Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
We used Vonage for years and years, but the quality and reliability got really bad so I switched to Comcast VOIP. They use a separate dedicated network, and it's best voice service I've ever had. Tom S. On 10/28/2011 9:21 PM, C W wrote: Scott, Thanks for the feedback. Ooma's service sounds like it's better quality than mobile phone service, so I can live with that. Especially since Ooma's monthly charge is extremely low. How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? Cheers, Elcaset On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Scott Garmansgar...@zenlinux.com wrote: On 10/28/2011 07:12 PM, C W wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooma Anybody here familiar with Ooma? I switched from Vonage to Ooma this year. Never had any issues with Vonage, but with Ooma I have occasionally had audio quality issues, and even dropped calls. Not fun when I work from home most days and am dropping from a conference call. About a month ago I was considering going back to Vonage, but things have been stable since then, so I'm willing to take the risk until I run into problems again. Scott ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.920 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3981 - Release Date: 10/28/11 11:44:00 ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
We've had continue to have a lot of Comcast service outages where we lose internet, telly, phone. The internet goes out most often, then comes the telly, then the phone service. When we call Comcast about it, they act as if that's normal, want to charge us extra to come fix it! On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 10:13 PM, Tom Sharples tsharp...@qorvus.com wrote: We used Vonage for years and years, but the quality and reliability got really bad so I switched to Comcast VOIP. They use a separate dedicated network, and it's best voice service I've ever had. Tom S. On 10/28/2011 9:21 PM, C W wrote: Scott, Thanks for the feedback. Ooma's service sounds like it's better quality than mobile phone service, so I can live with that. Especially since Ooma's monthly charge is extremely low. How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? Cheers, Elcaset On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Scott Garmansgar...@zenlinux.com wrote: On 10/28/2011 07:12 PM, C W wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooma Anybody here familiar with Ooma? I switched from Vonage to Ooma this year. Never had any issues with Vonage, but with Ooma I have occasionally had audio quality issues, and even dropped calls. Not fun when I work from home most days and am dropping from a conference call. About a month ago I was considering going back to Vonage, but things have been stable since then, so I'm willing to take the risk until I run into problems again. Scott ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 9.0.920 / Virus Database: 271.1.1/3981 - Release Date: 10/28/11 11:44:00 ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 9:21 PM, C W elcas...@gmail.com wrote: How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? Same as any other VOIP line. Use the existing house wiring AFTER disconnecting from the external telephone network at the NID: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_interface_device http://www.homephonewiring.com/nid.html Open the NID (regular screwdriver required) and unplug what look like short phone cord loopback cables plugged into TEST jacks. This isolates your inside wiring from the phone company. Plug the Ooma / Vonage box into any telephone jack near an internet feed, hook it up to the internet, plug in the power adapter and there ya go, at least in theory. I've had Ooma since Woot ran a special six months ago. Over this time it has worked fairly well, at least as well as the Comcast cable modem service. I think I've only had to power cycle the Ooma box once or twice when it wasn't a Comcast issue. The taxes-only minimum service is missing a couple things I really miss but not enough to upgrade to the $120/year Premier service. The thing I miss most is voicemail email forwarding. NealS ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
Thanks Neal, very good to hear Ooma is working well for ya. I think I'm going to switch us to Ooma. Also, that info you sent on using the house phone wiring should come in very handy. Cheers, Elcaset On Sat, Oct 29, 2011 at 11:48 AM, Neal nsed...@gmail.com wrote: On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 9:21 PM, C W elcas...@gmail.com wrote: How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? Same as any other VOIP line. Use the existing house wiring AFTER disconnecting from the external telephone network at the NID: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_interface_device http://www.homephonewiring.com/nid.html Open the NID (regular screwdriver required) and unplug what look like short phone cord loopback cables plugged into TEST jacks. This isolates your inside wiring from the phone company. Plug the Ooma / Vonage box into any telephone jack near an internet feed, hook it up to the internet, plug in the power adapter and there ya go, at least in theory. I've had Ooma since Woot ran a special six months ago. Over this time it has worked fairly well, at least as well as the Comcast cable modem service. I think I've only had to power cycle the Ooma box once or twice when it wasn't a Comcast issue. The taxes-only minimum service is missing a couple things I really miss but not enough to upgrade to the $120/year Premier service. The thing I miss most is voicemail email forwarding. NealS ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
