Telemarketer Battle - Looking For A Electronic Mod/Hack To Play Prerecorded .mp3 Through iPhone To Nix Telemarketers

[Toddson]

Since Apple isn't kind enough, wise enough, thrifty enough or smart enough to include a feature in iPhones that allow you to play a prerecorded message saved as an .mp3 file from your phone on a call from telemarketers I've been trying to think of a hack. Trust me, I'm already on the Do Not Call List since 2003 and have employed all the official measures to stop the calls and have tried various other methods including: hanging up, answering the call and giving them complete silence, not answering and adding the number to my block list (which currently sits at about 1,500 blocked numbers) etc, etc. I do not want to jailbreak the phone. I would rather come up with a simple hack.

I have a .mp3 file of the official "beep boop beep - We're sorry you have a reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service, if you feel you have reached this recording in error please check the number and try your call again". All that I want to do is to be able to play that digital recording through the phone to the caller.

I saw one idea on YouTube where someone bought a little digital recorder with an external speaker built in to it and would play the "this number has been disconnected" message to the caller from the loud speaker of his little pocket recorder/player device. But the caller would also pick up background sound with that method.

I have a bluetooth headset. When that connects to the iPhone I talk through the headset so obviously the iPhone allows external microphones for phone calls. The question is whether there is a way to directly connect a device to that mike line to play a digital message to the caller. Why Apple doesn't allow you to play a .mp3 file over a phone call is beyond me. How simple would that be? They could put the little handy button to play the file in the same live phone call menu that we have now.

I have seen external microphones for the iPhone besides just headsets like in the picture I attached. I was wondering, if you cut the wires from an external microphone and tie those wires to the wires of an aux cord and then connect the aux cord to a little .mp3 player, would that work? Or would an iPhone somehow detect that the microphone line has some type of different signal coming through other than the type of signal than it would be from a microphone and not let it pass through to the caller?

 

[Toddson]

Example four pole to PC adapter:

Pardon our interruption...

I have a technical question. Since the iPhone accepts an input signal from the lapel mic and returns clear audio when the mic is hooked to the iPhone via the TRRS headset buddy splitter at the mic input jack, how come when I hook an mp3 player to the same mic-in jack the sound is very distorted, unclear and un-useable? The biggest difference that I see is that the mic does not have it's own power source and the iPhone is actually powering the mic through the 3.5mm cord. The mp3 player is outputting signal via it's own power to the mic-in jack. Is the iPhone still sending voltage through the cord to the mic-jack as to power a normal mic when I have the mp3 player plugged into it and would that voltage the iPhone is sending through the cord as to power a mic interfering with the self-powered mp3 player signal input? If so, how could you overcome that? Even if I took the wires off of the lapel mic and directly wired the mp3 player output cord to the lapel mic cord, the iPhone would still be sending voltage TO the mp3 player to power a mic whilst the mp3 is sending signal under it's own power.

When I hook that mp3 player up to a regular stereo via the 3.5mm jack cord the audio is crisp and clear. But of course, the stereo is not sending voltage through the cord TO the mp3 player as if to power a mic at the end of it.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

The biggest difference is signal level - the MP3 player output is headphone or "line" level, while the mic input is for microphone level signals - millivolts rather than a volt or more.

The circuit I posted some time back in the thread shows the correct DC isolation to avoid the mic supply voltage being passed to the audio source; a 2K resistor to ground and a series cap, if I remember right?

 

[Toddson]

The biggest difference is signal level - the MP3 player output is headphone or "line" level, while the mic input is for microphone level signals - millivolts rather than a volt or more.

The circuit I posted some time back in the thread shows the correct DC isolation to avoid the mic supply voltage being passed to the audio source; a 2K resistor to ground and a series cap, if I remember right?

You mean this? It's a 5k resistor. And a 1uf capacitor.

I'm a complete novice on making stuff like that. I fixed a couple TV's I owned by replacing bad electrolytic caps on the TV boards before with some YouTube instruction, but I would need specific instructions on the exact items I would need and where to solder the components. I know I would need the 5K and 1uf cap but I don't know about that other stuff I see on that adapter. I'm probably on the wrong forum for that kind of thing.

Where did the picture of that homebrew adapter come from. I'd would need to have a look how that was made to have any hope of making one myself. I would truly like to make one of those and see if it works. I have a decent soldering station.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Sorry, no idea, offhand.

The other parts are just perfboard, sockets and a chopped-up splitter cable, by the look of it?
If looks like the inline through parts are linking the headphone connections to a socket, with the adapter mic cable to the perfboard circuit and a socket for the line input plug.

The 5K pot allows the signal level in to the phone to be adjusted.

 

[Toddson]

Sorry, no idea, offhand.

The other parts are just perfboard, sockets and a chopped-up splitter cable, by the look of it?
If looks like the inline through parts are linking the headphone connections to a socket, with the adapter mic cable to the perfboard circuit and a socket for the line input plug.

The 5K pot allows the signal level in to the phone to be adjusted.

Thanks for the help. I'll do some searching and see if I can find any references to that rig and hopefully instructions on how to make it. It looks like it would work.

EDIT: Looking around I think this HeadsetBuddy Line Level Audio Adapter is equal to the homebrew adapter:

Mic-Line - Line-Level Audio Input Adapter for iPhone & Smartphones

This attenuator cable simply replaces your smartphone's audio signal with line level input allowing you to record on your device as if sound was coming directly from a soundboard or mixer. Get your's today!

www.headsetbuddy.com

PS: I'm basically writing all my posts and post follow-ups as thoroughly-as-possible easy to follow descriptions of specific questions and resolutions to those questions for future non-tech readers like myself who might find this thread looking for similar answers to the same questions that I had. I hope it's not to much of an annoyance. When you're a non-tech you like details

 

[rjenkinsgb]

Looking around I think this HeadsetBuddy Line Level Audio Adapter is equal to the homebrew adapter:

That's not the same, as it does not split out the incoming audio?

