Can't hear the phone ring in the shop?

[Mike Cruz]

I have searched high and low for a visual addition to the phone ringing in my shop. My wife just about had enough of not being able to get to me when I'm in there, so she insisted that I find something. It is easy enough to find devices that will flash when the phone rings, but they aren't made for cordless phones. They all seem to plug into the phone somehow. Unfortunately for me, there is no phone line in my shop. My shop is just within wireless reach of the house, so I have a wireless handset out there.

Well, I FOUND THE SOLUTION!!!!

I totally stumbled across it while perusing through the discount section on Grizzly's web site. Here it is: http://www.grizzly.com/outlet/Shop-Flash-/G8590 And best of all, it is on sale for $8.95 !!!!!!!!

Now, I have to say ****THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO BE USED WITH WIRELESS HANDSETS**** But it does work. ;) Here's the scoop. This model has a sensor pick up that you double sticky tape to the bottom of your phone. Well, wired phones are usually very loud, create more vibration, and well, aren't encumbered by a wire and a pick up. Wireless handsets on the other hand would be limited if they had a wire dragging from them...making them no longer wireless.

What I realized is that all you have to do is mount the pick up on the wall riiiiiight behind the speaker on your hand set. This will allow the pick up to "hear" the phone ringing, which activates a flashing strobe (about once a second) and/or an audible ring (depending on whether you choose light only, ringer only, or both).

Hey, for $9 it works great! Thought ya'll might like to know!

Here are some pics of the pick up behind the phone, set right at the speaker.

[Matt Meiser]

Cool idea! That's part of the reason I ran a phone line to the shop this summer. I had reception issues too though.

[Peter Quinn]

What I realized is that all you have to do is mount the pick up on the wall riiiiiight behind the speaker on your hand set. This will allow the pick up to "hear" the phone ringing, which activates a flashing strobe (about once a second) and/or an audible ring (depending on whether you choose light only, ringer only, or both).



So, you have to remember to put the phone back on the carriage after each call? Pretty much rules me out. i would need a strobe that lives on the phone so I could find that.:eek:

[Don Bullock]

Great idea Mike. I have a phone line in my garage. Do you remember any of the strobes that you saw that plug into the phone jack?

[Myk Rian]

I prefer to let the phone answer the stupid sales calls. :)

[Jaze Derr]

pfft, if I'm down in the shop, it means I don't want to be bothered :)

but then, I very rarely answer my phone anyway. I'm not a phone sort of person!

[Mike Cruz]

Good old Amazon.com will get you a million.

[Charlie Stone]

half the reason I go into my shop is so i cant hear my wife calling me ...

[Larry Edgerton]

I had mine wired by a friend so that it does not ring at all. Instead I have an old stoplight that starts going through its cycle changing from red to yellow to green about every ten seconds.

It worked well and is not something that startled me. I get so far off into what I am doing I try to avoid being startled. I cut off one of my fingers, twice, both times from being startled. I started locking my shop door when I am doing something with a risk as people are not smart enough to wait until you are done cutting.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I put my cell phone on vibrate and stick it in my crotch...

After a week, I took my name off the national do not call list ;).

[Myk Rian]

I put my cell phone on vibrate and stick it in my crotch...

After a week, I took my name off the national do not call list ;).

Good one. :D

[Don Bullock]

I had mine wired by a friend so that it does not ring at all. Instead I have an old stoplight that starts going through its cycle changing from red to yellow to green about every ten seconds.

....

That sounds like a great idea. I'll have to look into doing something like that.

[Matt Meiser]

If anyone is looking for a cheap wired solution, I've got a pair of these in my shop:

http://www.parts-express.com/images/item_standard/159-015_s.jpg

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=159-015

They are $2.25 each. Unfortunately unless you find $46.76 more you want there shipping will cost more than a ringer.

I have my home and work line extended out there. The flasher isn't bright enough to get your attention, but the ringer sure is. I wanted the flasher though so I could tell which line was ringing. I just used a wide Sharpie and made a big H and W on them. After work hours, if the W one flashes, I can be almost certain its my wife or daughter calling me. If its H and they are home, I let them get it.

I got over the startled-by-the-phone syndrome when I got a pager back in the late 90's. Nothing like that going off just as you reach into a 480V panel to plug in a programming cable. :eek:

[Marty Paulus]

I don't have that worry. We gave up our land line some time ago. Didn't see the need for both of us to have cell phones and still pay AT&T for a land line. I don't use the crotch method but my phones are very rarely ever off vibe mode. I keep them on my belt and usually don't have a problem 'feeling the vibe';). I can ignore or answer as my activities/mood allow.

[Mike Cruz]

If I had a land line into my shop, the posiblilies would have been endless. I was just so excited to find this one because, while not intended for wireless handsets, it actually CAN work...because it isn't a plug in type.

[Chip Lindley]

My wife just about had enough of not being able to get to me when I'm in there, so she insisted that I find something.

I thot everyone had a cellphone. Any important calls buzz and ring in the bib of my shop overalls. No way I can miss an important call!

As said, I let the answering machine in the house handle all the nusiance calls (which is about all a land line phone is good for these days) Thank Goodness the elections are OVER !!!

[Mike Cruz]

I thot everyone had a cellphone. Any important calls buzz and ring in the bib of my shop overalls. No way I can miss an important call!

As said, I let the answering machine in the house handle all the nusiance calls (which is about all a land line phone is good for these days) Thank Goodness the elections are OVER !!!


