I built an intercom from vintage rotary phones!
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- We're making an intercom system from two Soviet-era rotary phones (model ТА-68)! This episode also features a visit to the Eliava market in Tbilisi, and a look behind the scenes at Mariam's Computer Repair!
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Download my schematics for this circuit:
drive.google.c...
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Thanks for watching!
#workshopnation #rotaryphones
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sometimes the youtube algorithm does good things like recommending this channel, just awesome
I am SO excited to watch all your existing and future content. Came over from the friendly CRT robot build. Incredible!!!
Thanks so much for hanging around, and for the words of support!
This channel is a goldmine. I'm so glad I clicked on the link on twitter. Teaches a lot abt tech and life in a beautiful way! Look forward to seeing all your videos!
Thank you so much for watching, and for your support!
nice skills for upcoming nuclear apocalypse
This was so much fun, missed my city streets driving down to Eliava 😁 loved it, interesting and entertaining, Loved seeing Khatuna and the kids too 😍
Thank you for watching, Nino!
My uncle had an old mechanical exchange up in the attic, that he wired all the house phones into, so you could dial an extension and ring any other rotary phone in the house. 1 for ground level, 2 for second floor, 3 for the attic third floor. If you were up in the attic and someone operated it, you could see all the rotary actions move on the mechanics to connect the call and disconnect it. And of course you could dial out on the single house line or two. So you are missing that critical part to connec them all, some mechanical exchange.
By the time I got around to setting up my own similiar system, it was the 90's, and you could buy something called the RingRite which would allow 2 or 3 phone lines to share the same line, and with the multi ring tone service from the phone company, the RingRite box would capture the first ring, and depending on the ring pattern from the phone company, route the call to the right phone and subsequent rings would be heard on that phone. So basically with one phone line, you could have 3 different numbers with 3 different ring patterns, and the box would capture it and route it to the right phone in your house so everyone could have their own telephone number and never have to get called to the phone somewhere else... but still only pay for one telephone line.
Oooh this is cool! That would have been a simpler solution. But not as fun to set up. :)
What the fuck, this is at the level of stuff made here, practical engineering, etc, The quality, music, narrative, heck its even super interesting! RUclips recommend this Channel more and let him grow! Saludos from Spain❤
Thank you, David! ¡Viva España!
That's farly one of the easiest way to connect two phones including ringing :) I also run some vintage rotary dial phones here at home (german W28 and FeTAp 611), but they are connected to an ond PBX, which is connected to a VOIP adapter, so I can use these phones to make calls to the outside world :)
I think the problem you have with the connectors for the phones is, that they short out the upper connections on the phones on your circuit diagram. The capacitors are there to block DC current running to the relay and let AC current for ringing pass through.
If you put both upper connections on the sleeve of the jacks, they short out and bypass the capacitors, so DC current can run from on side to the other. So if you pick up one phone, the relay of the other phone also will close and disconnect the ringing.
Solutions for this are isolating the jacks (as yu did) or putting the positive side of the DC to the sleeve (positive ground).
If you want to build this with a microcontroller, you can also use an series inline relay with DC on the phone. If you dial a number, the relay should flicker. You can sense series relay that's on for a certain amount of time as a picked up phone, and each short pulse on the relay as a number count. a certain amount of downtime on the relay can be detects as hung up phone.
On german phones pulse dialing was 40/60ms per number, so I think I would try around 350ms for pick up/hung up and everything below 150ms for number pulsing.
Great video Thomas! Absolute joy to watch, and really cool that you made it work!
Thank you!
Wow! Thanks for your work
Thanks so much for watching!
What a wonderful episode Thomas! Amazingly shot, pleasure to watch🙌🏻
Thank you, Elen!
Sir...
You are so professional when it comes to making videos 😉
Thanks so much for watching!
I'm watching it from Bangladesh....
5:23 - at first i thought it would be "ave Maria"! 😁
Astonishing videos you made!
