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POTSBox

The Vintage Telephone Exchange you actually dial. Every extension is a live AI service or a real phone line. Make Vintage Phones Work Again!

jesse-taylerJesse Tayler
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PotsBox — a telephone exchange that answers with an AI voice all your own.

An Operator transfers your calls. Make vintage phones come alive — a rotary phone, a candlestick without a dial, a payphone — pick up the handset, and dial.

Somewhere between a 1950s switchboard and modern AI lives PotsBox.

https://pots-box.org

Every extension is your own little world. Dial and a horoscope reader takes the line. Dial another for WRKO weather, or trivia, or the Operator, who'll patch you through to a real phone in the house — "ring the kitchen" and the kitchen phone rings.

Some extensions are AI services that talk back; others are actual phones on actual desks. The exchange doesn't care which; it just connects you.

It's fun, and funny. Kids love it. Have Thomas Jefferson answer at 1776, dial a magic 8-Ball or a story line that knows your kid's names.

Grandstream HT801 and the others in the series start ~$30 and are all excellent ATAs https://www.amazon.com/Grandstream-HT801-Fast-Ethernet-Version/dp/B0DPZSNL8K


Mango is a nice WIFI enabled adaptor if you do not have Ethernet

https://www.amazon.com/GL-iNET-GL-MT300N-V2-Repeater-300Mbps-Performance/dp/B073TSK26W/ref=sr_1_1

C*NET is a wonderful global community that POTSBox supports

https://www.ckts.info/

  • 1
    Getting started

    All you need is a classic analog phone and an ATA box. Analog Telephone Adaptor basically translates your phone into TCP/IP and puts your on the Net! 

  • 2
    Make Your Account

    You create an account on  https://pots-box.org/  and list the lines you have. PotsBox will give you the SIP credentials and you'll see your phones register. 

  • 3
    Enjoy!

    Now, you can pick up and dial the Operator, find services in a Yellow Pages library and dial other phones. Easy!

View all 3 instructions

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