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Obi ONLY for outgoing calls?

Started by p3ernie, January 18, 2020, 12:09:55 AM

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p3ernie

I have a 2 line phone at home connected to a landline. My GV number is forwarded to my landline so my phone at home rings when someone dials.

1. Can I use the obihai to make outgoing calls so that my caller id shows the GV number? I know the answer is yes, but I would like to be able to make 911 calls which is why I want to keep the landline service. Any ideas on how to configure this setup and with which device?

2. Since I have a 2 line phone I would like to be able to make calls on both lines using the same GV number. Is this possible?

3. My best guess is to use a obi102 and connect the line port to the landline for 911 calls and use the obi to make all other outgoing calls? If this is true, is there a way to setup the line port so I don't have to dial **8 to make 911 calls? I hope this all makes sense.

Thank you in advance.

drgeoff

There is not, and never has been, an OBi102. Only the OBi110 and OBi212 have ports whicy can be connected to a landline. It is no longer possible to use an OBi110 with GV.

ubergoober

You can use the OBI to make 911 calls by subscribing to a service provider that offers 911 services.  Anveo comes to mind, but there are others.

Google Voice will allow you to make two simultaneous calls on any given number.  I have an OBI202 and often have two calls, one on each of the two FXS ports.  I use the same google voice number for both calls.

You won't need a device with an FXO port if you ditch the landline and get an internet based provider.  It will cost you substantially less.

T

p3ernie

#3
Quote from: ubergoober on January 18, 2020, 08:55:24 AM
You can use the OBI to make 911 calls by subscribing to a service provider that offers 911 services.  Anveo comes to mind, but there are others.

Google Voice will allow you to make two simultaneous calls on any given number.  I have an OBI202 and often have two calls, one on each of the two FXS ports.  I use the same google voice number for both calls.

You won't need a device with an FXO port if you ditch the landline and get an internet based provider.  It will cost you substantially less.

T

The reason why I don't want to ditch the landline is in case the internet goes down, I can still make and receive calls. Also I want to be able to make 911 calls without worrying about the internet being down. But it sounds like the questions I asked are possible to enact? Also can you elaborate on your setup? You also have 2 landlines?

ubergoober

I have no landlines.  When I moved into my home, there was a 60hz hum on my line due to old wires with broken insulation.  Moisture gets in and there you have it.  When I requested Centurylink (F.K.A. Qwest) replace the cable, they said they would, but it traversed my neighbor's property and given past history, it was going to be a battle, despite telco having a  legal right of way.  It simply wasn't worth it.

So, I converted from a landline to a burner phone and then onto Google voice, on SP1.  I have a 911 provider as well.  I did have the need to call 911 a couple of years ago.  They answered, they dispatched, my wife is doing well, thank you for asking.

I have Comcast (just can't bring myself to say Xfinity...) and my service is stable.  In fact, I have fewer problems transacting voice using the internet than I had with my landline.  I have Cell phone service from Sprint and I'm able to call 911 in that manner if my internet service is down.  Power goes down more frequently than Internet.  I've got a relatively inexpensive UPS.  On it are four items.  My cable modem, my router, my obi202 and my DECT base station.  My alarm system is battery backed up and uses the cellular network for its telemetry needs.

My largest critic in migrating off of Centurylink was my wife.
* What if the internet goes down = cell phones
* What if the power goes down = UPS
* What if it's the zombie apocalypse = KYAG  :)

The first week all of this was running, I was on the phone with her and she says "Oh crap, the power is out...."  She just kept talking and at the end of the call I pointed out what should have been obvious, that we were still talking.

This is all about cost vs. benefit vs. risk.  The benefit of reduced cost allowed me to mitigate the risk with the UPS and makes me feel better about the money I spend on my family cell phone plan (all unlocked MOTO G at a price that costs you less than taking carrier insurance on your phone over three years, but that's another rant) and my cable internet service.  As for risk, I've got first hand validation that 911 works and a fallback plan in case it does not.  Do you live in a rural area?  Do you have a cell phone?

