Intro Using a Telephone as a handset for a Handheld Radio

This instructable shows how to build an adaptter which allows a telephone to be used a handset for a two
way radio. The benefit is that may be more ergonomically pleasing to the user than a headset mic
arrangement. It also has the advantage that it can be used to transmit DTMF tones via the keypad. This
allows the two way radio link to used for remote control and signaling if there is equipment on the
receiving end that can decode DTMF tones from the received audio.

This setup is intended for two way radios that have jacks for external speaker and microphones, as shown
in the picture. The accessory connections on many handheld radios have a mono 1/8" jack for the speaker
output and a mono 3/32" jack for the microphone input.

step 1 Selection of Telephone

Any non cordless telephone can be used, but obviously it is desirable to have the phone be as compact as
possible. A one piece phone is the best choice.

Sometimes this type of phone will come with a base, which is usually no more than a plastic cradle on
which to rest the handset to hang it up when it is not in use. In this type of phone all the electronics for the
phone are contained in the handset. This is different than many other phones, where the handset just
contains the microphone and earpiece and the rest of the electronics are in the base. A tab on the base
pushes in the hookswitch on the handset to hang up the phone.

The phone I chose is of the one piece type. The first picture below shows the base of the phone with the
cover removed Note that there is nothing inside the base except wires that connect the jack for the handset
cord to a standard modular phone jack.

If you look carefully at the handset cord, it will have only two of the four wires. These wires are the actual
connection to the phone line, and the base itself just contains a jack for the RJ22 type handset connector
on one side, and a jack for the standard RJ12 modular telephone connector on the other side.

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In order to conenct the one piece receiver directly to a standard modular wall jack, which I used as an
enclosure, it is necessary to replace the smaller handset type plug on the phones cord with a
standard modular plug. Modular RJ12 type plugs and crimping tools are available at most larger hardware
stores. Also, you would wire the cord into the circuit directly instead of chaning the plug, but of couse
this will leave you unable to simply unplug the phone from the adapter.

step 2 Schematic and Summary

This adapter provides a means of using a standard telephone for the transmit and receive audio of a
handheld radio, such as an FRS radio. The adapter has to provide the following functions for the interface
between the phone and the radio to work properly:

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*Couple Audio from the speaker output of the radio to the telephone at a comfortable volume
*Couple Audio from the telephone to the radio microphone input at the proper level
*Provide power for the telephone to function properly
*Provide a switch for the push to talk (PTT) function of the radio.

The function of each component in the schematic will be discussed in the steps to follow.

step 3 Plugs for Audio Connections

The plugs PLG1 and PLG2 in the schematic are the for the audio input to the radio microphone jack and
the audio output from the radio speaker jack, respectively.

The PLG1 (3/32" (2.5mm) size) and PLG2 (1/8" (3.5mm) size) plugs can be located from many sources.
Surplus electronics companies like All Electronics http://www.allelectronics.com often have low cost
parts. Digikey http://www.DigiKey.com is a greate source of new parts. DigiKey part numbers that will
work are CP3-1004-ND for the 3/32" plug and CP3-1005-ND for the 1/8" plug. The parts may also be
salvaged from other cables.

The first picture shows the speaker and microphone connections on the radio.

The second and third pictures show what the plugs look like and how to identify the connections. The
connection named "sleeve" is the longer part, and the "tip" is the smaller part at the end. The second
picture shows where the wires must be soldered to make the connections.

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step 4 Telephone Connection
This portioin of the circuit is used to power the telephone.

Important Note: This adapter is not meant to be plugged into the telephone line of you home landline!
This will not work! It is meant to connect only to a telephone set. There are high voltages and
tranients on you landline that this circuit is not designed for.

An external source of power is connected to J2 to power the telephone. This can be any source of about 8
to 12 volts. A 9 volt battery works well.

R1 is a 330 ohm resistor, the voltage across which will be used to as the output to the radio microphone
input jack. It is also the load for the audio output from the radio speaker jack.

J1 is the connection to the modular plug on the telephone set itself.

step 5 Push to Talk Function

This portion of the circuit is used to implement the push to talk function that keys the radio transmitter so
that it will transmit the microphone audio or DTMF from the telephone.

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For many handheld radios, the push to talk functionality when using an external microphone is achieved
by connecting a resistor across the two lines in the microphone connection. This is shown as R3 in the
schematic. When the PTT button is pressed, R3 is connected across the microphone jack contacts. The
transceiver will detect this and key the microphone. I found that a value of 1k ohm works well
here. Values above 2k ohms did not work with the two brands of handheld radios I have.

The pushbutton switch can be any normall open (NO) pushbutton that will work mechanically in your
situation. The switch carries very little current. If the construction of your particular phone prermits, it
may be possible to mount it on the case.

