Barn phone ?

J.Wondergem · Feb 10, 2010

I just went total cell phone, and shut the land line off. Now I still have phones I could use. How would I go about hooking up the phones to use between the house and the barn?

ddl · Feb 10, 2010

Tie the string to both ends? without the land line won't you need a small transformer to supply power so you get a ring and that good stuff? buy the time you do all that you could probably buy a walkie talkie set. Why not just use the cell phone and take the phones to goodwill?

Nebraska K · Feb 10, 2010

If the house and the barn both run off of the same transformer, just buy an intercom set. They work good and are only about 20-50 dollars at Radio Shack.

VaTom · Feb 10, 2010

J., we only use cell phones. But as part of my security arrangement we also have intercoms that use the connecting electric wiring to transmit the signal. Work great over our 700', so long as both house and barn are on the same transformer. Security comes from their sound-actuated feature, used when I'm not there making noise.

ericlb · Feb 10, 2010

be careful, i did that once, shut off the land line and went to just cell phone, land line was costing me between 100 and 130 a month depending on how many times our 80+ year old mothers called, next cell bill was for 472 bucks up from 69

ericlb · Feb 10, 2010

forgot to add for talking between the outbuildings and the house just get a pair of those rechargable 2 way hand held radios they work great

Kirk Grau · Feb 10, 2010

We have only used cell phones for several years now. Our plan allows unlimited calls between any of our phones so we just use the phones like intercoms.

A few years ago I had a small box about the size of an old external modem that functioned like a small PBX for my small business. Had 2 lines in and 4 out. It actually generated it's own dial tone and could be used with just the 4 extensions like an intercom. Made by Centrepoint (I think, it has been a few years.) Anyway, something like that would work for you.

YMMV,

Kirk

Bill in IL · Feb 10, 2010

You can power phones with a 9 volt battery (or similar supply to talk back and forth. Never tried it but read it once (not off the internet so it has to be true).

Not sure if you could find some on ebay or not but military style TA-1042 phones work wonderful pt to pt. Take a small power supply and 4 wires but they sure were good phones.

Bill in IL · Feb 10, 2010

Ringing would be a problem cause it takes 50-60 volts if I remember right to ring a phone. I am sure its on google.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 10, 2010

You will need ten sets to get through the summer thunderstorm season. WE tried it about 15 years ago, and a TINY little lightening storm would wreck the intercoms. Maybe they are better now??? I think we tried 4 pairs before we gave up.They work GREAT, but apparently can't take whatever lightening does to something plugged in to an electrical outlet and a phone line. The ones that only went through the electrical outlet w/o a phone jack didn't EVER work.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 10, 2010

I have a few old hand crank phones strung from the house to the garage, barn and a few outbuildings. These are the old type where you rang up the operator to have her connect you to whoever you wanted to talk to. If you crank any of these phones, they all ring so my wife can signal me for supper or keep ringing until I answer for something else. Dont want & never have had a portable phone because I'd either break it or loose it and with these, at least when they ring, I know it aint no salesman trying to waste my time.
I run the line voltage off of a 120AC/6VDC transformer

Anonymous-0 · Feb 10, 2010

the old phones I use have high tension magnetos in them that actually supply the ring voltage when you crank the handle, the transformer supplies the lower line voltage

Vito · Feb 10, 2010

Change over to Sprint and get the two way service.

Vito

PJH · Feb 10, 2010

My son and I rigged up a two phone intercom between his house and shop. It was powered by a wall wart power supply. Had to add a couple capacitors and a zener diode, and each phone had a piezo buzzer added for a "ringer". Pick up one phone and the piezo's on both phones would buzz. Pick up phone #2 to answer, and buzzers would shut off. It's been working for about five years. Got the schematic off of the internet. He's a phone tech and we enjoyed getting it working.

It's been my experience that I usually can't hear a phone ring in the shop if anything is running. Not even my cell phone on my belt. And sometimes I ignore it when I do hear it. My wife hits the horn button on her key fob if I don't answer the cell for dinner. (Car is 100' from the shop)

I have to wonder why you don't just use your cell phone and forget the land lines. You may have a weak signal inside your metal buildings. I have marginal signal in my shop.

Paul

GeneMO · Feb 10, 2010

Places like Sportsmans Guide and Cheaper than dirt often advertise new and used military field phones. They also sell the com wire in big rolls of half mile or so. I think each phone has a battery and you just give it a crank to ring up the other end.

I was tempted to run a line through the woods to the hunting cabin about 3/4 mile to the south. Cant get cell signals down there.

Gene

rustyj14 · Feb 10, 2010

How about using one of those little air horns that have a removable cylinder, and can be replaced when they run out of air. Another way would be to hang a big bag of old pots and pans, then run a strong rope from barn to garage, with a quick release. When yer wife yanks on the rope, all those clanky things will fall onto the cement floor, and scare the be-jabbers out of you, but you'll know you have a phone call!

J.Wondergem · Feb 10, 2010

Thanks for all the replies. That's what I was looking for, a bunch of different ways to think about. This house phone has a portable phone that goes with it. It has a intercom. I haven't tried that yet.The barn has a double steel wall. Makes it hard to get any signals through,[including the radio] and I have a buried phone line between the buildings. Thanks every body.

barn E · Feb 10, 2010

Three way switches and 110 volts alarm bell. Usually find one in small factory hardware. That;s the signal. Phone is your choice.

Ecnerwal · Feb 10, 2010

Try this, perhaps?

http://www.epanorama.net/documents/telecom/telephone_intercom.html

PJH · Feb 10, 2010

That's the exact circuit that we used, Lawrence. I thought we'd have to do a bunch of part swapping to get it to work, but it worked the first try. Seems like we might have used a different supply voltage, but calculated the resister value for 25 ma. We used heavy resisters as the designer recommended. I thought that both piezos buzzed when one phone was lifted off hook, but after reading the text with the schematic, I think only the on hook piezo buzzes, and the off hook phone picks up the buzz in the receiver.

I'd use caution building something like this. It would be wise to monitor the results for a while after powering it up, watching for overheating components.

Paul

J.Wondergem · Feb 11, 2010

Thanks for that one. Found out the my intercom wont work, unless I step out the door.

Barn phone ?

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