Quiet time

[mikerino]

Can someone get me started on a project? I want to be able to put the house in quiet mode. After activating the mode, incoming calls go straight to a message that prompts the caller to leave a voicemail without ringing phones and if this is an emergency press a key to ring the phones. I am constantly being woken up by calls which are rarely important but I can't take a chance of missing an emergency call. I appreciate any thoughts pointing me into the right direction.

[Rupp]

Do you use the HS PCI Modem or the way2Call device. I believe only the Way2Call will allow muting of rings.

[mikerino]

PCI modem. OK, thanks for the reply,

[Rupp]

That doesn't mean it can't be done. You could use an external hardware device on each phone that mutes the ringers and use HS to control these.

[jboyes]

One-Touch Phone Silencer

http://www.hometoys.com/tips/tips14.htm -- Check out Entry No. 5, by Keith Miller titled "One-Touch Phone Silencer"

Jeff

[BorisB]

http://www.hometoys.com/tips/tips14.htm -- Check out Entry No. 5, by Keith Miller titled "One-Touch Phone Silencer"

Jeff

I built this device and it works very well. I used a 12v relay plugged into a wallwart controlled by an appliance module, alhough I want to change it to being controlled by a relay from my SECU-16. Just make sure that you have it AFTER your HS modem so that you can still capture Caller ID. This device not only keeps your phone from ringing, it blocks CID as well. I pipe the CID from HSPhone to my PC (and Tivo) with YAC so I can still know whos calling and pick up the phone if I want. If you have DSL on your line, you'll want to use a good whole-house splitter from Siecor instead of individual ones at each phone after the sliencer.

[anogee]

By definition, anything that blocks the ringing signal will also block caller ID. The reason for that is pretty simple, its the ringing signal that tells a device that caller ID will be following. I actually worked on the caller ID spec. back when, and the thinking was that caller ID devices needed to be low-power, so it would be the high voltage ringing signal that could wakeup the caller ID box. This is also why if you have the Way2Call box mute all your rings, phones won't receive the caller ID. The Way2Call box can actually regenerate the caller ID tones, but HomeSeer doesn't yet have this feature.

[outbackrob]

Altogether different solution

This reply is late in the game but I'm doing just what you want to do....with my whole house audio system. It is EASY. I turned off all the ringers on the phones. HS plays a nice ring during the day throughout the house (or it can announce the caller of play a specific .wav) At night, it goes directly to voicemail UNLESS it is a family member. If its my brother or my 79 yo mother, and its past midnight, HS will ring and announce, and some lights in the house will come on to wake us up. (and it won't stop until there is an acknowlegement)

I wanted a Way2Call but didn't have the $$$ in the HA fund. > $10 for a NetCallerID box, $15 for WAFCallerID added to the whole house audio system and its a done deal. ...and, it does not effect CID info to any of the phones or InfoGlobe CID devices.

The BEST part is NO MORE WRONG NUMBERS WAKING US UP in the middle of the night!

Food for thought.

Rob

PS. Add a $150 AB8SS or similar (which I did later) and you can have the phone "ring" in any room or every room depending on the CID.