Intercom for home

[czechsonofagun]

This is the situation. We have a barn with a playroom upstairs about 100 feet from home. There is cat5 and cat3 between those two buildings, LAN over the cat5 and phone using two wires of the cat3.

I would like to add a very simple intercom to be able to beep kids in the barn and talk to them. Anybody was solving similar problem?

I dont really want to go wireless, since the wiring is already in place.

 

[Slacker]

This is the situation. We have a barn with a playroom upstairs about 100 feet from home. There is cat5 and cat3 between those two buildings, LAN over the cat5 and phone using two wires of the cat3.

I would like to add a very simple intercom to be able to beep kids in the barn and talk to them. Anybody was solving similar problem?

I dont really want to go wireless, since the wiring is already in place.

If you have a cordless phone, just add another handset to the remote location using the cat 5 and a RJ11 connector. Most cordless phones have intercom/radio function between handsets.

 

[mikim]

had a really cheap one from radio shack that I ran farther than that on old phone wires from the in-laws house to an old mobile home on the property. One was master - turn it on and you could monitor the slave - hear 'em and speak to 'em .... if they wanted to call the master - they had to beep it. Worked well for several years. cost was el cheapo ...

 

[Tig]

Some cheap intercoms just plug in the wall and use the existing electric wires to transmit to the other station which is also plugged in the wall. Simple and effective.

 

[kennyd]

Aiphone makes decent wired intercom systems, much better that what you will find at Radio Shack and wireless systems.
Look at this link, find one you like and then find a place online to buy it..
Aiphone Products Listed By System

I installed a LEM system for a friend to his detached garage, but the LEF series would be good if you wanted more that two locations wired...

 

[MossRoad]

This is the situation. We have a barn with a playroom upstairs about 100 feet from home. There is cat5 and cat3 between those two buildings, LAN over the cat5 and phone using two wires of the cat3.

I would like to add a very simple intercom to be able to beep kids in the barn and talk to them. Anybody was solving similar problem?

I dont really want to go wireless, since the wiring is already in place.

Since you already have a phone in the house and a phone in the barn, just replace the phone sets with ones that have intercom capability. As someone mentioned, wireless phones usually have intercom capability. You can plug a base station in at the house and another in the barn, so that when not in use, the barn phone can charge on the base. Sounds like a piece of cake!

 

[Inspector507]

We've used the Radio Shack units that send a signal over the power lines before. If the two buildings have power that come off the same transformer, it's a simple "plug 'er in" install.

 

[MossRoad]

We've used the Radio Shack units that send a signal over the power lines before. If the two buildings have power that come off the same transformer, it's a simple "plug 'er in" install.

I have some of those and they always have a loud buzz in them. I think there are several levels of quality, and I didin't get the best.

 

[buckle97]

I have some of those and they always have a loud buzz in them. I think there are several levels of quality, and I didin't get the best.

I have also had a few sets of those and one set occasionally had a buzz on it. I figured out if I put each handset on the "master" cradle for about thirty seconds, the buzz would go away. Of course the buzz would come back after a few weeks, but then I would just repeat the process. That set finally died completely.

 

[czechsonofagun]

Since you already have a phone in the house and a phone in the barn, just replace the phone sets with ones that have intercom capability. As someone mentioned, wireless phones usually have intercom capability. You can plug a base station in at the house and another in the barn, so that when not in use, the barn phone can charge on the base. Sounds like a piece of cake!

Seemed to be simple till I actually hit the store

This is what I would like:

- main phone with voice mail, intercom and wireless handset in the house
- phone in my shop with intercom
- phone upstairs in the barn with intercom
- phone downstairs in the barn with intercom

It is all wired and currently there are just regular phones plugged in all those places. The idea is any of these places could call and talk to any other place

Went to Costco, Office Depot - nothing. Cordless phones with just one phone jack is all the hip nowadays. They say cordless phones can intercom eaxcxh other - but I am not so sure it would work for the distance and obsticles and would prefer wire connection anyway. In the barn and shop it is better to have fixed line phone - b/c it stays in one place.

In Office Depot they actually had AT&T 945 that would work ok - but it is overkill, overexpensive (100+ just the base station and need to purchase substations afterwards) and has problems with DSL - which I have on our phone line - and we have just one phone line and no need for second one.

Anybody knows a Smart home or consumer electronics forum?

Thanks