For the money you spend on two landlines, you could easily rationalize a 2nd obi in case the first one breaks, as well as the UPS.

T


p3ernie

Quote from: ubergoober on January 19, 2020, 11:56:45 AM
I have no landlines.  When I moved into my home, there was a 60hz hum on my line due to old wires with broken insulation.  Moisture gets in and there you have it.  When I requested Centurylink (F.K.A. Qwest) replace the cable, they said they would, but it traversed my neighbor's property and given past history, it was going to be a battle, despite telco having a  legal right of way.  It simply wasn't worth it.

So, I converted from a landline to a burner phone and then onto Google voice, on SP1.  I have a 911 provider as well.  I did have the need to call 911 a couple of years ago.  They answered, they dispatched, my wife is doing well, thank you for asking.

I have Comcast (just can't bring myself to say Xfinity...) and my service is stable.  In fact, I have fewer problems transacting voice using the internet than I had with my landline.  I have Cell phone service from Sprint and I'm able to call 911 in that manner if my internet service is down.  Power goes down more frequently than Internet.  I've got a relatively inexpensive UPS.  On it are four items.  My cable modem, my router, my obi202 and my DECT base station.  My alarm system is battery backed up and uses the cellular network for its telemetry needs.

My largest critic in migrating off of Centurylink was my wife.
* What if the internet goes down = cell phones
* What if the power goes down = UPS
* What if it's the zombie apocalypse = KYAG  :)

The first week all of this was running, I was on the phone with her and she says "Oh crap, the power is out...."  She just kept talking and at the end of the call I pointed out what should have been obvious, that we were still talking.

This is all about cost vs. benefit vs. risk.  The benefit of reduced cost allowed me to mitigate the risk with the UPS and makes me feel better about the money I spend on my family cell phone plan (all unlocked MOTO G at a price that costs you less than taking carrier insurance on your phone over three years, but that's another rant) and my cable internet service.  As for risk, I've got first hand validation that 911 works and a fallback plan in case it does not.  Do you live in a rural area?  Do you have a cell phone?

For the money you spend on two landlines, you could easily rationalize a 2nd obi in case the first one breaks, as well as the UPS.

T



Thank you for your detailed explanation and anecdotes! I am all for efficiency and saving money so I will strongly consider what you suggested. There are a few other complicated details I haven't mentioned that is influencing me to keep the landlines for now, but the UPS you mentioned is definitely worth considering. Thanks again for your response

p3ernie

Quote from: drgeoff on January 18, 2020, 01:19:15 AM
There is not, and never has been, an OBi102. Only the OBi110 and OBi212 have ports whicy can be connected to a landline. It is no longer possible to use an OBi110 with GV.

Ok so if I used the Obi212:

1. Could I connect the line port to the landline to make 911 calls but configure it so I don't have to dial **8 before dialing?
2. If I have a 2 line phone, would I be able to dial out on both lines simultaenously? Ex: If I place a call on line 1, can my partner also dial out on line 2 at the same time?
3. Could I configure the Obi only for outgoing calls and keep the way I receive incoming calls without the calls going through the Obi?

drgeoff

Quote from: p3ernie on January 19, 2020, 11:11:39 PM
Quote from: drgeoff on January 18, 2020, 01:19:15 AM
There is not, and never has been, an OBi102. Only the OBi110 and OBi212 have ports whicy can be connected to a landline. It is no longer possible to use an OBi110 with GV.

Ok so if I used the Obi212:

1. Could I connect the line port to the landline to make 911 calls but configure it so I don't have to dial **8 before dialing?
2. If I have a 2 line phone, would I be able to dial out on both lines simultaenously? Ex: If I place a call on line 1, can my partner also dial out on line 2 at the same time?
3. Could I configure the Obi only for outgoing calls and keep the way I receive incoming calls without the calls going through the Obi?

Yes, yes.
Yes, though you cannot have two simultaneous calls on a landline.
Yes.

azrobert

Quote from: drgeoff on January 20, 2020, 12:24:00 AM
Quote from: p3ernie on January 19, 2020, 11:11:39 PM

Ok so if I used the Obi212:

2. If I have a 2 line phone, would I be able to dial out on both lines simultaenously? Ex: If I place a call on line 1, can my partner also dial out on line 2 at the same time?


