1 |
On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 4:44 PM, Mark Knecht <markknecht@×××××.com> wrote: |
2 |
> On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 12:46 PM, Paul Hartman |
3 |
> <paul.hartman+gentoo@×××××.com> wrote: |
4 |
>> On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 12:31 PM, Mark Knecht <markknecht@×××××.com> wrote: |
5 |
>> MJ does offer some form or enhanced |
6 |
>>> 911 service (U.S. emergency number as possibly you're in the U.K. |
7 |
>>> based on the link you provided) if I sign up for it which is a concern |
8 |
>>> if we were to completely drop our land line. |
9 |
>> |
10 |
>> I believe E911 is legally required for any VoIP provider in the United States. |
11 |
>> |
12 |
> |
13 |
> Their web site has some info about this. I figure what I actually get |
14 |
> is what I actually get and probably not worth worrying about right |
15 |
> now. |
16 |
> |
17 |
> http://www.magicjack.com/4/faq/ |
18 |
> |
19 |
> |
20 |
>> I use Callcentric (with a Linksys SPA2102 obtained from ebay for |
21 |
>> $20ish) and the $1.50 E911 fee makes up nearly half of my phone |
22 |
>> bill... :) |
23 |
>> |
24 |
> |
25 |
> OK, so the CalccCentric plans look a lot like MagicJack, but you can |
26 |
> use it directly with your router? I like that as of course the routers |
27 |
> are on all the time and wouldn't be subject to long Gentoo emerge / |
28 |
> reboot updates on my MythTV server. |
29 |
|
30 |
The service of most VoIP providers is not tied to any device. (I don't |
31 |
know about MagicJack's dongle, but I know Vonage is locked to their |
32 |
device and you can't use your own, and some let you use your own but |
33 |
then are locked to that and you have to call them to change it.) You |
34 |
can basically use any SIP-compatible device and go. You can set it up |
35 |
on your PC with a full-fledged PBX like Asterisk, or simply use a |
36 |
soft-phone (there are a few in portage), use a SIP client on your |
37 |
mobile phone (take your home phone number with you, making/receiving |
38 |
calls over wifi or 3G). or with dedicated hardware wired to your home |
39 |
phone lines (as I've done), or whatever. Depending in the |
40 |
provider/plan you get you can use multiple lines, like in a business, |
41 |
so for example if your wife is on the phone you can make another call |
42 |
-- from the same phone number. |
43 |
|
44 |
You can create a free Callcentric account and completely set it up to |
45 |
see how it works for you before paying anything or porting your phone |
46 |
number etc. They have documentation on how to configure it on many |
47 |
different devices and software and they have test numbers you can call |
48 |
to give it a try. If nothing else you could do it just to see how the |
49 |
set up might go with MagicJack before you commit to porting your phone |
50 |
number to them, since it's probably the same process with a few |
51 |
different settings filled in. |
52 |
|
53 |
> Is you SPA2102 your main router for your house or is it behind a more |
54 |
> general router with wireless capabilities? I need wireless around the |
55 |
> house so I guess I'd have to find the right device if it's too |
56 |
> difficult to open port ranges for VoIP. I suspect it isn't too |
57 |
> difficult? |
58 |
|
59 |
The SPA2102 is just the VoIP box for me, that's its only purpose in my |
60 |
set-up. It has an ethernet port i hooked up to the internet, a couple |
61 |
phone jacks that you can plug your phone lines into, configure the |
62 |
settings and never touch it again. I just have it sitting behind my |
63 |
normal wireless router. They have screenshots of what the setup |
64 |
process is like here: |
65 |
http://www.callcentric.com/support/device/linksys/spa3102 (even though |
66 |
that's for the 3102, the screens are identical to the 2102). I |
67 |
upgraded the firmware to the latest available before setting it up, I |
68 |
believe the original firmware version didn't have all the codecs or |
69 |
options. |
70 |
|
71 |
I could protect its traffic on my router (DD-WRT) too but haven't felt |
72 |
like figuring that out yet. My internet is not maxed out that often (I |
73 |
have 20mbit so most downloads only take seconds, and, if not, then |
74 |
they aren't using all of my bandwidth anyway) and VoIP only uses a |
75 |
very tiny amount of data. |
76 |
|
77 |
If you want to jump through some hoops and are open to getting a new |
78 |
phone number, there are ways to place and receive VoIP calls |
79 |
completely for free, too. If you google it you'll find thousands of |
80 |
results. :) |