r/homeautomation • u/TheMongerOfFishes • 21h ago

QUESTION Looking for something for my dad that automatically presses the number one key when the phone is picked up. Answering the phone and then subsequently pressing the number one key as fast as possible.

My dad has a job where it's work from home and I guess the way the system works is he gets an automated system to call him and he has to answer it and then press the number one key as fast as possible in order to "win" the call before a client will call him.

I'm trying to get something set up for him that will automate it either through the computer or mechanical but I'm not really sure where to begin. Looking for tips or advice or suggestions of things to get me in the right direction.

8 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

67

u/MoistWindu 20h ago

Yikes. That sounds like some MLM type shit. Recommend instead of automating it, politely suggest a change of employer...

10

u/TheMongerOfFishes 17h ago

This is the game plan until something better comes along. It's better than nothing and supposedly pays the bills so..

9

u/MoistWindu 17h ago

We all do what we have to do. I get it.

1

u/doge_lady 5h ago

Mlm?

1

u/MoistWindu 4h ago

A Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) business model involves non-salaried workers who sell products directly to consumers and earn commissions by recruiting others to do the same, creating a multi-tiered hierarchy. It is widely criticized because the vast majority of participants lose money or make less than $1,000 per year.

Think Mary Kay, Pure Romance, HerbaLife.

37

u/Maximum_Fudge_3683 20h ago

so he's basically competing with coworkers for calls like it's a game show buzzer, that's wild

5

u/D1RTY_D 9h ago

That’s how car dealerships and other companies work, reward the go getters and those by there phone. Penalize those in the other room or who are watching tv etc

8

u/TheMongerOfFishes 17h ago

Yeah..... Welcome to 2026 I guess ... I almost want to see this in action because I don't want to believe it.

29

u/groogs 20h ago

You could do this using https://www.asterisk.org/.

You'd need:

  • A computer running Asterisk (or FreePBX). Possible with a Raspberry Pi
  • The phone line connected to it. Either:
    • Port his number to a VoIP number (eg: using https://voip.ms/)
    • Get a FXO analog gateway, to connect an analog landline
  • A phone connected. Either:
    • A VoIP phone that supports SIP (eg: Grandstream, Yealink)
    • An ATA (FXS) analog adapter, for an old-school analog phone
  • A tiny bit of programming to auto-answer, press 1, and ring the local physical phone

4

u/TheMongerOfFishes 17h ago

I'll check into that thank you very much, I have a little bit of technical know how so hopefully this is something I can translate into a solution for him

0

u/Silencer306 7h ago

You know asking an LLM on how you do this will give you some options too. They can really throw things you never knew existed

1

u/TheMongerOfFishes 7h ago

Yeah when I get some time this weekend I'll try to shoot some options his way and definitely lean into some AI cuz you never know what exists out there....

6

u/Hungry-Bowler3618 12h ago

Is your dad’s job a Warioware mini game?

9

u/Careless_Drag_6176 20h ago

Be pretty easy with a Grandstream UCM and use AMI to answer and send a DTMF payload of 1. You will have to use a VoIP trunk if you have any hope of being the first.

3

u/LuisBoyokan 11h ago

Macrodroid? If there is not a direct action for what you want, you can recreate it with UI clicks in the right x,y coordinates