Those phones, chandelier, but also people and this market. Music and production.
Really enjoying it! Total gem!
Thanks so much for watching, and for the comment!
On the old pre rotary phones the ringer uses DC.
Refreshing to see a channel without built-in paid sponsor reads.
Great job!
Thank you, Khatuna!
Your channel is amazing! I’m annoyed RUclips didn’t suggest it sooner. I’m burning through all your videos ❤
1:00 We(You) put the Able in Feasible 😅❤
My dad did this for my sister and I when we were younger, fun times. We could talk to each other from our bedrooms for hours on end without having to go into each other rooms, the things parents will do to stop their kids getting out of bed 😁
edit: ours were also very crackly but it just added to the experience!
The true test of any cool tech should be whether children like it. :)
SO thrilled to find this! I want to build something similar for an art piece I'm working on but have a question for you Thomas! What happens if the other person doesn't pick up after the rings stop? I want to setup the intercoms in more of a walkie-talkie or voicemail recording way. Where essentially someone calls the other phone and if there's no answer, they can just continue talking and leave a message or live transmission that will play through the other phone. So that if/when another person does pick it up they could they engage. Does that make sense? Ideally, it's like leaving a voicemail for a stranger and at any point they could decide to pickup and engage. So trying to figure out tech-wise how to build this :D
@@krussell__sprouts I don’t have a specific answer for you, unfortunately, but my gut tells me that a basic version of the system you describe could be built around a microcontroller. It wouldn’t be very intelligent, but it might accomplish what you’re after. :)
So glad I found this channel.
mate youve got a real eye for production, your videos are inspiring my inner child, thank you! ♥
Thank you, Peter!
Very cool video! Enjoyed watching!
Thank you!
Greetings from Texas, USA! Loving this channel. Awesome content. Thank you for sharing your work. I’m positive you will have millions of subs in the future! Have. A great day
Thank you, John!
First video of yours that I watch and I'm already addicted. I'm not a techie myself, but the quality of the production and the stories you tell are engaging. I'm looking forward for more!
Thank you, Yeray!
Those phones are likely using analog microphones; causing the crackling you hear. Analog microphones use loose carbon granules and tended to shift while the handset is used, this causes the crackling sounds. It could also be static electricity within the phone itself too. Phones are so fun!!!
good job man!
I like the wiring crimping ferrules… always just tinned the wire, but this is a little more “finished” not sure how else to put it.
@@-Nobody-1 I have to say that ferrules have really changed by electronics game. They are just a much more elegant solution than twisted bare wire. For low voltage electronics I went ahead and ordered a bunch of tiny 26AWG ferrules, as these never come standard with the ferrule assortment kits. Thanks so much for watching!
Love the videos you are doing. Thanks.
Thank you, TD!
As a radio guy my initial reaction is just use radio waves… but i really like this land line style intercom system. Its just cool… maybe cooler than a radio technology version….
Super cool.
@@davidspencer7718 Thanks for watching, David!
This channel is everything I need
Thank you, Jack!
Omii this channel is incredible
I know them as bootlace crimps. 😊
Cool build though.
Watching 2nd video of this channel. Just subscribed at 13.3K. I am telling you this channel going to sky high very soon.
after your grounding issue, that is well made beautiful box. artfully done. EDIT: lolol you mean the Trashcan droid!?
Thank you!
Awesome video!
Thank you, Kim!
Loving the production quality.
Thank you, Bekar!
Absolutely amazing. Looks like Netflix documentary.
Subscribed within 2 minutes into the video
Thanks so much, Ricky!
The crackle is the KGB scrambling to listen in to a system that's been dormant for 35 years. "I don't know what's happening, it just came back to life."
Rather than being technical and dirty nerdy, you videos are so wholesome and full of life nerdy. I love them. Thank you so much sir 🙏🏼.
Thank you, Anubhav!
