Old-style phone provides a direct connection to Caithness oral history
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It looks at first glance like a typical old-fashioned rotary telephone of the kind that was a familiar object in most homes a few decades ago.
Inside, however, it contains some very modern technology storing hundreds of oral history recordings – any one of which can be played back by simply dialling a three-digit number and listening to the receiver.
Years after it was last used to make calls, the repurposed phone is now connecting older people to stories and reminiscences from around the county.
It was created by Chris Aitken, computing science teacher at Wick High School, for Wick Voices, the oral history project of the Wick Society.
During break times at school, and with input from some of his pupils, Chris deployed a Raspberry Pi – a credit-card-sized computer – to load 300 oral history interviews onto the device. He also compiled a directory of numbers.
The phone has been on loan to Wick's Laurandy Centre over the past couple of weeks and has proved very popular with users. Other daycare centres and care homes around Caithness will also be having a turn.
Chris was initially approached by Doreen Leith, who leads the Wick Voices project, with the idea of utilising an old phone to let people hear the oral history collection even if they don't have internet access.
"I put out a message on Facebook and was delighted that Isobell Beattie came back to me and donated her old rotary phone from Seaforth Avenue. I think this one dates back to the 1960s," Chris explained.
"The plan was to allow the user to dial a number and listen to a recording. I knew there would be a lot of testing involved in getting this off the ground so I had to pick a voice that I enjoyed listening to – and so I picked my favourite, Ishbel McBoyle.
"I knew I'd have to use a Raspberry Pi if I wanted the electronics to fit inside the phone, given how little space there was inside.
"Stage one of interfacing with the device was translating the turning of the dial into something the Raspberry Pi could read. Once that was in place it was fairly simple to have the Pi play the right recording and output the sound through the speaker on the handset.
"I also added in a volume control for anyone hard of hearing.
"I made the phone in my spare time at school and involved my pupils in all aspects of the development process. The hope is that, by seeing the many failures and some successes I had in building it, they have a greater appreciation of the fusion between computing science and electronics and it could potentially influence their future career choices.
"Indeed, I knew that if I handed over the phone to pupils and it survived then it would be okay to give out to the wider community. Thankfully it did!
"In keeping with the principle of making the phone accessible to older generations, I knew I had to make a phone book of numbers, with each person being given a unique number.
"I am absolutely delighted to hear that the phone has been very well received at the Laurandy Centre and can't wait to see it go on its travels around the county. It was a real pleasure to build."
The phone can even be updated with new recordings.
Margaret Allan, formerly manager and now adviser at the Laurandy Centre, said: “This is tying in modern technology with something from long ago and it works really well because people can relate to a bit of apparatus like an old phone as opposed to a mobile. So even people that have dementia, when they lift that phone, would expect a voice to come out.
“And the way the stories have been collated is quite incredible. We spend a lot of time with reminiscence so I think it really works well with older people.
“When you start speaking about something and say 'oh, I remember that', then you get into the big conversations. It's so interesting, apart from anything else – it's just knowledge. It's something that we all enjoy.
“It's amazing to use it as a tool. You think people with dementia are losing their memory, but if you can connect with a little trigger it's amazing what's still in there.”
Doreen Leith said: "Chris has always been a supporter and contributor to Wick Voices. When we had a conversation about using an old-fashioned telephone to access Wick Voices, he immediately grasped the idea and offered to ‘have a go’.
"The resulting design exceeded expectations as the entire Wick Voices collection has been made accessible without the need for an internet connection.
"A number of groups in daycare centres and residential care homes are being given an opportunity to listen to voices and stories using the familiar technology of an old-fashioned dial-up phone. This also ensures the Wick Voices collection is available to members of the wider community."
- Wick Voices can be emailed at wickvoices@icloud.com; all recordings are freely available at www.wickheritage.org
