VOIP Tech Chat → Automatic Phone-Line Switch for SAT Box CallerID &2 line ATA

I have an ATA with two analog lines out.

I currently have one of the lines plugged into my Sat Box and enjoy the on-screen Caller-ID that means I don't have to scramble to grab a phone if it's an unwanted call.

What I'd like to do is hook up an Automatic Phone-Line Switch, so the Caller ID from both lines can be sent to the SAT box for on screen display.

I don't care what line is present for outbound calls, as the PVR is Ethernet connected and all I care to send to the box is the Caller ID for both lines. :D

Radio Shack made what appears to be the perfect device back in 1997, that was marketed to share an answering machine with two lines.
Obviously, it's no longer available for sale anywhere, but here is the datasheet:

hxxp://support.radioshack.com/support_phones/doc64/64199.pdf
 

quote:

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OPERATION
Set your answering system so it is ready to answer calls.
If a call comes in on line 1, the phone-line switch connects the
answering system to line 1. If another call comes in on line 2,
the caller on line 2 will continue to hear ringing until the answer-ing
system finishes taking the message on line 1. Then the
phone-line switch will automatically switch the answering sys-tem over to line 2 so it can answer the second call.
If a call comes in on line 2 and the answering system is not
busy, it will be switched immediately to line 2 to answer the ring-ing
line.
When two lines are ringing at the same time, the line that began ringing
first has priority.
Notes:
• If your answering system has a switch that lets you choose
the number of rings before the system answers, set the
switch to the minimum position.
• The phone-line switch is used for selecting
which incoming calls to answer. If you are using the phone-line switch with a telephone, you cannot use it to select the line for outgo-ing calls.

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I am mentally thinking of needing to solder a toggling relay that will switch using the ring current of the first ring, but will it be fast enough to have the SAT box "see" the first ring and then capture the Caller ID data, if the relay is on the wrong line. A schematic of a solution would be welcome as well.

I searched the forum, and I think I'm the first to ever contemplate this one.

Why bother to spend all your time hacking out a box that can ONLY do a single task while you can simply build a Digital PBX System that can do more and also help you resolve the issue? All you need is to configure your PBX System to ring any incoming calls to two extensions, i.e. any regular extension + a designated extension. Then, configure the line on your ATA device connected to your SAT Box as the designated extension to your PBX System. This way, whenever there is an incoming call, the designated extension will ring and your SAT Box will be able to detect the incoming CID to show on your TV screen while the other regular extension that is supposed to ring will also ring. As an option, you may also wanna configure your PBX System so that you can pick up any other extension to answer any incoming calls. This way, you can put an extension phone next to your couch and configure it not to ring, but just for your convenience to pick up to intercept an incoming call.

I was trying to avoid buying another ATA device for a third line, and then also needing a switch for it, as my router has every Ethernet port in use.

I contemplated doing that and adding both numbers to the same ring group.

I was hoping for a much simpler solution than that.

It sounded like you have no idea what a PBX System is and what you can do with it using your existing ATA device.If you think a DIY project to build a hardware box that you don't even know will work is simpler then go for it. Good luck.

Not every VoIP user on the planet wants (or needs) to have an IP PBX at home.

If the LAN port of your ATA is available, you should be able to connect another ATA there. I don't know whether the 1005 can be set as a bridge (rather than a router), but even if not, double NAT should not be a problem for a device registered to VoIP.ms.

If you really want to do this in homebrew hardware, IMO a simple way is with a DPDT relay, which when operated, would switch the PVR from the primary to the secondary line. If you steal power from the ATA's adapter to operate the relay, a 12 volt coil would be suitable. Have the secondary line's ringing voltage charge a capacitor, e.g. half-wave doubler configuration, with a voltage divider driving the base (or gate) of a transistor that controls the relay. Set the time constant so the relay stays operated for a couple of seconds after ringing stops, so the caller ID signal will pass. One minor shortcoming of this approach is that if you are on the primary line when a call comes in on the secondary, you will likely hear a "pop" when ringing stops and the relay reconnects the PVR to the primary line.

On the same connotation, not every traditional telephone users wants to migrate to VoIP services, too.

Right ON