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Phone Selection Switch advice needed

Started by NorthernElectric, January 09, 2016, 01:03:00 PM

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NorthernElectric

I'm working on a setup for 4 wall phones for my kitchen.  Basically, I will have a plywood panel hanging on the wall with 4 phones mounted to it.  My intention is to create a means of displaying these 4 phones, but at the same time having a functional kitchen phone and the ability to quickly select any one of the 4 to use.

My idea is to have one side of the line hardwired to all 4 phones and the other side of the line connected to the input of a SP4T switch and each of the 4 outputs connected to the phones, as in the attached schematic.  Will this work?
Cliff


.....

#2
Sort of sounds like it could be a new game show for reality TV. The wife has to pick the right phone to answer when it rings. She goes to answer it and you switch it before she can answer it. LOL  ;D

Now back to reality. Interesting... What models and colours are you going to use. You will have to post some pictures when you get it done.

Doug

WesternElectricBen

Neat project, I use a setup like this everyday for testing. However, it uses a two way Ethernet switch (that works fine with rj11), and it controls weather my analyzer is connected to a modular or a 4 prong jack.

Ben

NorthernElectric

#4
Quote from: Autonut on January 09, 2016, 02:10:09 PM
Sort of sounds like it could be a new game show for reality TV. The wife has to pick the right phone to answer when it rings. She goes to answer it and you switch it before she can answer it. LOL  ;D

Now back to reality. Interesting... What models and colours are you going to use. You will have to post some pictures when you get it done.

Doug

LOL, the switch will be mounted on the board somehow and hopefully provide a visual indication of which phone is ringing if it's not apparent.  I was thinking of wiring up some indicator lights to show which phone was hot but I'll start simple and see how it goes.  The phones will be NE 352 & 554 and AE 50 & 90.  All black except fot the AE90 which is ivory.
Cliff

jsowers

Just some thinking out loud and wishing I had enough wall space to do the same thing...

How are you going to hide the wiring? They could be mounted on a board with space behind if you didn't want to mess up your wall with all the mounting holes and wire staples. I remember my grandmother's kitchen 554 and how convenient it happened to be that it was on the other side of the wall where the basement steps were, so Southern Bell just ran the wire through the wall from the basement side and tacked it to the wall with staples.

Also, think about how the handset cords are going to fall. If you put the two NE phones on top, their cords will hang down in front of the two phones below them. But if you put the two AE phones on top, their cords are more off to the side and won't get in the way as much. You could also stagger them a little. Or if you have the space, put them all in a row, maybe in chronological order?

The 354 and 554 can be mounted with modular backs if you don't mind them having some space between the phone and the wall. The AE phones would require a lot of engneering to be modular and you wouldn't want to drill holes in the back.
Jonathan

NorthernElectric

Quote from: jsowers on January 09, 2016, 03:01:26 PM
Just some thinking out loud and wishing I had enough wall space to do the same thing...

How are you going to hide the wiring? They could be mounted on a board with space behind if you didn't want to mess up your wall with all the mounting holes and wire staples. I remember my grandmother's kitchen 554 and how convenient it happened to be that it was on the other side of the wall where the basement steps were, so Southern Bell just ran the wire through the wall from the basement side and tacked it to the wall with staples.

Also, think about how the handset cords are going to fall. If you put the two NE phones on top, their cords will hang down in front of the two phones below them. But if you put the two AE phones on top, their cords are more off to the side and won't get in the way as much. You could also stagger them a little. Or if you have the space, put them all in a row, maybe in chronological order?

The 354 and 554 can be mounted with modular backs if you don't mind them having some space between the phone and the wall. The AE phones would require a lot of engneering to be modular and you wouldn't want to drill holes in the back.

The phones will all be mounted side by side in a row so the handset cords will not interfere.  The way I am mounting the board there will be space behind to run the wires and the whole thing will lift off the wall in seconds if I need to work on it, swap out a phone, etc.  I will post some photos when I get it finished, or at least roughed in.
Cliff

AE_Collector

#7
Quote from: WesternElectricBen on January 09, 2016, 02:15:29 PM
Neat project, I use a setup like this everyday for testing. However, it uses a two way Ethernet switch (that works fine with rj11), and it controls weather...

