Linux on SX1:
Looking for files - 20 mins tops
Finding out I had my partitions wrong - about an hour and a half

Also, only one of my SX1 can run it, as the other one is on old firmware (and I do not have the right flashing cable in Prague to update it.)

Next step is to find (or hell, buy) another active SIM and see if what I found can even call, I suppose.

IT CAN! I HAVE A LINUX PHONE!

Well it can receive a call, when I dial, the call immediately ends. But well, it's something.

Oh, happy to see this device! Back in the days, it was really challenging to get a black SX1. Best device back in those days

@ozzelot

@gyptazy I saw a black SX1 for sale a few times in my life. It always fetched prices I wasn't willing to pay, and I think that situation will stay that way. I have two fully operational grey ones, though (even if I only have one back and battery), and that's more than fine by me.

You still have second gen networks? 😲

@m0xEE We do! I believe most of Europe does, if not all.

@ozzelot it was one of the most impressive devices. I think it just got replaced a bit later by the XDA Diamond (in piano black) on Windows Mobile 6.5

@gyptazy I ran 6.5 on a MDA Compact back in the day, also had a Nokia 6630 for a while... then came the grey of Android and iOS. (Which were fun enough initially...)

Good to know! Someone from… Germany (?) have been telling me that they are being phased out and it's a huge problem for vintage devices. This was a couple of years ago, but maybe I'm confusing things 🤪

@m0xEE idk about Germany, but in Czechia, a couple years ago 3G got shut down, but 2G stayed.

Same here in Germany, but you might still rarely find some 3G.

@ozzelot @m0xEE

@gyptazy @m0xEE How did that happen? Did some stations fail to shut down and nobody cared enough?

I'm not even sure it was Germany in question at this point 😋
And of course it might vary from country to country, but somehow that made me assume that it's a general European vector. Well, in any case, it's good that it's not like that 👍

@m0xEE Very much so. My mom still uses a Nokia 6300, too. It will be a sad day when the 2G networks close... and I do hope there will be quality VoLTE buttonphones on the market.
(The railway uses 2G too, but they have their own infrastructure for it; I could check if I see their BTS now that I live near a train station)

I've never used them myself, but KaiOS-based devices look pretty cool!
They are 4G-capable and are not quite smartphones — there are even KaiOS-based "remasters" of classic Nokia phones.

@m0xEE I used the 8110 4G and it was a laggy mess. And apparently, many units had problems with the keys breaking. They are built to a cost... but they do have some postmarketOS support, though not with calls yet.

@m0xEE And I can indeed.
(Now people know which train station I live in vague proximity to! The horror!)

@ozzelot@mstdn.social

in vague proximity

Bold move, triangulating you right now! 😈

(I'm worried about shooting my cats when they sit outside on the balcony because I'm scared it can be traced back to my place 😟)

@m0xEE I actually wonder if one could reasonably get distance from that station by signal strength and the knowledge of the Motorola's ability to receive signal and the typical absorption of materials that might be in the way.

@m0xEE But I would guess that what is in the photo is a point on a reasonable circle. :D

I think in theory that is possible, but there should be a major enough reason to put such a significant effort into it, e.g. you have to pose threat to Elon Musk personally…
But they won't find you there anyway — too late, you'd already be behind his back 🥷

@m0xEE Does Elon Musk's jet have a BTS?

@m0xEE (Funfact: these Motorolas can in fact be turned into a BTS and you can have your very own low-power unreliable network!)

The K-Pop band? Sure, why not! I think he can afford it 😂

@ozzelot qtopia? :-). Cool!

@pavel FLPhone, I can't find the Qtopia rootfs

@ozzelot @m0xEE There's 'timing advance' parameter which can give you distance to the base station. Should be available during call.

@ozzelot @m0xEE What is that and where can I get it? I thought osmocombb needed PC connection to talk to GSM? I would love to play with firmware on this, this looks horse-compatible! :-)

@ozzelot @m0xEE What? Does low level hardware actually allow that? I was always told that BTS can not physically transmit at phone frequencies and vice versa.

@pavel @m0xEE It's the Osmocom RSSI application on Motorola C115. If you want a firmware where you can make phone calls, get a C139 and use the Magnetite FreeCalypso firmware. https://osmocom.org/projects/baseband/wiki/Rssibin https://www.freecalypso.org/members/david/howtos/flashing-magnetite-c139.html

@pavel @m0xEE (Both phones available at all the great junksters. I have too many C115-alikes, the C139 not so much.)

@pavel @m0xEE It can be done. (Of course, super illegal, don't try this at home or ČTÚ will get you, etc etc) https://osmocom.org/projects/baseband/wiki/CalypsoBTS

@pavel @m0xEE I would love to tell you about the physical side of it all, but I don't understand anything about that. I can only express my joy at how the Calypso managed to get itself wide open. :D

@pavel @m0xEE The application did need a PC connection to be loaded into RAM, but it can function standalone once you do that (and provided you keep the phone on). It can also be flashed into the... flash.