Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

I'm thinking of buying a VOIP phone I can use on my own WiFi system at home
on Skype.

The Skype phone seems the cheapest option but I'm not clear if I can "just"
use it on my WiFi without also having to "top it up" for the mobile option I
don't plan to use.

Anyone have any suggestions?

TIA

Brian

Re: Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:36:23 GMT, "Brian Reay" <see@website.invalid>
wrote:

>I'm thinking of buying a VOIP phone I can use on my own WiFi system at home
>on Skype.


What advantage do you see in that over a cordless phone attached to an
ATA?

Regards,
Jose

Re: Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

Jose used his keyboard to write :
> On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:36:23 GMT, "Brian Reay" <see@website.invalid>
> wrote:
>
>> I'm thinking of buying a VOIP phone I can use on my own WiFi system at home
>> on Skype.
>
>
> What advantage do you see in that over a cordless phone attached to an
> ATA?

I can't think of any reason myself......there are skype/dect phones out
there - not for me though.

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of these
<http://www.snom.com/en/snom_m3.html> admittedly it is neither WiFi not
Skype-capable!

Re: Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

In article <mn.cd947d83aa9b0e19.88534@blueyonder.invalid>,
Jono <nothanks@blueyonder.invalid> wrote:
>Jose used his keyboard to write :
>> On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:36:23 GMT, "Brian Reay" <see@website.invalid>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> I'm thinking of buying a VOIP phone I can use on my own WiFi system at home
>>> on Skype.
>>
>>
>> What advantage do you see in that over a cordless phone attached to an
>> ATA?
>
>I can't think of any reason myself......there are skype/dect phones out
>there - not for me though.
>
>I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of these
><http://www.snom.com/en/snom_m3.html> admittedly it is neither WiFi not
>Skype-capable!

I'm keen to try one out too - they're just a tad too expensive, like the
rest of the Snom range )-: However I've had issues with the Siemens
phones to the extent that I'm not going to buy anymore until I can be
assured that their problem have been fixed, so there might not be much
choice...

I'm not personally a fan of Wi-Fi for voice comms though. It's just too
easy for another PC on the same access point to render VoIP totally
unusable if they upload/downlod a lot of data at the same time as a VoIP
call. There are access points that claim to be able to manage traffic
though, but how many consumers want to pay the premium for them? Not
many, I suspect...

Gordon

Re: Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:36:23 GMT, "Brian Reay" <see@website.invalid>
wrote:

>I'm thinking of buying a VOIP phone I can use on my own WiFi system at home
>on Skype.
>
>The Skype phone seems the cheapest option but I'm not clear if I can "just"
>use it on my WiFi without also having to "top it up" for the mobile option I
>don't plan to use.
>
>Anyone have any suggestions?
My first question is why are you wanting to use Skype.
Is it
1. You particularly want to call people on it that are not available
on a standard landline phone.
2. You think, mistakenly, that 'Skype out' is cheap.

If it is (2) then go for an ATA that uses SIP, such as a Linksys
SPA-3102, and connect a standard cordless phone to it. Alternatively
you could get a SIP phone but I think the former is a better option.
There are many SIP providers to choose from and they are far cheaper
than Skype. If you want more info./advice then just ask.


