Intercom for home

[czechsonofagun]

This is the situation. We have a barn with a playroom upstairs about 100 feet from home. There is cat5 and cat3 between those two buildings, LAN over the cat5 and phone using two wires of the cat3.

I would like to add a very simple intercom to be able to beep kids in the barn and talk to them. Anybody was solving similar problem?

I dont really want to go wireless, since the wiring is already in place.

 

[Slacker]

This is the situation. We have a barn with a playroom upstairs about 100 feet from home. There is cat5 and cat3 between those two buildings, LAN over the cat5 and phone using two wires of the cat3.

I would like to add a very simple intercom to be able to beep kids in the barn and talk to them. Anybody was solving similar problem?

I dont really want to go wireless, since the wiring is already in place.

If you have a cordless phone, just add another handset to the remote location using the cat 5 and a RJ11 connector. Most cordless phones have intercom/radio function between handsets.

 

[mikim]

had a really cheap one from radio shack that I ran farther than that on old phone wires from the in-laws house to an old mobile home on the property. One was master - turn it on and you could monitor the slave - hear 'em and speak to 'em .... if they wanted to call the master - they had to beep it. Worked well for several years. cost was el cheapo ...

 

[Tig]

Some cheap intercoms just plug in the wall and use the existing electric wires to transmit to the other station which is also plugged in the wall. Simple and effective.

 

[kennyd]

Aiphone makes decent wired intercom systems, much better that what you will find at Radio Shack and wireless systems.
Look at this link, find one you like and then find a place online to buy it..
Aiphone Products Listed By System

I installed a LEM system for a friend to his detached garage, but the LEF series would be good if you wanted more that two locations wired...

 

[MossRoad]

This is the situation. We have a barn with a playroom upstairs about 100 feet from home. There is cat5 and cat3 between those two buildings, LAN over the cat5 and phone using two wires of the cat3.

I would like to add a very simple intercom to be able to beep kids in the barn and talk to them. Anybody was solving similar problem?

I dont really want to go wireless, since the wiring is already in place.

Since you already have a phone in the house and a phone in the barn, just replace the phone sets with ones that have intercom capability. As someone mentioned, wireless phones usually have intercom capability. You can plug a base station in at the house and another in the barn, so that when not in use, the barn phone can charge on the base. Sounds like a piece of cake!

 

[Inspector507]

We've used the Radio Shack units that send a signal over the power lines before. If the two buildings have power that come off the same transformer, it's a simple "plug 'er in" install.

 

[MossRoad]

We've used the Radio Shack units that send a signal over the power lines before. If the two buildings have power that come off the same transformer, it's a simple "plug 'er in" install.

I have some of those and they always have a loud buzz in them. I think there are several levels of quality, and I didin't get the best.

 

[buckle97]

I have some of those and they always have a loud buzz in them. I think there are several levels of quality, and I didin't get the best.

I have also had a few sets of those and one set occasionally had a buzz on it. I figured out if I put each handset on the "master" cradle for about thirty seconds, the buzz would go away. Of course the buzz would come back after a few weeks, but then I would just repeat the process. That set finally died completely.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Since you already have a phone in the house and a phone in the barn, just replace the phone sets with ones that have intercom capability. As someone mentioned, wireless phones usually have intercom capability. You can plug a base station in at the house and another in the barn, so that when not in use, the barn phone can charge on the base. Sounds like a piece of cake!

Seemed to be simple till I actually hit the store

This is what I would like:

- main phone with voice mail, intercom and wireless handset in the house
- phone in my shop with intercom
- phone upstairs in the barn with intercom
- phone downstairs in the barn with intercom

It is all wired and currently there are just regular phones plugged in all those places. The idea is any of these places could call and talk to any other place

Went to Costco, Office Depot - nothing. Cordless phones with just one phone jack is all the hip nowadays. They say cordless phones can intercom eaxcxh other - but I am not so sure it would work for the distance and obsticles and would prefer wire connection anyway. In the barn and shop it is better to have fixed line phone - b/c it stays in one place.

In Office Depot they actually had AT&T 945 that would work ok - but it is overkill, overexpensive (100+ just the base station and need to purchase substations afterwards) and has problems with DSL - which I have on our phone line - and we have just one phone line and no need for second one.

Anybody knows a Smart home or consumer electronics forum?