Thanks Aaron, everyone else, for the info. I do make calls to Canada on a regular basis. Also, I spend a lot of time on an old-style corded phone with domestic calls from home (way too much time for daytime cell phone minutes). So, if I could make these cisco ATAs work with a free service like Skype (not SIP), or something like Ekiga (which is SIP, but doesn't work well), that would be great for me. Also, once or if I'm convinced that Ooma works well, I will buy that. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooma Anybody here familiar with Ooma? Cheers, Elcaset On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 10:26 AM, Aaron Burt aa...@bavariati.org wrote: (netiquette note: when starting a new discussion, start a new thread kthx) On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 08:40:30PM -0700, C W wrote: I was given 2 Cisco Analog Telephone Adapters. There are both model 186/188. I'm wondering what I can use them for, if they use SIP? Google sez Cisco sez they're SIP. http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/cata/186_188/2_15/english/administration/guide/sip/SIP88CH1.html You can use them to attach analog phones (e.g. yer typical cordless phone, or even a FAX machine) to an Asterisk server or a VoIP service (such as CallCentric.) If you have a cellphone and don't make or receive international calls from home much, you probably don't have much use for one. Note the international angle: immigrants with internet at home would be well served by someone with ATAs or hardphones and some VoIP knowledge. Currently, they use cheezy calling cards and by-the-minute cellphones. The fact that you can get local numbers in major cities around the world means that their families could call them back cheaply, too. ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
On 10/28/2011 07:12 PM, C W wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooma Anybody here familiar with Ooma? I switched from Vonage to Ooma this year. Never had any issues with Vonage, but with Ooma I have occasionally had audio quality issues, and even dropped calls. Not fun when I work from home most days and am dropping from a conference call. About a month ago I was considering going back to Vonage, but things have been stable since then, so I'm willing to take the risk until I run into problems again. Scott ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
Scott, Thanks for the feedback. Ooma's service sounds like it's better quality than mobile phone service, so I can live with that. Especially since Ooma's monthly charge is extremely low. How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? Cheers, Elcaset On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Scott Garman sgar...@zenlinux.com wrote: On 10/28/2011 07:12 PM, C W wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooma Anybody here familiar with Ooma? I switched from Vonage to Ooma this year. Never had any issues with Vonage, but with Ooma I have occasionally had audio quality issues, and even dropped calls. Not fun when I work from home most days and am dropping from a conference call. About a month ago I was considering going back to Vonage, but things have been stable since then, so I'm willing to take the risk until I run into problems again. Scott ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 9:21 PM, C W elcas...@gmail.com wrote: Scott, Thanks for the feedback. Ooma's service sounds like it's better quality than mobile phone service, so I can live with that. Especially since Ooma's monthly charge is extremely low. How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? Cheers, Elcaset I have a friend that uses callcentric and wouldn't go to anything else now. On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Scott Garman sgar...@zenlinux.com wrote: On 10/28/2011 07:12 PM, C W wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooma Anybody here familiar with Ooma? I switched from Vonage to Ooma this year. Never had any issues with Vonage, but with Ooma I have occasionally had audio quality issues, and even dropped calls. Not fun when I work from home most days and am dropping from a conference call. About a month ago I was considering going back to Vonage, but things have been stable since then, so I'm willing to take the risk until I run into problems again. Scott ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
I'm not familiar with callcentric. I'll have to check it out. Although, it's hard to compete with Ooma's monthly rate. On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 9:49 PM, Larry Brigman larry.brig...@gmail.comwrote: On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 9:21 PM, C W elcas...@gmail.com wrote: Scott, Thanks for the feedback. Ooma's service sounds like it's better quality than mobile phone service, so I can live with that. Especially since Ooma's monthly charge is extremely low. How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? Cheers, Elcaset I have a friend that uses callcentric and wouldn't go to anything else now. On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 8:08 PM, Scott Garman sgar...@zenlinux.com wrote: On 10/28/2011 07:12 PM, C W wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooma Anybody here familiar with Ooma? I switched from Vonage to Ooma this year. Never had any issues with Vonage, but with Ooma I have occasionally had audio quality issues, and even dropped calls. Not fun when I work from home most days and am dropping from a conference call. About a month ago I was considering going back to Vonage, but things have been stable since then, so I'm willing to take the risk until I run into problems again. Scott ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
