«

Hello, i'm new to VOIP - as a lot of people here - and i'd like to
know your opinion about which one is better to interconnect the PBX of
two of my offices! VoIP Blaster os Cisco ATA 186? Is there any other
solution for this? Is it possible to make the PBX connection only with
software and analog modem?
Hugs
Tony

If you plan to go with VoIPBlaster (VB) (as pointed out by Kyler) and don't
already know, have a look at:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/fobbit

I don't know much about Cisco ATA-186 device; however, I do know for sure
that a VB is only an FXS device that terminates with a telephone device.
Therefore, you can not connect a VB to a PBX directly to its extension,
except the CO line of the PBX so that other extensions can share the VB. Be
forwarned that VB uses a proprietary CoDec (as pointed out by Kyle) that
you can not turn it off. The Fobbit software comes in three parts, i.e.
phonebook server, client software, and the driver. If you just want to
setup a Point2Point between several offices, the fobbit software suites
your need very well. Just designate a linux machine to run a fobbit
phonebook server (and this server can also run the client software as
well), and have other VB computer hosts point to this phonebook server.
Viola, your offices are interconnected through Internet with VB devices.

If you want to use VB device with the asterisk (http://www.asterisk.org) as
well as OpenH323 (http://www.openh323.org) software, have a look here
regarding the VB driver:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/voip-blaster

I did some simple tests using the linux driver from the above site with
software from asterisk and openh323 about a year ago and it appeared the
software recognized the VB device to function properly.

--
NOONE



Kyler Laird wrote:

> (Antonio) writes:
>
>>Hello, i'm new to VOIP - as a lot of people here - and i'd like to
>>know your opinion about which one is better to interconnect the PBX of
>>two of my offices! VoIP Blaster os Cisco ATA 186?
>
> I have a bunch of VoIP Blasters. They're fun toys, but they're fairly
> limited because they use a proprietary codec (G.723?). If you just
> want a few phones that can call each other it's fine, but if you plan
> to expand beyond that, I would bite the bullet and buy some real
> hardware to do the job.
> http://www.asteriskpbx.com/index.php?menu=hardware
>
> (The ATA-186 is probably fine too, but I haven't yet gotten one.)
>
> --kyler

So you tell me that to connect the two offices may be good, but to
make calls to other places that will be the worst option. At first i
would like just to connect the two offices, and as the price of the
VoIP Blaster is pretty low, i think that may be a good start in the
VOIP world no?
Does VOIP connects over a ADSL internet connection? Have you had any
troble with them?
Tony


Kyler Laird <> wrote in message news:<tmuo31->...
> (Antonio) writes:
>
> >Hello, i'm new to VOIP - as a lot of people here - and i'd like to
> >know your opinion about which one is better to interconnect the PBX of
> >two of my offices! VoIP Blaster os Cisco ATA 186?
>
> I have a bunch of VoIP Blasters. They're fun toys, but they're fairly
> limited because they use a proprietary codec (G.723?). If you just
> want a few phones that can call each other it's fine, but if you plan
> to expand beyond that, I would bite the bullet and buy some real
> hardware to do the job.
> http://www.asteriskpbx.com/index.php?menu=hardware
>
> (The ATA-186 is probably fine too, but I haven't yet gotten one.)
>
> --kyler

(Antonio) writes:

>So you tell me that to connect the two offices may be good, but to
>make calls to other places that will be the worst option.

Yes, that's what I've determined from my investigation.

>At first i
>would like just to connect the two offices, and as the price of the
>VoIP Blaster is pretty low, i think that may be a good start in the
>VOIP world no?

If you can get VoIP Blasters for $10 each and consider them disposable
(as I did), yes, that's a fine way to get started with the technology.
(I recommend skipping Fobbit and going directly to OpenH323 for this.)

>Does VOIP connects over a ADSL internet connection? Have you had any
>troble with them?

I've used OpenH323 over ADSL and cable modem services. The only
problems I ran into were related to NAT. I made it work with an H323
gateway, but I think that there have been advances in NAT handling
since then.