Thanks

 

[MossRoad]

SMARTHOME - X10, Remote Control, Lighting, Wireless Security

 

[MossRoad]

Also, a cordless phone handset to handset intercom should work over a hundred feet. I don't see what the problem is.

 

[Volfandt]

I started out kinda like you. I needed an intercom between the house and my detached shop so the Mrs & I could communicate without having to yell at one another at the top of our lungs
And after trying a few cheap intercoms I ended up putting a key telephone system in and got a few more benefits besides intercom.

The Key system I went with was a Lucent Partner ACS telephone system. I got everything on ebay in pieces which kept it somewhat cheap.
I have about $900 in it but have the following features.
A 3x8 Control module w/CID
A 4port Partner Mail module w/live record and cell phone notification.
An additional 2x6 module for expansion.
I hooked up Back ground music and it can be played over the phones speakers when they are idle, sorta like those old Nutone intercoms.
Callers hear music on hold.
All the phones have intercom buttons on them for the other phones and they also lite up when the other phones are in use.
At one time I had 3 telephone lines (Main line, daughters line and business/dialup internet line) and I had certain lines ringing certain phones and they all had their own voicemail.
This particular system uses 2 pair (4 wires) but there are a few other systems that are primarily made for home/soho use that only use 1 pair (2 wires). Panasonic is one that comes to mind.
Another good benefit of the ACS system is that std single line phones will work on it also. (this is good for those good cordless phones)
It's been running trouble free for about 7 yrs now and we're pretty used to it.

Don't know if you'd want to go overboard like this but what the heck, it was one of those winter projects that went wild

 

[czechsonofagun]

I started out kinda like you. I needed an intercom between the house and my detached shop so the Mrs & I could communicate without having to yell at one another at the top of our lungs
And after trying a few cheap intercoms I ended up putting a key telephone system in and got a few more benefits besides intercom.

The Key system I went with was a Lucent Partner ACS telephone system. I got everything on ebay in pieces which kept it somewhat cheap.
I have about $900 in it but have the following features.
A 3x8 Control module w/CID
A 4port Partner Mail module w/live record and cell phone notification.
An additional 2x6 module for expansion.
I hooked up Back ground music and it can be played over the phones speakers when they are idle, sorta like those old Nutone intercoms.
Callers hear music on hold.
All the phones have intercom buttons on them for the other phones and they also lite up when the other phones are in use.
At one time I had 3 telephone lines (Main line, daughters line and business/dialup internet line) and I had certain lines ringing certain phones and they all had their own voicemail.
This particular system uses 2 pair (4 wires) but there are a few other systems that are primarily made for home/soho use that only use 1 pair (2 wires). Panasonic is one that comes to mind.
Another good benefit of the ACS system is that std single line phones will work on it also. (this is good for those good cordless phones)
It's been running trouble free for about 7 yrs now and we're pretty used to it.

Don't know if you'd want to go overboard like this but what the heck, it was one of those winter projects that went wild

Great! Thank you very much, thats actually what I think about now - including ebay as a source.

Thank you for the information.

 

[Volfandt]

If you go with the Partner ACS system make sure it's an ACS and not a Partner II or Partner Plus.
You want a minimum of R6 on the Processor module. R3 supports CID but you either get name OR number, not both at the same time. You get both w/R6. The latest is R7 but R6 will do fine.
Theres several voicemails that'll work with the ACS. Theres about 4 models that come as a PC card and they are good basic voiemails They just plug into the control module. The Partner Mail thats in its own module is the full featured voicemail and gives you the most features but also costs the most too.
Also go for the 18 button display phones as they are speakerphones and also give you an analog output jack to where you can plug in a cordless phone, or fax or modem etc.

Theres several Panasonic systems for home/soho use.
Theres a digital 308 (3 lines x 8 phones) w/CID and it's a very good system.
Theres also a digital 616 which is the same but bigger. Theres also some older ones that are the same size but the are analog. (requires 4 wires). The analog systems will run you less than the digital.
Panasonic is very good eqt also but you've got to be careful in that some older phones won't work on the newer KSU's (controll units). They are several voicemails available and depending on whether you go with the analog or digital system, the voicemail will use 1 or 2 of the station ports for integration.
Theres other systems available by other manufacturers but Avaya/Lucent and/or Panasonic are the top two.
Good luck