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I guess I just need to vent

Started by Lavarock7, August 26, 2020, 08:48:30 PM

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Lavarock7

I am trying to set up an Obi for an elderly person and in her room they will only have Wifi. I have a 202 here with what appears to be an old wifi Obi dongle but it doesn't work. Fine, I have had it for years so I decided to just buy 1 or 2 online.

For most people, that is an easy thing. I tend towards Amazon because I live in Hawaii (one of the 50 states you know) but over he water from the rest. Many companies seem to think we are 'overseas' or a foreign country. Your mainland telephones work here, we have banks and Walmart and the like, but we are treated like a third world country. Here is why.

The best delivery options for us is USPS. Yes, the much maligned old Post Office treats us with respect. We can mail out or receive letters with the common (what is it now? 55 cent) stamp. Although packages can be mailed here at a slight increase in cost, I can literally mail a 50 pound box for under $20 in a Priority Mail envelope of box.

So these new or old Obi Wifi Adapters might cost $35 but so far today I have been quotes $60 to $120 for shipping. Something that could be put into an envelope and mailed here for a few dollars.

Of course, these compays like CDW and Voip suppliers cater to big customers, but still, have they not heard of the Post Office? It is not just them, I have been quoted ridiculous prices for shipping in SSD drive and so  on too, where the shipping far exceeds the product price.

Currently it would cost me less to fly from my home to Oahu (an island hundreds of miles away) and return with a product (if it was there) for less than the shipping cost.

If you work for a company that supplies products, please ask your shipping department to use some common sense and to install a way to check shipping cost BEFORE I have to create an account add the items to a cart add shipping information only to be told that you either don't ship somewhere or expect me to pay for your kids college.

I understand the new Wifi adapter in on backorder or not ready to ship, so I will be watching Amazon and other places with my fingers crossed. I just hope that this lady does not die before that happens.
My websites: Kona Coffee: http://itskona.com and Web Hosting: http://planetaloha.info<br />A simplified Voip explanation: http://voip.planet-aloha.com

LTN1

Ever since the pandemic, there has been so much price gouging by many sellers.

While I understand that you have an available OBi202 that you want to use and just need the WiFi dongle, I wonder if you can save the 202 and go with an OBi1062, presently being listed on Amazon for $119.97? It says delivery is free but I'm not sure how that works when it is Hawaii. The 1062 will come with built-in WiFi.

See https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TEFGVD2/ref=twister_B01D4PTQQQ?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

drgeoff

#2
Lavarock7's issue is not confined to the US.  There are similarly annoyed people who live in Northern Ireland and some parts of Scotland.  Although they are equal parts of the United Kingdom in which the Post Office has uniform delivery charges many suppliers use other "free market" carriers who have vastly increased rates to those regions.

I believe that one reason for the seeming inflexibility of suppliers to revert to the Post Office for such customers is that a contract between supplier and carrier stipulates exclusive use of that carrier.

I would not be surprised to read of the same situation in other countries.

azrobert

If you have an old router that's supported by DD-WRT firmware, you can use it as a bridge. If you don't have an old router, you can find them at Goodwill for a few dollars.

https://wiki.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Client_Bridged

azrobert

If you don't want to screw with 3rd party firmware, you can use a computer by bridging the wired and wireless network adapters.

Right click the Network ICON
Select Open Network and Internet settings
Click Status
Click an Adapter to highlight it
Hold CTRL and click the other adapter
Right click one of the adapters
Select Bridge Connections and wait until the bridge completes
Now plug the OBi into the computer's network adapter

Lavarock7

Thanks for the comments and suggestions.

The woman has moved into a managed care facility which has a wifi router in the office and spotty wifi in her room. We have called the phone company and cable company to see if anything can be installed.

The other issue is that she is hard of nearing so she has a Captel that is government funded which allows her to read text (like the old TDD boxes I guess) that also needs the signal and an analog line. https://www.weitbrecht.com/captel-2400i.html

Because of the complexity and lack of people over there to support things means that I have to find simple solutions. (By the way, she is on another island a 45 minute flight away).
My websites: Kona Coffee: http://itskona.com and Web Hosting: http://planetaloha.info<br />A simplified Voip explanation: http://voip.planet-aloha.com

LTN1

#6
Spotty WiFi would not be a safe situation to have an OBi202 with a WiFi dongle.

If the facility could increase its WiFi coverage, only then would it be safer. Then you could consider a WiFi repeater/extender like this: https://www.amazon.com/TP-Link-Extender-External-Antennas-TL-WA855RE/dp/B07KGKLMV2/ref=zg_bs_3015439011_27?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=E4BMNBP29H0ESDSDQ2HA

Found this on eBay with free USPS shipping: https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-In-Box-N300-Wireless-N-Repeater-Range-Extender-White-W-Free-Shipping/392921115221?hash=item5b7bec6a55:g:z14AAOSwiS9fRsvR

The OBi202 could connect to via Ethernet to the repeater and the phone can connect to the OBi202 without the need for the WiFi dongle.

Lavarock7

Thanks. I am awaiting to see if they can move the woman to a better location or run a line to her room.

It appears that all ObiWifi units are marked on back order, or discontinued. I believe discontinued is probably correct.

I am going to probably leave this project to someone else.
My websites: Kona Coffee: http://itskona.com and Web Hosting: http://planetaloha.info<br />A simplified Voip explanation: http://voip.planet-aloha.com

MrTom

Quote from: Lavarock7 on August 29, 2020, 10:00:03 AM
Thanks. I am awaiting to see if they can move the woman to a better location or run a line to her room.

It appears that all ObiWifi units are marked on back order, or discontinued. I believe discontinued is probably correct.

I am going to probably leave this project to someone else.

There's currently a shortage of all Obi devices it seems, probably all discontinued too in other discussions here. Maybe they're getting ready for title 11, who knows.

Lavarock7

The problem may have partially solved itself. The care facility is running a Cat cable to the room. We ordered a wifi router with a couple of ports for hardwired devices.

As a plus, if she has the bandwidth, perhaps we can make wifi available to a couple rooms upstairs too. That would be a win-win situation.

As an aside, Amazon now flys direct from the west coast to Kona. My friend who asked me about helping set this telephone system us said that if he is awake early enough in the morning, he can hear the Amazon flight arriving as they fly overhead. :-)
My websites: Kona Coffee: http://itskona.com and Web Hosting: http://planetaloha.info<br />A simplified Voip explanation: http://voip.planet-aloha.com