For a moment there I really thought you were onto something Ben! The regular posters on the "Let it Snow" topic would like to discuss this further with you!

Terry

G-Man

 The best practice would be to use a double-pole switch to make sure noise is not introduced by an unbalanced line. Also, is the ringing source capable of ringing all of your telephones at the same time? If so, why not leave all of them connected to the line?

Another possibility would be to use a standard external keyset, such as the 6020-series, 6040-series or 6050-series keysets. They are intended for use with a key-system but can be easily connected to a single-line and multiple telephones. Some have buttons that can be lighted when a specific telephone is selected.

dsk

What about just having all 4 in all the time, and let your selector just work on the third wire, the one to the ringer?

dsk

NorthernElectric

Quote from: G-Man on January 10, 2016, 05:31:14 AM
The best practice would be to use a double-pole switch to make sure noise is not introduced by an unbalanced line.

Quote from: G-Man on January 10, 2016, 05:31:14 AMAnother possibility would be to use a standard external keyset, such as the 6020-series, 6040-series or 6050-series keysets. They are intended for use with a key-system but can be easily connected to a single-line and multiple telephones. Some have buttons that can be lighted when a specific telephone is selected.

I found a schematic for the 6040 series on TCI.  Since I would be using something like this, in a sense, backwards and without a KSU it looks like the buttons operate as a single pole switch.  Given your comments on the possibility of noise, I think I will mock up the connections using a terminal block with jumper wires to simulate a single pole switch before I decide on a permanent setup.

Quote from: G-Man on January 10, 2016, 05:31:14 AMAlso, is the ringing source capable of ringing all of your telephones at the same time? If so, why not leave all of them connected to the line?

I currently have 3 other phones connected to my line.  I thought that 7 would be pushing my luck but I haven't actually tried to see how many phones I can connect before I exceed my maximum total REN.  Also, I like to switch the other phones from time to time and some will have lower impedance ringers which I believe results in a higher REN (correct?).  I only really need to have one active phone in the kitchen but would also like the ability to switch from time to time.  Since phones mounted on the wall are not as easy to just swap out as desk phones,  I thought something like this would be the ideal solution for me.

Quote from: dsk on January 10, 2016, 08:26:28 AM
What about just having all 4 in all the time, and let your selector just work on the third wire, the one to the ringer?

That never occurred to me.  The 1st thing I do when I get a phone is to check and see if the ringer is grounded and rewire it if it is.  I will give this approach some serious thought.
Cliff

TelePlay

How about a bank of 4 DPST toggle switches letting you select 1, 2, 3, 4 or no phones and viewing the toggles will instantly tell you which phones are on line? Wide selection of toggle switches (bats) available that will easily handle the ring voltage.

Using a DPDT bank would give you one side to hook up a battery and red LED lamps to indicate which is off (red lit off line - red not lit on line).

A bank of toggle switches can be built into any of many enclosures or panel.

Just my suggestion.


G-Man

What is the number of the BSP that you excerpted from? There were several different flavors in the 6040-series and you have shown only a very narrow view of it.
I am unable to match that specific schematic with those pertaining to the 6040 diagrams that I am looking at, but regardless, those are pickup keys and are not simultaneously connected.

Quote from: NorthernElectric on January 10, 2016, 10:18:37 AM

I found a schematic for the 6040 series on TCI.  Since I would be using something like this, in a sense, backwards and without a KSU it looks like the buttons operate as a single pole switch.  Given your comments on the possibility of noise, I think I will mock up the connections using a terminal block with jumper wires to simulate a single pole switch before I decide on a permanent setup.



G-Man

#14
 You may not want to pursue the use of an external key, but for the benefit of others who may, here is an excerpt showing the breakout of the individual line keys.