Yes, though you cannot have two simultaneous calls on a landline.

I thought the OBi212 only has 1 FXS port.

Taoman

Quote from: azrobert on January 20, 2020, 06:19:09 AM

I thought the OBi212 only has 1 FXS port.

Yep. Unclear to me how a 2-line phone would work on an OBi212.

ProfTech

I've no idea what the OP is trying to accomplish, either but I used a 110 with a landline and VOIP for years. With a 2 line phone, connect one line to the Obi and the the other line to the PSTN. Works beautifully. I had dsl at the time and used voip for all my "long distance" calls and the Obi automatically routed all local (7 digit) calls to my landline. You can conference the landline with the VOIP and yes, make a call on the landline while on a voip call.

azrobert

Quote from: ProfTech on January 20, 2020, 09:22:53 AM
With a 2 line phone, connect one line to the Obi and the the other line to the PSTN. Works beautifully.

I believe the OP wants all outbound calls to have the GV CallerID. The 2nd line connected this way will have the landline CallerID. The OP could get the GV IVR by calling his GV number then make a new call to get the GV CallerID, but that's a pain.

OP said:
Quote
1. Can I use the obihai to make outgoing calls so that my caller id shows the GV number?
2. Since I have a 2 line phone I would like to be able to make calls on both lines using the same GV number.

drgeoff

Quote from: azrobert on January 20, 2020, 06:19:09 AM
Quote from: drgeoff on January 20, 2020, 12:24:00 AM
Quote from: p3ernie on January 19, 2020, 11:11:39 PM

Ok so if I used the Obi212:

2. If I have a 2 line phone, would I be able to dial out on both lines simultaenously? Ex: If I place a call on line 1, can my partner also dial out on line 2 at the same time?


Yes, though you cannot have two simultaneous calls on a landline.

I thought the OBi212 only has 1 FXS port.
Correct, an OBi212 will only support one line of a 2-line phone.  I shouldn't reply to posts when my mind is on other matters.

p3ernie

Quote from: ProfTech on January 20, 2020, 09:22:53 AM
I've no idea what the OP is trying to accomplish, either but I used a 110 with a landline and VOIP for years. With a 2 line phone, connect one line to the Obi and the the other line to the PSTN. Works beautifully. I had dsl at the time and used voip for all my "long distance" calls and the Obi automatically routed all local (7 digit) calls to my landline. You can conference the landline with the VOIP and yes, make a call on the landline while on a voip call.

Would I be able to do this on a Obi212? If I understand correctly there is no more support for Obi112?

p3ernie

Quote from: azrobert on January 20, 2020, 09:48:13 AM
Quote from: ProfTech on January 20, 2020, 09:22:53 AM
With a 2 line phone, connect one line to the Obi and the the other line to the PSTN. Works beautifully.

I believe the OP wants all outbound calls to have the GV CallerID. The 2nd line connected this way will have the landline CallerID. The OP could get the GV IVR by calling his GV number then make a new call to get the GV CallerID, but that's a pain.

OP said:
Quote
1. Can I use the obihai to make outgoing calls so that my caller id shows the GV number?
2. Since I have a 2 line phone I would like to be able to make calls on both lines using the same GV number.


I believe one possible scenario would be setting up sp1 and sp2 on the obi to use the 2 line phone (my phone has a line 1 and line 2 combined option) and then to use the landline to call 911 I would just have to live with dialing **8 beforehand.


drgeoff

Quote from: p3ernie on January 21, 2020, 11:43:12 PM
Would I be able to do this on a Obi212? If I understand correctly there is no more support for Obi112?

There is no such thing as an OBi112.

An Obi212 is the replacement for an OBi110.  Both have 1 jack to connect a phone and 1 jack to connect a landline.

drgeoff

Quote from: p3ernie on January 21, 2020, 11:46:11 PM
Quote from: azrobert on January 20, 2020, 09:48:13 AM
Quote from: ProfTech on January 20, 2020, 09:22:53 AM
With a 2 line phone, connect one line to the Obi and the the other line to the PSTN. Works beautifully.

