Light up when cell phone rings

How to monitor when your cell phone rings

Here is a cheap and easy way to monitor via Homeseer when your Cell Phone rings while you are at home and have your cell phone sitting on your desk (it can even be in "silent ring" mode).

Purchase one of THESE pens that "light" up when its near a cell phone that is ringing (up to two foot range) from Elston Systems for six bucks (plus shipping).

EDIT 4/8/08: The above pen is not available anymore, but you can get an equivalent product HERE for ten bucks.

Then dig out an X-10 motion detector from your HA supply chest (we all have two or three of these things laying around). I used the X-10 model MS16A for this test.

Tape or use rubber bands and attach the "light" portion of the cell phone detection pen to the motion detector's sensor window as shown in the photograph below. Set the house and unit code of the motion detector as desired.

Set this assembly in a small box so ambient light/heat will not trigger the motion detector, or use black tape and tape the window area.

Create an event in Homeseer to announce that the cell phone is ringing and trigger it on the motion detector's "ON" X-10 command.

Place your cell phone within two feet of the assembly and then test it out. Your event should now trigger when your cell phone rings.

There are some limitations to this methodology though. One is that the pen will light whenever the phone is engaged in a conversation or text messaging. This shouldn't be a problem if perhaps you place a time out on your script after it gets triggered as I doubt once you answer the phone, you would be in range of the pen anyway (sort of an advantage to its limited range). You could also use the motion sensors timed "OFF" command to do this as well.

Also when you first turn your phone on, its "checks" for messages and will light up the pen. Again, shouldn't be a problem if your phone has already been on for a few minutes before you place it against your "box".

Nice thing is it will detect any cell phone so you could have a "staging" area where everyone places their cell phones after they come home.

Not a bad setup for the price of the components involved.

I would like to thank electron for finding this unit and also JohnWPB for suggesting this idea (in THIS thread).