12V Powered Answering Machine?? What kind??
Question:
12V Powered Answering Machine?? What kind?? Who is running a typical answering machine from 12V in an off-the-grid home?? I need to find a brand that definitely works, and is low standby power for use on a small PV system. The one unit we tried seems to depend on the electrical isolation from its ‘usual’ 12V "Wall Wart" 12oVAC power supply. When driven from 12VDC with negative ground, it causes loud noise on the phone due to unbalancing the phone line. A similar borrowed 9V answering machine works fine, but is a power hog with tape recording etc. I would like to find a modern low-standby-power answering machine (digital I expect) that someone knows works OK on a 12V grounded system. BEFORE I buy one that doesn’t work!! If anyone has actually MEASURED the standby current on one, I’d like to know what you saw. Current COULD be low, but probably this is not a design consideration on systems that plug into the wall. I’ll post back what we come up with. THANKS! Terry King …In The Woods In Vermont
Response:
What you need to do is find one with a wall-wart thas has an output of 12V DC or less.If less than 12V you will need a small voltage regulator to run it from 12V. If you want a plan fora Voltage regulator I can email one to you OTOH I can supply you with a reg ready to go. George – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > 12V Powered Answering Machine?? What kind?? > Who is running a typical answering machine > from 12V in an off-the-grid home?? I need > to find a brand that definitely works, and > is low standby power for use on a small PV system. > The one unit we tried seems to depend on the > electrical isolation from its ‘usual’ 12V > "Wall Wart" 12oVAC power supply. When driven > from 12VDC with negative ground, it causes > loud noise on the phone due to unbalancing > the phone line. > A similar borrowed 9V answering machine works > fine, but is a power hog with tape recording > etc. > I would like to find a modern low-standby-power > answering machine (digital I expect) that someone > knows works OK on a 12V grounded system. BEFORE > I buy one that doesn’t work!! > If anyone has actually MEASURED the standby current > on one, I’d like to know what you saw. Current > COULD be low, but probably this is not a design > consideration on systems that plug into the wall. > I’ll post back what we come up with. > THANKS! > Terry King …In The Woods In Vermont
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> 12V Powered Answering Machine?? What kind?? > Who is running a typical answering machine > from 12V in an off-the-grid home?? I need > to find a brand that definitely works, and > is low standby power for use on a small PV system. > The one unit we tried seems to depend on the > electrical isolation from its ‘usual’ 12V > "Wall Wart" 12oVAC power supply. When driven > from 12VDC with negative ground, it causes > loud noise on the phone due to unbalancing > the phone line. > A similar borrowed 9V answering machine works > fine, but is a power hog with tape recording > etc. > I would like to find a modern low-standby-power > answering machine (digital I expect) that someone > knows works OK on a 12V grounded system. BEFORE > I buy one that doesn’t work!! > If anyone has actually MEASURED the standby current > on one, I’d like to know what you saw. Current > COULD be low, but probably this is not a design > consideration on systems that plug into the wall. > I’ll post back what we come up with. > THANKS! > Terry King …In The Woods In Vermont
Have you considered using an answering service? Our telco offers an answering service for $4 a month. Biggest advantage of this is that it works even if our (radio) phone is turned off. If we pick up our handset and there are any messages, the dial tone is different. Call a number, press a key, and the messages are played back. Press other keys to change your outgoing message etc. It works well, and makes for one less idle load wasting juice. For another 50 cents, we have "call forward busy" service. This redirects calls when our line is busy. Messages are recorded by the "Call Wave" service (free), which downloads the messages onto our computer if we’re on line. Very handy for those who only have one phone line. Wayne
Response:
: The one unit we tried seems to depend on the : electrical isolation from its ‘usual’ 12V : "Wall Wart" 12oVAC power supply. When driven : from 12VDC with negative ground, it causes : loud noise on the phone due to unbalancing : the phone line. The obvious solution of course is give it its own battery pack. Of course, you don’t want that in your system. The only other recourse is try different brands of answering machines until you find one that you can use in your system. Of course, that can be a pain and costly. In some cases special critical loads are best served by an auxiliary system, not the main system. A good example is a blackout-proof alarm clock. This is a "critical" type load, and you don’t want to lose it when your main system drops the load. A load drop can occur in a marathon blackout, as of course your battery pack is discharged. This problem occurs in systems designed for nuisance blackouts during a marathon blackout. How critical do you consider your answering machine? I consider the alarm clock to be mission-critical to have warranted its own separate system, designed for marathon blackouts while the main system is for nuisance blackouts. Oddly, I can think of one use for an answering machine and blackouts. I own a fax machine, and it’s not blackout-proof. I thought of taking my old answering machine and rig it to run _only_ during blackouts to tell anyone to fax me later! In the mean time, a fax or answering machine that is not blackout-proof means you can monitor power at home while at work! A few months ago, I endured a marathon blackout and I used this property of the fax machine to find out when power came back on. There is an advantage to be had with SOMETHING not blackout-proofed! — FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 100 calories are used up in the course of a mile run. The USDA guidelines for dietary fibre is equal to one ounce of sawdust. The liver makes the vast majority of the cholesterol in your bloodstream.
Response:
: Have you considered using an answering service? Our telco offers an : answering service for $4 a month. Biggest advantage of this is that it works : even if our (radio) phone is turned off. If we pick up our handset and there : are any messages, the dial tone is different. Call a number, press a key, : and the messages are played back. Press other keys to change your outgoing : message etc. It works well, and makes for one less idle load wasting juice. I used to have voice mail. I HATED it. I got mostly junk calls. I intentionally use a fax machine to cause telemarketers to put my number into their killfile, which they buy, sell, and trade, like spammers. To reach me, you either call my beeper (sans voice mail too) or send me a fax. I no longer accept voice calls due to telemarketer abuse of my phone line. — FOOD FOR THOUGHT: 100 calories are used up in the course of a mile run. The USDA guidelines for dietary fibre is equal to one ounce of sawdust. The liver makes the vast majority of the cholesterol in your bloodstream.
Response:
I prefer voice mail from the phone company. better reliability, and can handle busy, and multiple callers. — — Steve Spence Subscribe to the Renewable Energy Newsletter: http://www.webconx.com/subscribe.htm Renewable Energy Pages – http://www.webconx.com Palm Pilot Pages – http://www.webconx.com/palm X10 Home Automation – http://www.webconx.com/x10 (212) 894-3704 x3154 – voicemail/fax We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. —
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> 12V Powered Answering Machine?? What kind?? > Who is running a typical answering machine > from 12V in an off-the-grid home?? I need > to find a brand that definitely works, and > is low standby power for use on a small PV system. > The one unit we tried seems to depend on the > electrical isolation from its ‘usual’ 12V > "Wall Wart" 12oVAC power supply. When driven > from 12VDC with negative ground, it causes > loud noise on the phone due to unbalancing > the phone line. > A similar borrowed 9V answering machine works > fine, but is a power hog with tape recording > etc. > I would like to find a modern low-standby-power > answering machine (digital I expect) that someone > knows works OK on a 12V grounded system. BEFORE > I buy one that doesn’t work!! > If anyone has actually MEASURED the standby current > on one, I’d like to know what you saw. Current > COULD be low, but probably this is not a design > consideration on systems that plug into the wall. > I’ll post back what we come up with. > THANKS! > Terry King …In The Woods In Vermont
Response:
Uh, how about a WIND-UP alarm clock for those mission-critical applications?? — Regards, Terry King …In The Woods In Vermont
Response:
For "CRITICAL SITUATIONS " I would suggest an "ATOMIC CLOCK" RADIO SHACK sells battery operated clocks that ARE radio stabilized via WWV , automatically set to daylight times etc. Around $30.00 Regards H.G.
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Uh, how about a WIND-UP alarm clock for those > mission-critical applications?? > — > Regards, > Terry King …In The Woods In Vermont