Note that Digium sells a device, the S100U, that resembles the VoIP
Blaster in that it has USB on one side and a POTSish line on the
other. I've been told that it's available separately by special
request, but I got a couple as part of their "LITE" developer kit.
http://digium.com/index.php?menu=developerskit_lite

At $150 for both an FXO and an FXS, I think this is a better way to
go than the VoIP Blaster if you value your effort at all. It will
yield a much more capable system in the long run. (You can interface
it to your existing analog phone lines!)

I've also heard that the S100U has some problems (poor shielding?),
so I suggest that you just get one or two before you make a decision
on getting a bunch.

--kyler

First of all, VB is a discontinue product. If you can still find it on the
market for very cheap, go ahead and grab some. I got mine US$10/VB when it
was on-sale.

A VB is an FXS device that only terminates with a telephone device. It
requires a computer with a USB 1.0 port as a host to access Internet.
Having said that and frankly speaking, a telephone device as well as the CO
line port of any PBX system act as a slave to accept current/volt from a CO
line to work. A VB device, on the other hand, behaves as if it is a CO Line
that provides current/voltage to a device that is attached to it. So, you
CAN NOT directly connect two CO Lines together. Doing so may cause some
damages to the telco equipment and it is a violation of FCC laws in the US.
Back in the 1970s, Radio Shack used to sell a small/simple box that allowed
one to connect to CO Lines so that people can setup two CO Lines to hopp
out of local region calls and yet still paid for local calls. If you have
this device, you certainly can connect your VB RJ-11 port to one end and a
CO Line to the other end of this device so that any VB/incoming telephone
calls can be forwarded to. If you have a PBX with more than one CO Line
that supports DISA, you can connect your VB RJ-11 port to one of the CO
Line port on the PBX and use the PBX DISA capability to forward VB/incoming
telephone calls to CO/VB Line, respectively.

As I (as well as other: Kyle) mentioned in the previous posts, a VB uses its
proprietary codes of CoDecs, i.e. standard G.723, to compress/decompress
voice data. This G.723 CoDec, perhaps, is compatible with the G.723 CoDec
used by MSN Messenger and/or NetMeeting and it allowes VB to use up 2KBps
in each up/down stream. If you ever use MSN Messenger and/or NetMeeting to
do a voice chat, you will notice that each up/down stream takes about 2KBps
of bandwidth (I use DU-Meter to check this). So, if your ADSL connection is
capable to provide > 2KBps in each direction, then you should not have a
problem to use VB. When dealing with VoIP, one must understand that there
is a delay issue. This delay can be caused by the route used between the
two connected points. It also can be caused by how the ISP gets its
connection or feeding from, i.e. high orbit satelite. So, all in all, you
also need to check with your ISPs regarding their feeds. My Internet
connection is serviced by the Comcast broadband and I have no problem using
VB talking to some friends down in S.E Asean countries who use a 56Kbps
dialup connection. The only problems are delay and some disconnection
issues. The disconnection issue has nothing to do with VB. I know this
because when we used MSN Messenger or any other voice chat, this also
happened. And, the delay issue is understood.

Be sure to visit the websites I mentioned on my previous post on this
subject.

--
NOONE


Antonio wrote:

> So you tell me that to connect the two offices may be good, but to
> make calls to other places that will be the worst option. At first i
> would like just to connect the two offices, and as the price of the
> VoIP Blaster is pretty low, i think that may be a good start in the
> VOIP world no?
> Does VOIP connects over a ADSL internet connection? Have you had any
> troble with them?
> Tony
>
>
> Kyler Laird <> wrote in message
> news:<tmuo31->...
>> (Antonio) writes:
>>
>> >Hello, i'm new to VOIP - as a lot of people here - and i'd like to
>> >know your opinion about which one is better to interconnect the PBX of
>> >two of my offices! VoIP Blaster os Cisco ATA 186?
>>
>> I have a bunch of VoIP Blasters. They're fun toys, but they're fairly
>> limited because they use a proprietary codec (G.723?). If you just
>> want a few phones that can call each other it's fine, but if you plan
>> to expand beyond that, I would bite the bullet and buy some real
>> hardware to do the job.
>> http://www.asteriskpbx.com/index.php?menu=hardware
>>
>> (The ATA-186 is probably fine too, but I haven't yet gotten one.)
>>
>> --kyler