Hello, thank you for the wonderful videos in your channel, they are enjoyable and informative. I have already subscribed to you. I need some advice. I have two hand crank phones (western electric). They do not have any dials, the phone rings when the crank is rotated. Any idea, how can I connect these two phones to make an intercom? thought is if I rotate the crank in one phone the other phone should ring and by lifting the receiver I should be able to start the call. Do I need external battery or any exchange box? what type of wires needed. I am in Oregon USA. Thank you in advance.
Very interesting and informative
Beautiful video! What a wonderful project!!! It was such a pleasure getting to spend 15-20 minutes with you Thomas, as well as "meeting" your beautiful family!!! I truly enjoyed this project and seeing your passion for every facet therein, Thank You !!!
Thank you so much for watching!
Brilliant!
Actually your videos look like movie quality how? 🌝
Came here from the robot video great video hope to see more from you're workshop.
Thank you!
12:57 Echr.r.r.r.r.r . . 😃.Nice video education 👍
Saya dari Indonesia, saya harap channel ini bisa berkembang dengan sangat cepat🤲
Kualitas produksi konten, materi, dan informasi yang disampaikan sangat luar biasa. Saya melihat channel DIY besar lain dengan kualitas di bawah anda, sangat mudah untuk melampaui mereka💪💪
I love this!
Thank you, Zach!
What an epic! Fantastic project, Thomas. And really well shot/edited, too!
Love the "brownprint" plan
Hahaha it was either that or a napkin!
@@ThomasBurns napkin plan are the base of engineering around the world, and sometime tissue for draft, but best pinkprint are toilet paper triple layer... I think that was how photoshop got the idea of layers. Lol
I'm gobsmacked by the production quality of your videos! After watching tech videos on RUclips for years, I'm almost unsure what to do by not being segued to the sponsor and not hearing the same 12 soundtracks they all use. THANK YOU for your thoughtful, unique projects, tone and especially what I can only describe as a cinematic quality so severely lacking on most of RUclips, particularly in the tech informational/educational realm. You have a new fan and I hope you get many, MANY MORE.
Thank you so much for watching, and for the kind words of support!
In the states, we can use 9VDC for the voice circuit. For the ringer circuit, we need 90 volts AC @ 20 hz. An unit serves this voltage.
Hello.
Thank you for such a fun video. That was my childhood dream, unfortunately, I had no knowledge or resources to do so. Maybe I will do it now.
I remember when I saw an advertisement you were looking for old Soviet electronics to repair, I thought it was a kind of scam and someone was looking for electronics just for the gold scrapping.
I am so glad I was wrong and you bring a second life to those devices.
Thanks so much for watching!
The only problem is that unless both phones are not hung up at exactly the same time one will ring. I would try to make the dial the switch so that dialing makes the other phone ring.
That would be more elegant, yes. Probably best done with a microcontroller rather than an analog circuit. Thanks for watching!
a soviet phone and a soviet chandelier. Yeah, I know where this is going, alright! You're gonna wire them, right? Wire them kgb style, well, ok :))))
Thomas, this video’s got it all! Engaging! Great work.
Thank you, Michelle! My kingdom for an editor like you. :)
That is odd that a rotary phone can’t be used on modern networks. In the States where we have state of the art switches that can still support dial pulse however the REN of these phones is the optimal 1. This amounts to how much current is needed to run the ringer. This amounts to a high current. New phones need very little current to ring electronic ringers. Ringing current is now generated in the fiber to copper DSLAMS located in each neighborhood. They don’t have the access to the high current ringer systems that were once in the central office.
That red phone reminds me of the EXETER Line of phones of the 70’s-80’s Bell system in the States.
Quick question, are you an ex pat living in Tbilisi? Your English is perfect.
You deserve better!!!
