OBi110: Tiny affordable PBX supporting multiple SIP trunks and Google Voice!

So for a few months now, I have been on a quest to find a cheap alternative to my landline which I just dumped. I was going to use a Windows based system (using 3CX and a voip.ms SIP trunk), but wasn't too happy with the fact I had to dedicated more resources to another system (VM in this case).

Someone in the CT chat room mentioned this device, and after doing some research, I decided to pull the trigger since on paper it looks really good. Well, I am happy to report that it is as good as it looks on paper.

The OBi110 device (or 100 series, which is a little cheaper and smaller, but doesn't support an incoming POTS line) allows you to hook up your regular analog phones to your favorite SIP trunks. I have been using a Google Voice # for a few months now, and had it forwarded to my cell. Now that I have this device, I no longer have to waste cellphone minutes. There is also a client for Android and iOS.

Right now, Google Voice is free until 2012 (hopefully Google will extend it another year), so it's definitely worth a look:

http://www.amazon.co...13631979&sr=8-1

Just a happy user, I know others were working on setting up their own VoIP network, so hopefully this info is useful to someone.

More info about the device (they sell them via Amazon only):
http://obihai.com/what-is.html

There are also some screenshots on the site as well, but check Amazon for the many positive reviews.

definitely a cool toy. i've had one for about 4 months now. i'm not using the google voice option, instead connecting the 2 service providers to my asterisk server (running on a dockstar) and the other to sipgate for incoming calls. and pots is connected to magicjack for outgoing calls (not incoming because it picks up too fast and you can't set the number of rings).

it will be on sale tomorrow (8/18) 11am-12pm pacific time, according to this post http://goo.gl/JUKJ0

Figures that they go on sale for the first time right after I purchase mine. Looks like it is a GoldBox sale, so you'll have to be quick. Either way, it pays for itself, since I have at least 4 more free months of Google Voice, so I don't have to waste cellphone minutes.

I picked up one recently and want to set up Asterisk on a router. Might do it on a regular box first. The sale isn't that big of deal to me - About $7.50 off the regular price. Not enough to get too worked up about. But on the setup I am a total noob - I have done a bit of linux command line stuff. Can either of you tell me what you used as a guide for your setup or more about how you set it up? There are tons of guides on the net but sorting through them makes my head spin. I have a POTS line and just plan to use regular phones. Hopefully this unit has less echo problems than the SPA3000/3102.

I used this thread as a starting point for obi integration http://goo.gl/VuQwc

as for setting up asterisk itself I just read the docs on the asterisk site.

JimS said:

I picked up one recently and want to set up Asterisk on a router. Might do it on a regular box first. The sale isn't that big of deal to me - About $7.50 off the regular price. Not enough to get too worked up about. But on the setup I am a total noob - I have done a bit of linux command line stuff. Can either of you tell me what you used as a guide for your setup or more about how you set it up? There are tons of guides on the net but sorting through them makes my head spin. I have a POTS line and just plan to use regular phones. Hopefully this unit has less echo problems than the SPA3000/3102.

Click to expand...

Jim, Dan said it couldn't do POTS so it's like the SPA3K devices (I'm not sure the 3K can hook to Google Talk).

I had this setup with Asterisk, the 3Ks and a Cisco 7960. Worked great except for the POTS to the CO. I managed to restore 7 digit dialing to my home.

the 100 can't do pots. the 110 can.

I was referring to the 110 which can do POTS. So can the SPA3k. Some people have issues with echo but it is possible. Not sure why Neil is saying they both don't do POTS. How well? I plan to find out. From what I have read the 110 is a big improvement.

Thanks for the link on setup. That will help a lot.

You've talked me into ordering yet another PC/HA device. My wife thanks you

EDIT
Just one question first... Will the obi110 work with this:
http://store.homeseer.com/store/Way2Call-Hi-Phone-Desktop-USB-Telephone-Interface-P25C49.aspx

etc6849 said:

You've talked me into ordering yet another PC/HA device. My wife thanks you

EDIT
Just one question first... Will the obi110 work with this:
http://store.homesee...ace-P25C49.aspx

Click to expand...

I'd also like to know if it works with the NetCallerID unit so many of us have. I also orderd one of the 110 models.

Just tried it, when I call from my cell, caller ID does show up on the NetCaller ID device. I don't have mine hooked up to my home automation right now, but the NetCaller ID device is displaying the correct #.

I unpacked my Obi 110 and quickly read through the guide and noticed this statement:

Do Not Use for Emergency Calls or Contacting Emergncy Services
This equipment is not intended to be used to call emergency services like 911, 112, 999, 000.

Click to expand...

I intended this unit to replace my land line in the future but this could be a deal breaker!