On 10/28/2011 09:21 PM, C W wrote: Scott, Thanks for the feedback. Ooma's service sounds like it's better quality than mobile phone service, so I can live with that. Especially since Ooma's monthly charge is extremely low. Yep, which is why I really would prefer to stick with them if I can. My cost comes to $3.47/mo now. How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? If you have a cordless phone setup with several handsets, you can plug your base station into the Ooma and have as many handsets as you want. That would be the simplest approach. Scott ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
===If you have a cordless phone setup with several handsets, you can plug your base station into the Ooma and have as many handsets as you want. That would be the simplest approach. Well, I do have a 3 handset cordless phone that would work on that, but I prefer to spend most of my phone time on a corded phone. I bet there's a way to fool Ooma into thinking several phones are one phone by lining together all of the phones via couplers long phone cords. If I can do that, that would be great! On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 9:58 PM, Scott Garman sgar...@zenlinux.com wrote: On 10/28/2011 09:21 PM, C W wrote: Scott, Thanks for the feedback. Ooma's service sounds like it's better quality than mobile phone service, so I can live with that. Especially since Ooma's monthly charge is extremely low. Yep, which is why I really would prefer to stick with them if I can. My cost comes to $3.47/mo now. How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? If you have a cordless phone setup with several handsets, you can plug your base station into the Ooma and have as many handsets as you want. That would be the simplest approach. Scott ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
oops, I meant to type linking, not lining in the previous post. On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 10:13 PM, C W elcas...@gmail.com wrote: ===If you have a cordless phone setup with several handsets, you can plug your base station into the Ooma and have as many handsets as you want. That would be the simplest approach. Well, I do have a 3 handset cordless phone that would work on that, but I prefer to spend most of my phone time on a corded phone. I bet there's a way to fool Ooma into thinking several phones are one phone by lining together all of the phones via couplers long phone cords. If I can do that, that would be great! On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 9:58 PM, Scott Garman sgar...@zenlinux.comwrote: On 10/28/2011 09:21 PM, C W wrote: Scott, Thanks for the feedback. Ooma's service sounds like it's better quality than mobile phone service, so I can live with that. Especially since Ooma's monthly charge is extremely low. Yep, which is why I really would prefer to stick with them if I can. My cost comes to $3.47/mo now. How expensive and difficult is it to add several phones in the same house to one Ooma line? If you have a cordless phone setup with several handsets, you can plug your base station into the Ooma and have as many handsets as you want. That would be the simplest approach. Scott ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
Gah! I want to quit using Comcast for my landline. But when I call them to check out pricing, I find that my cable bill will go UP if I discontinue telephone service. What a racket! Russell Johnson r...@dimstar.net ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] usefulness of Cisco 186/188 ATA phone adapters, Ooma
Yes, that's the same situation I'm in. Except that I'm in Kirkland, near Seattle. That's how we get screwed when Comcast bundles things. However, once I get a voip setup to my family's liking, I'm getting rid of Comcast altogether. We are looking for an ISP, telly service provider, as well. I'm happy to just use free over-the-air digital telly with antennas, but the rest of the family is hooked on certain cable channels. On Fri, Oct 28, 2011 at 10:17 PM, Russell Johnson r...@dimstar.net wrote: Gah! I want to quit using Comcast for my landline. But when I call them to check out pricing, I find that my cable bill will go UP if I discontinue telephone service. What a racket! Russell Johnson r...@dimstar.net ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Free Geek Seattle- Helping The Needy Get Nerdy http://www.freegeekseattle.org/ https://groups.google.com/group/freegeek-seattle/topics?hl=en K Desktop Environment- Experience Freedom User Friendliness http://kde.org/ Free Lossless Audio Codec https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Flac Protect your digital freedom and privacy, eliminate DRM, learn more at http://www.defectivebydesign.org/what_is_drm ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@lists.pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