The location of the PTT button is up to the user's preference. It can be mounted somewhere on the handset
itself, to allow it to be actuated by the hand holding the handset. It could also be mounted inline with the
wiring from the handset to the radio transceiver.

step 6 Microphone Output

This portion of the circuit is used to handle the audio output that is fed from the telephone into the
microphone input jack of the radio.

C1 is used to couple the audio from telephone to the microphone input of the radio. It is also needed to
block the DC from the power supply from entering the microphone input. I've found that a value of 0.47uF
to 3uF works well.

Inputing audio via a microphone jack usually requires some attenuation, to avoid driving the microphone
input to hard. Resistors R2 and R3 form a voltage divider to provide attenuation. Determining the exact
values that work best with any particular combination of telephone and radio transiever may require some
additional expermentation. I have found that the values shown in the schematic work well.

step 7 Radio Audio Input

This portion of the circuit is used to handle the audio that is input to the telephone from the speaker output
jack of the radio.

C2 is used to capacitively couple the audio from the radio speaker output jack into the telephone so that it
can be heard in the telephone earpiece.

The audio output of most radios will be great enough on the high setting that it will be excessively loud in
the phone handset. Resistor R4 in the schematic is used to provide some minimum amound of
atttenuation, to avoid every overdriving the earpiece in the telephone. I have found that a value of 100
ohms works well, but this is another instance where some experimentation and tweaking may be needed.
The volume heard in the phone earpiece will depend on the volume setting of the transceiver and the value
of the R4.

step 8 Construction
The actual construction of the circuit can be whatever you are comfortable with and will fit your needs.
One easy and inexpensive way is to use a modular wall jack of the type shown in the picture below. It has
a 6 contact connector, but it will also accept a standard 4 pin plug that is found on almost all telephones.
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Inside the jack are 6 screws that allow cabling to be connected to the 6 contacts of the connector. There
are short wires from the connector itself to the screw terminals. This project only uses the red and green
wires, so the other 4 wires can be cut off near the connector, and the unused screw terminals in the plastic
block can be used as a means of making the connections as shown in the circuit. This way you
can assembly most of the circuit with little or no soldering.

There are 8 unique "nodes" in the circuit, but only 6 screws. However, there are two holes in the jack
assembly without screws. You can drive a suitable screw into these positions and use them to as points to
connect the other two nodes. I've numbered the nodes in the schematic and the terminals on the connector
body, as shown in the schematic and picture below.

One somewhat cumbersome part of this arrangement is that need for the 9V battery. I have found that a
power supply of 6 volts or greater was needed to power the phones I have, so I was not able to use the 3
AAA cells in the radio to power the phone.

All the components will fit inside the jack assembly, but it will be tight. You can see from the picture how
packed in all the parts are. I had to use a pushbutton switch that has a very flat body, and moutn it on top
of the jack cover as shown. A pushbutton that protudes through the cover would not fit due to the
components located in the main part of the jack assembly.

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step 9 Connection and Use
The picture below shows how a telephone, the adapter, and a handheld radio are connected together.

*Plug the telephones into the modular jack on the adapter.

*Plug the jack for the microphone input (3/32" jack) into the microphone jack of the radio.
*Plug the jack for the audio input (1/8") into the speaker output jack of the radio.
*Connect a 9V battery to the batter connection. Remember to remove the battery when not in use, as it
will be constantly supplying power to the phone while it is connected.
*Make sure that the phone is "off hook".

To transmit, press and hold the PTT switch on the adapter, just as you would press the PTT on the radio.
If you wish to transmitt DTMF tones, you will also have to hold down the PTT switch on the adapter
while you press the keys on the keypad.

To receive, release the PTT switch, just as you would in normal operation. You should hear any audio
from the receiver in the earpiece of the phone.

step 10 Limitations and Ideas for Improvement

The adapter works well with the telephones and radios I have used. One shortcoming is that the audio
output level from the microphone tends to be a bit on the low side, relative to the volume of the DTMF.
Still, the the audio received on a second radio could be heard well, but the volume on the radio needed to
be turned up a little more than usual. The DTMF tones come through loud and clear.

Another shortcoming on this adapter is that the phone continous to draw power from the battery while it is
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connected. It would help to have a switch in series with the phone/battery loop so that it could be
disconnected without removing the battery or unplugging the phone from the jack. This feature can be
added easily, but it did not fit within the phone jack used as an enclosure.

I chose the phone jack as an enclosure here because it was inexpensive, readily available, and had a built
in jack for a modular phone plug. But, it leaves the 9V battery kind of hanging there unless you secure it
all together with a rubber band or zip tie, which looks kind of hokey. There are cases for electronic
equipment that have nice built in compartments for a 9V battery, and if I build a second adapter that
would allow for a much cleaner implementation.