Says the man with good cell phone reception in his home/shop...

[Ruhi Arslan]

Not cheap but... (http://www.hearmore.com/store/prodView.asp?idproduct=1150&idstore=6&product=Telestrobe) might fit in your Christmas Stocking socks...;)

[ray hampton]

If you use a light [flashing or not] how can you see it when your back are to it

[Mike Cruz]

Ray, what I noticed is that even with all the shop lights on, when the flash goes off, you see it on all the walls...albeit faintly, but enough that if you didn't catch the flash itself out of the corner of your eye, you might/would see the flash against the walls.

It isn't fool proof, but it certainly has more presence than a ringer that is lower than the sound of machines running.

[ray hampton]

the point well taken, flashing lights of different colors might be easy seen by weak eyes

[Mike Cruz]

I have to say that while you never know what kind of response you'll get to a thread, I was really surprised at the bravado and testosterone that flew. I mean, I know that our shops are our sanctuaries and getaways. I know that many need not be bothered while wwing. But I was taken off guard at how many were flat out against the flashing alarm. I mean, if you are that much against it, why have a phone in your shop to begin with? If you don't need one, or don't want to answer it and don't want to be bothered, then yeah, by all means, unplug it, or turn the ringer off.

I, on the other hand, sometimes need to know that someone is calling. Whether it be an emergency or an awaited call. Unfortunately, I've missed too many. That is why I seeked out one of these devices. That is why I posted this thread. So that any others in my position may be able to solve a problem that they've been facing. Finding one of these devices that works on a hands free set isn't easy.

Sorry, I don't scare like a school girl. I don't jump at the sound at a phone call or the flash of a light. For those of you that do. Lock your doors, turn off the phone, and pay attention! Focus! Phone calls aren't anything to sacrafice a limb over.

For the rest of us...this is a produce that acutally works!

[ray hampton]

I do not know what they cost but the deaf people use a flashing light that is connected to their land line phone

[Mike Cruz]

Yeah, Ray, that was actually part of the reason for my post. I know people that use them. After searching, without a whole lot of luck, I even asked them. The challenge really seemed to be units that are made to be used with wireless handsets. There are a plethera of units that are made to be plugged in/hard wired to the phone, but a wireless handsets. That is why I was so excited to share my find. Even if it wasn't as excitedly recieved...

[Cyrus Brewster 7]

Thanks, I think. My situation exactly with the wife. Sometimes not hearing it was great, but I suppose she has a point. I am picking one up now.

[Peter Quinn]

pfft, if I'm down in the shop, it means I don't want to be bothered :)

but then, I very rarely answer my phone anyway. I'm not a phone sort of person!

LOL. I was thinking that same thing. When I read the title of this post I thought" Oh, thank god, a place to get some peace!" My cell phone rings in my shop, and it vibrates like a small jack hammer, so my wife can reach me. Everyone else gets to enjoy the IGNORE feature.

[Dave Wagner]

I used to have one in my garage, an old radio shack "Phone Flasher", I know they have been around for at least 20 years, I think that is how old the one I had. Reminds me, I might still have it buried in a box somewhere.... :)

If you do a google search on "Phone Flasher", there are many different ones available from $10-$500, depending on what you need. Some units you can hook any incandescent lamp into them and they will turn it off and on when the phone rings.

[Mike Cruz]

Okay, Peter. You just shed a little light on this for me... At first my reaction to peoples' posts were greeted with a head tilt. But now, I understand that maybe my title wasn't clear and folks were expecting a different sort of thread...a sanctuary type story. That makes sense...

[ray hampton]

Mike,I think that this post have help everybody understand that they are not alone with their hearing problems

[Don Bullock]

I used to have one in my garage, an old radio shack "Phone Flasher", I know they have been around for at least 20 years, I think that is how old the one I had. Reminds me, I might still have it buried in a box somewhere.... :) ....

Great idea. I was hoping someone would come up with one that I could get without paying shipping. Thanks. With the unit Matts found the shipping is more that the item. The one that Ruhi found looks great, but way too much for my taste.

Actually I'm a lot like Jaze and Peter. I usually don't answer the phone when I'm home, but sometimes it is necessary especially if I'm the only one home and we're expecting a call. Cell phone reception is not great in my shop so the land line is necessary.

[Mike Shields]

Maybe something like this:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/[IMG]http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj44/BigMike1911/batphone_1.jpg[IMG]http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj44/BigMike1911/batphone_1.jpg

And in actual use:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FTLD6idBjA

[George Neill]

I trained my dog to come and alert me to the phone if I had my ear defenders on and didn't respond to it after about five rings. He would gently paw me on the leg and then sit and howl until I acknowledged him. He never once responded to the phone in the house, just the shop.

[Jim O'Dell]

Don, try Radio Shack, oops I guess they now what to be called The Shack. Must be a Prince thing.:rolleyes: I bet they still carry the plug in units.
I have an outdoor ringer on the side of the house that isn't working. I need to take it apart and see if it is usable.
Oh, and I am one that doesn't have a cell phone. Don't want one. If I'm away from the phone, it's because I want to be. I do keep a cordless in the shop for safety in case I do something stupid and need help. There is a light on the antenna that flashes when it rings. I can sometimes hear it ring even with ear protection on, but not always. Jim.

[Mike Cruz]

That would be The Store Formerly Known As Radio Shack. :D Maybe the more appropiate one would be The Store Formerly Known As Circuit City...:eek: