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[tickmike]

How To Ring External Phone Bell ?.

Now I have a land line phone in my workshop, is there any way to ring the phone bell from the house phone ? so my wife can call me, to say  lunch is ready  etc. .

I have another spare pair that goes to the workshop.

[burakkucat]

Perhaps make use of the current-day equivalent of the "faults-man's ring-back"?

From the house phone, call 17070 and take the relevant menu option. Clear down. All phones will then "ring". From your workshop, pick up the phone and then clear down to terminate the ring-back.

[tickmike]

Yes that's the only way I could think of.

[tickmike]

How much current could I take from the 50V phone line before I get problems 

I have got plenty of old phones, some antique, some have buttons on the top .

If I modify two phones with these push button switches on the top and fit inside (or outside ) a  piezoelectric  sounder with suitable series resistors.

I could use the spare pair to the workshop and wire it up so that it sounds the piezo .

Lift house phone off cradle dial 1 or press cradle switch to get rid of the dial tone, press push button on house phone this will ring the workshop piezo (buzzer) then I should be able to use the two phones as an intercom, it should work the other way around eg workshop buzz house phone.
The two modified phone would still make external calls and receive them (I hope) 

[burakkucat]

I think that the modern day exchanges limits the current flowing through the pair to a maximum of 40 mA. 

[npr]

I remember in my dial up days, if I accidentally used a 4 wire modem cable it would cause all the extension phones in the house to ring. Not sure how it worked but IIRC the two extra wires were connected to ground at the modem.
Is the answer as simple as putting the bell wire to earth? And I'm not sure BT would approve.

[4candles]

If the shed phone is a modern-ish one with an electronic 'warbler' type bell ---

Using a socket doubler in the house, and a spare telephone line cord, rig up some way of temporarily shorting pins 2 and 3, or if the line's reversed, possibly 3 and 5.

Some years ago, before acquiring a cordless phone system, I used this method as a doorbell.   

[HPsauce]

I have another spare pair that goes to the workshop.

I have a spare pair to my garage, some distance from the house and next to the veg patch.

I just fitted up a cheap and simple battery-powered intercom bought from Maplins. You can "buzz" and talk through it as required.

[lemzip]

whatsapp, facetime etc etc?