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submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

They're from the phones you see in old movies that you had to crank to talk to an operator, commonly used up until the 1950's. I put my multimeter on one and it's still reading 1.3 volts. The owner told me I can take the whole lot of them if I want them which I'm tempted to do just because I like to collect old junk but I probably drag enough useless crap home as it is.

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[-] [email protected] 30 points 6 days ago

I was snaking a 240 volt line up through the attic when I found them. Judging by the dust I'm probably the first person up there in a few years. The phone lines have been upgraded and rewired with all this older stuff disconnected and just left behind and forgotten about.

[-] [email protected] 18 points 6 days ago

With how things usually go in such cases, when you disconnect them half the city phone lines will go down.

[-] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago

Thankfully that would just knock out a few peoples lines around here. (The store is in a little village of around 400 people at best.)

[-] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

That's what you'd think, but the 911 system for the whole State probably really of those cells

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

Only one way to find out... I'm going back on Friday to snag the rest of them so if any vital services go down, it might be me.

[-] [email protected] 29 points 6 days ago

1.3v after, what, 60-70 years? Amazing.

[-] [email protected] 25 points 6 days ago

Ya I was fully expecting it to be stone dead so I was shocked (haha) to find it still had some juice left.

[-] [email protected] 19 points 6 days ago

Watt are you going to do with them?

[-] [email protected] 22 points 6 days ago

Ohm..not sure, but something will spark my interest eventually.

[-] [email protected] 19 points 6 days ago

Could any of your current projects use them?

[-] [email protected] 21 points 6 days ago

I can't think of anything to transform them into, and I'm worried I might ruin them if I don't conduct myself properly.

[-] [email protected] 6 points 5 days ago

You could store them in your volt.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Are those B cells? I have an old radio that used those.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

Not sure what designation they'd have... each one is 6 inches tall and about 2 1/2 inches wide

this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2025
149 points (100.0% liked)

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