ANOTHER INCREDIBLE FIND (As Brand New)
RAC ET by Motorola ETACS 1993
1993
(The best condition we have ever seen one of these)
This Analogue Motorola ET RAC phone is becoming a rare collectable item. Valued at £400-£600 depending upon condition. It is extremely difficult to source these phones in excellent condition. This one is supplied with its original RAC unmarked carry case, lead for in-car connection and the original instructions. The phone is in excellent/as new condition for a phone 18 yrs + old and really has been looked after if ever used. The package would make an ideal retro gift. The phone does power up and displays all the relevant keys’ all digits press correctly. The phone has been plugged into a 12v supply and powers up as stated. Has all the origonal brochures and booklets included, vary rare.This is a wonderful piece for someone’s collection.
Please note: Due to the age of used batteries we cannot offer any form of warranty with them. They can be up to 20 years old. We check that the phone powers up the phone but have now way of testing how long the battery will perform for. We therefore recommend to get the best performance from your phone is to purchase a new battery.
RAC 'ET' Emergency Telephone, 1990
Back in the late 80s and early 1990's cellular mobile phones were still relatively expensive luxury items and mostly used for business communications. However, throughout their relatively short history they have proven their worth as a means of summoning help in an emergency and this clearly struck a chord with the UK's second largest roadside assistance organisation, the Royal Automobile Club or RAC. In collaboration with Motorola they came up with the 'ET' or Emergency Telephone, a mobile, or rather portable phone package that sold for the then astonishingly cheap price of £100.
The idea was it would only be used for emergencies, to call the RAC, police fire or ambulance services -- it even has its own dedicated RAC and 999 'speed dial' buttons on the handset. It could also be used for making regular phone calls but extortionate call charges meant that most of them spent short and uneventful lives in the boots of cars.
As you can see it comes in three parts, the main transceiver unit, with its hinged 'rubber duck' aerial housed in a black anodised extruded aluminium case, a chunky rechargeable NiCad battery pack, and the handset. The whole caboodle fits inside a snazzy padded blue shoulder bag. In case the battery was flat, which would probably be the case if it had been stored in the boot for any length of time, it could be powered up instantly using the supplied cigar lighter socket adaptor.
What Happened to it?
It is unlikely that many ETs were sold as by the early 1990s the analogue ETACs cellphone system, which it uses, was being phased out and replaced by cheaper, smaller and smarter digital mobile phones. The first GSM networks came on stream in 1993 and within a couple of years the cost of mobile phones, and call charges had fallen to the point where it had become a mass market product, so there was no longer any need for specialised cellphones like this one.
Features: Analogue ETACS portable mobile phone with LCD display, RAC and 999 speed dial buttons, rubber dick antenna
Power req. 12 volt rechargeable nicad battery or car battery
Weight: 2.5kg
Dimensions: (carry case) 285 x 180 x 80mm
Made in: UK
Hen's Teeth (10 rarest): 7
