

Kendi ev telefonumu yapmak istiyordum ama hangi iletişim protokolu kulandiklari veya nasil çaliştiklari hakkinda bir tek teknik bilgi kırıntısı bulamamiştım. Videonuzla karşilaştiğıma çok sevindim. Teşekkürler..

[@camgreer]

When it rang, I was expecting commissioner Gordon.

[@robingrosset6941]

I need to get a phone that glows red now.

[@beverlytazangel]

Due to a brain injury, I have issues with aim and dexterity, and physical limitations too. As such, I can not use a touch-tone or cell phone. In turn, I do not have access to communicate with others except online and only if a link passes before me and my aim is good enough to hit it. I need to have a rotary phone, for they do not engage a number until I hit the right number and release that number. I don't have much use of my hands and am hoping there is someone on here that can help create a useable rotary phone for me. It does need to be one of those heavy old phones for I drop almost everything due to gripping issues. Note: If there's some way to connect to my computer (wired, no wifi) to use would be great since my landline worked less than 10 percent of the time when I did have it a few decades ago.

[@matthewjenkins1161]

Interesting project, but I have a collection of vintage phones I like to alternate on my VoIP lines. Therefore for me, an adaptor made more sense that modding several phones. I bought cheap (£23.98 inc shipping) from China and it looks exactly the same as the DialGizmo, which I think is exactly the same thing, just with a sticker added at 3x the price.

[@joeyzhill]

Hi @matthewjenkins do you have a link for that unit your bought?

[@matthewjenkins1161]

@@joeyzhill Yes I do, but I'd add that apparently Grandstream VoIP ATAs are compatible with pulse dialling. If you are buying a VoIP ATA and want a single box solution, get the Grandstream. Otherwise try this link I purchased from. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294094680235

[@DanburyDK]

Area Code 203 - this ☎️ telephone is from Connecticut - where I live 😀

[@mattstvbarn]

Interesting that the 78L05 arrangement didn't work. I found that was also used on the Rotatone from Oldphoneworks - who designed it primarily for model 500 phones like what you have used. Must be some interesting with your setup there...

[@robingrosset6941]

Thanks Matt, I only had a 7805 and not a 78L05. So the higher current version. Its also entirely possible it was a bug in my first prototype. The 5.1v zener diode worked so I stuck with it.

[@mattstvbarn]

@@robingrosset6941 As you said it may be a feature of having a very low line voltage, in that case having a linear regular will cause troubles, but I'd say that is not a common scenario. I can't take full credit for the change to the 78L05 - I actually discussed this design with an engineer with 40 years experience working on GPO exchanges - who recommended the change. The idea of it is to break AC coupling from the line to the microcontroller, but retain it in the other direction, which Arnie's design didn't do, so the idea is pretty sound, as such I would definitely recommend it as a starting point for anyone wishing to construct this...

[@benjaminrittgers8509]

I built the device, but I don’t know where to connect each wire. Can you help and explain which terminals on the pulse to tone generator connect to which screws inside the phone? The schematic on the pdf is confusing.

[@Subgunman]

Not wanting to be too critical the correct title should be "How to convert a dial phone to IP technology". Conventional pots lines are still quit prevalent in the world today. Even in areas where phone service comes in via a DSL, ADSL etc. the modem has conventional telephone outlets on the back allowing the use of traditional phones. I wonder if the file can be modified to work with two additional push buttons for # and *. These are needed for certain dedicated networks.

[@benjaminrittgers8509]

His code has # and *.

[@Chuncy566]

Could you make all those schematics as large as possible so we can read them on our tele wifi ,i dont know how you would get it to me

[@Lut-yg6hz]

"Take care of those flowers for me, wrong number"

[@ayami123]

I prefer the old sounds, trrrrrr ting hahaha

[@kevind560]

I've been wanting a rotary phone for a long time. Silly me, thinking that they came ready to use out of the box. 😢

[@mayaviraja]

pls can i get the unedited version of this video like programming and setting breadboard and doing the pcb all in detail pls

[@mayanksharma-su5wc]

Hi, its nice video. can rotary dialer phone used in airtel optical fibre broadband

[@Thiviru_premarathne]

I conect my rotary phone to direct to my fiber line it's work fine

[@ricki.foxo_owo54]

can i have a question did you connect the phone to the telephone network? or does it work through the SIM card somehow?

[@robingrosset6941]

This phone was connected to a VOIP terminal over the internet in my house but it would also work with a telephone network directly designed to use tone dialing. Pulse dialing no longer works in many countries.

[@westofthewicky2960]

Omfg the phone of my 80s childhood !! Trying to dial 999 in those days…. 🤣 I still have the one from my childhood house, I’m nearly 40! Mental how we used to think the Atari let alone the internet were far out. Now days rotary phones are objects of mystery 🤣 Question time!! - who knows (without googling ffs) what: a) a cassette player and radio are b) what vhs is and what the dvd equivalent is and how it works c) what the first gaming craze was? Honest answers no Googles(defeats the point esp if learning about something) and I’ve worded the questions in the terms we would use back in the days of awesomeness 😂 when we were made up with finding some casters, wood and a make do steering wheel 😂 As if there are instructional vids on how to make a Shite phone 🤣 give me an Atari or nes instructional and I will salute thee like Einstein!

[@jeanettenizza8082]

The first gaming system that was available for home use, was Pong. My kid brother had one that he used for years.

[@philrose7716]

I have a vintage hotel phone that doesn't work trying to find someone to fix it.

[@Evilslayer73]

Hi does it work with old canadian phone too?

[@evangelistbricescott7182]

U didnt show the voice call

[@chrisst8922]

Bit big to put in the pocket.

[@427Cabriolet]

Imagine dying and this is the only option for calling 911 😭🤣🤣

[@jasenalexmiller2149]

Would like for it to work, without hearing the dial tone!

[@cdoublejj]

so it's probably a cruder PSU with less clean power if i had to guess out of my ass, hence the simpler design.

[@DasPuppy]

You had to reverse the polarity! sry, minor geek moment here.. XD

[@robingrosset6941]

Haha yes, I was also careful not to cross the streams. That would be bad.

[@suzz1776]

my 2 old rotary phones can except calls but cant dial out.

[@robingrosset6941]

Yeah this is exactly what I wanted to fix. I think lots of people are saying goodbye to land lines by us you need to dial out and receive calls. Something nice about these old phones and the audio quality is really good.

[@Chuncy566]

Yes audio quality is what were after

[@dennisdecoene]

Can you actually have a conversation with it?

[@robingrosset6941]

Yes, of course. This mod allows you to dial out but the phone will ring and receive calls without it.

[@EugeneArchibald-dn6lj]

To