Configuration for multiphone / visual message waiting

[Don_in_NC]

This is a somewhat complex question relating to setting up an OBI110 / voip.ms / multiple cordless phone solution to mimic & enhance my old home phone system.

Old setup - traditional landline, two phones setup to home RJ45 wiring. One phone was situated in the kitchen & provided the traditional answering machine function. Second phone connected in another room via another RJ45 wall connection. Two phones are not same the same make.

Current setup - ported existing landline over to voip.ms (painless), installed OBI 110 in second room where router / internet connection is located. Calls in & out work great on the second phone. But, service on the first phone connected to the RJ45 in the kitchen does not work.

Desired solution - From a functional viewpoint, I would like to mimic the old setup such that I have a base station in the kitchen (my wife likes to see if any messages are waiting when she comes home from work & retrieve them). I would like to use the voip.ms voicemail features & get visual notification of messages waiting with easy message retrieval. I can replace the existing two phone system with a DECT multiphone cordless system. The base station (with the RJ45 wall connection must remain in the kitchen). Here are the questions I can think of at this point.

1. Since the OBI is in a 2nd room connected to the router, can I bridge incoming & outgoing calls from the ethernet connection to the OBI110 to the PSTN port such that I can use the phone at the kitchen base station? This is required in order for connectivity via RJ45 house wiring.

2. I am pretty sure some DECT phones can detect a stutter tone thru the OBI after someone leaves a voicemail on voip.ms such that the message waiting light on the base station will flash. Can someone confirm this, and if it can be done, point me to the configuration info?

3. Any suggestions on a 4 or 5 phone cordless DECT phone that will provide visual voicemail capability (according to info I have read, some of the Panasonic cordless systems will work. 

Thanks!

[VaHam]

First make sure you have disconnected your old incoming phone line from the service entrance (usually a box outside your house).  This will isolate your in house wiring from your old phone company.

Next connect a phone cord from your OBI's phone jack to any wall jack.

Once you have done that then the OBi's output will be available to all other phone jacks in your house just like your old phone system was.

[Stewart]

Though somewhat more expensive, you might consider an IP DECT system, e.g. Gigaset A580 IP or better.  The main advantage is that the handsets function independently; when your wife is talking on one handset, an incoming call will ring all the others and you can answer from any.  Likewise, you can make an independent call from any handset that is not in use.  There is no problem with VMWI, as the system responds directly to NOTIFY packets from VoIP.ms or other providers; an indicator on each handset flashes when there are new messages or missed calls.

The above system functions independently of the OBi, though that will still be useful to connect your old phones, as a gateway to Google Voice, or to perform its callback or callthrough tricks.

See http://www.amazon.com/Siemens-Gigaset-Cordless-Landline-A580IP/dp/B002DEMELO/ref=sr_1_1 (just an example, you may find lower prices elsewhere).

[Don_in_NC]

Thanks for your replies.

VaHam - after disconnecting at the service box, the light for the PSTN connection doesn't come on. I went back and hooked up both phones in their original configuration & I could get dial tone. When I unplugged at the box, not tone, just as expected, so I know the house wiring is ok. I wonder if there is a config option I need to set.

Stewart - interesting option, but seems expensive for the nbr of phones -- have to place one in a number of rooms but we don't use them all that much since our kids just use their cell phones...