So I've had this project idea for a while. I bought a 'retro handset' from Thinkgeek.com a while back. I also have a 'red phone' from a few jobs ago.
So my thought is, to combine the two and make a bluetooth desk phone. I've taken them both apart and have hit a few snags already.
First, I seem to have lost yet another soldering iron. Second, all the heft from the red handset comes from the magnets in the mic and speaker. Third, there's a physical button on the electronics that will need to be dealt with to operate the handset.
There are actually 3 buttons on the unit. I suspect the other two are volume up and volume down. (I also seem to have mixed up which one is the 'on' button but I have a 1 in 3 chance of getting that right with some trial and error).
I put a quarter in this shot so you can see how small the electronics are. I should be able to squeeze that into the base just about anywhere. I wish the red phone was part of a dicta-phone system, because then it would have a 'record' button in the handset that would be perfect. Oh well, maybe I can make the two 'off hook' buttons in the cradle work for me or put a button in the middle of the rotary dial. I intend to make the USB port go where the RJ-11 jack in the back of the base goes and use the existing handset cord to rout the sound to the speaker and mic. This is all contingent on me being able to figure out how to get the button to work in the base. If not I'll cram it all into the handset (like the original) and make a new button hole. It'll look ugly, but hey, I'm an amateur with unsteady hands.
More updates as they come...
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