Recommended hardware?

validis_

After reading what setups users on boards.ie have , there seems to be a big variation on ata hardware?

I was wondering what people would recommend for a normal home voip setup , allowing a standard phone to call VOIP or POTS, ??

I have been looking mainly at the offers here
http://www.komplett.ie/k/kl.asp?bn=10445

bhickey

validis_ wrote:

I have been looking mainly at the offers here
http://www.komplett.ie/k/kl.asp?bn=10445

Any of those units would be fine if you're looking for an ATA but the prices are saucy enough so you should shop around a bit.

validis_

yeah I thought they were a bit pricey, but do you recommend any other shops?

paulm17781

Try http://www.blueface.ie they are a VOIP provider and have a decent hardware selection. I am using the Linksys WRT54GP2 and it is great, I couldn't find it for a better proce than they were offering.

WillieFlynn

validis_ wrote:

I was wondering what people would recommend for a normal home voip setup , allowing a standard phone to call VOIP or POTS, ??

If you want the same phone handset to be used for both VoIP and POTS incomming and outgoing calls, rather than using two seprate handsets. Then this would limit you to something like the sipura 3000 (www.sipura.com) or a fritz fonebox (www.avm.de avalible from www.marxcomputers.ie). They have both FXO and FXS ports (for a normal telephone line and the other for a phone handset), rather than just multiple ports for handsets (which is the most common type of ATA)

However if you just need to be-able to make calls to VoIP and POTS, and for incomming calls just over VoIP then any ATA would do.

Another factor to think about is that, ATA's which are combined into routers have the advantage of giving QoS (quality of service) proity to the VoIP calls over any other internet traffic you have.

The cheapest ATA I've seen in Ireland is the PAP2 (65 euro from Blueface).

bhickey

WillieFlynn wrote:

If you want the same phone handset to be used for both VoIP and POTS incomming and outgoing calls, rather than using two seprate handsets. Then this would limit you to something like the sipura 3000 (www.sipura.com) or a fritz fonebox (www.avm.de avalible from www.marxcomputers.ie).

The Sipura 3000 (and Grandstream 488) offers the the possibility of PSTN-to-VoIP call origination and VoIP-to-PSTN call termination which is a nice trick but they are much more expensive than normal ATA's. You don't need them just for VoIP and POTS incoming and outgoing calls as the Grandstream 486 is much cheaper and does all that (along with routing).Most ATA's don't actually have this PSTN facility whereby you can plug in your exsiting analogue line ans use it for incming and outgoing calls.

caster

Sorry, trying to get my head around all this stuff...
Do you mean with the 486, you won't be able to just dial a number with your analog phone i.e. that you'll have to initiate the call from your pc?

Or have I completely misunderstood...

bhickey

caster wrote:

Sorry, trying to get my head around all this stuff...
Do you mean with the 486, you won't be able to just dial a number with your analog phone i.e. that you'll have to initiate the call from your pc?

Once you've an ATA you don't need the PC at all - it plays no part in the process. Your analogue handset (even a DECT cordless setup) plugs into the ATA and the ATA itself then makes the VoIP call on the Internet through whatever VoIP provider you have the ATA setup to connect to.

caster

OK, thanks.
So the only gain with the 488/ Sipura 3000 is to allow you to connect in your telephone line in as well as the analog phones?
And if so, whats the advantage in this.. is it something to do with not need another handset in addition to your current analog?

bhickey

caster wrote:

So the only gain with the 488/ Sipura 3000 is to allow you to connect in your telephone line in as well as the analog phones?

That's a separate subject altogether and has to do with being able to, for example, dial in to the unit and THEN initiate a call via VoIP. This would be useful for something like making international calls from a mobile. You could dial in to the ATA, it'd give you a dialtone and then you make the international call at VoIP rates (of course you're also still paying for the first leg of the call on the mobile).

caster wrote:

And if so, whats the advantage in this.. is it something to do with not need another handset in addition to your current analog?

Yes - being able to use only the one handset for VoIP and also for existing landline calls is a useful feature for some people (especially those on ADSL who are going to have an existing phoneline anyway) who don't want to have to buy another handset.

caster

Ok, starting to make sense to me, thanks for the help! Think the 486 would be sufficent for my needs.

lzbones

I would be against any of the Grandstream ATA's, I tried some and quality was not much good also they break. I see some VOIP providers stop selling them them. I got my hardware through http://www.digidave.ie - the best value around, they are reputable supplier who sell ALOT on ebay. Drop them an email they also have hardware listed on http://www.digidave.co.uk

caster

Which ATA's would you recommend?

aguyfromathenry

lzbones wrote:

I would be against any of the Grandstream ATA's, I tried some and quality was not much good also they break. I see some VOIP providers stop selling them them.

I've been using a Grandstream 486 ATA with a DECT phone for the last 6 months with various VoIP providers with no problems. I bought the kit from http://www.italk.ie. They preconfigured the box for me and it has worked fine from day one. Since I'm new to VoIP the support they gave me was excellent and not just confined to the hardware I bought from them.