Using My PC For Plain Old Telephone Service? 248
TheJerbear79 writes "I recently accepted a work-from-home job that will involve using my landline to talk to customers. When I log into the phone queue, my landline will ring, I'll put in a three digit code, and then calls are routed to the phone line I'm on. It essentially turns my landline into a softphone. Rather than using a regular handset or obtaining a nice business phone with a headset and speakerphone, I would like to use my PC's modem in conjunction with a normal PC headset and soundcard. I know the hardware is capable, but the modem didn't come with appropriate software. Has anyone found anything cheap/free that would suit this kind of usage? Just for clarity, I don't want to use a VOIP solution; I need to use my plain old landline. My reason is this: if I'm watching a movie or listening to an MP3 while I'm waiting for a call, I don't want it to ever be apparent to the person who is on the phone with me, and I want to route all the audio I use through a single headset. I've scoured Google for anything close to this application, and all I've managed to find is information on VOIP software or programs that turn my PC into an answering machine, neither of which will work."
Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Informative)
This is probably better to do in hardware than in software. Here's what I'd try:
Get a phone that has a jack for a headset. These are usually a 3/32" connector that carries both microphone and audio. Connect to this an adaptor that splits it into two 1/8" connectors, one for headphones and one for mic. You probably have some headphones with a boom mic attached that has separate lines for audio and microphone. Just run the mic line into the mic port on the splitter, or use a lapel mic. Take the audio from the telephone, and feed it into a hardware mixer--just pick up any cheap mixer from Radio Shack. Then you can mix your computer's audio into the headphones as well. That way, you're not dependent on the computer working properly to be able to do your job, you can control audio source volumes quickly and independently from each other, and you could even add something like a DVD player or stereo to your mixer and be able to listen to that as well.
If you wanted to get really fancy, you could throw an audio compressor with sidechaining, such as the Alesis 3630 [alesis.com], into the pipeline. Route the telephone's output so it goes through the compressor's sidechain channel, and run the computer's audio through the main input on the compressor. Then, whenever audio comes in through the phone line, the sound of the computer will automatically lower.
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, that's what I'd do as well. Keep It Simple, and all that. Of course, another solution would be to mute the speakers before answering the phone...
Re: (Score:2)
Just one more to back it up, that's the easiest and best solution.
You probably want to have as much security and redundancy as possible, and hardware phones are simply more reliable. You can get a second phone for cheap if one should fail for redundancy.
And if you get a wireless set, you don't have to sit in the same spot all the time and can walk around with the phone on your belt. Have another wired phone switched in parallel so you can pick that one up should the batteries be running low.
Re: (Score:2)
Get a phone that has a jack for a headset.
and plug the headset in. You can't really think there's an actual need for any other equipment for a work-from-home phone-jockey job?
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
He could use the Mute button on his keyboard and a normal phone. Isn't this request pretty much just, "I want to solve a trivially-easy problem in the most complex way possible?"
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Funny)
He could use the Mute button on his keyboard and a normal phone. Isn't this request pretty much just, "I want to solve a trivially-easy problem in the most awesome way possible?"
fixed
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Interesting)
No, I honestly don't have the foggiest notion what a compressor does. That's why I suggested using it. I just wanted to sound like I knew what I was talking about.
I suppose, theoretically speaking, that someone who had some clue as to what he was doing could try connecting the phone's audio to the sidechain jack on the compressor. Then, he might think about setting the attack to the minimum, and the release to the maximum. He might also set the compression ratio somewhere in the neighborhood of 15:1 or higher, and the threshold fairly low.
If you did that, it would reduce the level of the audio from the computer, which is run through the main input on the compressor, whenever the level on the sidechain is higher than the threshold--or so I'm told. If that were the case, you could probably use that setup to take calls without ever having to touch your mixer, since you would need to have silence on the line for more than the maximum release time (three seconds on the 3630) before the music would come back up again.
Boy, if only that would work, DJs might use the same technique to duck audio levels when talking into the mic [wikipedia.org]. Too bad I have no idea what I'm talking about.
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Interesting)
That's a pretty good description of ducking. Although since the OP wanted to entirely mute the audio, s/he'd be better off using a limiter or a gate.
A limiter is a compressor with more than 20:1 reduction. A gate is (sort of) a compressor with an infinity:1 ratio.
And, if you didn't want to pay for a compressor/limiter/gate, you could probably figure out a way to get Ardour to do it.
