telephone taps

[jatb51]

Is there a device that I can use to tap into the phone line of an office where we're shooting and be able to record conversations on the different lines at any time? It would be recording just one conversation at a time.
Thanks
James

[Bondelev]

Believe it or not, Radio Shack makes one. Also if you have Marantz PMD cassette deck, it has a telephone interface on it.

[jayrose]

Rolls makes one, and if you're real cheap you can build one for under $5, with no soldering. (Instructions are in both my books, http://www.dplay.com/book.)

But be aware that analog phone systems have the local voice some 10 dB or more hotter than the distant one. The only way around that is a hybrid, which gets a lot more complex... and wouldn't work in your application.

If the office's phone system is digital, forget it. Look on the bottom of a phone. If there's a Ringer Equivalent Number or REN stamped somewhere, it's analog. If you don't see that, it's digital.

[jbigwood]

If you happen to be in an environment where the phone system is digital, JK Audio makes a product called the THAT-2 (Telephone Handset Audio Tap) which may help. The THAT-2 box connects between the telephone and the handset and enables you to get audio in and out of most digital phone systems. The inputs and outputs can be either RCA or XLR connectors.

Jim Bigwood
Maryland Public Television