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Using My PC For Plain Old Telephone Service?

Posted by Soulskill on from the pots-and-plans dept.

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."

15 of 248 comments (clear)

  1. Perhaps a better solution... by Guido+del+Confuso · · 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, 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.

    1. Re:Perhaps a better solution... by Gordonjcp · · 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...

    2. Re:Perhaps a better solution... by Guido+del+Confuso · · 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. Too bad I have no idea what I'm talking about.

    3. Re:Perhaps a better solution... by oncebitten · · 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.

    4. Re:Perhaps a better solution... by Chyeld · · 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...

  2. Asterisk? by Z00L00K · · 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.

    --
    If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
    1. Re:Asterisk? by Z00L00K · · Score: 5, Informative

      Addition:

      I suggest that you take a look at http://www.asterisknow.org/ for Asterisk as an appliance.

      Add a TDM410 card to be able to connect your POTS line.

      The use of a softphone like Express Talk will allow you to use your headset. Some softphones will automatically mute your movie or music when a call arrives.

      --
      If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
  3. Not a softphone by profplump · · 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.

  4. I realise this is totally unacceptable by sleeponthemic · · 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.

    --
    I record my sleeptalking
    1. Re:I realise this is totally unacceptable by R2.0 · · 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?

      --
      "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
  5. Hardware maybe? by scdeimos · · Score: 5, Interesting

    A lot of speakerphone capable modems have a set of line-out/speaker jumpers on the board as well as the 1/8" jacks on the back panel. Can't you just link that to the line-in jumpers on your sound card and then run it all through the Volume Control mixer of your choice?

  6. Which OS? by bloodninja · · 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.

    --
    Lock the wife and the dog in the boot of the car.
    Return one hour later.
    Who's happy to see you?
  7. Re:Your hardware probably isn't capable at all. by Anonymous Coward · · 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.

  8. Re:Maybe it's not really a problem. by antic · · 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.

    --
    'Thats they exact same thing a banana wrench monkey.'
  9. Re:Your hardware probably isn't capable at all. by fireboy1919 · · 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.

    --
    Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!