The beginning of the cell phones

Would someone in 1986 use a cell phone?

In Chapter 7 of Mix Tapes and Stuff, Orville’s father uses a cell phone. In a story set today that would be normal and expected. In 1986, that was rare, but not impossible. 

Let’s look at the history of the cell phone.

In 1973, the only place you would find a mobile phone would be in a car. I can recall an episode of Cannon where William Conrad used a car phone to tell police about a suspect. The first outside of the car mobile phone call was made in 1973 by Martin Cooper to Dr. Joel S Engel. 

The technology took time, but innovations soon came about. One change was the cost. 

In 1983, The Dyna Tac phone made by Motorola was the first phone available to the public. It provided 30 minutes of talk time after you took 10 hours to charge the thing. It had 8 hours of stand-by if you expected a call. The price was $3995 to purchase. The same year, a Dodge Ram truck was $5600. (thank you www.thepeoplehistory.com/1983.html)

The phone was 28 ounces (16 ounces is a pound). It was 10 inches high plus the plastic antenna on top. 

A person certainly couldn’t drive and talk as the user would have to wrap their fingers around the base just to hold it. It was big and heavy, but it was a start. 

For those with access to Youtube, if you search for Dyna Tac cell phone, you'll see these giant phones. 

This information came from wikipedia and Google search.