Cellular Network Shield

Hi,

I’m looking for a Cellular Network Shield for a project which I’ll probably pair up with an Arduino Uno, I’m new to Arduino. I do have a reasonable electronics understanding.

I may also pair up with an LED array kit (It’s for use in a recording studio so I don’t want an audible ring.)

I really only need voice send/receive ability (regular old telephone calls)

With the shutting down of the 3G Network in Australia being likely to only be a couple of years off, I’d like to get something that will continue to work in this project or if I should choose to repurpose it

Any info would be much appreciated.

Cheers

Sam

Hi Sam,

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you! Voice is actually a bit of a tricky thing to find in Arduino shields, as most applications need data but not audio. There are a few options in GPRS/GSM, but unfortunately the 2G networks in Australia have all been shutdown.

The closest I could find is this:

But it doesn’t seem like it’s available.

What are you intending to use it for? You might be better off going with WiFi if possible, or hacking a cheap phone.

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Hey Oliver,

No worries, thanks for getting in touch!

It’s for a bit of a quirky project. I have an old dial telephone I wanted to rig up to work on the cellular network. I have a home studio and wanted to have a phone that has a light as an alert rather than a ringer so people can call ahead rather than interrupting sessions in progress. In the future I might incorporate a wireless “ON AIR” switch as well as an intercom type setup so I can be contacted/communicate that way as well - once again avoiding disruption to any recording that may be in progress. I may however, treat those other options as a seperate project on some sort of closed wireless system

While I could use a regular mobile phone on silent, I don’t really like having my phone in the studio, it’s a bit of a distraction and it looks better to clients, you’re giving them all your attention.

I might have to hang out and wait for the Voice Shield Kit you suggested but maybe I’ll look into options for the other part of the project.

Thank you!

Hi Sam,

I’d suggest considering turning the old phone into a customer Bluetooth handsfree kit. You could just pull apart an off the shelf one, or use a bluetooth module that supports HFP like this one:

Check out Example 2:

That way you’ll still get the same effect (you could even get a dedicated phone to pair it with that sits in the studio, without needing to mess around with LTE.
Have a look at this for some inspiration:

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Hey Oliver,

That’s cool, nice lateral thinking!

I’ll look into it!

Cheers

Sam

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