I believe the OP wants all outbound calls to have the GV CallerID. The 2nd line connected this way will have the landline CallerID. The OP could get the GV IVR by calling his GV number then make a new call to get the GV CallerID, but that's a pain.

OP said:
Quote
1. Can I use the obihai to make outgoing calls so that my caller id shows the GV number?
2. Since I have a 2 line phone I would like to be able to make calls on both lines using the same GV number.


I believe one possible scenario would be setting up sp1 and sp2 on the obi to use the 2 line phone (my phone has a line 1 and line 2 combined option) and then to use the landline to call 911 I would just have to live with dialing **8 beforehand.


Not quite.

An OBi 212 has a single phone interface and will connect to only one line of a 2-line phone.  You can have up to 4 different VoIP providers (=phone numbers) on an OBi212.  You can manually or programmatically choose which one to use for an outgoing call.  Incoming calls to all those numbers will ring the one line of the 2-line phone that is connected to the OBi212.  You can have a different ring cadence to indicate which number is ringing.

You then have a choice with the landline.

a)  You connect the landline to the other line of the 2-line phone.  Calls you make and receive on the landline and the second line of the phone do not go through the OBi at all.

or

b)  You connect the landline to the LINE jack of the OBi212.  All calls you make and receive on the landline do go through the OBi and the same line of the 2-line phone as the VoIP calls.  The OBi can be programmed to automatically route 911 calls to the landline.  No **8 required.

p3ernie

Quote from: drgeoff on January 22, 2020, 12:17:21 PM
Quote from: p3ernie on January 21, 2020, 11:46:11 PM
Quote from: azrobert on January 20, 2020, 09:48:13 AM
Quote from: ProfTech on January 20, 2020, 09:22:53 AM
With a 2 line phone, connect one line to the Obi and the the other line to the PSTN. Works beautifully.

I believe the OP wants all outbound calls to have the GV CallerID. The 2nd line connected this way will have the landline CallerID. The OP could get the GV IVR by calling his GV number then make a new call to get the GV CallerID, but that's a pain.

OP said:
Quote
1. Can I use the obihai to make outgoing calls so that my caller id shows the GV number?
2. Since I have a 2 line phone I would like to be able to make calls on both lines using the same GV number.


I believe one possible scenario would be setting up sp1 and sp2 on the obi to use the 2 line phone (my phone has a line 1 and line 2 combined option) and then to use the landline to call 911 I would just have to live with dialing **8 beforehand.


Not quite.

An OBi 212 has a single phone interface and will connect to only one line of a 2-line phone.  You can have up to 4 different VoIP providers (=phone numbers) on an OBi212.  You can manually or programmatically choose which one to use for an outgoing call.  Incoming calls to all those numbers will ring the one line of the 2-line phone that is connected to the OBi212.  You can have a different ring cadence to indicate which number is ringing.

You then have a choice with the landline.

a)  You connect the landline to the other line of the 2-line phone.  Calls you make and receive on the landline and the second line of the phone do not go through the OBi at all.

or

b)  You connect the landline to the LINE jack of the OBi212.  All calls you make and receive on the landline do go through the OBi and the same line of the 2-line phone as the VoIP calls.  The OBi can be programmed to automatically route 911 calls to the landline.  No **8 required.

Thank you so much for your detailed answer.

So in scenario b) if someone rang line 1 and I answered, could my partner then answer line 2 if another call came in and/or place an outgoing call while I am on line 1? And also in this scenario, if my partner was to place an outgoing call on line 2, would the cid show up as the gv number associated with line 1?

azrobert

#18
The OBi212 has only 1 phone port for a single line. Period! You can connect both phone Line1 and Line 2 via a splitter to the OBi212, but you would be sharing a single line and won't be able to make simultaneous calls. Below are some solutions using an OBi202. The OBi202 has 2 phone ports allowing for 2 separate lines, but does NOT have a Line port for a landline. These solutions give you everything you want, simultaneous calls, GV CallerID and ability to receive calls on line2 when line1 is busy.


