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.

15 Comments
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca · 30 pts · 1y
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.
SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org · 18 pts · 1y
With how things usually go in such cases, when you disconnect them half the city phone lines will go down.
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 1y
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.)
Feyr@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1y
That's what you'd think, but the 911 system for the whole State probably really of those cells
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 1y
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.
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world · 30 pts · 1y
1.3v after, what, 60-70 years? Amazing.
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca · 25 pts · 1y
Ya I was fully expecting it to be stone dead so I was shocked (haha) to find it still had some juice left.
TachyonTele@piefed.social · 19 pts · 1y
Watt are you going to do with them?
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca · 22 pts · 1y
Ohm..not sure, but something will spark my interest eventually.
TachyonTele@piefed.social · 19 pts · 1y
Could any of your current projects use them?
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca · 21 pts · 1y
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.
Whostosay@sh.itjust.works · 6 pts · 1y
prex@aussie.zone · 6 pts · 1y
You could store them in your volt.
ikidd@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 1y
Are those B cells? I have an old radio that used those.
Rocketpoweredgorilla@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 1y
Not sure what designation they'd have... each one is 6 inches tall and about 2 1/2 inches wide