Is it a smart phone - rectangular, flat, front is all screen?
Or is it a flip phone, or bar phone? I can make something to hold the phone that would be heavy with a non-skid neoprene base, but I’d need the dimensions of the phone.
Let me get the exact phone model,That is very kind to offer,the problem is I am in NZ,but with a bit of fiddling I could make one out of wood!!
What about just getting one of those Bluetooth conference call devices?
No worries. If you are interested in this, I can print it and send it empty, with the neoprene sheet for the base, and you can sand/epoxy fill it. Just let me know.
EDIT: If you like this style, but want to cut it in wood, here is the model cut in half. If you can fit a 3" tall piece of wood under your spindle, you can cut it, then cut a mirror and glue them together, maybe with a contrasting piece of wood like 3mm wide, like a racing stripe to hide the fact that it is a seam.
It is actually a STL, so just change the .ZIP to .STL. This is just to see if you can cut it, if you are interested. If you are, you can get me the dimensions of the phone and I can adjust the model.
Phone Holder 002 Base.zip (298.3 KB)
Or, if you want to go in a different direction,let me know.
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Well it all takes a little twist,his wife went and bought a flip phone today thinking this would stop the keys being activated when not in use.Apparently to go on speaker you press OK.It’s only 50 mm wide but he was able to operate it this afternoon but needs a robust stand to put it in to counteract the shaking.
My Mac will not open the Zip file and apple says no app is available to support?
Don’t try to open the .zip archive, download it, then change the file extension to .stl then work w/ it as an STL file (a 3D file format) — you’ll need to import it into Carbide Create Pro or MeshCAM or some other 3D CAM tool.
For Carbide Create Pro see:
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Alexa does have an option for that. I set it up on my mother’s so she could contact me if she couldn’t get to her phone. It works, but can have some bad echoing. It basically will call anybody in your contact list through your phone. Great for emergencies, but not for normal conversations.
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If the family isn’t cooperating, then you are going to waste a lot of time. In the USA, there are scores of places where equipment is provided or modified for such solutions. Most likely this problem has been solved before. I’m imagining that NZ has places with such equipment.
Alright, today when I get home from work (+8 hours or so from now) I’ll modify the dimensions of the base for that phone.
EDIT: And on the subject of using a Bluetooth speaker like @neilferreri suggested - I had a Bluetooth speaker for my late '90s car that clipped to the sun visor that was actually a great little speaker. It had really good noise canceling and good sound for a $45 speaker. They are probably even cheaper now that most cars come with Bluetooth built in. It might be worth a look, as an alternative.
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What great replies,thank you all,the family have tried the standard phone holders etc and not workable,the problem he has with the shaking,you can not have too many operations to answer the phone as you would run out of time by the time the call finished.A simple solid stand or holder he could have on a side table or chair beside him seems to be what is needed.I am amazed that the Parkinson’s society have no recommendations for such a unit.
Thanks Will,we will be up and running shortly.
Actually, STL is an allowed filetype, so no reason to change the name.
I was able to download a bunch of pics and dimensions for that flip phone and was on my way to modifying the base when I was unceremoniously removed from the computer so my wife could take care of some online stuff… 
I may get some time a bit later tonight, but if not, I have what I need to get a new design done with about 2 hours of CAD time for you to check out and critique.
I am thinking of removing the triangular area between the phone slot and speaker slot, moving the phone forward in the holder, so more of the phone is visible, and moving more volume to the rear of the holder to keep the mass of it.
I guess the best way to visualize it is imagine a small bean bag and pushing the phone into the front of it so it is just barely being held on the front of the bean bag and most of the bean bag is behind the phone, out of the way.
Do you want a slot for the USB cable to be plugged in while in the base?
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That is outstanding,I would not worry about the USB he will have his wife charge it on the charger,He has tried using the charge as a stand but falls over with the shaking?It makes you think how lucky you are
Done works well,thanks
Got a little more time on the computer. Here’s the latest iteration. There is a channel the phone will slide into, and hold it all along the sides, but not cover the buttons.
Using pics I found online, scaling them top the correct dimension in Inkscape, and getting dimensions from there.
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That is great,I reckon that will do him,I will do it out of wood and that should allow weight and stability,if it works well I will see if the Parkinson’s people could use a few of them.
Instead of going to bed, I modeled the bottom half of the phone as best I could.
Here’s the STL of half of the current model. Just change the ZIP to STL like before.
Phone Holder 002 Base.zip (383.8 KB)
EDIT: I did not take out any width for a “racing stripe” at the seam in the middle. Right now, the channel is 1.5mm wider than the phone.
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That is so great, thanks so much, I will set up my cutting in the morning.
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Graham - you can certainly make a sturdy stand. I would encourage you to check out this link. There are viable alternatives for using a smartphone.
Here’s the link: https://www.sralab.org/sites/default/files/downloads/2021-01/iphone%20adaptation_education_3.pdf
Best of luck.
Tom