Archived from groups: comp.dcom.voice-over-ip (More info?)
I'm looking to share a single-line phone automatically across two lines
(a VoIP line and a POTS line), and am looking for devices with this
support.
The most uncomfortable thing I find about VoIP presently is the
limitation of 911 service (http://slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2106424&).
You cannot simply dial and hang up, you must wait to leave your
location (in contrast to landline service which requires only the call
to connect). And of course if the VoIP provider, the internet, or
power are interrupted, 911 on VoIP will be unavailable. With a small
kid, guests in the house while I'm away, etc., I feel more comfortable
with a phone system that doesn't carry caveats and works as one has
come to expect when one has come to expect it to work.
Consequently, I've kept my landline, stripped of features, for the
express purpose of dialing 911.
I'm now looking for a solution which will bind my landline and my VoIP
line into one single line phone. I've got only single line phones in
my house now, and replacing them with two line phones would eliminate
the cost benefits of switching to VoIP in the first place. My second
guiding principle therefore is to not outlay more money than I'm
saving.
Here's my ideal setup: I'd connect both incoming lines to some box
which also has a single output to a telephone. When a call comes in to
either line, the phone will ring, and on pickup it'll be attached to
the active line while the other line is simultaneously placed off hook
to generate a busy signal should someone call on that other line. The
two incoming lines would operate completely symmetrically. When
placing outgoing calls, lifting the receiver should by default attach
to the land line (again busying the other VoIP line). If however, I
dial a prefix (typically something line #0), the outgoing call would
swap to VoIP and busy the landline. Power outages should affect only
the ability to select the VoIP line, although it's permitted that the
"busy the other line" function might be unavailable; in other words,
even during a power failure, I should get a straight connection from my
phone to landline for incoming and outgoing calls.
These features of the solution would permit me to make calls on VoIP
with only a small change in behavior (adding the prefix), and
importantly permit use of the landline with absolutely no change in
behavior, satisfying my initial goal.
I've found a few of these boxes, but none of them are perfect. Here's
what my research has uncovered:
1. http://www.artech.com.tw/html/english/ax520/Ax520.htm
An interesting choice. On the plus side, it approximates what I want
somewhat closely, and could be quite cheap (<$50). However, when the
power goes out, it defaults to the formerly prefixed number. In other
words, if you dial #0 to get VoIP, then when the power goes out, you
get the VoIP line by default with no prefix and can no longer get to
the landline. If you connect it the other way, then you'd get landline
during power outages automatically, but would be required to dial #0 to
get it otherwise. There's no configuration that permits you to get to
911 universally with no extra digits. Perhaps there's some hardware
hacking possible. Unfortunately, the company is in Taiwan with
distributors only in France, from what I can tell:
http://www.cazenave.fr/freebox/
http://www.boxtoo.com/
Interestingly, the French have apparently been doing this for a while.
Most of the sites I've found on this topic are in French, but maybe
because the search terms I'm using are located in the French posts.
There may be German folks, for instance who are active in the area but
using other terms, presumably German.
2.
http://natcomm.com.au/america/index.cfm?page=product_details&id=37&product_id=37
Looks good, but appears to be in Australia. AUD 116 translates to
USD$90, a bit steep, and that's before shipping.
3. http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/skutch/telecomacc/as50.htm
Good again, but man it's expensive. $200.
4. http://yellowbox.free.fr/
A build-it-yourself version, but requires a manual switch to select the
alternate line. The device will not be conveniently placed, so I've
got to have one that permits line selection from the handset.
Have any of you looked to solve the same problem? What solutions did
you investigate and what did you finally implement?
jeff
I'm looking to share a single-line phone automatically across two lines
(a VoIP line and a POTS line), and am looking for devices with this
support.
The most uncomfortable thing I find about VoIP presently is the
limitation of 911 service (http://slate.com/Default.aspx?id=2106424&).
You cannot simply dial and hang up, you must wait to leave your
location (in contrast to landline service which requires only the call
to connect). And of course if the VoIP provider, the internet, or
power are interrupted, 911 on VoIP will be unavailable. With a small
kid, guests in the house while I'm away, etc., I feel more comfortable
with a phone system that doesn't carry caveats and works as one has
come to expect when one has come to expect it to work.
Consequently, I've kept my landline, stripped of features, for the
express purpose of dialing 911.
I'm now looking for a solution which will bind my landline and my VoIP
line into one single line phone. I've got only single line phones in
my house now, and replacing them with two line phones would eliminate
the cost benefits of switching to VoIP in the first place. My second
guiding principle therefore is to not outlay more money than I'm
saving.
Here's my ideal setup: I'd connect both incoming lines to some box
which also has a single output to a telephone. When a call comes in to
either line, the phone will ring, and on pickup it'll be attached to
the active line while the other line is simultaneously placed off hook
to generate a busy signal should someone call on that other line. The
two incoming lines would operate completely symmetrically. When
placing outgoing calls, lifting the receiver should by default attach
to the land line (again busying the other VoIP line). If however, I
dial a prefix (typically something line #0), the outgoing call would
swap to VoIP and busy the landline. Power outages should affect only
the ability to select the VoIP line, although it's permitted that the
"busy the other line" function might be unavailable; in other words,
even during a power failure, I should get a straight connection from my
phone to landline for incoming and outgoing calls.
These features of the solution would permit me to make calls on VoIP
with only a small change in behavior (adding the prefix), and
importantly permit use of the landline with absolutely no change in
behavior, satisfying my initial goal.
I've found a few of these boxes, but none of them are perfect. Here's
what my research has uncovered:
1. http://www.artech.com.tw/html/english/ax520/Ax520.htm
An interesting choice. On the plus side, it approximates what I want
somewhat closely, and could be quite cheap (<$50). However, when the
power goes out, it defaults to the formerly prefixed number. In other
words, if you dial #0 to get VoIP, then when the power goes out, you
get the VoIP line by default with no prefix and can no longer get to
the landline. If you connect it the other way, then you'd get landline
during power outages automatically, but would be required to dial #0 to
get it otherwise. There's no configuration that permits you to get to
911 universally with no extra digits. Perhaps there's some hardware
hacking possible. Unfortunately, the company is in Taiwan with
distributors only in France, from what I can tell:
http://www.cazenave.fr/freebox/
http://www.boxtoo.com/
Interestingly, the French have apparently been doing this for a while.
Most of the sites I've found on this topic are in French, but maybe
because the search terms I'm using are located in the French posts.
There may be German folks, for instance who are active in the area but
using other terms, presumably German.
2.
http://natcomm.com.au/america/index.cfm?page=product_details&id=37&product_id=37
Looks good, but appears to be in Australia. AUD 116 translates to
USD$90, a bit steep, and that's before shipping.
3. http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/skutch/telecomacc/as50.htm
Good again, but man it's expensive. $200.
4. http://yellowbox.free.fr/
A build-it-yourself version, but requires a manual switch to select the
alternate line. The device will not be conveniently placed, so I've
got to have one that permits line selection from the handset.
Have any of you looked to solve the same problem? What solutions did
you investigate and what did you finally implement?
jeff
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