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Build Your Own Phone Tree?

Posted by Cliff on from the D-I-Y dept.

ps asks: "A small club I belong to is looking to install an electronic phone tree. This is one of those boxes that you can call into, leave a message, and it will deliver that message to all the members of a group. There are ones commercially available for over $1000, but this seems like something that wouldn't be too difficult to build. I could imagine that either a sound card based system, or a specially designed microprocessor system would work. Has anyone built one of these before?"

7 of 28 comments (clear)

  1. Asterisk PBX system by magiccap22 · · Score: 4, Informative

    You may want to check out the Asterisk PBX system, as it has an application API so you can make it do pretty much whatever you want.

  2. Voice modem with vgetty by KarlH420 · · Score: 5, Informative

    An old PC with voice modem and vgetty would do the trick. vgetty can turn any PC with a voice modem into an answering machine. vgettty would record the message. Then some script could go through the call list of numbers you have, and play the message to them.

  3. Bayonne by dsb3 · · Score: 5, Informative

    http://bayonne.sourceforge.net/ is, last I checked, the current location of the GNU IVR (interactive voice response) system. If you want to learn a bit about programming for voice it shouldn't be too hard to put together something that works for the cost of hardware.

    --

    Slashdot? Oh, I just read it for the articles.
    1. Re:Bayonne by fwc · · Score: 3, Informative

      The problem with bayonne-as far as I can tell-is that it runs on fairly expensive IVR hardware. It's too bad it doesn't support more traditional Hardware Voice Modems (such as the USR ones).

      Now if someone would like to correct me if I'm wrong, I'd sure appreciate it as I'm trying to figure out an inexpensive IVR solution myself.

  4. Upoc by elfkicker · · Score: 4, Informative

    It may take the fun out of it, but Upoc offers a free service that works a bit like this. It's build more around SMS and email, but you can also leave voice message that can be checked from any phone or online. I've found it pretty useful once in awhile. There's probably similiar services out there.

  5. VOCP by zorg · · Score: 4, Informative

    VOCP should be good for this. I use this at home and have it set up to email the messages to me at home or work according to the time. Works very well.

  6. Dialogic Corp makes excellent hardware for this. by muonzoo · · Score: 2, Informative

    You might see if you can get a hold of a Dialogic Board.

    See my previous posting about a system I implemented here .
    The company that offered the dial-out product no longer produces interactive outgoing voice systems or I would include a link here.