Gone are the days of actually “punching” in the number. And gone are the days of angrily slamming down the phone, or even thoughtfully placing it on the kitchen counter for your mom to pick up (it was for her!). For better or worse, we’ve largely traded in those clunky devices for sleek smartphones that don’t encourage the same kind of playfulness. But what if we could preserve a bit of that fun and rescue some tech from obsolescence in the process?

During this workshop, we will focus on the creative reuse of the common office phone and keypad console dock. Found in abundance at recycling centers and dumps, these devices are easy to repurpose as musical instruments with a few “hardware hacks.” First, we will rewire the phone, using the speaker component as a microphone to produce that unmistakable crunchy, lo-fi sound. Next, we will build a 9V battery adapter to power the keypad console and add a ¼” audio output to amplify and effect the multi-toned synth engine that produces the dial beeps.

By the end of the workshop, each participant will leave with a completed Beep Phone: a working phone mic, and a corresponding keypad synth powered by a 9V battery - each with its own audio output.

Part 1: Building the phone mic

Using the telephone’s cable only, we will solder a ¼” audio jack to the signal and ground wires of the speaker component, turning it into a microphone. This is a classic audio hardware hacker’s project.

Part 2: Building the keypad synth

The main hurdle to jump when reusing keypad consoles is powering them up. They use outdated RJ11 modem-to-wall jacks, which, in most apartments, don't work anymore. To circumvent this issue, we can instead make a hacked 9V battery power cable to directly turn on the console without plugging it into the wall. Once turned on, we can use the keypad for the multi-toned synth beeps it produces by adding a ¼” audio output jack into the side of the console, allowing us to connect it to effect boards, amplifiers, or audio interfaces.

The Disengineering Society is a musical hardware hacking collective and a publisher of educational materials. Their textbooks go hand-in-hand with their widely offered hardware hacking workshops that emphasize chaos, radical collaboration, electronic screeches, and a devout commitment to combating “planned obsolescence”. Common byproducts of a Disengineering workshop include strange, unpredictable, totally unique electronic musical instruments, new friends, and a renewed sense of technological agency.

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