---
Remove 'no_spam_' from email address.
---

Re: Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

Gordon Henderson wrote:
> In article <mn.cd947d83aa9b0e19.88534@blueyonder.invalid>,
> Jono <nothanks@blueyonder.invalid> wrote:
>> Jose used his keyboard to write :
>>> On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:36:23 GMT, "Brian Reay" <see@website.invalid>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm thinking of buying a VOIP phone I can use on my own WiFi system at home
>>>> on Skype.
>>>
>>> What advantage do you see in that over a cordless phone attached to an
>>> ATA?
>> I can't think of any reason myself......there are skype/dect phones out
>> there - not for me though.
>>
>> I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of these
>> <http://www.snom.com/en/snom_m3.html> admittedly it is neither WiFi not
>> Skype-capable!
>
> I'm keen to try one out too - they're just a tad too expensive, like the
> rest of the Snom range )-: However I've had issues with the Siemens
> phones to the extent that I'm not going to buy anymore until I can be
> assured that their problem have been fixed, so there might not be much
> choice...
>
> I'm not personally a fan of Wi-Fi for voice comms though. It's just too
> easy for another PC on the same access point to render VoIP totally
> unusable if they upload/downlod a lot of data at the same time as a VoIP
> call. There are access points that claim to be able to manage traffic
> though, but how many consumers want to pay the premium for them? Not
> many, I suspect...
>
> Gordon
The M3 is still a bit of a rough diamond, good SIP VoIP devices but very
dumb indeed.
It's very good as an IP PBX extension, but not flexible/smart enough to
be a standalone VoIP endpoint itself.
- There's nothing like an outbound dialplan to have a proper LCR;
- The shipped firmware is bogus, you NEED to update it to have a usable
device;
- The wireless is a bit feeble, too prone to lose connection with the base;
- You can't register a handset on multiple bases (consequence, you can't
roam between bases).
Conclusion: if you have another device with the "intelligence" to
properly fit your bill where the M3 can log onto (A@H, Trixbox) it can
be a candidate; if you need a standalone SIP phone with a minimum degree
of flexibility, look elsewhere (eg Siemens Gigaset).
Personally I've never had problems with Siemens Gigaset phones
(specifically the S450IP). Especially the last firmware release is
pretty stable and reliable.

HTH
--
ßødincµs²°°° - The Y2K Druid
----------------------------
Law 42 on computing: Anything that could go wron@~ ¬
$: Access Violation -- Core dumped

Re: Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

In article <47EA5B8D.3060102@this.email>,
Ã Ã¸Ä iŠ¢µs <nobody@this.email> wrote:
>The M3 is still a bit of a rough diamond, good SIP VoIP devices but very
>dumb indeed.
>It's very good as an IP PBX extension, but not flexible/smart enough to
>be a standalone VoIP endpoint itself.
>- There's nothing like an outbound dialplan to have a proper LCR;
>- The shipped firmware is bogus, you NEED to update it to have a usable
>device;
>- The wireless is a bit feeble, too prone to lose connection with the base;
>- You can't register a handset on multiple bases (consequence, you can't
>roam between bases).
>Conclusion: if you have another device with the "intelligence" to
>properly fit your bill where the M3 can log onto (A@H, Trixbox) it can
>be a candidate; if you need a standalone SIP phone with a minimum degree
>of flexibility, look elsewhere (eg Siemens Gigaset).

Interesting issues - thanks. I always use a PBX, so lack of LCR, dialplan,
etc. isn't an issue. Shame you need to flash it immediately too, but I
can live with that.

>Personally I've never had problems with Siemens Gigaset phones
>(specifically the S450IP). Especially the last firmware release is
>pretty stable and reliable.

What I need isn't "pretty stable", it's "rock solid". Right now, I
have one company with 6 Siemens C450IP's - all flashed to the latest
firmware - 3 in the main office, 3 in 3 remote shops. The shop ones use
both their analogue and VoIP ports, the main office, VoIP only. All of
them are fairly busy, especially the remote shop ones, although mostly
with analogue calls. What I see is about once a week, maybe more, the
phones stop working on the VoIP side. The analogue side is fine. The
phone stay registered to the asterisk box, just won't take or make VoIP
calls. Power cycling them makes them OK again.. For a few days to a week
or so, by which time the shop has new staff who don't know what to do.

Unfortunately, the calibre of staff in these (volenteer, charity) shops
means that asking them to power cycle the base stations when they stop
working, is a bit beyond them. It's now almost at the point where they're
probably going to ask me to replace them or give them their money back.

Gordon

Re: Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

On Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:51:17 +0000 (UTC), Gordon Henderson
<gordon+usenet@drogon.net> wrote:


>Unfortunately, the calibre of staff in these (volenteer, charity) shops
>means that asking them to power cycle the base stations when they stop
>working, is a bit beyond them. It's now almost at the point where they're
>probably going to ask me to replace them or give them their money back.

Do you mean:

1) just switching the handset off/on, or

2) switching off/on the power to the base stations?

If number 2, you could connect the AC adapter to timer/watch plug,
that would switch off/on the power to the base unit every night.


Now, if I understand correctly, do you connect these phones to a
modem/router, for the Voip calls, and they act as ATAs?
If so, does these come any cheaper than cordless phones with 2 line
capacity, with an ATA feeding one of the lines, for Voip?