EDIT: I looked on their forums and saw THIS thread and I'm still very unsure about this methodology. To see what I mean look at a code snippet from that thread:

Setup Wizard > Outbound Settings > Phone OutboundCallRoute


Wow, that's a lot to try to digest. Also they don't tell you where to exactly place all of this code in the multiple array of input boxes on their menus.

Also, it seems you can't dial 911 'directly' but can program the unit to call an 'alternate' emergency number. Will your caller ID get transmitted with that call? What about the order of your call compared to people actually dialing 911 (big deal in Las Vegas as the 911 number is often overloaded). :huh: Also, after reading some of the later posts in that thread some places don't have an alternate 'ten digit' emergency number in lieu of dialing 911.

The problem is that your phone is IP based, so 911 is going to be an issue with many service providers (it's very difficult to obtain location information from IP addresses). I have 2 cell phones in my house if I need 911, plus I'll try to program a local emergency number once I have time. As for that code, I didn't have to do any of that, you can set it up via their portal, so all you have to do is provide some credentials, Google Voice account and you are up and running. I already got rid of my land line, so this device's sole purpose is to spend less on cell phone minutes.

Dan (electron) said:

The problem is that your phone is IP based, so 911 is going to be an issue with many service providers (it's very difficult to obtain location information from IP addresses). I have 2 cell phones in my house if I need 911, plus I'll try to program a local emergency number once I have time. As for that code, I didn't have to do any of that, you can set it up via their portal, so all you have to do is provide some credentials, Google Voice account and you are up and running. I already got rid of my land line, so this device's sole purpose is to spend less on cell phone minutes.

Click to expand...

I know with voip.ms (my SIP provider) I can enable e911 - it has a minor additional charge.

Also, if you're just looking at these VOIP providers just to replace your POTS line, but want to keep your analog phones and features, I'd also strongly suggest a look at Ooma - I've been using it for a year now and it's working great - and does support e911. With either you specify the address in their web-site that gets relayed to 911. I've done test calls to verify this is working correctly.

Careful with relying on 911 from a cell phone - it's often routed through Highway Patrol or similar before going to regular emergency services; at least this was the case a few years ago - because most 911 calls from cell phones were related to traffic incidents, they just bypassed overloading normal 911 EMS response - which can delay the response in a true emergency.

Sprint Integration
What's very neat is Sprint now offers free Google Voice (GV) integration for free! This means that once I setup Google Voice (GV) with Sprint, I see the attached image when I log in GV from the web and go to "Voice Settings." What this does is let's me use my cell phone number for my GV number (free forwarding is offered by Sprint).

When someone calls my cell phone, my home phone rings and my cell phone rings. If I answer the call on my cell, my home phone quits ringing (there is a delay of about 10-20 seconds from when the home phone stops ringing, but that's the only bug I'm seeing). It appears I can also integrate two GV accounts, so my wife will get her cell phone calls when her phone is dead. No more missed calls if I forget to charge my cell phone; well worth $49.99!

More Home Automation Questions
I'm not sure what I'll use for caller-id with Premise as the USB Way2Call box I was wanting is too hard to find and costly.

Anyone know if the widely available US Robotics USR 5637 supports this type of thing?
http://www.usr.com/support/5637/5637-ug/ref_data.html

I'm hoping someone is using the USR 5637 with Homeseer, so please respond

The module for Premise states the following:
SYSTapi is a TAPI compatible call management system for the Lantronix Premise Home Control System. SYSTapi is comprised of a .Net executable and an importable module for SYS.

Features
CallerID - notification to all instances of the Automation Browser
Voicemail – messages maybe played with the Automation Browser or by phone
Remote Access – remotely access your SYS devices via phone
Visual IVR – visually design an Interactive Voice Response system for Remote Access
Speech – uses Microsoft’s SAPI 5.1 text-to-speech
Call Blocking – block unwanted calls with standard or custom messages
Contact Management – simple contact management allows one-touch outbound dialing
Caller Notify – create one time special messages for specific callers

Requirements
Windows 200x/XP
Microsoft .Net Framework
Microsoft SAPI 5.1
Lantronix Premise Home Control System v2.x
TAPI compatible voice modem (See Tested Interfaces)
CallerID service on the connected phone line

Tested Modems and Interfaces
The following modems and TAPI interfaces have been tested and are known to work with SYSTapi:
• Way2Call Hi-Phone USB (Recommended)
• Zoom model 3025C
• BCM V.92 56K Voicemodem
• Panasonic KX-TD 816 with TSP version 1.72 (CID on EXTxxx interface only)
• US Robotics V.92http://forums.premisesystems.net/forums/3278/ShowPost.aspx