Inspiration for our next project can come from anywhere, and in the case of the Serial Hobbyism channel, it all started with the cover of the July 1983 issue of Byte magazine. The cover art dedicated to Videotex technology shows a landline phone with a screen replacing its traditional buttons, and the idea is to reproduce that essence by combining a mini smartphone and a Bluetooth headset.
With the retirement of traditional copper lines around the globe, landline phones are multiplying online. We can also find very interesting reproductions that spark the imagination of DIY enthusiasts. So… what can we do with those phones? Serial Hobbyism found the answer through Instagram, after seeing Byte Magazine’s July 1983 cover dedicated to Videotex. If we were already thinking about videophones 40 years ago, why not do something similar today?
From Landline to Videophone with Bluetooth
The original plan was to take a red landline phone (between $25 and $50 on eBay, not including shipping), install a Raspberry Pi inside, and add a touchscreen. The problem is that the vast majority of videoconferencing programs don’t work well on a Pi, and it doesn’t make much sense to follow that route when there are very cheap Android smartphones that can process video without too much trouble.
The chosen device is a Palm PVG100, with Android 8.1 and 3 GB of RAM, more than enough for a Zoom session or WhatsApp calls. The PVG100 is placed in a new “face” for the landline phone (3D printed), which basically works as a dock. The “hack,” so to speak, is the removal of all original components and the installation of a Bluetooth headset inside the case.
The PVG100 battery is very small (only 800 mAh), the phone needs an extra button for Bluetooth pairing, and the screen angle doesn’t make it very practical, but all those are aspects that can be corrected and optimized.
Source: Hackaday
