So what exactly do pagers do, anyways?

[Jondot]

Being English, I've never seen a pager in real life, but I see them all the time on American shows (IE Scrubs, CSI, even Friends at one point...).

I've always wondered how they work and what they do. I get the basic idea of paging someone and then they call you back, but how do you page someone? Does the pager have a number of it's own that you can call, and then the person with the pager phones you back?

I figured that's how they worked, but then I heard someone say "Now we have a new system. She just punches in 911...", which ruined my theory because surely it would page the emergency services if that was even possible.

 

[wfooshee]

Pager has its own phone number, answered by an automatic system that prompts you to enter the number you'd like the pager carrier to call, then you hang up and wait. The pager system transmits that number to be displayed on the pager's screen. When the pager goes off, the person carrying it curses, says, "Now what!!???!" and throws the pager into the nearest storm drain, after looking at the screen for the number. Then he politely places his call on his best behavior.
At one time I had a cell phone AND a pager for work, a home phone, wife and I each had a personal cell. Five phone #'s for the household! No wonder the area code list is going crazy.

 

[UnoMOTO]

This makes me feel old...Kids now ask "whats a pager?"

 

[Jondot]

Ahh I see! That makes sense, actually.

Thanks 👍

+ Rep

UnoMOTO: Meh, I don't think it's that. They never really took off over here, sadly. Being old fashioned we just gave the person a phone and called them. Or texted them.

 

[UnoMOTO]

Uh...we were using pagers around the time you were born...texting didn't even exist, the cell phones were more like caring around a brick.

 

[TB]

I figured that's how they worked, but then I heard someone say "Now we have a new system. She just punches in 911...",

When my dad was driving a Tow truck, he had a pager. If we needed him (this was well before cells), we'd call the pager. When we were asked to enter in the number we wanted him to call back, we'd punch in our phone number and when he got back to the station, he'd call us. If it was extremely urgent, we'd put 911 in front or our number and he'd go to the nearest pay phone to call. That might be what they were referring to.

 

[ExigeEvan]

@UnoMoto Yeah but Mobile phones have been popular with youths for quite a while here. Much longer than in America AFAIK.

When Britney Spears' "Hit me baby one more time" was released it never even crossed our minds that it might be about paging.

 

[land sea air]

Pretty much the only major use of pager any more is by hospital staff as cell phones can interfere with some sensitive equipment apparently. My dad used to have a pager when he owned his own company before cell phones were practical. When I first bought my Mercedes I noticed a strange little compartment that blended in with the interior but obviously wasn't stock. It had a small screen and little led. Upon asking a tech at the local dealership he said it was a dealer installed pager similar to the cell phones that some cars have.

 

[Zrow]

Also: help people deal drugs.

Evidently.

 

[Omnis]

This makes me feel old...Kids now ask "whats a pager?"

Me too. I had a pager for when I used to play outside with the other neighborhood kids. Everybody would get paged when it was dinner time.

Most hospitals use pagers because it's VERY rare for one to get bad reception. Pager calls will almost always go through, unlike many of the dropped and failed calls of cell phones. It's also a lot easier and simpler for hospitals to page rather than have somebody talking on the phone. I think most pagers these days can do text messages as well as numbers. Therefore, it's a lot easier to read a hospital unit's phone number and know where you're needed than to have somebody have to call, run the risk of a dropped call, and say, "Dr. Von Hubenstuben, we need you in the psychic cardiovascular pancreatic hysterectomy department!"

 

[Duke]

Uh...we were using pagers around the time you were born...texting didn't even exist, the cell phones were more like caring around a brick.

Remember when they were called car phones, and came hardwired to an arm stand mounted on the console, and a toolbox-sized xceiver in the trunk?

 

[Mark T]

I remember when my dad got me a pager when I was about 12. The problem was that it couldn't receieve text, only numbers. So I had to carry this little chart around with me which translated the numbered code on the screen.

