🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1991Jun12.232239.29424@wam.umd.edu> floyd@wam.umd.edu (Jim Matthews) writes:
>       I have a modem and am sick of people picking up phone
>extentions elsewhere in the house to make a call not knowing that I'm
>on the line.  Is there a simple circuit I could build that would light
>an L.E.D. or something when the phone line is in use?  Then I could put
>one of these little lights on every extension to warn people that the
>line is already in use so that they don't pick up the extension.

If I were having this problem, I'd buy some message stoppers.  These
are little boxes you connect in series with answering machines to
disconnect them from the line when someone picks up the phone.  You can
also use them to lock out all the phones when a modem is in use.  This
is better than a light because people can't ignore it; the phones are
dead until the modem hangs up.

The easiest thing to do is install a message stopper on each phone (but
not on the modem).  Depending on your wiring, you might be able to get
away with one message stopper for the whole house (if you are willing
to modify the wiring a bit).  Radio Shack sells them for $8, but you
may be able to find them cheaper elsewhere.
-- 
Bill McFadden    Tektronix, Inc.  P.O. Box 500  MS 58-639  Beaverton, OR  97077
bill@tv.tv.tek.com, ...!tektronix!thd!bill                Phone: (503) 627-6920
"How can I prove I am not crazy to people who are?"