Best,
Jose

Re: Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

In article <47ecc8f5.47034281@news20.forteinc.com>,
Jose <go.spam@somewhere.else> wrote:
>On Wed, 26 Mar 2008 19:51:17 +0000 (UTC), Gordon Henderson
><gordon+usenet@drogon.net> wrote:
>
>
>>Unfortunately, the calibre of staff in these (volenteer, charity) shops
>>means that asking them to power cycle the base stations when they stop
>>working, is a bit beyond them. It's now almost at the point where they're
>>probably going to ask me to replace them or give them their money back.
>
>Do you mean:
>
>1) just switching the handset off/on, or
>
>2) switching off/on the power to the base stations?

The base stations need power cycling. The handsets are OK.

>If number 2, you could connect the AC adapter to timer/watch plug,
>that would switch off/on the power to the base unit every night.

You know what, that's such an easy solution I'd not thought of it. I was
looking for a remote reboot facility, etc. but sometimes a "low-tech"
solution might be the answer....

I do like the Siemens phones and the come in at "the right price" too. I
even use them at home where they were the first wireless phone to pass
the "wife test"...

>Now, if I understand correctly, do you connect these phones to a
>modem/router, for the Voip calls, and they act as ATAs?

Yes. The Siemens units have a base station with both an Ethernet socket
and an (FXO) analogue phone connection to connect to a BT wall socket. The
handsets can switch between PSTN or VoIP calls.

>If so, does these come any cheaper than cordless phones with 2 line
>capacity, with an ATA feeding one of the lines, for Voip?

Well... I did try them with ATAs originally, but they couldn't get on
with them. Claimed they never worked (and, as usual, every time I tried
them, they worked jsut fine) By then, I'd installed Siemens ones in HQ
who just needed the SIP side of things, (analogue was handled by one of
my asterisk PBXs), so the shops wanted the same handsets, so we got 3
more for the shops, and they've been nothing but trouble, ever since.

Now to wander up to the local electrical shoppie and look for 4 timers!
(the 3 in HQ are all on the same power strip)

Gordon

Re: Recommendations for wireless VOIP phone.
 

Gordon Henderson wrote:
> Interesting issues - thanks. I always use a PBX, so lack of LCR, dialplan,
> etc. isn't an issue. Shame you need to flash it immediately too, but I
> can live with that.
It's not an issue, it's easy and painlessly done through the handset -
no need for a PC on the same network.
And as every SNOM phone you can provision them through a properly hand
crafted text file.

>> Personally I've never had problems with Siemens Gigaset phones
>> (specifically the S450IP). Especially the last firmware release is
>> pretty stable and reliable.
>
> What I need isn't "pretty stable", it's "rock solid". Right now, I
> have one company with 6 Siemens C450IP's - all flashed to the latest
> firmware - 3 in the main office, 3 in 3 remote shops. The shop ones use
> both their analogue and VoIP ports, the main office, VoIP only. All of
> them are fairly busy, especially the remote shop ones, although mostly
> with analogue calls. What I see is about once a week, maybe more, the
> phones stop working on the VoIP side. The analogue side is fine.
If this happens regularly with registrations to an Asterisk-based
server, probably the setup is incorrect.
1. Do you have all the necessary ports forwarding in place on the router
from the public IP to to the phone private IP (5060-5070 and 5004-5010
UDP)? If not, set them up.
2. Is the phone base onto a static IP (highly recommended)? If not,
assign it a private static IP in the range of the router BUT NOT IN THE
ROUTER DHCP RANGE.
3. What method do you use to do NAT traversal, STUN or Outbound Proxy?
Asterisk isn't happy to be the outbound proxy, so you need a STUN server
to let the Siemens know its own public IP and properly populate the SIP
REGISTER message with the public IP, not its own internal IP.
4. Do you have - by any chance - the "qualify=yes" parameter in the
extension definition? Take it off.
5. Look at the full Asterisk log (/var/log/asterisk/full) to see if you
have any strange activity from the phones (look for 45x codes).

Power cycling the base will dramatically shorten the lifespan of the
PSU. They have a high mortality rate when they cool off and warm up
again repeatedly.

Caveat emptor: I never dealt with C450IPs, we use S450IPs. The firmware
and the base unit should be the same tho...

HTH

--
ßødincµs²°°° - The Y2K Druid
----------------------------
Law 42 on computing: Anything that could go wron@~ ¬
$: Access Violation -- Core dumped