# Earmuff Modem

> Earmuff Modem is a Retsy Series 1 NFT on Solana, card 0249 of 1,280 in the 80s Tech & Gadgets set, made in six finishes. A modem with two rubber cups that hugged a telephone handset so your computer could screech data down the line.

URL: https://retsy.fun/collection/earmuff-modem/

- Card number: 0249 of 1,280
- Set: 80s Tech & Gadgets (80-TEC)
- Year: 1982
- Type: Acoustic coupler modem
- Tagline: Let your computer make a phone call.
- Found at: Computer club swap meet
- Cost back then: $199
- Stats: Nostalgia 7/10, Hype 5/10, Weirdness 9/10, Trade value 6/10
- Finishes: Base (100 copies), Holo (50 copies), Laser (25 copies), Gold (10 copies), Super Laser (1 copy), Misprint (1 copy)
- Images: https://retsy.fun/nft/0249-base.webp, https://retsy.fun/nft/0249-holo.webp, https://retsy.fun/nft/0249-laser.webp, https://retsy.fun/nft/0249-gold.webp, https://retsy.fun/nft/0249-super.webp, https://retsy.fun/nft/0249-misprint.webp

## The story

Connecting with the Earmuff Modem meant dialing by hand, waiting for the squeal, then jamming the phone receiver into its rubber cups like earmuffs. Data trickled in one letter at a time, slow enough to read along. If anyone in the house picked up another phone, the whole connection dissolved into gibberish and an argument.

## Fun fact

Shouting near the cups could scramble a download, so kids learned to whisper around the computer like it was sleeping.

Retsy Series 1 is an NFT collection on Solana. Every card is minted to the buyer's wallet the moment its pack is ripped at https://retsy.fun/packs/.