How to Convert a Telephone Into an Intercom

By April Kohl

You can use any kind of telephone as an intercom.
i Telephone Intercom Cable Station image by Charlie Rosenberg from Fotolia.com

An intercom is a modified telephone system in which users need not dial one another in order to make a connection. If you have a set of old telephones collecting dust around the house, you can put them to good use by assembling your own intercom, for use at home or in the office, with minimal fuss.

Strip the insulating cover from a two-inch section of the telephone extension cable, around three to four inches from one end. Cut the red wire inside the cable in the center of the stripped area. Strip the insulation from the ends of the cut wire. Solder one end of the cut wire to a terminal on the battery connector. It does not matter which way around the connector is soldered, telephone lines are bidirectional.

Strip the insulation from the ends of your two-inch piece of wire. Solder one end of this wire to the other terminal on the battery connector. Solder the other end of the wire to one end of the 680-ohm resistor. Solder the other end of the resistor to the spare end of the red wire you cut in the telephone extension cable.

Strip the insulation from both ends of the telephone extension cable and wire one end to the first telephone socket. Wire the other end to the other telephone socket. Plug a telephone into each telephone socket. Attach your battery to the battery connector, to power the circuit. Lift the receiver on both telephones to complete the circuit and activate the intercom.

×