But muting the speakers is probably the easiest way.
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:4, Funny)
Well you see, a compressor takes air... no wait that doesn't have anything to do with audio. Ok here we go, a compressor....
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Funny)
A compressor makes the sound smaller, so you can transfer it faster. By adding a compressor to the line, he can handle a larger volume of calls.
This of course is only useful if he is paid per call. If he is paid for time spent on the phone, then he should get something that will convert everything into a WAV or AIFF file so it takes forever to come through.
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Funny)
Sir, I'm a recruiter from Monster Cables. We like your style and wonder if you'd like to come work for us...
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Funny)
Apparently. If you knew what a compressor does, you would not be recommending refrigeration equipment when clearly what is required is audio equipment.
Re: (Score:2)
Apparently. If you knew what a compressor does, you would not be recommending refrigeration equipment when clearly what is required is audio equipment.
Vizzini? Truly you have a dizzying intellect.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Insightful)
What use would a piece of studio equipment (rack mounted, at that) have in his setup?
Because you can? I mean, come on, this is slashdot, we'd come up with a remote controlled robotic flyswatter that runs Linux and is also a webserver given the slightest opportunity.
And the OP only suggested using a sidechain "if you wanted to get really fancy". And it is really quite fancy. Also, it would make for an extremely elegant solution to the original question.
Re:Perhaps a better solution... (Score:5, Funny)
Could you do that? really? Can I order a beowulf cluster of them please? Please!!!
Re: (Score:2)
... I mean, come on, this is slashdot, we'd come up with a remote controlled robotic flyswatter that runs Linux ...
Could you do that? really? Can I order a beowulf cluster of them please? Please!!!
Wow, how bad is the fly population in your house that you need a Beowulf cluster of fly-swatters?
And would they even be useful if they didn't come with Natalie Portman (covered in grits, naturally)?
Re: (Score:2)
i don't think so, after all, you need a grit covered natalie portman to waive each oen of all those swatters...
At which point you have a Beowulf cluster of grit-covered Natalie Portmans?
Awesome. And as a bonus, said cluster is using systems that run Linux.
Re: (Score:2)
Honestly, if the original poster didn't want fancy answers like this, he would just turn down the volume when the phone rings.
Asterisk? (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe you should run Asterisk at home where you have a lot of flexibility available to do just about everything you ever wanted (and some more too)
As an added bonus you can even blacklist callers so you can get rid of the telemarketers.
Re:Asterisk? (Score:5, Informative)
Addition:
I suggest that you take a look at http://www.asterisknow.org/ [asterisknow.org] for Asterisk as an appliance.
Add a TDM410 [digium.com] card to be able to connect your POTS line.
The use of a softphone like Express Talk [nch.com.au] will allow you to use your headset. Some softphones will automatically mute your movie or music when a call arrives.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The hardware hack in the first post is the way to go, but you'll learn something from using Asterisk (this means it's hard to use... incredibly cool, but with great power comes the occasional configuration headache: it does not know what you mean). If you use it, you don't need an external softphone. You can dial or receive calls from the Asterisk console.
If you don't want to do this in hardware and you don't want to buy a digium card (or its equivalent) and discover The Future of Telephony, consider cal
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Asterisk in whatever solution you choose will turn your machine into a full-fleged PBX system capable of delivering a voice menu to your users and doing least cost call routing. For a
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It's been a couple of years since I've researched devices that get you from point A to point B so there could be some new stuff on the market. I still have my Linksys gateway and it hooks up whenever I fire up
Re:Asterisk? (Score:5, Interesting)
The latency can introduce noticeable echoes (probably only on your speaker, not the other end) and make the call quality unacceptable.
YMMV
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
You are new to telephony aren't you. Echo is not always between speaker and mic.
Re: (Score:2)
That might not be useful in this case. My immediate assumption was that the article was about someone logging into a predictive dialer... I hope I'm wrong, otherwise we're going to have pages of posts helping a telemarketer do his or her job :)
Re: (Score:2)
I hope I'm wrong, otherwise we're going to have pages of posts helping a telemarketer do his or her job :)
That's a risk that we have to take. But don't forget that there are other people reading this too.
Just take a look at the Asterisk Telemarketer Torture [voip-info.org] if you have problems with Telemarketers.
