which VoIP ATA device do you suggest?

[sncbhle18]

Hey guys,

I've been using the Freephoneline service for some time now - well for the softphone side of it and now I'm considering getting a dedicated ATA device, so that way - I could use the FPL service as a secondary phone line or maybe as a fax machine.

I have the Epson Workforce 520 all-in-one device that does faxing as well. As always, if I get an ATA device, then I have to call the people at FPL to supply me a SIP file. Another option for me is that I can get an ATA device through FPL with the configuration settings already set up for me.

Anyways, which particular ATA device do you people suggest?

[bridonca]

The Grandstream HT286 that Freephoneline sells is pretty good. It's only real fault is that it is rather basic. I feel that would suit your needs rather well though.

I am partial to the Grandstream HT502. It has lots of bells and whistles, which is nice.

As for faxing, no one can guarantee reliable faxing over SIP. You need a good internet connection, and you might need to slow the speed of your fax machine. A lot of people have good results though. Just bear in mind, if you do have problems, there is a reason why Freephoneline does not support faxing. (Freephoneline does not do anything to actively discourage faxing, just don't bug them if you have fax issues.)

[sncbhle18]

The Grandstream HT286 that Freephoneline sells is pretty good. It's only real fault is that it is rather basic. I feel that would suit your needs rather well though.

I am partial to the Grandstream HT502. It has lots of bells and whistles, which is nice.

As for faxing, no one can guarantee reliable faxing over SIP. You need a good internet connection, and you might need to slow the speed of your fax machine. A lot of people have good results though. Just bear in mind, if you do have problems, there is a reason why Freephoneline does not support faxing. (Freephoneline does not do anything to actively discourage faxing, just don't bug them if you have fax issues.)

Just now, I found out some differences between the Grandstream HT286 and the Grandstream HT486. They look the same, but do you know what are the differences between those devices?

[Bloodsong]

When it comes to faxing with an ATA, your set-up options can go a long way to removing headaches, but ultimately you're bound to have trouble sending 3+ page faxes at one time. It's primarily a latency issue caused in the fax machine itself as it digitizes the analog input, and the modems patiently wait for their data.

I have looked into some alternative fax over VoIP options that work fairly reliably but have their own trade-offs.

Key thing is to make sure you have a fast data-stream setting, using ulaw only, and reduce your jitter tollerance.

[sncbhle18]

I wonder if its possible to get a standalone VOIP phone (i.e. Grandstream GXP280 or a Polycom phone) and configure it using the SIP file that I bought from you guys?

Do you know any devices out there that don't rely on an ATA or such? For example, I'm looking for a device that has two phone ports and one ethernet port. Any devices exist out there?

[bridonca]

I use an old Polycom Soundpoint IP600 with my SIP file. Works like a charm! I have little doubt the Grandstream GXP280 would have any issues.

The Grandstream HT502 has two phone ports

[lifeisfun]

I guess each to his own but I find stand alone ATA much more flexible.
You can connect multi handset cordless phone and also upgrade the phone in the future.

[dibsmft]

I also find an ATA, in general, much more flexible for much the same reason as does lifeisfun. This is especially so if you want multiple handsets and/or still retain a pstn line and need FXO. I now have a 3 line SIP phone, and very nice it is, but I only got it so that I could manage several providers I use better. FPL offer little service to the St. John's NL area (a few free areas and no DIDs) so I have ended up having my DID from one provider (+some outgoing service) and use another provider for most outgoing calls. The third line I use for voip calls only. I have dry loop service and no regular PSTN line so the fact that the phone has no FXO (most IP phones do not offer regular PSTN FXO service) is not a problem.
I have two ATA boxes.
One is a Grandstream 286 which seems to work well and duplicates one of the phone services on the IP phone and runs on solar power (via 5 V adapter) as can my modem/router (12 V) in the case of power failure.
The other is a Linksys SPA3102 (one FXS and one FXO) that I used for years when I still had a PSTN line and is very reliable. The SPA3102 is a good device but sometimes presents a few problems with configuration while the 286 is so simple that it either works or it doesn't.

[sncbhle18]

I wonder if there is such an ATA device that allows me to use MP3 files - as music on hold? Any suggestions?

[FONGO_steve]

I wonder if there is such an ATA device that allows me to use MP3 files - as music on hold? Any suggestions?

There likely won't be too many that offer this because it will open up the door for people to start using copywritten works and works which they do not own broadcast rights for.

[dibsmft]

Most IP phones do allow you to add your own "sound" but not in the MP3 format. My Yealink IP phone states this
"The upload ringtones must be format of wav whose sampling rate should be 8K, mono, 16-bit U-law compression"
so some preparation is required (and I have never had a desire to try it out). The ATA boxes that I have used allow little more
that generating the normal tones used in each country.

[Bloodsong]

For Music on Hold options you'd likely have to be running Asterisk, Freeswitch, 3CX Server, etc.
As for the ringtones, I don't remember where I found it, but there are some programs out there to make the conversions. I had the Final Fantasy 3 battle theme as my ring-tone at work for some time.

[sncbhle18]

For Music on Hold options you'd likely have to be running Asterisk, Freeswitch, 3CX Server, etc.
As for the ringtones, I don't remember where I found it, but there are some programs out there to make the conversions. I had the Final Fantasy 3 battle theme as my ring-tone at work for some time.

