Pics of hacking a cordless phone system for Comms.

So I just hacked the Panasonic DECT 6.0 plus base station to make the phones work out in the wilds as a PL system so I can communicate with operators. I just mimicked what I saw the Freefly guys doing, and here are a few pics of how it all worked out. For the record, I am not an engineer, and you do all this at your own risk.

Cordless phone sets need a "base station" in order for them to work as comms between the handsets. Normally the base station is in your home plugged into the wall at the main phone. Here I dismantled that main base station and put the guts in a small plastic box that can be slipped in a pocket or velcroed to the Tx rig if you like.

Here's the base station before:




It's not really production friendly in this form. It needs 110v AC power, it's big, and there's nowhere to put it. Luckily, the guts that make it work are pretty small. Four screws and it's open; I just clipped off the red and black leads that charge the handset. (I bought a 3-handset kit, so I have the other two handset chargers.)




So then I tested it out with battery power. The AC power supply said 6.5v, but I wanted to power it with AA batteries, which I haven't had to buy in 10 years (thanks, Baldsound!). So, I took a gamble and tried to power it with 5x AA's, which is actually over 8v with fresh lithiums. 4x AA's would have only been 6v. Most simple electronics can take a little extra juice over their ideal power without frying anything, but this was a gamble. The advantage of using slightly higher voltage is that the batteries should last longer before the base station shuts down due to insufficient voltage. I cut the gray power plug/wire off of the main power supply, and then I bought all the other parts at my local Fry's Electronics. This was my setup just to see if it worked and no sizzling smoke appeared...



Success (at least for the few minutes I left it plugged it). I also cut the green and yellow leads that go to the never-to-exist-in-my-house phone jack, and put some heat-shrink pieces over all the bare wire ends to keep anything from shorting.

So now, what to house this all in? I found an old jewelry box for cuff links that was the perfect size:



Stripped off all the velvet and padding, trimmed a little notch for the female power connector, and slid it in.





I soldered and heat-shrinked the AA battery holders in series and to the gray power plug, closed the box up, and gaff taped it around for a professional look! Attached the AA holders to the top of the box with double-stick tape, and Bob was my uncle.





I've tested this setup out for around a half hour, and so far so good. All is working, and no puffs of smoke yet.

Thanks to Tabb and the Seattle crew for the great idea on how to communicate in real time between operators!

This is the Amazon link to the kit I bought:
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KX-...1382928031&sr=8-3&keywords=panasonic+dect+6.0

Ben.

 

Yes, I use headsets with these (2.5mm), and you are not limited to 2 devices. I bought the 3-handset kit, but only really plan on using 2, and having the 3rd as a backup or for the focus puller. I knew I was going to cannibalize one charger with the hack job, so I bought the 3. You can buy a set with like 7 handsets if you wanted.

The range seems to be fine in preliminary tests. Well within the range of the Teradek Tx and wireless follow focus, so I should be fine. I wasn't trying to replace production walkies; just give the 2-3 M10 ops a way to talk unhindered.

And yes, they do come with very cheap looking belt clips that I expect to have to replace very soon.

 

That's the word. So far 3 work together just fine.
bh

 

Absolutely. I can't see a reason why it wouldn't. Looks a little bulky though.