And even if this is a single telemarketer, the catch is to make it impossibly ineconomical to run a telemarketing company. Many that are employed may have had to chose between being unemployed or be a telemarketer.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Telemarketers don't have anything I'm interested in buying (partly because my budget can't take it) but from experience I know that it's be
Re: (Score:2)
Telemarketers ... it's better to just hang up and let them get on to the next call than to sit there and yell at them or worse, give them false hope that they are about to get a sale.
But wasting their time is both fun and productive. If nobody ever does this [boreme.com] to telemarketers, the world will be an emptier place.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Only in the sense that, absent enforced rules prohibiting them, they will spring up because someone can make more profit, at a social cost, through them; i.e., in exactly the same way that the world "needs" muggers and pickpockets.
Re: (Score:2)
What exactly does the world need telemarketers for? If it's just to provide a job to feed their children, you might as well say the world needs people to dig holes and fill them up all day. Frankly, that would be less wasteful and less annoying.
If there were no telemarketing jobs, yeah some people might end up on welfare. But at least then they're honest about being a drag on society, and not pretending to add value.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I think you have a different definition of the word 'need' than I do.
Now you are just being silly. Whether you answer the phone or not, it's still an interruption. And if someone calls around dinner time there is a certain expectation that it's probably an important call (eg 'help! i've
Re: (Score:2)
Since you're going to be home all day at your telephone (assuming that the various wizards here can get something to work), can we have the telemarketers call YOU instead? I'm kinda busy, so I hate to keep answering the phone.
Re: (Score:2)
>My immediate assumption was that the article :)
>was about someone logging into a predictive dialer...
> I hope I'm wrong, otherwise we're going to
> have pages of posts helping a telemarketer do his or her job
Nah, what the poster is writing about is obviously either a psychic hotline or a phone-sex line:)
Never done it myself, but I knew a guy who paid for college working for a phone-sex service aimed at women. You never see them on late-night commercials(vastly smaller market) but if you can pas
Re:Asterisk? (Score:4, Informative)
Works better, it doesn't have deadlocks, it's SIP stack is 100% RFC compliant, complete, all follow all the standards.
FreeSWITCH developers also don't re-invent the wheel every time they add something, they re-use stuff, like PCRE, Apache Portable Runtime (APR), SQLite, Sofia-SIP, etc.
I highly recommend FreeSWITCH instead of Asterisk.
http://freeswitch.org/
How does FreeSWITCH compare to Asterisk?
http://freeswitch.org/node/117
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
This is overkill as a solution, and does involve VoIP, but since it runs on Linux, and this is /., well, why not.
I'd recommend PBXinaFlash [pbxinaflash.com]. It's the best way to get up and running in an hour or less. Very painless install, and a solid solution that does everything and more out-of-the-box.
Not a softphone (Score:5, Interesting)
It doesn't turn your landline into a softphone, it turns your landline into a landline, which works just as any other landline.
So you want to mute your computer when the POTS phone rings; why can't you ask that question instead of pretending that you have some magically non-VoIP softphone?
That being said, I think an standard audio compression and mixer is the right choice; prioritize the POTS audio and the computer will automatically be reduced in volume when the POTS line is active.
Re:Not a softphone (Score:5, Informative)
The reason he didn't ask your suggested question is simply because that is not what he wants to know.
He is asking what software is required to route the internal modem's POTS audio to the speakers and mic.
Most decent modems used to come with the necessary dialler software, however it is rapdidly disappearing.
He is NOT asking for external hardware to manage the relative levels of the PC audio and a separate POTS system.
Re:Not a softphone (Score:4, Insightful)
He is asking...
I read his guy's "question" a few times, I've got no idea what he's asking, you could both be right, for all I know. I'm not even sure how what he's asking for will solve the problem ("no body should know I'm slacking off and watching TV when I'm supposed to be working").
I think this guy's just bragging about having a work from home job, while trying to act all old skool and cool by dissing VOIP.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm just sorry I cannot remember the name of any of the pieces of software!
They all used be unbranded OEM tools that came with your modem, in the days where modems were external boxes plugged into your serial port.
Re: (Score:2)
Or get a softphone. My home line is Skype on my Mac. When I take a call on Skype, iTunes is automatically paused. Works great.