What are the specific requirements for those services (i.e. Asterisk, Freeswitch, etc.)? I have an old computer lying around - which is an IBM NetVista 6648-TAF system running a 1GHz Pentium 3 CPU with 256MB of RAM. The maximum amount of RAM for that system is 512MB. I might consider using that system for the application? What are some of the drawbacks of having your own PBX? Is there any free PBX distributions out there?

Also, what is the difference between the Cisco SPA112 and the Cisco SPA122?

[dibsmft]

Your old computer should be able to run a PBX but I would up the RAM to the max. One of the main drawbacks to running your own PBX on an old computer is probably the cost of electricity and literally keeping the thing going but at the same time can be a good learning tool. The old computers used quite a lot of power (but they did heat the house) so at about 100 watts+ costs about $110 per year to operate. Some of the newer computers around may use only 10% of that. However, a good ATA box may be able to much the same thing for you and only cost only about $8 per year to run. You might find that a multiline IP phone like the one that I have (Yealink T22P 3 line) can to the job that you want and also uses very little power.

[CSCO]

For Music on Hold options you'd likely have to be running Asterisk, Freeswitch, 3CX Server, etc.
As for the ringtones, I don't remember where I found it, but there are some programs out there to make the conversions. I had the Final Fantasy 3 battle theme as my ring-tone at work for some time.

What are the specific requirements for those services (i.e. Asterisk, Freeswitch, etc.)? I have an old computer lying around - which is an IBM NetVista 6648-TAF system running a 1GHz Pentium 3 CPU with 256MB of RAM. The maximum amount of RAM for that system is 512MB. I might consider using that system for the application? What are some of the drawbacks of having your own PBX? Is there any free PBX distributions out there?

Also, what is the difference between the Cisco SPA112 and the Cisco SPA122?

112 no router, 122 router function. No matter what you get I'd use proper router as built in routing performance is not that good.

Also just a suggestion there is Gigaset IP series which does both PSTN and direct IP connection (No ATA) and also costs a whole lot less than lot of other IP desk phones.

[sncbhle18]

112 no router, 122 router function. No matter what you get I'd use proper router as built in routing performance is not that good.

And which proper router would you suggest in this situation? I'm using my trusty 'ol Linksys WRT54G router (it's been standing for 6 years old now). I briefly experimented that router with DD-WRT firmware, but because of problems - I have to revert back to the VxWorks firmware. Even with the proper steps on flashing to DD-WRT - I still have problems.

I'm considering getting a completely new wireless router that offers me expanded options such as expanded entries (does that exist?) on where to forward ports and so forth.....

[CSCO]

I own/have had WRT54G, WRT310N, WRT610N, DIR-655 and top of the line E4200. To be honest even WRT310N and DIR-655 is more than sufficient to handle all I can imagine. I have DD-WRT installed on all of Linksys ones.

Router used to be something that you should spend money on, but nowdays most units are good enough for everyday use. I'd pick something cheap to mid priced. Just read some reviews to make sure it isn't a lemon or problemetic model.

[bridonca]

112 no router, 122 router function. No matter what you get I'd use proper router as built in routing performance is not that good.

And which proper router would you suggest in this situation? I'm using my trusty 'ol Linksys WRT54G router (it's been standing for 6 years old now). I briefly experimented that router with DD-WRT firmware, but because of problems - I have to revert back to the VxWorks firmware. Even with the proper steps on flashing to DD-WRT - I still have problems.

I'm considering getting a completely new wireless router that offers me expanded options such as expanded entries (does that exist?) on where to forward ports and so forth.....

Hard to say why you had issues with DD-WRT, I have never had more stable firmware. I wonder if your WRT54G did not have enough memory? Linksys did some royal hatchet jobs on quite a few of the WRT54G routers.

In any case, whatever router you get, make sure it can be flashed to DD-WRT. I am not saying do it, but it is nice to have the option.

Refurbished routers are awesome deals. A lot of them got crap firmware, and were returned. The hardware was always decent, and eventually the firmware got better, but the damage was done, and they are sold cheap.

[sncbhle18]

Hard to say why you had issues with DD-WRT, I have never had more stable firmware. I wonder if your WRT54G did not have enough memory? Linksys did some royal hatchet jobs on quite a few of the WRT54G routers.

In any case, whatever router you get, make sure it can be flashed to DD-WRT. I am not saying do it, but it is nice to have the option.

Refurbished routers are awesome deals. A lot of them got crap firmware, and were returned. The hardware was always decent, and eventually the firmware got better, but the damage was done, and they are sold cheap.

Well, I briefly experimented with DD-WRT firmware for my WRT54G v6 router, but every time when one computer performs one thing (i.e. downloading, etc.) and the other computer attempts to attempt to another at the same time - it basically occupies my router's normal operation. The lights on my router was flashing frequently and I've tried desperately to stop the operation, but i couldn't. This happens especially when I run BitTorrent.

Therefore, I have to unplug the router and then plug it back in and it's running normally. Even though I have troubles with the DDWRT firmware, I have to revert back to VxWorks and it's running stable ever since.

EDIT: This especially happens whenever I use the FPL softphone (I opened some ports in my router as well and the problems still persist). I'm considering getting an alternative softphone program. Like you said, if I were to get an alternative softphone to work with my FPL service, I have to get a VOIP unlock key, which I have to pay.