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Vintage Telephony and Telecomms Vintage Telephones, Telephony and Telecomms Equipment |
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4th Oct 2016, 6:35 pm | #1 |
Diode
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 5
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Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
Hello all,
I've got a strange one for you today: I'd like to use an old BT issue touchtone phone as a GSM/(im)mobile phone - my landline keeps on going down and I'm getting fed up of using my mobile for long calls - it's very uncomfortable to hold and the speakerphone is awful. Has anybody ever seen an adapter which connects to a phone and allows you to use it on the cellular network? Thanks, Henry |
4th Oct 2016, 11:44 pm | #2 |
Pentode
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 139
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
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"Broken we can fix, cr*p is a design issue" |
5th Oct 2016, 6:46 am | #3 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Derby, UK.
Posts: 7,735
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
I made my own; using an old PC, an FXS / FXO card (which connects to up to 4 analogue phones or, by swapping modules, exchange lines) and a GSM card (which takes a SIM), with the free and Open Source Asterisk software.
Now, just for connecting a landline phone to the mobile network, this is riduculous overkill. But it is a full-blown telephone exchange, with a proper computer behind it; and it can do anything telephonical under program control (like notify me by SMS, if it has received a call from certain numbers -- and recognise my own mobile number when I call in, and give me an option to listen to the recording). And it brings old phones to life in a way beyond simply plugging them into the wall. For instance, I can call my parents by dialling their old 4-digit number on a GPO 746. I've even got my own "dial-a-disc" service!
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If I have seen further than others, it is because I was standing on a pile of failed experiments. |
5th Oct 2016, 8:22 am | #4 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Hakadal, Norway
Posts: 640
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
I have used one (unbranded) looking like this for about 10 years. Mine has no batterybackup. (When I opened up mine it was an old Nokia phone iside, with some additional pcb.)
http://tinyurl.com/hbwupbt dsk |
5th Oct 2016, 11:57 am | #5 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Flintshire, UK.
Posts: 707
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
I used to have a 1920's GPO Tele 121 wooden wallphone in my car over twenty years ago - worked fine with the rotary dial working into a Tellular SX gsm gateway. You might wonder why? Well a preserved railway I was involved with decoded to adopt the '1920's look' (the railway was built in the 1920's). Hence I turned up in my 1920's gear with my 1920's phone! They said it would never work but to their amazement it did.
To find device to connect, search for 'premicell' 'Nokia's tradename for their gateways introduced 20+ years ago - but now used to refer to GSM/POT phone gateways. Nokia Premicells all worked with pulse dialling or DTMF phones. Don't go for the earlier versions as they only work on a single band either 900Mhz or 1800MHz. Go for Nokia 22 or the later Nokia 32 (both out of production) which work on either band, and work off 12volts so easy to power anywhere. Often come up on eBay. But I have another solution - saves messing about with the SIM when you leave home. The item is a link between your mobile phone and a Plain Ordinary Telephone. It was introduced about five or six years ago and known as the X-Link http://www.myxlink.com/index.aspx but was only sold in North America. I acquired one and spent some time with X-Link getting the UK tones and cadences set up rather than the US/Canadian ones. The same device was sold under the Siemens Gigaset brand in North America as the Siemens One. Basically it is a little box - mains powered by a plugtop PSU but could be 12 volt via adapter. The box uses Bluetooth to link to your mobile phone and up to three mobile phones can be linked to it. If a call comes in on a mobile phone -t ring a plain ordinary telephone plugged into it with a separate ring cadence for each mobile. There is a version to plug into your landline as well so you can still use your landline! There is a supplier in the UK who rebrands them as Ligo Bluewave hub see http://www.ligo.co.uk/ligo-bluewave-hub - Cost £49.99 post free from them. But keep your eyes open - I picked one up on eBay recently for £11 inc postage and it works perfectly. They only work with DTMF phones. The Ligo version is the same as the X-Link BTTN - the one with a landline connection. Ideal way of using your free mobile minutes up at home whilst your phone is in its charger in a place well away from where you are sat! Ian CNet 0352 2345 MR ETD 053-627! |
5th Oct 2016, 2:17 pm | #6 | |
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
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5th Oct 2016, 3:19 pm | #7 |
Heptode
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Duffort, Gers, France
Posts: 714
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
I tried several different ones recently but couldn't find one which was perfect. A noname chinese one didn't work with dtmf phones although the caller number was displayed on the unit itself. If you want to use it with an old phone that might not be a problem.
At present I use an Eriksson F250m. It does more or less what I want except that the internal clock starts counting when it is powered. Providing it is plugged in at midnight on new year's eve it works fine but I've not found any way to set the internal clock manually. In the end I had to set the phone to use its own internal clock rather than take the time from the call data. Once again possibly not a problem if using an old phone. They all seem to take a while before starting to ring the phone although the caller hears ringing. Depending on how long you can set the ringing period of your mobile to, you may find that the caller gets switched to voice mail before you can answer the phone.
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Stuart The golden age is always yesterday - Asa Briggs Last edited by bluepilot; 5th Oct 2016 at 3:22 pm. Reason: Added last sentence. |
5th Oct 2016, 4:52 pm | #8 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Flintshire, UK.
Posts: 707
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
Yep! Been using them for years. Even designed our own one which gets rid of some of the problems with the commercial ones have - ours stores the received digital so can accept as they arrive - thus we can use it with a phone/PABX which dials the digits in quick succession. The commercial ones can't cope with loop disconnect digits arriving too quickly. Also developed a tone to pulse convert which works in the opposite direction.
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5th Oct 2016, 6:04 pm | #9 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Newcastle, Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 11,485
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
Another search term to use is 'GSM Terminal'.
I note from the initial post that the phone was described as 'touch tone', so should work with GSM terminal devices which only expect to be used with DTMF phones. At work we've sold ones made by Nokia at first, then more recently some made by Burnside, along with our older landline based products so that they can be used by end users who don't have landlines. The Nokia ones (probably no longer available) tended to have quite a high failure rate for us. The Burnside ones have one Achilles heel: Rather fragile SIM card holders which, when placed in the hands of non-technical people tend to get broken, to the extent that I have a whole reel of SMD SIM card holders under my bench waiting for broken units to come back to have them fitted. In the hands of someone machine-friendly they wouldn't be such a problem. Other brands are available of course: These are just the two that I have personal experience of. The search term I mentioned above will find many more. |
6th Oct 2016, 8:54 am | #10 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Hakadal, Norway
Posts: 640
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
I have an X-link too, it is stored in a box, not stable enough for me, but fantastic possibilities to understand dtmf and rotary, even slow or fast rotaries.
The Chinese adapter mentioned over has a dialgizmo for my rotary phone. and is stable enough to trust my burglar alarm to work, and my remote control for turning power off/on at our cabin. Sice it is linked to the burglar alarm the 12V version is fine, powered by the same battery as the alarm. NMy adapter is marked model no.: CK-8801 And The CE marking is followed by CN2HK Limited This tells me about nothing Another solution tested together with the dialgizmo is the Jablocom gdp-04a this works well too. dsk Last edited by dagskarlsen; 6th Oct 2016 at 8:58 am. Reason: added text |
6th Oct 2016, 9:52 am | #11 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Derby, UK.
Posts: 7,735
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
For anyone thinking of doing it the Asterisk way, my FXS card -- a cheap clone of a Digium TDM410P; fine for experimental use, but absolutely not recommended for anything mission-critical -- supports pulse dialling. You can even pulse-dial your way through voice menus!
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If I have seen further than others, it is because I was standing on a pile of failed experiments. |
9th Oct 2016, 11:12 am | #12 |
Heptode
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: High Wycombe, Bucks. UK.
Posts: 811
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
I have the X-Link adaptor as mentioned previously. The also-mentioned Ligo Bluewave looks identical, and for UK buyers it's cheaper than ordering an X-link from the USA.
The X-link uses your existing mobile phone with Bluetooth. To begin, you 'pair' your mobile phone with the X-link. Your mobile must have Bluetooth switched on and must be kept close to the Xlink box. You can then connect an ordinary landline phone (corded or cordless) to the X-link. When your mobile phone rings, the landline phone will ring too, allowing you to answer the mobile call on your home phone. You can make a call on that home phone - it will go through your mobile phone instead, allowing you to use any 'free' minutes included with your mobile phone contract. Eventually this could save you money, as there will be no need to pay for a landline phone and calls package. The good thing about the X-link is that it works with almost any Bluetooth mobile phone. Unlike the other adaptors, you don't have to keep taking the SIM card out of your mobile phone and inserting it into the adaptor, or pay for an extra SIM. It doesn't matter if your mobile phone is GSM 2G, 3G or 4G. Note that some other adaptors mentioned, like the old Premicell gateways, are 2G only and won't work with "Three" SIM cards, for example. Another feature of the X-link is that it supports pulse dialling, including vintage rotary dial home phones. You can configure it to be more tolerant of the sometimes slightly erratic pulse trains given out by old rotary dial phones. This has worked very well for me, using several vintage dial phones including a GPO Silver Jubilee 1977 compact phone, a GPO 746 and a Trimphone. There are two models of X-link: BT and BTTN. The latter also supports connection to an existing landline if you have one. In that case, the corded / cordless home phone connected to the X-link will ring when a call comes in on your landline or mobile number. You can make outgoing calls using either your mobile or landline, whichever you prefer, e.g. to take advantage of cheaper rates. An additional feature is that the X-link BTTN can convert pulse to tone dialling if your landline requires it. There is little difference in price between the X-link BT and BTTN and you can still use the BTTN without a landline if you wish, so that's the one I'd go for. |
10th Oct 2016, 11:27 am | #13 | |
Heptode
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Flintshire, UK.