Re: (Score:2)
I realise this is totally unacceptable (Score:5, Insightful)
My reason is this: if I'm watching a movie or listening to an MP3 while I'm waiting for a call, I don't want it to ever be apparent to the person who is on the phone with me,
It won't be.. because you'll have paused it before answering the phone because you can't hear what they are saying if it is still playing.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't agree - the poster is smart to want the entertainment audio to *forcibly, automatically* lower when his (money making) phone call arrives.
Re:I realise this is totally unacceptable (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I realise this is totally unacceptable (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I realise this is totally unacceptable (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Maybe you shouldn't be slacking off and watching tv/movies while you're supposed to be working?
Some people are on call 24/7 for one reason or another, and they get paid accordingly.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Even better, write a script that looks for the good old "RING" text coming down a serial port and automagically mutes the audio. Problem solved.
Re:I realise this is totally unacceptable (Score:5, Insightful)
It sounds like you are doing customer service work at home, which is exactly what my wife does. So here's a hint regarding watching or listening to other media during your scheduled work hours - don't. First, your call volume is likely to be such that, unless you can comprehend media in 5 second increments, the experience is likely to be unsatisfying. Second, assuming you do run into some slack time, changing over from media to active customer service can be mentally jarring, and you are likely to fumble through your first few seconds of the call while you reorient yourself. My wife sticks to diversions on the computer - [alt-tab] is like a mental switch for her, and she doesn't get into anything too in depth.
As for hardware, buy the best CONVENTIONAL setup you can afford. A decent wireless handset and good headset isn't really that expensive, and it is equipment you are relying on to make your money - your customers (and employer) aren't going to take "hold on while I fix my software config" as an excuse. You emphasized that VOIP is NOT an option - my guess is that's an employer mandate? the reason for that is that they do not want their users to get to cute with the fancy getups.
There's a reason it's called PLAIN Old Telephone Service - running it through hardware and software so you can fill time with entertainment sort of defeats the purpose, does it not?
Hardware maybe? (Score:5, Interesting)
Maybe it's not really a problem. (Score:5, Interesting)
You know, as a voice actor/actress, a little mp3 music in the background might not be a bad thing, maybe set the mood. Perhaps you dont need all the fangled gadgetry.
best of luck with the new job!
Re:Maybe it's not really a problem. (Score:5, Funny)
That's nice and all, but I suspect "movie or mp3" is nerd code for porn here and this guy will be doing a lot of "hard work" from home.
Re:Maybe it's not really a problem. (Score:5, Insightful)
this guy will be doing a lot of "hard work" from home.
Better at home than at the office.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
I thought your medication was supposed to control those urges?
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I'm sure there are lots of people here who are just dying to know which. I'm also sure there are quite a few who aren't that fussy.
Your hardware probably isn't capable at all. (Score:4, Insightful)
"Dear slashdot, I have a work at home job and want to watch porn during business hours. How do I stop callers from listening in? My budget is exactly $0."
*sigh*
You probably can't get the raw audio from your modem. Hardly any modems do full-duplex audio.
Get a phone with a headset jack and an automatic audio switch.
If you really want to go ghetto you could have one earphone connected to your PC and the other to the incoming call. That's probably the cheapest way to make sure the callers never hear you listening to porn.
Re:Your hardware probably isn't capable at all. (Score:5, Funny)
Correction:
Dear slashdot, I am a phone sex operator and want to watch porn during business hours. How do I stop callers from listening in? My budget is exactly $0.
Re:Your hardware probably isn't capable at all. (Score:4, Interesting)
1) Buy 2 pairs of headphones (One big muff-type set and one ear-bud type set)
2) Put the earbuds in and the muff-style ones over top.
4) Hook one to the phone, the other to the computer
Problem solved!
Re:Your hardware probably isn't capable at all. (Score:4, Funny)
Might your friend happen to be largely deaf now?
Re:Your hardware probably isn't capable at all. (Score:5, Interesting)
You probably can't get the raw audio from your modem. Hardly any modems do full-duplex audio.
The early 1990s called. They want their modems back.
Nearly all modems today are just cheap soundcards with a relay attached (i.e., softmodems). They can almost all do full duplex audio. I know, because I did a bunch of research into the subject when setting up vgetty in linux.
You'd even be hard pressed to find a hard modem that doesn't do full duplex. Since it doesn't cost them any, they usually include that feature just so that they can advertise that it can do soft phone stuff.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Yes, I use vgetty as an answerphone --- I have it set up so that messages get ogg compressed and emailed to me (because I'm much more likely to actually *get* them that way than I would if I simply relied on noticing the flashing light on the answering machine).