Thanks Noone, i aprecciate all your information.
Hugs
Tony


NOONE <> wrote in message news:<gYtab.290164$. net>...
> If you plan to go with VoIPBlaster (VB) (as pointed out by Kyler) and don't
> already know, have a look at:
>
> http://sourceforge.net/projects/fobbit
>
> I don't know much about Cisco ATA-186 device; however, I do know for sure
> that a VB is only an FXS device that terminates with a telephone device.
> Therefore, you can not connect a VB to a PBX directly to its extension,
> except the CO line of the PBX so that other extensions can share the VB. Be
> forwarned that VB uses a proprietary CoDec (as pointed out by Kyle) that
> you can not turn it off. The Fobbit software comes in three parts, i.e.
> phonebook server, client software, and the driver. If you just want to
> setup a Point2Point between several offices, the fobbit software suites
> your need very well. Just designate a linux machine to run a fobbit
> phonebook server (and this server can also run the client software as
> well), and have other VB computer hosts point to this phonebook server.
> Viola, your offices are interconnected through Internet with VB devices.
>
> If you want to use VB device with the asterisk (http://www.asterisk.org) as
> well as OpenH323 (http://www.openh323.org) software, have a look here
> regarding the VB driver:
>
> http://sourceforge.net/projects/voip-blaster
>
> I did some simple tests using the linux driver from the above site with
> software from asterisk and openh323 about a year ago and it appeared the
> software recognized the VB device to function properly.
>
> --
> NOONE
>
>
>
> Kyler Laird wrote:
>
> > (Antonio) writes:
> >
> >>Hello, i'm new to VOIP - as a lot of people here - and i'd like to
> >>know your opinion about which one is better to interconnect the PBX of
> >>two of my offices! VoIP Blaster os Cisco ATA 186?
> >
> > I have a bunch of VoIP Blasters. They're fun toys, but they're fairly
> > limited because they use a proprietary codec (G.723?). If you just
> > want a few phones that can call each other it's fine, but if you plan
> > to expand beyond that, I would bite the bullet and buy some real
> > hardware to do the job.
> > http://www.asteriskpbx.com/index.php?menu=hardware
> >
> > (The ATA-186 is probably fine too, but I haven't yet gotten one.)
> >
> > --kyler

On Fri, 19 Sep 2003 02:35:56 GMT, NOONE
<> wrote:

>If you plan to go with VoIPBlaster (VB) (as pointed out by Kyler) and don't
>already know, have a look at:
>
> http://sourceforge.net/projects/fobbit
>
>I don't know much about Cisco ATA-186 device; however, I do know for sure
>that a VB is only an FXS device that terminates with a telephone device.

The ATA 186 is FXS ports only.

"Antonio" <> wrote in message
news: m...
> Hello, i'm new to VOIP - as a lot of people here - and i'd like to
> know your opinion about which one is better to interconnect the PBX of
> two of my offices! VoIP Blaster os Cisco ATA 186?

This may not matter if you are just testing the technology - but like more
networking things there can be big differences between stuff designed for
home or commercial use.

1 issue may be that analog standards for phones vary around the world - the
cisco stuff does seem to some in country versions for lots of places. You
can also find local repair / maintian help just about anywhere for cisco (or
for any of the otherproviders of commercial phone gear, like lucent,
nortel).

Probably isnt an issue for a test, but if you start deploying on remote
PBXes (esp if they are in other countries) then you might want to think
about checking with the telephony switch provider / maintainer about what
their engineers are trained to work on.

Also, if you want more complex features you need to check you can support
them - fax relay is 1 common isse.

Finally there may be constrinats on what is allowed in each counrty -
monompoly phone providers and requirements for type approval still exist in
some parts of the world.
Is there any other
> solution for this? Is it possible to make the PBX connection only with
> software and analog modem?
> Hugs
> Tony
--
Regards

Stephen Hope - remove xx from email to reply