It must have been even more annoying for the person leaving the message as they had to also check the chart and punch in loads of numbers. It was a real pain in the buttocks.

 

[Der Alta]

Remember when they were called car phones, and came hardwired to an arm stand mounted on the console, and a toolbox-sized xceiver in the trunk?

And it was a real handset, not a slim little speaker, microphone and touch pad.

Funny instance on that. I used to install car stereos. Elaborate systems, multiple amps, loud...! I was in picking up a few things at the local installer/supplier, and they had this beautiful Mercedes in there. WHen doing the original install, the lady had neglected to tell them, the car phone rang through the stereo system. She opted to keep the original head unit and simply add power and speakers. She nearly drove of the road the first time her hubby called. Picture going from a 20 watt 4 speaker ring to an 800 watt 12 speaker ring. Oops.

Back to the pagers, I've never even had one. I went right from Landline to cell phone. Cut the cord 3+ years ago. Recently, I severed the Internet line and went mobile with that as well.

One of my sub contractors uses almost exclusively a pager. He does have a cell phone, but only carries 300 minutes on it. The pager is for people to get a hold of him when needed. The cell phone is if he desperately has to call someone back. Other than that, he calls at the end of the day. He was also in trouble with a good many creditors, and two ex-wifes. Hence he only talked to whom he wanted to.

Pagers are becoming job exclusive, as its cheaper to own a cell phone than a pager in many instances.

 

[somebody]

we need you in the psychic cardiovascular pancreatic hysterectomy department!"

A department where patients with abnormal blood flow to their pancreas have their uterus removed by Uri Geller?

 

[UnoMOTO]

Remember when they were called car phones, and came hardwired to an arm stand mounted on the console, and a toolbox-sized xceiver in the trunk?

And it was a real handset, not a slim little speaker, microphone and touch pad.

Funny instance on that. I used to install car stereos. Elaborate systems, multiple amps, loud...! I was in picking up a few things at the local installer/supplier, and they had this beautiful Mercedes in there. WHen doing the original install, the lady had neglected to tell them, the car phone rang through the stereo system. She opted to keep the original head unit and simply add power and speakers. She nearly drove of the road the first time her hubby called. Picture going from a 20 watt 4 speaker ring to an 800 watt 12 speaker ring. Oops.

Back to the pagers, I've never even had one. I went right from Landline to cell phone. Cut the cord 3+ years ago. Recently, I severed the Internet line and went mobile with that as well.

You mean like these....yeah I remember! Technology is good...I haven't had a landline in 6 years, I have an internet connection through the cable company. It made me think that some parts of the world may never see a landline. Why install the infrastructure if you can just erect a cell tower or use satellites.

 

[Der Alta]

A while back, I visted the ukraine, and the statistic of people that had cell phones was staggering. Very few people had a landline, for that very reason. It was cheaper to erect a cell tower than run the landline. The only places that had landlines, were schools and businesses. And the businesses rarely used the landline.

Yes, although I've seen earlier models, that literally had a roatary dial handset.

 

[UnoMOTO]

Yes, although I've seen earlier models, that literally had a roatary dial handset.

WOW...I didn't know those existed. How old do you feel now?!

 

[wfooshee]

Yes, although I've seen earlier models, that literally had a roatary dial handset.

There were mobile phones well before the cellular systems in the '80s. Thos would be the ones that looked like a rotary-dial house phone in a box in the car.

I don't know who's older, me or DA, but although I've never used one of those earlier mobile phones, I saw one live and in person once.

 

[Der Alta]

WOW...I didn't know those existed. How old do you feel now?!

As old as when one of my young coworkers said he'd never heard of a thermal paper fax machine, nor Lorraina Bobbit.

1972 if anyone's really counting.

 

[wfooshee]

A child. I was in high school then. Yes, a plain-paper fax was a revolutionary item. Only the BEST businesses could have one.

 

[Wolfe]

How old do you feel now?!

1972 if anyone's really counting.

That's really old.