Building An Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) Base Station

Remember the early days of cellphones and carphones when they were super-bulky and all the rage? Those early handsets used analog technology for communications in a protocol called Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS). As more customers flocked to wireless providers, networks were transitioned over to digital phones in order to save bandwidth. Some places still support AMPS but it has rapidly gone the way of the Dodo. But a few years back [Mark Atherton] got his hands on some old hardware, including a bag-phone and some test equipment, and set out to build a base station that can control AMPS handsets. In short, he’s creating his own analog cellphone tower. There’s a wealth of information on his page. The writeup comes out as a mix of protocol and electronic resources he scavenged across the net, as well as a work log serving as a testament to his successes and failures. He did his experiments in New Zealand, so if you’re thinking of undertaking this make sure to research your local radio regulations first.

[Thanks J]

8 thoughts on “Building An Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS) Base Station

  1. Has anyone do a YouTube review on this? I’m into old technology. I want to make an AMPS System using Raspberry Pi and using VOIP Technology. I know that the AMPS System is old technology. But it’s not impossible. What I want to do is replace the phone number from the AMPS unit to a VOIP Number. There’s little review on this. What way can be done to build an AMPS Antenna? Sam

    1. You should look into an open source project called Osmocom analog. This is a project that supports loads of analog phone networks and allows for use of modern software defined radios to create your own little base stations.

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