Poor Man's Music On-Hold 1

[Kinneman]

Hello Everyone-

If your customer (or you) is/are looking for a really cheap way to play music on-hold, here's how I did it.

Parts:
1. Used Motorola Flip phone (model W755). $20.00 ebay.

2. Motorola Power Supply (came with phone).

3. 2.5mm Right Angle Stereo Jack to Twin Phono Plugs Cable. $3.31 ebay.
( ebay auction# 191019823516 )

4. 4gb Micro SD Card (goes inside phone) with SD Card Adapter. $4.33 ebay.
( ebay auction# 291272781416 )

Total cost - under $30.00. You may have an old flip phone laying around already. Just make sure it has an audio jack, a micro SD card slot and a repeat function for music.

To get started:
Put the music and/or messages on the Micro SD card using a computer. You must use MP3 file format. If you know how - reduce the MP3 file sizes to mono (uses half the space and pushes less signal through the phone lines).

Remove the battery from the W755 phone (and leave it out). (you don't want to leave that charging endlessly in a phone closet).

Put the Micro SD Card into the jack inside the battery compartment of the W755 phone.

Plug the power cord into the W755 phone and also plug the other end into your UPS or AC plug.

***Don't plug in the audio cable yet - you want to make sure this is working***

Turn the phone on by pressing the RED "End Call" button. (Phone will start up).
Once the phone is up and running, turn off the phone's transmitter. To do that, use the menu to go to "Settings & Tools" then choose "Phone Settings" then choose "Standalone Mode" - and enable this mode. This shuts off the phone part of the phone. (Press the RED "End Call" button to return to the main screen."

Enable Speaker Phone mode by pressing (and hold a few seconds) the chrome button on the left side of phone - last button towards the bottom of phone). It will say it's enabled in the display.

Now, let's play music:
Using the phone's menu system, choose "Media Center" and then choose "Music & Tunes" and then choose "My Music." The phone should read the micro sd card now, and will then show the "My Music" screen. From this screen, choose "Play All" - the music will start.

Press the "UP" volume button (the chrome button on the top left side of the phone) and hold it til the volume is all the way up. You should be hearing music now playing through the speaker phone. If not - troubleshoot until you do.

Repeating Music: On the phone keypad area, press the top left button to enable "Repeat." The phone will now play music forever - or until it is stopped by you or a power failure.

Now, plug the audio cable into the phone's headset jack (Right side bottom of phone) and plug the BLACK jack on the other end of the cable into the Music On-Hold jack. The phone processor should have a volume control next to the MOH jack - turn this music volume control up about midway.

You should have music on-hold now.

Turn off the phone's speaker phone by pressing the chrome button on the left bottom side of the phone - same button that enabled Speaker Phone mode. It toggles this feature on and off. (hold it a few seconds until you get confirmation in the phone's display).

You can now close the flip phone and find a place to put it. I found a belt clip and used it to clip the phone to the side of the Phone system carrier.

If the customer looses power, the music will stop - so I recommend the phone be plugged into a UPS. If the phone system is not already on a UPS, this would be a good selling point to get the customer to buy one and protect the phone system from surges and spikes. You could also leave the phone's battery in which would give you a battery backup, but the few times I've heard about cell phone battery fires is enough that I choose to leave the battery out.

I know this sounds very complicated but it's not. Once you learn the buttons on the phone, this is really very easy to do and very easy to restart music. Most of us that use these phones already know how to use the music capability. I suggested "Standalone Mode" because people will feel safer working around the phone if they know it's not unnecessarily locked onto the nearest cell tower.

I didn't list the phone auction because those come and go - the cable and SD card auctions are selling more than one and should be around a while.

Any questions? I'd be glad to help.

 

[meyer1y2k]

Innovative and would save space in the closet.

You are aware that using copyrighted music (radio, CD, MP 3, etc.) is considered a rebroadcast for commercial purposes and can draw unwanted attention from ASCAP? The "phone police" won't necessarily come after you the minute you connect that radio but we do get the occasional customer that has a letter from ASCAP informing them they can be subject to civil action.

 

[EmuDan]

Check with Mood Media (Link)..formerly Muzak, and see what they have to offer.

Dan

I blame Avaya.

 

[Kinneman]

My honest intention was to help someone replacing failed hardware with a cheap alternative if they wanted a budget solution - not to enable or encourage using music illegally. "Legal" music for on-hold use is widely available - just search "royalty free music" and you 'll find source for it.

 

[meyer1y2k]

@ Kinneman - You would be surprised how many people that should be, are not aware of this. My only intention was to educate, not to discourage. I apologize if I gave that impression. I have seen some businesses or been asked about this because they get a letter from ASCAP. Based on your post you obviously know the score and more kudos to you.

I admire the innovation shown and this can breath new life into a piece of equipment that would be otherwise tossed in the garbage. ~ Mike

 

[Dexman]

I think that law applies only to commercial applications. For residential use you should be able to rebroadcast music without any problems.

I "FEATURE 00"

http://dexman.webs.com/

 

[Kinneman]

No offense taken Meyer1y2k. Just wanted to clarify my post. It's all good.