What software is available that can make use of the modem in full duplex mode? I know, for example, that Asterisk can't, and requires weird proprietary hardware rather than a standard modem, which is a shame, because modems are practically free these
one solution (Score:2)
you can get a Linksys 3102 voip adapter. You plug in the land line and network cable to the adapter and connect with a softphone like X-Lite from the PC to the adapter to get the calls.
Re: (Score:2)
That would be my suggestion: just use voip already, your reason for not using voip is just silly. Good softphones will let you run scripts to mute/pause your mediaplayer.
Added bonus of a spa 3102 is you can still use a plain old telephone if you want to.
Which OS? (Score:5, Insightful)
Is this for your Amiga box, or the C64?
Really, if you don't tell us what OS you are using, it will be hard to suggest software. Not all /.ers still run slackware.
Re:Which OS? (Score:5, Funny)
Well, sure, not on all of them... Gotta admit, that young upstart Debian makes a heck of a desktop machine. But still Slackware on all the "important" machines, naturally.
Re: (Score:2)
You're looking at this as a software problem... (Score:4, Interesting)
... But as someone who dabbles in both sides, I'd suggest you look into hacking some hardware.
I don't have enough details to give you the specifics, but here's a generic solution in general terms:
First, look how you can simplify your problem. Does the music really need to be through the same headset? If you can play it through speakers, you can eliminate mixing, which makes things easier. If you need to mix, it depends what kind of headset you have. USB? Line out/mic-in? USB will limit your options.
I'll assume it's analog, so we need to mix a line-level out from your sound card with a line-level out from the phone. Many cheap phones provide a line-out, or you can just add an amp to the handset connection of your existing phone, or perhaps even get away with just a transformer or even wiring straight in. Experiment and see what works.
Mixing can be done with a DJ-style mixer. This also gives you convenient knobs to turn up and down your music and callers' voices. So just plug the sound card line out and the phone's line out into the mix board and you're ready to go.
You'll need some sort of switch to answer your phone. Buy a DPDT toggle switch. Wire one half into the phone's hook switch. Use the other half to control a mute button / kill switch / input select / any other control on your DJ mixer which can be used to cut out the music input. If your mixer doesn't have this, or you mix some other way, you can use the second half of the switch to control a pair of relays, which cut out the signal from the sound card. Now you can answer without picking up the handset, and the music will cut out at the same time.
Possible variations on this theme: Wire the phone line-out to your computer's line-in, and wire the second half of the DPDT to control a pin on your parallel port, then write a small program to poll the port and mute the line-in or pause the MP3 playback when the bit toggles. This moves some functionality into the computer; I'm sure you can figure out the tradeoffs.
The advantages of a hardware solution like this are: Your phone no longer depends on the computer to work; you get convenient hardware knobs to adjust the audio; you can answer the phone with a hardware switch instead of trying to find your phone app; and you hopefully have fun hacking together a simple but useful electronics project.
Good luck with your new job, and whatever phone solution you create!
Re: (Score:2, Redundant)
Voice/Speakerphone modem software (Score:2, Informative)
I think the info you're looking for is here: http://www.modemsite.com/56K/voice.asp
Quoting: "Voice modem chipset makers include in the driver or firmware code to interface to the wave device, but do not develop the software that provides voice functionality. The modem makers generally bundle "compatible" third-party voice modem software. Some voice modem software offerings: Ring Central, BVRP, and Messaging Software."
Maybe its your choice of music (Score:2, Funny)
I bet OP is in his 50s and listens to Spice Girls cover songs of Metallica, AC/DC and Eminem songs. Its not just the swear words that are embarrassing, its the music itself.
Or maybe he's listening to mainstream movies with suggestive titles: Die Hard, Dirty Harry, The Italian Job.
So listen to some New Age Mediation music and watch Fried Green Tomatoes.
Problem solved!
Re:Maybe its your choice of music (Score:4, Funny)
"So listen to some New Age Mediation music and watch Fried Green Tomatoes."
A bullet would be quicker and far less painful.
Remember doing this once (Score:2)
As some of the whippersnappers on here may or may not recall, a "fax" was the way we used to "send pages" to other folks, magically transforming hard-copy on one end, into sounds tr
Re: (Score:2)
"Maybe I am dating myself here"
Aren't most Slashdotters?