I tried to make a similar intercom system with my kids as part of a Homeschool project. However, I only had a page or two of poorly written instructions and the project flopped. Back then RUclips was mostly cat videos, so I never used it as a school resource. Oh how I wish this video existed long ago. Oh well, nothing stopping me from trying to still make one for myself. 😂 awesome video! ❤from Texas!
Thank you, KD!
I just watched every single one of your videos and i can't imagine a how perfect your contents are. In every aspect , your videos are crazy good. Content , editting , story telling and everything is just perfect. Hope to see more from you in near future. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. God bless 😍
😮 nice
Sir, why didn't you think about manually winding a transformer for the desired voltage??
I've met the same connector problem while assembling an audio amplifier. after an hour of struggle I realised why most of the audio amplifier systems use the "Push Release Connector Plate module" at the back as speaker terminal, no grounding problem...
Really I loved your video... and i felt like I am watching it somewhere i love to be, other than my table. Thanks for filming this journey ❤️
Thank you, Vijith! Doing a custom winding on a transformer sounds cool, but that’s a bit beyond my skill set, I’m afraid. :) thanks so much for watching!
Now take an ringing machine and make the dial tones!
Can you tell me how do you know to do this and What did you learn at school as a teenager
No project?! Well this was fun but you need to detect the dailling of one number before it rings.
Excellent work. Amazing video production quality as well. Well done!
Great project!!!!!
When I was young (probably you just surround the 50's too), I dreamed with this project.
Until I went to the university to study Electronics Engineering, I faced this challenge. But I did with key telephones, using audio transformers and I felt great, when felt the ring sound..
But your project is harder, because this rotary phones needs those heavy transformers...
Awesome project!!!!
Thank you, Hector!
Уже соскучился! У вас так мало видео... )) а вообще, очень интересная и полезная идея для частного дома. Спасибо и будьте здоровы!
Спасибо что посмотрели!
Having access to a big electronics market like that would be so fun! Thanks for the video.
Thank you for sharing that journey. I really enjoyed the simplicity and the retro phones used in this project. I pray God's blessings on your computer shop. Something I would love to have one day.
Just wondering where the link is for the "Download my schematics for this circuit:" section?
I'd love to attempt to build something like this from the house to the shop.
I've added it now in the description-let me know if you have questions. Thanks for watching!
Another self retaining relay, activated when both phones are picked up, which temporarily turns off the AC current. It must disengage when both phones are hug up. The idea is to not have any phone ringing when hanging the other up. You need the AC only at the beginning ...
That’s a great idea! Thanks for watching, Optron!
8:45
Twisting the stranded wire before crimping the terminal often leads to the wire falling out of the terminal. The wire is simply unscrewed from the sleeve.
Crimp only the straight wire!
Ah good tip-thank you!
It's great. I love your project. It's incredible but you can do it. Thank you for this video.
Thank you for watching, Wera!
love the chandelier subplot
Thank you, Ilya!
Well, USSR and tens of millions? :) rather doubtful :) cool video :) greetings from Poland :)
Thank you!
@@ThomasBurns you're welcome :)
I also worked with this type of transformer in past . Its difficult to find out one.
Thanks for watching, Dhruv!
The other day I was watching phone related videos, thinking about different ways I could use an old rotary phone in this day and age. I am glad I stumbled upon this video. Project as interesting, storytelling was relaxed and enjoyable, describing what you are doing in very natural way, as if we were there following your work in person. Then I watched rest of your videos and they were just as great! Excited to see what you come up with next.
Good luck with all the things new job and moving brings to your life!
Thank you, Hugatry! Working on the next version of the Alexatron robot now!
Nice
This video, and channel, are great and it needs more views and subs. Glad I found it.
Thanks for watching!
oh this is a good one! btw, we have somewhere such a phone...)
During this project I was always thinking about that scene from Tarkovsky’s film Stalker where they receive a phone call when they are deep in the Zone. :)
@@ThomasBurns this is awesome
Loved the video. Especially loved the end with your chandelier and friends as you spoke of in the beginning of the video, beautiful and touching. Well Done!
