You might take a look at Cermetek's website, as what you really need is known as a DAA. The phone company outputs 48 volts dc normally to your home phone, and when the phone rings there is a 20 Hertz ac superimposed onto the line that is usually between 90 and 120 volts. If you connect a PIC directly to the line you will likely fry the PIC, and you are also liable for any damage that you cause to the telephone company's equipment. Anything that you connect to a phone line is required by law to have agency approval, here in the United States that means the FCC. The Cermetek units will signal the PIC when the phone is ringing, and allow the PIC to go 'off-hook.' They also provide all neccessary isolation so that your PIC and the phone line are both safe, as well as the hybrid circuitry to get you from two wire to four. You will need to filter the DTMF out of the PIC using the circuit in the PICBASIC manual before you feed it into the DAA. Clare also has units that might fit your project, both of these companies are well known in telecommunications circles.
You might find it easier, if all you need to do is ring a telephone, to find an old modem and connect it to the PIC using RS-232. Then you can just send AT commands to dial the telephone. The DTMF signals will be produced in your modem. Since you aren't concerned about speed, any old 2400 baud or whatever you can find will work fine. There are millions of old modems out collecting dust since now almost everyone is using ethernet to connect to the Internet. E-bay has a bunch of brand new external modems, you can buy one for ten bucks!
Jerry.
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