Solution 1:
Phone Line1 and Line2 ------> OBi202    
Separate phone(s) -----------> Landline for 911

Connect both lines to the OBi202. Use a separate phone(s) connected directly to the landline only for 911.

Solution 2:
Phone Line1 and Line2 ------> OBi202    --USB--OBiLine --------->  LandLine

The OBiLine is an adapter connected to the OBi202 via USB cable allowing for a landline connection. The OBiLine is discontinued, but you might be able to find a used or new one on Ebay. Here is one, but it's located in Australia.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/OBiLINE-FXO-to-USB-Phone-Line-Adapter/262643223114?epid=1163597109&hash=item3d26c18a4a:g:dEsAAOSwUDldZ1-g

Solution 3:
Phone Line1 and Line2 ------> OBi202    --Network->  OBi110 --------->  LandLine

I use an OBi110 to connect to a landline. 911 calls are sent over the network to the OBi110. The OBi110 is NOT supported by Polycom, but it still works for me. This is a more complicated setup. The OBi110 is available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Obihai-OBi110-Service-Telephone-Adapter/dp/B0045RMEPI/ref=sr_1_3?crid=R945YFE3P64I&keywords=obi110&qid=1579788909&sprefix=obi110%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-3

Edit:

Here's a solution using an OBi212 and an OBi200. The OBi200 has a single phone port and no landline connection. You can also use 2 OBi212s for an easier setup.

Solution 4:
Phone Line1 ------> OBi212 --------->  LandLine
Phone Line2 ------> OBi200 --Network --> OBi212

Phone Line 2 sends 911 calls over the network to the OBi212.


p3ernie

Quote from: azrobert on January 23, 2020, 06:21:29 AM
The OBi212 has only 1 phone port for a single line. Period! You can connect both phone Line1 and Line 2 via a splitter to the OBi212, but you would be sharing a single line and won't be able to make simultaneous calls. Below are some solutions using an OBi202. The OBi202 has 2 phone ports allowing for 2 separate lines, but does NOT have a Line port for a landline. These solutions give you everything you want, simultaneous calls, GV CallerID and ability to receive calls on line2 when line1 is busy.


Solution 1:
Phone Line1 and Line2 ------> OBi202    
Separate phone(s) -----------> Landline for 911

Connect both lines to the OBi202. Use a separate phone(s) connected directly to the landline only for 911.

Solution 2:
Phone Line1 and Line2 ------> OBi202    --USB--OBiLine --------->  LandLine

The OBiLine is an adapter connected to the OBi202 via USB cable allowing for a landline connection. The OBiLine is discontinued, but you might be able to find a used or new one on Ebay. Here is one, but it's located in Australia.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/OBiLINE-FXO-to-USB-Phone-Line-Adapter/262643223114?epid=1163597109&hash=item3d26c18a4a:g:dEsAAOSwUDldZ1-g

Solution 3:
Phone Line1 and Line2 ------> OBi202    --Network->  OBi110 --------->  LandLine

I use an OBi110 to connect to a landline. 911 calls are sent over the network to the OBi110. The OBi110 is NOT supported by Polycom, but it still works for me. This is a more complicated setup. The OBi110 is available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Obihai-OBi110-Service-Telephone-Adapter/dp/B0045RMEPI/ref=sr_1_3?crid=R945YFE3P64I&keywords=obi110&qid=1579788909&sprefix=obi110%2Caps%2C207&sr=8-3

Edit:

Here's a solution using an OBi212 and an OBi200. The OBi200 has a single phone port and no landline connection. You can also use 2 OBi212s for an easier setup.

Solution 4:
Phone Line1 ------> OBi212 --------->  LandLine
Phone Line2 ------> OBi200 --Network --> OBi212

Phone Line 2 sends 911 calls over the network to the OBi212.



Wow thank you so much!! These are all really great ideas, I greatly appreciate your input.
One last question: If I wanted to place 2 more phones in 2 different rooms, would I then connect an obi202 to each of the phones to replicate this setup?