Posts: 707
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
Quote:
Ligo don't do the 'BT' (nothing to do with British Telecom!) version which has no facility to connect a PSTN line. I bought a 'BT' version from X-Link when they first came out (or rather a friend in the USA did and sent it over) a few years ago and X-Link were very helpful/appreciative of the help correcting the tones and cadences to get the UK ones a bit nearer than they had them. I find it useful such that if I try to dial someone-else on CNet (the Collector's Telephone Network) which uses VoIP and they can't 'see' the equipment at the other end, it automatically routes the call to their PSTN number using up my free 'mobile' minutes. Plus I can also link my PSTN line in now since picking up a Ligo 'Bluewave' for £11 recently on eBay. Keep your eyes open. Most folk never seem to have heard of this way of linking fixed phones to the mobile network! There is little mention of it anywhere. |
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10th Oct 2016, 11:31 am | #14 |
Heptode
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Flintshire, UK.
Posts: 707
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
I wonder if Henry, the original author of this thread, ever found anything on here useful and got fixed up?
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1st Nov 2016, 3:50 pm | #15 |
Triode
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 19
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
This is my first post! Hello all.
I ordered a Ligo Bluewave after reading this topic. It arrived today, so I'll see what it does. So far I'm not too impressed that it doesn't come with BT type sockets to plug an UK phone into it. It has two RJ11 (American type) sockets and a single RJ11-RJ11 cable. Out of the box you can't just plug in an UK landline telephone, or plug the box itself into the landline. It doesn't appear to provide pulse dialling either. It's a compact little unit though, neat enough, and my mobile connected to it effortlessly. With the limited testing I've done so far there was noticeable mains hum, although I may have had it too close to its own power supply. I've just found the "XWizard Update and Configuration Tool" so I'll see what happens after I try to update it, and after a bit more time playing with it. T |
1st Nov 2016, 5:14 pm | #16 |
Dekatron
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Derby, UK.
Posts: 7,735
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
My local Poundland branches were selling dual RJ431 master sockets, at a price that can't be argued with. You need to connect the middle two pins of the RJ11 to pins 2 and 5 of the RJ431.
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If I have seen further than others, it is because I was standing on a pile of failed experiments. |
1st Nov 2016, 5:54 pm | #17 | ||
Triode
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 19
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
Julie,
Thanks for the reply That's a cracking good deal at Poundland, I'll have to have a look. Right - this is my update on the Ligo BlueWave. I used the update software on the Ligo website. After running it, it then took me to the American X-Link which the product is a re-badge of to download another bit of update software. After running that (the XWizard v0201) it told me "No update available". It told me Quote:
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(I found a few bellyaches about it on Amazon this afternoon with similar comments, and other things about it not working with BT branded phones). The GOOD NEWS is that I've now got it working with pulse dialing. YEAH! In the XWizard software, there is an option under "Antique" to "Allow out of Spec Pulse Dialling". So I pressed that and it works a treat. I can make a call with my (newly-converted) old Belgian Bell telephone, on my mobile line and it rings too. Very neat. T |
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1st Nov 2016, 6:18 pm | #18 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
It is good fun making proper stuff work with new fangled equipment. I bet the 'phone will outlive the GSM box by a large factor.
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1st Nov 2016, 8:34 pm | #19 |
Triode
Join Date: Nov 2016
Location: Manchester, UK.
Posts: 19
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Re: Adapter from landline telephone to GSM?
Funnier still was when I said to my wife that I wasn't sure if it would work with Pulse Dialling, she thought I said I wasn't sure if it would work with Polystyrene. We both look as daft as each other, to each other.
T |