SIP Phones with Analogue phone line. What do I need?

[Zoo]

Hello,

For my new home I want to use SIP video phones (e.g. grandstream) and sofware SIP clients on PCs and Android phones. I want to be able to use the SIP phones to monitor SIP compatibple IP cameras and SIP video door stations but at the same time I want to use these same SIP phones to make and receive calls over my standard analogue phone line.

What equipment would I need to connect the analoge phone line on my home network so that it can be used by the SIP phones? If there are more than one ways to do this, what are the pros and cons of each way?

Has anybody done such thing for his home? Any advice related to this topic greatly apreciated (even if not directly related with my question).

If it matters I live in EU.

Thank you!

 

[firstone]

This is maybe not the best forum for this kind of information but what you want is VOIP gateway. You need the one with FXO port, which is where you plug analog PSTN line into. In contrast, FXS port is used to plug analog phone into SIP line. There are numerous FXO gateways out there. For example, Obi 110, Cisco SPA3102, etc. You should be able to use them without any software but I'm not 100% sure. I use an original Sipura SPA3000. Sipura was bought by LInksys and later by Cisco and 3102 is the new model. I use mine with Asterisk running on linux. Asterisk allows me to intercept any calls with unknown or private numbers and send them to voicemail. I have zero telemarketer calls.

Why do you even want to plug into analog line though? Just get SIP service, should be much cheaper and fewer headaches. The only reason I keep mine is for the fax and alarm panel.

 

[tmbrown97]

I gave up Analog a while back... I use SIP exclusively now with a SIP trunk coming into the house and I migrated my phone numbers over.

I agree with firestone - an ATA gives you the FXS port so you can use analog phones; or an FXO lets you interface an analog line. There's a cisco device somewhere around my desk that does both.

That said, it was my experience that going to 100% sip is so much cleaner. The cheaper consumer devices don't have the same echo canceling and sound improvement features vs. commercial products. They introduce headaches and noise. Then again, going all SIP can be expensive. I personally went with a DECT cordless sip station - basically a base station that supports up to 8 wireless phones, but using DECT instead of wifi for better performance all around. The advantage is you can see who's calling - name and number in my case; I can transfer around the house, and I have multi-line extensions in all of them - and even shared phonebooks. For my home office I have a high end SIP phone with a professional headset - the call quality is amazing, and I pay only a few bucks each month for my sip trunk and my usage - and I have all the features I'd need for a big business; and my cell phone has a soft-phone client running so I can make/take office calls from anywhere.

 

[sic0048]

I would recommend looking into the Obi 100 or Obi 110. This is an inexpensive FXO gateway (runs between $40 and $60 depending on if you can catch it on sale or not), but it is extremely powerful and customizable. It will also interface with Google Voice natively if you want to use that service instead of a t traditional SIP provider.

I recently picked on up and it allowed me to drop my analog phone line while still using the regular analog phones in my house. I ported my landline to Google Voice and now use GV for my incoming and outgoing calls. GV is free for call in North America until at least the end of 2012. I also pay $1.50 per month to a traditional SIP provider (CallCentric) for e911 service. Google Voice does not support e911, so to ensure that the 911 operator will receive my location information, it is worth the $1.50 per month to get this service through a SIP provider.

There is a very helpful forum over at the obi site. http://www.obitalk.c...2cnrljkrf5&

 

[Zoo]

Thanks guys! I am a bit confused regarding the suggestion for Obi ... I had a look at it and it seems to be the opposide of what I need. sic0048 said "it allowed me to drop my analog phone line while still using the regular analog phones in my house" but what I need is something that will do the reverse.

Also I don't live in the US and the services offfered by Obi seem to be country specific.

 

[az1324]

Obi 100 has only 1 output that connects to analog phones
Obi 110 has 2 ports: 1 output that connects to analog phones & 1 input that connects to an analog telco line

http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=57.0

 

[Zoo]

Thanks. What I want is to connect SIP phones to an analog line. Can I do that with Obi? Or I have to use something like Asterix in order to achive this? Is there any way to connect the SIP phones to the Analog line without a PBX? Something like: SIP Phones -> Ethernet Switch -> Some basic low cost equipment -> Analog line. Is this possible?

 

[firstone]

You should be able to use Obi without PBX but you should really ask in Obi forums, just in case.

 

[az1324]

You might be able to make it work on some level, but I think with the complexity of your setup you are going to be much better served with a PBX and since you can get a pogoplug device that will run Asterisk or FreeSwitch for < $50, cost shouldnt be a factor. This way you have a lot more control over routing, multiple voicemails, and you can integrate with your home automation.

 

[sic0048]

I too think you are better served running a Asterisk or PBX server. However, you can use the Obi as the analog/digital interface. So you don't need to buy a phone card or anything like that because the Obi can fill that role. So almost any older computer or a virtual partition on an existing computer would work.

But I think you want the Obi 110 because it has an analog phone line interface while the Obi 100 does not.

 

[tmbrown97]

The PogoPlug, 3CX, Asterisk, FreePBX - many options out there. The Cisco device with 1 FXS and 1 FXO port is a decent gateway. Lots of options to study up on.

 

[markhood]

You should be able to use Obi without PBX but you should really ask in Obi forums, just in case.

 

[kwilcox]

PBX in a Flash here, asterisk @ home/ FreePBX gui all rolled into a virtual CentOS based appliance. Fire it up with the free vmware player or run on VMware workstation. It's pretty much turn key. I hardened it with Fail2ban and also trigger emails if call volume changes in an unusual manner. We back it up with cellphones. My Galaxy Nexus native VoIP client can also connect as an extension. My favorite thing about it is a never ending IVR menu set which I devised to trap sales calls during dinner hours. Friends know what to press to ring through.

No need for a land line any more in this day and age.