Mitsubishi "Diamond Tel" model Mesa 60X cellular telephone
date: label: date made
content: 1986-05
name: label: maker
content: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: A cellular telephone with charger, spare battery, and owners manual. Phone: Mitsubishi type MT-396F0R6B, serial number 2013. Charger: Mitsubishi type FZ-707A, serial number 000481, date code 1986-05. Battery: type FZ-712A / P-07E-6U02. This is a hand-held cell phone from the mid 1980s, marking a transition from earlier “bag phones” to smaller hand-held devices. Bag phones required separate batteries and transceiver systems, usually housed in a satchel carried over-the-shoulder by the user. This model 60X unit, though large by later standards, was considered an advancement due to its significantly smaller and lighter size.
label: Description (Brief)
content: This unit was made by the Japanese firm Mitsubishi, and represents another line of imported Japanese electronics from a time when those imports were creating national concern about their impact on US companies and competitiveness. The visual design of this model 60X recalls WWII handy-talkies, a device that is in the direct technical lineage of cell phones.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The donor is the original owner and reported: “At the time [mid 1980s], I was a General Contractor and could see the value of being able to be in contact with crews and customers at any time. The phone cost $3000. I felt it paid for itself almost immediately since I had a project closing that needed my immediate attention. They were able to contact me while I was on a job site. Without getting in touch with me, the closing would have had to be delayed.”
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: Japan: Japan
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Electricity
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Kate Pahls
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2022.0108.01
label: accession number
content: 2022.0108
label: catalog number
content: 2022.0108.01
objectType: label: Object Name
content: cellular telephone
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: phone: 8 1/2 in x 3 1/2 in x 2 in; 21.59 cm x 8.89 cm x 5.08 cm
label: Measurements
content: charger: 4 1/4 in x 7 in x 4 3/4 in; 10.795 cm x 17.78 cm x 12.065 cm
label: Measurements
content: spare battery: 7 in x 1 3/8 in x 1 1/8 in; 17.78 cm x 3.4925 cm x 2.8575 cm