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-
- -/SWITCHBOX PLANS/-
-
-
-
- This tutorial is notable in that it is totally and
- absolutely within legal bounds. It's only object is to
- guide you in building a device with which you can control,
- on many different levels, your home phone lines. It is
- designed primarily for two phone numbers, although I
- suspect that provisions for more than two can be easily
- added. With it, you can put one or both phone lines on
- hold with visible indicators of each lines status; conference
- call with two people; change a phone from line #1 to line #2;
- and lastly, make one phone line physically dead to outside
- world. This is good, for instance, if you don't want to
- recieve any calls, or if you want to stop someone from talk-
- ing on that line really quickly.
- The circut is relatively simple to build and I believe
- it is much more economical than buying something like Radio
- Shack's line controller. It will require some knowledge of
- electronics and the phone line in general, but I don't think
- that should be a problem. I have personally found many uses
- for the controller, and have put in into a pleasant "project
- box" so it is not an eyesore.
- OK, now, let's start with the parts list --------
-
- ============================================================
- *** Parts List ***
-
- 1. Two pushbutton (on-off) switches for hold
- 2. Two LED's for line status indication
- 3. One DPDT switch for conferencing
- 4. One SPST switch for line shut off
- 5. Another DPDT switch for phone line switching
- 6. Get some wire, you'll need it!
- 7. 2 modular phone plugs with at least 10 feet of wire each
- 8. Two 1.7K ohm resistors
- 9. *OPTIONAL* - Project Box
- =============================================================
- *** Construction ***
-
- We will take the construction of the switchbox-controller
- in parts. First, the hold switches and status indicators. The
- following is a diagram of the essential circut:
-
-
-
- Pushbutton #1 LED
- --------------------------!x!-----0---
- Phone Line #1 1.7K Resistor !
- -----------------/!/!/!/!/------------
-
- Some word of explanation is in order. First of all, the
- second phone line hold is constructed the same as the first.
- Basically, there are two wires come out of your phone line,
- the red and the green. You have to experiment to find out
- which one is connected to the pushbutton switch and which
- one to the Resistor. To do this, just connect it in any
- way and then turn the switch on. If the LED lights up, you
- connected it right, otherwise reverse the connections.
- Got it? Good, now do the same for line #2, following exactly
- the same procedure.
-
- Now, let's do an easy one. This will be the line black-
- out switch. First, decide which line you wish to black out.
- Actually, you can do it to both lines if you wish, just get
- an extra SPST switch. Now, connect the switch across the line
- as follows:
-
- --------------------------------!!!!!!!!
- x ! Hold !
- !x! <---Switch !Circut!
- x ! !
- --------------------------------!!!!!!!!
-
- Don't worry that your line can't handle both circuts, it can.
- To test out, pick up a phone on the line you have connected
- the switch to and flip it on. There should be dead silence.
- Now, turn it off. You should hear a dial tone. You have to be
- an absolute idiot if this doesn't work.
-
- OK, let's see what we have so far. If everything is
- working you should now have two hold circuts and a black-
- out switch connected. Now it really gets tough!
-
- Next on the agenda is the conference switch. I have a
- few precautions for you on this one. First, you have to know
- what you're doing, and second, it doesn't work that well. The
- reason it doesn't is because I am naturally very lazy and
- didn't feel like adding the needed phone transformer. But,
- it is still good for many uses, limited only by your imag-
- ination (to use a cliche').
- First, take the double pole double throw switch into your
- hand. It should lo
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