Personally, for the problem the poster has, I'd just hit the pause button on the media player. Muting audio automatically is all very good but annoying if the video keeps playing and you lose track of where you are, so you definitely want to pause it. PC audio out of desktop speakers which you can hear quite well despite wearing a phone headset for the phone calls.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It's not as if anyone else would. (Apologizes to Scott Adams ... )
Why? Overkill? (Score:3, Interesting)
What?
You find yourself in need of a $10 headset for your telephone, so, of course, your first reaction is to dedicate your far more expensive, terribly power wasting, and necessarily less-reliable computer to the otherwise unimaginably simple job... It makes perfect sense!
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
The far more expensive computer which I already own, which will be wasting power while I'm at work regardless, and has more up-time than the viagra mascot? If you're not going to be helpful you could at least not assume I'm retarded.
I dunno, you clearly are somewhat retarded, when your problem could be solved by a) getting a phone that supported a standard headset, and b) installing a mute switch on your PC audio and mic input, and c) mixing the PC audio and phone audio together before your headset, and
The first thing I though of when I read this (Score:4, Insightful)
I recently accepted a work-from-home job that will involve using my landline to talk to customers.
Please take me off your call-list :)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Can do - what's your phone number?
Lets talk about the KISS method... (Score:3, Insightful)
dude..... (Score:2)
VoIP router (Score:2, Informative)
Telephony Box (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.exceletel.com/support/hardware/VoiceModems/index.htm [exceletel.com]
Telephony cards are not cheap but I finally found a company that makes a external telephony box that did exactly wh
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The HiPhone desktop at way2call works for what you want to do. They have a very good SDK as well.
Having used modems with Asterisk you really want a purpose built product, and even the HiPhone is pushing it. After a few years of use the HiPhone will develop hiss and the sound quality decreases.
We migrated to VoIP (I could get you a deal on the HiPhone having many many of them), but we keep all the IP on our Lan.
Good luck.
Get an FXO device (Score:3, Informative)
I had previously done research on this for a contract and the fact was the only modem that supported voice on POTS was discontinued some years ago. Probably the best solution you will be able to find that is supported, especially on Linux, is the Grandstream HandyTone HT-503 device.
The non-obvious secret to these devices is that there are two kinds of PSTN connection devices. The first is the simple dial-out-only devices called FXS. You don't want those because they are unable to accept incoming phone calls--they just hook to your telephone desk sets.
What you want is an FXO device, but be careful. Some devices only accept incoming calls and some only dial out. You want the one that does both, and one that has both FXS and FXO ports on it so you will only need one device for everything you want. The Grandstream HandyTone HT-503 device is that device. (This is the new version of the discontinued HandyTone 488.)
Getting back to the question... (Score:2)
I don't think the OP is interested in VOIP or anything like that. It sounds like he would like to loop the audio through his modem up to his headset. This is possible with "speakerphone voice modems" They aren't oem in many PCs, so unless you bought one you may be out of luck. To tell if you have one fairly easy, take a look at the modem and see if it has a headphone jack on it. If so, yeah! For software, try the free trial of ExpressDial from NCH software. http://www.nch.com.au/dial/index.html [nch.com.au]
Good L
CallClerk can do this (Score:2)
Try CallClerk. [callclerk.com] This is a little program whose main function is to receive Caller ID info and do useful things with it, like pop up info from Microsoft Outlook. It implements a speakerphone, which is what you need. It can invoke other programs on call receipt, so you can tie it to a "turn off entertainment" script.
There are other programs like this, intended for people who make and receive many phone calls and need to log and track them.
I actually have a device that might do that... (Score:4, Informative)
Up in my closet somewhere I have a PC/POTS switch. It allows you to flip a switch between receiving audio input from the PC and audio input from a POTS system, all on the same headset. It's really simple and I've never used it but I recall that it does work.
It's remarkably simple and I can't remember the name of it for the life of me.
If you want it, my email address has been unmasked enough for you to email me. I'll send it to you for cost of shipping.
old compaq PC... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, I was also thinking something along those lines. Those more fancy AT commands are often non-standard on your basic modem, so you'll need to read the manual to see what does what.
In general there should be a command to just pick up the phone on an incoming RING and wait for the user to +++ATH and also keep the volume enables (default it goes off after the handshake, but if incoming is VOICE, then it will need some special commands anyway).
Should be trivial to at least hear what is happening on any half