Inspired by this I hooked up an old rotary phone to an ATA and got a number from a low cost SIP provider. Now my 5 year old can call his friends and family on his own. He loves when it rings and when he can call his pals to make his own plans.
It lacks the features and network effects of the tin can system but is still pretty fun.
I grew up with rotary phones... They really are not something to fetishize.
I can close my eyes and still feel the plastic cutting into my index finger after repeatedly mis-dialing a long distance number, or having to redial a few times because the phone was busy. (Good luck if you were at a payphone.) You'd try to dial faster, but you'd always have to wait for the dial to return sooo slooowly... It took literally 15-30 seconds to dial a number. Then there was the yelling at someone to get off the line when they picked up and started dialing right away (clackada-clackada-clackada). Oof.
Yeah, there are reasons rotary phones are gone for good, and it's not just because of touch tones. The "good ol' days" sucked and always will, no matter which generation is trying to claim otherwise, don't listen to anyone who tells you differently.
We have a “house phone” for the kids which is an iPhone with all the apps disabled on it.
Worth mentioning the Tin Can phone: https://tincan.kids/
All their batches are sold out, I guess it’s pretty popular. Interesting tidbit, it needs to be plugged in at all times, not meant to be mobile.
Inspired by this I hooked up an old rotary phone to an ATA and got a number from a low cost SIP provider. Now my 5 year old can call his friends and family on his own. He loves when it rings and when he can call his pals to make his own plans.
It lacks the features and network effects of the tin can system but is still pretty fun.
I grew up with rotary phones... They really are not something to fetishize.
I can close my eyes and still feel the plastic cutting into my index finger after repeatedly mis-dialing a long distance number, or having to redial a few times because the phone was busy. (Good luck if you were at a payphone.) You'd try to dial faster, but you'd always have to wait for the dial to return sooo slooowly... It took literally 15-30 seconds to dial a number. Then there was the yelling at someone to get off the line when they picked up and started dialing right away (clackada-clackada-clackada). Oof.
Yeah, there are reasons rotary phones are gone for good, and it's not just because of touch tones. The "good ol' days" sucked and always will, no matter which generation is trying to claim otherwise, don't listen to anyone who tells you differently.
(2023) judging by https://skysedge.com/telecom/RUSP/electrical.html