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Newb questions

Started by TyPR124, August 17, 2011, 08:00:59 PM

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TyPR124

Hey all, just got an obi110 today. Got it setup and working fine with GV (without using the obi dashboard, as I am the kind of person who would much rather set things up myself.)

I tested it with my GV account it it works perfectly so far. I do have a couple questions though. First, should I set the DirectoryNumber to anything, or just leave it blank? (I think I remember reading that it is ignored when using GV, but I can't remember where.)

Second, as of right now I am waiting to get a phone line splitter to hook it up to my home phone system for the real test. I am wondering if I also need to get a DSL filter for it (I have DSL and home phone service from Verizon.)? (I am fairly certain that the answer to this one is yes.)

Third, and this is where my lack of telecommunications knowledge comes in (I am very good at computer networking, ironically, but phones scare the crap outta me  :-[ ), when I hook it up to my home phone system, do I use the POTS or the regular phone jack?

Also, when (if) I drop Verizon home phone service, do I use the POTS or phone jack?

And because I like to know how things work, how do I know when I want to use POTS or phone? What is the difference?

And last, I know that I can't dial 911 (which is mainly, from my understanding, because of GV), so instead would it be a viable option to reroute calls to 911 to my local police departments number (which, in a worst case scenario, is much better than nothing, right?)

Thanks. Oh, and sorry for being such a noob haha

RonR

#1
DirectoryNumber is not used.  Leave it blank.

The OBi110 has a LINE Port jack and a PHONE Port jack.  The LINE Port jack is normally connected to your POTS line.  Do NOT connect a POTS line to the PHONE Port jack as damage to the OBi may occur.   The PHONE Port jack is connected to your telephone(s).

In your case, you probably want to isolate your POTS/DSL line from your normal house wiring and plug it into the LINE Port jack through a DSL filter.  A splitter won't accomplish this isolation.  Then the normal house wiring with the POTS line disconnected from it and with only your house phones connected to it can be plugged into the PHONE Port jack.

Normally, no telephones are connected directly to the POTS line.  All telephones access the POTS line and Google Voice through the OBi.  If you drop POTS telephone service, you can simply disconnect the LINE Port jack.

By default, 911 is routed to the LINE Port.  If you drop your POTS line, dialing 911 can be made to call an alternate number through Google Voce.

All incoming calls ring the OBi PHONE Port.  Outgoing calls normally go the trunk defined by:

Physical Interfaces -> PHONE Port -> PrimaryLine

which defaults to PSTN Line (LINE Port).  You can override this setting using **n prefixes when dialing:

**1 + number  ->  SP1 Service
**2 + number  ->  SP2 Service
**8 + number  ->  LINE Port
**9 + number  ->  OBiTALK Service


TyPR124

Quote from: RonR on August 17, 2011, 08:21:16 PM
DirectoryNumber is not used.  Leave it blank.

The OBi110 has a LINE Port jack and a PHONE Port jack.  The LINE Port jack is normally connected to your POTS line.  Do NOT connect a POTS line to the PHONE Port jack as damage to the OBi may occur.   The PHONE Port jack is connected to your telephone(s).

In your case, you probably want to isolate your POTS/DSL line from your normal house wiring and plug it into the LINE Port jack through a DSL filter.  A splitter won't accomplish this isolation.  Then the normal house wiring with the POTS line disconnected from it and with only your house phones connected to it can be plugged into the PHONE Port jack.


As of right now, isolating the line my OBi isn't possible (and probably won't be unless we decide to use GV+OBi as our only phone service.)

Quote from: RonR on August 17, 2011, 08:21:16 PM
Normally, no telephones are connected directly to the POTS line.  All telephones access the POTS line and Google Voice through the OBi.  If you drop POTS telephone service, you can simply disconnect the LINE Port jack.

Then is it possible to have a phone connected on the POTS line (between Verizon and OBi)? If so, I would have to assume that all calls made from said phone would go through Verizon and not OBi, correct? And incoming calls would depend on who answers first (said phone or OBi), yes? Would turning off AA prevent OBi from picking up/routing incoming calls on the POTS line? (I have AA disabled right now anyway, because I have no use for it.)