Thank so much for watching, and for the kind words!
I have one in my basement still connected to my landline yes I have landline
@@bigd1348 Thanks for watching, Big D!
Excellent presentation. New sub.
@@fmphotooffice5513 thanks so much for your support!
Would it be difficult to make the ringing intermittent? I could see it getting mildly annoying/anxiety inducing when one of the phones rings uninterrupted like a fire alarm when you’re just trying to get to it. Beautiful project nonetheless. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Yes you’re right that the ringing needs to be addressed. I’ve started work now on an analog video phone, where the “ringer” will likely be a red light.
@@ThomasBurns that’s awesome, I look forward to seeing that project. Thank you for sharing!
Would be cool built small Step by step telephone exchange, because in Georgia still doesn't exist telephone exchange museum.
That’s a great idea, Beka!
@@ThomasBurns I'm looking for telephone lovers that do it together 🙂
Beautiful!!
Im not quite sure about the soviet stuff but be careful with such high voltage on the speaking/listening. Over here such voltage could kill the microphones and speakers im used to. Sometimes those voltages and part lives counted on the phone repairman's ability to easily swap them as they were in mass production.
Thanks for watching!
@ThomasBurns you had said the line was crackely. That is a sign of over voltage. American lines used 3-6 volts so that is what I am familiar with and a similar transformer voltage might be nicer on the carbon in the mic and the speaker bits.
Oh, I heard the transformer update, was that it?
@@iftheseoldbeastscouldtalk7796 ah I see what you’re saying now. Yes I think you’re right that I’m likely using more voltage than is ideal. But the only solution I know of would be to use a Variac to find the sweet spot. Something to keep
In mind for the next version!
Awesome
Thanks
I like the bulky-ness! I'd stick it on the wall with pride.
Can it be done like a hotel com system where you can press a button and ring an individual phone? Like for 4 to 8 handsets maybe? That would be exactly what I'm looking for. I've been steadily going deaf for a while now and I got these awesome rotary phones with a red blinking light on top (I'll need two more still) that I want to hook up in all the rooms of my house so I can blink the kids and tell them I want them to come help me with something (yes people, deaf doesn't mean I can't speak anymore LOL). There are some deaf aid things like it, but it is basic tech and should NOT cost an arm, a leg, a pint of blood, and your first born for crying out loud! Also they are ugly as sin, without even a fraction of the cool metal & retro look you've created. They are more like cheap, plastic junk that never caught up with modern tech (which are trying hard to prove that Deaf lives Don't matter). Maybe it could have a cool toggle switch wall panel to ring each phone! I would colour code them and all 💗💖
I'm guessing the crackling is the result of poor quality carbon granule microphones, does the crackling stop if you keep perfectly still?
I'm about to build a similar intercom with two 1950's Australian Bakelite magneto crank telephones - no additional electronics required, just a length of wire between them and a 1.5V battery at each end to power the microphones. The magneto crank generates the AC voltage needed to ring the other phone.
Heh neat. That market looks kinda like one of the ones NFKRZ went to but was closed when he went in his video. Same city so makes sense there'd be some similarity.
Haven't seen that video, but it's not unlikely that it's the same market. There are only a handful of big outdoor markets in Tbilisi. Thanks for watching!
Wow, i've been using wire terminals since 2009 and You started using them much later and built Ai driven robots...
Beautiful work, both he electronics and the production. Here in the States, we called this a "ring down" circuit; they were typical for field communications at football games.
Thanks for watching, Erica! And for the kind words. :)
Just buy a soho pabx box & run many phones throughout your home/office with individual extensions...but I do like the old school phone!
You should add a momentary button to control the ring after picking up the handset, like a mine phone. That way if one gets knocked off the hook the other isn't ringing incessantly until you can hang up the other.
Fantastic build! I have casually considered something like this and I love how simple your system is.
Thank you, Aaron!