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Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 15, 15:39
by Emskopp
I have a generell question.
How do you collect your mobiles, with or without Batterie inside.
Because in the mass oft mobiles those batteries should be checked periodly.

Best greetings from germany

Re: Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 15, 16:02
by Thomas
Hi Emskopp,

So when the mobile phone with a battery that is attached externally (z. B. Motorola DynaTAC or StarTAC) I make between contacts always adhesive film therebetween. Otherwise, the contacts of the mobile phones can corrode

In making handsets with battery back battery cover I am doing that, or when the original box is present, I take the out and place it in the box.

I have too many phones to charge the batteries regularly. :lol:

Cheers
Thomas

Re: Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 15, 23:50
by mroussev
Definitely without batteries attached to them. But...I always collect phones with boxes (well, except 2-3 phones) so there is a space for battery in box and there is no chance to mix/loose them.

But, main purpose of this is different. I always try to keep the batteries of phones, with charge in them, so i charge them from time to time (1-6 months, depends from lots of things....). Never leave batteries discharge for a long time.
When battery is connected to the phone, it consumes energy much faster, in a difference, when it is disconnected,i guess because of the clock and maybe other functions like this. Or, some phones, like Nokia 7710, they are never really turned OFF (OC specifics), unless battery is disconnected.

Depends of the phones of course, but in some cases, when battery is fully charged, but connected to phone, it is fully discharge sometimes for like 1 week or less. But left outside the phone, can last 2-3-4-etc months and when it is connected then, it still has some charge, which as i said already, is good for it(to be left with some charge).

Of course, i dont care so much for batteries that are generic models, but for batteries of Nokia Communicator series phones, for example...They are valued, difficult to find and i want to keep them as long as i can in good condition.

So, shortly, dont leave batteries inside :lol: .

Re: Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 16, 09:57
by Thomas
Hello mroussev,

I agree with you that it is better to store the phone without battery.

But I have my collection in showcases and a DynaTAC or StarTAC looks stupid without battery. :)

Therefore, I have the contacts between a thick adhesive film, so that it can not come to corroded contacts here.
Since I have a lot of dead batteries, I take them for the display cell phones. 8-)

Cheers
Thomas

Re: Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 17, 02:26
by spectreman
Good ideas about the batteries. I have been given several old mobiles that have been ruined because they were stored long term with the battery still attached, causing major corrosion.
However, I have yet to see any Li-Ion battery pack cause any corrosion whatsoever, but of course they can swell up a lot when totally stuffed !
But is good to keep the Li-Ion packs topped up regularly, or taken out altogether, they often don't like to be discharged for extended periods.

Re: Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 18, 17:48
by pena
My collection is small and includes mostly newer phones so I charge them every six months. Certain phones require a small piece of tape to keep battery contacts disconnected from the phone, but I keep batteries with the phones. Haven't seen corrosion but couple of batteries have swollen when they've been empty for too long.

I don't collect boxes because I don't have too much space. A dozen boxes are in my showcase to raise and support phones though. If I take a phone from my collection to work or to a party, people likes the phone, not the box at home. For me it's just cardboard. :)

Re: Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 19, 00:16
by spectreman
Understand about collecting the boxes, Pena.
They do take up a bit of room.
I don't have too many boxes myself, but I do have some very rare ones that are definitely worth keeping.
So many of the original boxes get disposed of by the original owners.
And the handbooks can be very hard to find too. I am always on the look out for original handbooks.

Re: Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 19, 20:32
by Mr.StarTAC
This is just how I store my batteries...

Image

Image

I have even more batteries but I don't get around to charging all of them. Just a few that I keep around for testing. But I probably will use some of the dead ones for display. I just bought some Detolf displays from IKEA and plan to start displaying them soon. Does anyone else have displays set up?

Re: Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 20, 12:57
by Thomas
Hello Mr. StarTAC,

Yes, the Detolfs from IKEA are great! I have a total of 15 Detolfs and 6 other showcases. Among them are 3 cases with Motorola Logo, previously posted in the reception of Motorola GmbH in Wiesbaden. ;)

Fortunately we have a large party room in our basement and I have a tolerant wife! :lol:

Cheers
Thomas

Re: Collecting mobiles

PostPosted: 2016 Feb 21, 09:15
by Mr.StarTAC
Ha, that's good. That's A LOT of Detolfs. I don't think I need that many just yet, nor do I think I have room for that much in my spare room. The focus for me is preservation, more than display. So I think I would only display a small part of what I have. Unfortunately the preservation of plastics can be complicated, and older devices like the early cell phones probably use a plastic that will not last as long and become discolored and brittle, like all of those yellowed brick phones you see online for sale. So I'm trying to store the phones in the best way possible so that they'll survive the years. But I'll see what I can display in the meantime.