Saved Messages

At Aunt Donna's camp by the Black River in New York, a place deeply cherished by my wife's family and a personal retreat for me, I discovered an old black shiny rotary dial telephone in the workshop once owned by Uncle Greg, Aunt Donna's late husband. This workshop and the camp itself held sentimental value, serving as a sanctuary and a connection to past family memories. Recognizing the potential of the forgotten telephone, I decided to repurpose it into something meaningful.

With a passion for repairs and a penchant for blending the old with the new, I embarked on a project to infuse this vintage telephone with a new purpose. My wife had previously expressed a desire to preserve voicemails from her late mother, stored on an old iPhone, wishing to keep her memory alive through the sound of her voice. Inspired by this, I saw an opportunity to combine the nostalgic appeal of the rotary phone with modern technology to create a unique and deeply personal gift.

Using an Arduino board, I interfaced with the phone's internal mechanisms, adding an audio shield equipped with an SD card containing the precious voicemails. The Arduino was programmed to recognize the pulse signals generated by the rotary dial, allowing specific numbers (1-2-3) to playback the corresponding MP3 files through the phone's handset. This technical integration transformed the rotary phone into a bespoke device that could relay cherished memories at the turn of a dial.

Presenting this modified telephone to my wife on her birthday, it became more than just a piece of technology; it was a tangible link to her mother, encapsulating complex emotions and memories within its vintage frame. The project not only showcased the harmony between vintage aesthetics and modern functionality but also symbolized the convergence of family history, personal craftsmanship, and the enduring power of memory. This gift, a melding of her family's past with our shared present, was a poignant reminder of the connections that bind us, transcending time through the fusion of technology and sentiment.