Quote from: RonR on August 17, 2011, 08:21:16 PM
By default, 911 is routed to the LINE Port.  If you drop your POTS line, dialing 911 can be made to call an alternate number through Google Voce.

All incoming calls ring the OBi PHONE Port.  Outgoing calls normally go the trunk defined by:

Physical Interfaces -> PHONE Port -> PrimaryLine

which defaults to PSTN Line (LINE Port).  You can override this setting using **n prefixes when dialing:

**1 + number  ->  SP1 Service
**2 + number  ->  SP2 Service
**8 + number  ->  LINE Port
**9 + number  ->  OBiTALK Service



http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/voice/thread?tid=6e78d916843601a0&hl=en

From what I understand, GV will not accept calls out to 911, (even if OBi routes them that way.)

As far as the primary line goes, I have it set to SP1 which is setup as GV. Just to clarify, I don't have it hooked into POTS right now. Only the internet and a phone to test with.


Another thing I would like to do is set it up so that I don't have to dial an area code all the time. I don't know if this is a problem with GV or OBi (or a combination of the two, although I know for sure that GV won't accept numbers without an area code), but I suspect there is a way to have the OBi add the area code if it isn't present (something like, if the first number is a 1, expect 10 more numbers. If the first number isn't a 1, prepend 1yyy to the beginning of the first 7 numbers, where yyy is an area code.)

If I had to take a guess, I would say it would have to be done with a digit map. If that is the case, is there a resource that explains how digit maps work and how to create/edit them (as this is something I would prefer to understand myself than have someone give me a magic string of characters that does what I want.) I did find the forum post about DigitMaps, but it isn't exactly very complete as far as explaining the syntax.

RonR

Quote from: TyPR124 on August 17, 2011, 11:30:10 PM
Then is it possible to have a phone connected on the POTS line (between Verizon and OBi)? If so, I would have to assume that all calls made from said phone would go through Verizon and not OBi, correct? And incoming calls would depend on who answers first (said phone or OBi), yes? Would turning off AA prevent OBi from picking up/routing incoming calls on the POTS line? (I have AA disabled right now anyway, because I have no use for it.)

Any phone connected to the POTS line will work normally with the POTS line.  The OBi won't know anything about it.  If the OBi's LINE Port is also connected to the POTS line, then the OBi can also make and receive calls through the POTS line.  The Auto Attendant won't affect the OBi's behavior, except for answering calls instead of ringing the PHONE Port of course.  You don't need to disable the Auto Attendant.  It only comes into play if you add the appropriate rule to an InboundCallRoute.

Quote from: TyPR124 on August 17, 2011, 11:30:10 PM
From what I understand, GV will not accept calls out to 911, (even if OBi routes them that way.)

That's correct, but you can have the OBi call any valid number of your choosing when you dial 911.

Quote from: TyPR124 on August 17, 2011, 11:30:10 PM
Another thing I would like to do is set it up so that I don't have to dial an area code all the time.

Service Providers -> ITSP Profile A -> General -> DigitMap:

(1xxxxxxxxxx|<1>[2-9]xxxxxxxxx|<1aaa>xxxxxxx|011xx.|(Mipd)|[^*]@@.'@'@@.)

where aaa is your local area code.

Quote from: TyPR124 on August 17, 2011, 11:30:10 PM
is there a resource that explains how digit maps work and how to create/edit them

http://www.obihai.com/docs/OBiDeviceAdminGuide.pdf

TyPR124

Well so far so good. I am still waiting for a phone splitter and a DSL filter before I try to set it up for real.

Also, found out that it *might* be easier than I originally thought to isolate the POTS line. Which, if I can, would work out really well because then I can have that line go through my surge protector before it reaches any devices (right now it goes through a surge protected before my DSL modem, but phones are screwed...)

Thanks for the help. I'll let you know if I run into any problems ;)