 

[Toddson]

That's not the same, as it does not split out the incoming audio?

I was thinking to plug the HeadsetBuddy mic-line-audio-adapter into the mic port of the HeadsetBuddy TRRS splitter. Why wouldn't that work?

iPhone/lightning to 3.5mm jack/HeadsetBuddy TRRS Splitter/mic-line-audio adapter to mic jack of splitter/head phones to headphone jack of splitter

 

[rjenkinsgb]

But surely the two-socket side of the TRRS splitter takes two separate stereo TRS plugs for in and out, so you are back to the mic contact on the line adapter not connecting to anything?

To connect to the splitter mic socket, it would have to be wired to a TRS plug.

 

[Toddson]

But surely the two-socket side of the TRRS splitter takes two separate stereo TRS plugs for in and out, so you are back to the mic contact on the line adapter not connecting to anything?

To connect to the splitter mic socket, it would have to be wired to a TRS plug.

But I connected the lapel mic with a 4 pole jack to that splitter mic port and the mic functioned normally. But aside from that the lapel mic came with a 4 pole to 3 pole adapter. I could used that 4 pole to 3 pole adapter on the end of that line adapter. Wouldn't that work?

 

[rjenkinsgb]

I could used that 4 pole to 3 pole adapter on the end of that line adapter. Wouldn't that work?

That's definitely worth a try!

However; is the "splitter" a mic/headphone separator, or just a socket duplicator??
The ones I posted have different coloured sockets, with moulded in mic & speaker/headphone symbols?

 

[Toddson]

That's definitely worth a try!

However; is the "splitter" a mic/headphone separator, or just a socket duplicator??
The ones I posted have different coloured sockets, with moulded in mic & speaker/headphone symbols?

Yeah, I bought the exact same one from the link that you posted. HeadsetBuddy. And I've ordered the HeadsetBuddy line-level adapter already. It's on the way.

 

[kanepuntz]

"Thank you for calling KQWN anything goes Friday, your on the air" - they usually have know idea what to say

 

[Toddson]

I haven't had any success playing an audio file from an analogue device through the iPhone on a telephone call yet. I've had limited success recording calls to the PC without any electronic blips coming from the iPhone getting onto the recording. All that aside, I have had some great success getting rid of telemarketers. It's been a two pronged solution. First I got this device:

Amazon.com

Cell2Jack relays telephone calls from your cell phone to a landline telephone via bluetooth. After I hooked that up I hooked the Zenith Telemarketer Zapper into the cell2jack unit and then hooked the landline telephone into the zapper. Now I answer every telephone call and if I get a live telemarketer I hit them with the Zenith Call Zapper. They do not call back. The other method I use now is when I answer a call and I get a robo-machine call I keep asking over and over to talk to someone until it hangs up. The scammers using the robocall device never ever personally answer and they do not call back. I'm only getting like 1 telemarketer call every other day now. I have days where I don't get one single telemarketer call or a robo scam caller for an entire day now for the first time in years.

Here's the message on the Zenith Telemarketer Zapper that's been mentioned on the 1st or 2nd page of the thread if anyone is interested in what it sounds like. (they still sell these on Amazon btw):

https://jmp.sh/s/fa61Pr4TgaGPRmWfvEuq

 

[ZipZapOuch]

I haven't had any success playing an audio file from an analogue device through the iPhone on a telephone call yet. I've had limited success recording calls to the PC without any electronic blips coming from the iPhone getting onto the recording. All that aside, I have had some great success getting rid of telemarketers. It's been a two pronged solution. First I got this device:

Amazon.com

Cell2Jack relays telephone calls from your cell phone to a landline telephone via bluetooth. After I hooked that up I hooked the Zenith Telemarketer Zapper into the cell2jack unit and then hooked the landline telephone into the zapper. Now I answer every telephone call and if I get a live telemarketer I hit them with the Zenith Call Zapper. They do not call back. The other method I use now is when I answer a call and I get a robo-machine call I keep asking over and over to talk to someone until it hangs up. The scammers using the robocall device never ever personally answer and they do not call back. I'm only getting like 1 telemarketer call every other day now. I have days where I don't get one single telemarketer call or a robo scam caller for an entire day now for the first time in years.

Here's the message on the Zenith Telemarketer Zapper that's been mentioned on the 1st or 2nd page of the thread if anyone is interested in what it sounds like. (they still sell these on Amazon btw):

https://jmp.sh/s/fa61Pr4TgaGPRmWfvEuq

Keep going, my friend. You'll get them lousy marketers yet. Keep your nose to the grindstone and don't worry about the budget - it will all be worth it in the end.

 

[Papabravo]

I've been answering "AI Phone Butler" with pretty good results. I haven't actually had all that many conversations with any real people and the calling robots appear to be flumoxed.

 

[ZipZapOuch]

I've been answering "AI Phone Butler" with pretty good results. I haven't actually had all that many conversations with any real people and the calling robots appear to be flumoxed.

But it would be so much better if you didn't have to pretend to be an AI, it would be much better if a recorded voice would pretend to be an AI - like the TS wants.

 

[Papabravo]

And yet, for the moment at least, such an elegant solution eludes us. The "a hah" moment could be just around the corner.