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2 Phone Intercom with Buzzers...

by mk484 on July 20, 2014

Table of Contents

2 Phone Intercom with Buzzers... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: 2 Phone Intercom with Buzzers... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: How It Works... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: Making A Call... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: Final Notes... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Phone-Intercom-with-Buzzers/
 Author:mk484
Started as a hobbyist at 9 - built my first crystal radio on one of mum's prized cutting boards (eeek) - Worked in 2 electrical/electronics stores as a teenager -
Became a College kid in 1980 studied electronics. Went on to work for the phone company for 5 years. Began a career in Business Equipment sales, service
and programming in 1987. Had 2 small businesses in that industry. Taught hobby classes in the mid 1990's Have several telephone and crystal radio
projects online. Am a regular contributor to several blog spots for technology and other interests.

Intro: 2 Phone Intercom with Buzzers...

Hi there - I've noticed in my travels around the board lately, that there's been a number of projects for a simple 2 phone intercom. This is not a nasty criticism, but most of
them did not seem to have a way for one handset to 'buzz' the other one. That's fine if it's just a 'muck around' thing for the kids to play with (parents DON'T need
endless buzzing of phones in their ears kiddies!)

This version precludes the need for high ring voltages (90 volts AC +) and also prevents the user from having to mount a separate switch for signalling, inside or outside
of the handset. When you pick up one handset 'off hook' it will automatically "buzz" the other handset. When the called party answers, the buzzer inside their handset will
stop buzzing. When both parties have hung up their handsets at the end of the call, the circuit will simply reset itself to the 'at rest' position, waiting for another call.

So my Instructable is, essentially this circuit diagram and how it works, ( I know it looks a little scrappy, but it's readable and I'l replace it with a neater one when I get the
chance) as most of the people who are interested in such a project can either upgrade their existing 'A to B' style intercom, or start from scratch with this one, taking hints
and tips from other people's contributions where relevant.

Step 1: How It Works...

Transmission Bridge

In order for you to get one phone to talk to the other with good volume and reliability, you have to employ a special circuit known as a "Stone Transmission Bridge". Now
what is involved with one of those, is a bit more than we have to do in order to achieve simple communication between 2 handsets around the house. OK - so we're going
to use a 'cut down' version of that, and this means that we only need 2 x DPDT (Double Pole Double Throw) relay sets, and one capacitor (and a resistor too, if you're
using one old rotary phone, in conjunction with the newer 'plastic fantastic' push button phone handsets.)

Looking at the diagram, you can see Phone A is connected in a DC loop circuit with the coil of relay A/2. Starting with 0V- ground connection, it goes up via the 220 ohm
resistor, (R1) through the old rotary phone and back down via the coil of relay A/2, to the +12 volts vcc rail. That completes one phone circuit and phone B's loop circuit is
identical, except for resistor R1 - I'll explain the purpose for that resistor later on.

The three relay contact designations mean:

NC = Normally Closed (when the relay is 'at rest')

Com = Common to NC and NO contacts

NO = Normally Open (when the relay is 'at rest'.)

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Phone-Intercom-with-Buzzers/
Step 2: Making A Call...
Both relay set contacts are shown as being 'at rest' while both handsets are 'on hook' (hung up) as the 'switch hook' inside the phone is open circuit, and no current is
flowing. If I were to pick up Phone A in order to call Phone B, current would flow in the DC loop pathway I've just described, and the electromagnetic attraction of the coil
would cause the armature of relay A/2 to 'pull in'. This armature (a specially shaped piece of metal, which acts like a lever, and moves the switches NC, Com and NC in
and out of contact with each other,) is attracted by the magnetic energy caused by the current flowing in the coil. When the armature of A/1 is pulled in, switch contacts
Com (common to both NC and NO contacts) changes over to from contacting the NC contact, to coming into contact with the NO contact. Both sets of switches are said
to "changeover", in Telco terminology. If you look closely at relay A/2's contacts, this changeover effectively connects +12 volts DC on the red +ve lead of buzzer B2, thus
signalling the called party (Phone B) that someone wants to communicate. At the same time, the other set of contacts that 'changed over' inside relay A/2, have
effectively disconnected the -ve lead from the ground rail, going to Phone A's buzzer, BZ1. that means that each phone handset can't ring its own buzzer accidentally - it
can only ring the other phone's buzzer. simple logic!

Step 3: Final Notes...

What About C1?

So what's that capacitor for? well, the 2.2uf cap is to allow your speech to cross from one side of the circuit to the other. It does 2 jobs - firstly, it is an integral part of the
modified 'bridge' circuit - secondly, it acts as a 'blocking capacitor' - it only allows AC signals (speech) th pass through it, and also prevents the DC voltages and currents
in and around both relay sets to interfere with other.

About That Mysterious Resistor - R1...

Newer electronic phones can present a larger line resistance as compared to the older rotary dial types. so if you're using one of each, you'll find that everything is OK -
until someone picks up Phone A and all the available circuit current is shunted down that particular current feed path, thus shutting down Phone B altogether. Inserting
resistor R1 (as a low value) allows both phone handsets to 'current share' more evenly. You may have to experiment with the value of that resistor, so scrounge a few
different values - 220r, 330R or 470R and try them out until one works for you.

Final Notes

I'm not going to reinvent the wheel and post another step about how to connect it all up - consult the other intercom posts elsewhere on the board, and when you've found
one that you like, follow the steps of that post. When you've finished that part of it, use the info here on how to connect the relays and buzzers to the phones and power
supply. My advice, is to use smallish relays for this project - the larger ones are often suck a lot more current from the 'wall wart' power supply, and when that happens,
modern electronic push button phones can play up on you too! Well, happy phone calls folks - till next time... mk484

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http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Phone-Intercom-with-Buzzers/
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Comments
2 comments Add Comment

ke8bg says: Jul 20, 2014. 7:47 AM REPLY

Some indication on the schematic of which wires, or how many wires are required in the transmission cable...

Kiteman says: Jul 20, 2014. 7:42 AM REPLY

No photos of actually making this?

http://www.instructables.com/id/2-Phone-Intercom-with-Buzzers/