Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!mks!wheels
From: wheels@mks.UUCP (Gerry Wheeler)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Telephone Pickup Devices
Message-ID: <865@mks.UUCP>
Date: 1 May 89 22:25:02 GMT
References: <3412@ddsw1.MCS.COM>
Organization: Mortice Kern Systems, Waterloo, Ont.
Lines: 19

In article <3412@ddsw1.MCS.COM>, benfeen@ddsw1.MCS.COM (Ben Feen) writes:
> I recently purchased a $2.00 telephone pickup and discovered that it
> refused to take audio signals.  How do these things work ?

They are just a coil of wire.  The idea is that they get placed next to
the electromagnet in the earpiece of the handset and get a voltage
induced into them.  However, in recent years, the phones have been using
a more shielded speaker, so not enough magnetism leaks out to be picked
up.  This is also a problem for people with hearing aids with inductive
telephone pickups. 

You could try locating an older style earpiece to use in your handset. 
You could try getting an older one from the phone company -- they have
them around for people who have the above-mentioned hearing aids. 
-- 
     Gerry Wheeler                           Phone: (519)884-2251
Mortice Kern Systems Inc.               UUCP: uunet!watmath!mks!wheels
   35 King St. North                             BIX: join mks
Waterloo, Ontario  N2J 2W9                  CompuServe: 73260,1043