A speakerphone is a

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

with a

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...

and

loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or ...

provided separately from those in the

handset A handset is a component of a telephone that a user holds to the ear and mouth to receive audio through the receiver and speak to the remote party using the built-in transmitter. In earlier telephones, the transmitter was mounted directly on ...

. This device allows multiple persons to participate in a conversation. The loudspeaker broadcasts the voice or voices of those on the other end of the telephone line, while the microphone captures all voices of those using the speakerphone. The term speakerphone is also sometimes used for ''loudspeaker'', as in "put it on speakerphone". Many telephones have an integrated speakerphone function which can be activated by pushing a single button. This button transfers the sound input and output from the handset to the ambient microphone and loudspeaker. Devices designed specifically for speakerphone use often have multiple microphone inputs arranged radially around the device to maximize sound input, such as may occur around a conference table. The most sophisticated units allow the connection of additional ''satellite'' microphones that can be placed some distance from the main unit.

Types of speakerphones

Speakerphones may be broadly divided into two classes of Duplex: * Half-duplex * Full-duplex Half-duplex speakerphones only allow sound to travel in one direction at a time, either: 1) into the speakerphone from the telephone line and out of its internal speaker to its user, or 2) from its user, into the microphone, and out through the telephone line. While the users of the speakerphone are speaking, the phone only transmits sound to the telephone line; its internal speaker is cut off and no sound arriving from the telephone line can be heard by the user. While the user of the speakerphone is quiet, the speakerphone only receives sound from the telephone line and its internal speaker broadcasts that sound to its user. There is a very definite, noticeable switching action each time the phone "changes directions" and a cough or other transient noise in the room may interrupt incoming sound from the far end of the telephone connection. Full-duplex speakerphones are able to transmit and receive simultaneously and there is no discernible change of transmission direction. These phones are much more complicated and often employ sophisticated

digital signal processing Digital signal processing (DSP) is the use of digital processing, such as by computers or more specialized digital signal processors, to perform a wide variety of signal processing operations. The digital signals processed in this manner are ...

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specifications for performing ...

s to sort out the incoming sound and the sound in the room for

echo cancellation Echo suppression and echo cancellation are methods used in telephony to improve voice quality by preventing echo from being created or removing it after it is already present. In addition to improving subjective audio quality, echo suppression ...

. Their cost is also higher than for a half-duplex speakerphone.

Speakerphone setup

Many modern speakerphones must first be calibrated to the acoustic characteristics of the room in which they will be used. During this calibration phase, they may make a variety of noises including ascending tones or chiming sounds. This calibration may be automatic or manually invoked by the user, and it may need to be repeated if the speakerphone is relocated within the room. A failure to be properly calibrated can be indicated by the occurrence of echoing, ringing sounds, or

feedback Feedback occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs as part of a chain of cause-and-effect that forms a circuit or loop. The system can then be said to ''feed back'' into itself. The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled ...

Handset vs. base speakerphone

Many

cordless telephone A cordless telephone or portable telephone has a portable telephone handset that connects by radio to a base station connected to the public telephone network. The operational range is limited, usually to the same building or within some short ...

s have a handset speakerphone as well as a base speakerphone. The handset speakerphone allows hands free conversations away from the base unit. The base speakerphone is located in the base unit. The user must be at the base unit, but still gets the added benefits of having hands free conversations. Most base speakerphones have a secondary keypad for dialing calls on the base unit.

References

{{Reflist Telephony equipment

Types of speakerphones

Speakerphone setup

Handset vs. base speakerphone

See also

References