How to set up a 3 or 4 line system?
giqcass:
The easiest way to do battery backup is buy an UPS(uninterruptible power supply).
I couldn't see why you wanted to do the ObiPlus service myself based on your description of what you wanted. The Obi devices do so much already it's ridiculous. You can connect them to each other without ObiPlus.
You can connect multiple cell phones to the Obi with the BT adapter. I don't know how many but I did two. So far as incoming calls it just works as described. In my tests of outgoing calls it gets a little confusing. In that case the last phone to be paired or used(IE receives a call) will be used as the phone to dial out. There may be a fix for that but I don't know.
I just re-checked there was a problem when I connected two phones via bluetooth. One seemed to get knocked off. You have two Obi202 so you can at least do two by using two BT dongles on the separate Obi devices. Both could be directed to one Obi if you like by using some of the advanced routing features.
Like Felix said you should look into using a fax service instead of a fax machine. Its a good option to explore. I use them on rare occasions. The biggest advantage is they send a PDF to your email which you can save or print. It gives you access to both send and receive when you aren't at home. I assume you will want proper 911 service. The company that supply's that for you may also supply the fax service as one package.
Here is how I would personally set this up. One Obi 202 to run one or two home phone lines for the family. This would also be connected to some service for 911 that would cost $12-$24 per year for the 911. One Obi 202 would run the business phone systems. One virtual fax line that would allow you to send and receive faxes directly from your computer.
JeffDB:
Hi, and thanks for the feedback and info, Felix.
Quote from: Felix on January 06, 2013, 12:35:32 pm
I will try to simplify things a little. Let's not worry about OBiPLUS for a moment. You may decide you need it; or you may not. You currently have 2 lines with Vonage. You use 1 for phone and 1 for fax, correct? Then you need to decide where to port those numbers to. You can port it to Sprint / Google Voice, or you can port it to some other provider, like Voipo or CallCentric.
Yes, I currently have two lines with Vonage, one of which is a fax line. I used to have another voice line with Vonage, though, but ported it to my Sprint cell phone and then made it also my Google Voice #. It is actually my main voice line. I have GVoice simulring the other Vonage line and usually answer it on that landline. It doesn't use any minutes and I can use my headset with that deskphone.
It looks like the OBi202 might allow me to make my current GVoice/Sprint main line a separate landline in its own right, and perhaps conference calls or be able to see who's calling on the other line if I'm talking to a spammer or getting ready to hang up anyway. I have a 4 line base unit that's currently using just one line.
I also currently have the Vonage landline connected to the house wiring, allowing me to answer calls upstairs, in the basement or kitchen or wherever in case I laid my cell phone down or the battery's low etc. and am away from my desk momentarily.
My wife and kids occasionally use the line to call out on, but that, of course, would then tie up my business line.
I was hoping to also use the OBi202 to set up a new landline for the family and connect it to the house wiring for the kids to use. If I used a Google Voice number it sounds like I could do so without an additional phone bill.
But then I'd need to set up a cordless phone system for my own backup system for around the house, or just be more consistent about carrying a charged cellphone around with me.
Quote from: Felix on January 06, 2013, 12:35:32 pm
For fax, my wife ported her business fax number to ExtremeFax and couldn't be happier. No fax machine, no separate line, and 10 times less paper. I am sure there are similar services - start here.
Thanks. That's certainly an option I'll need to consider. At first glance, however, it looks like I might get by a little cheaper with the OBi202 and a VoIP provider even if Google Voice can't/won't handle it. Call Centric lists $1.95/mo. +$3.95 setup fee for an incoming fax number. Outgoing faxes would run $.0198 / min but I don't send many outgoing faxes anymore as more and more companies and customers use email.
On the other hand, ExtremeFax does offer a toll free number which is a slight bonus, and it would be nice to be able to just read some of the faxes without printing them. But I don't give out my fax number freely and almost never get junk mail faxes anymore. It varies a lot, but I'd guess I probably don't send or receive more than 20 to 30 pages of faxes per month on average.
It does seem more convenient to send some faxes by just lifting the lid and placing it on the platen, or putting it into the feeder, punching in the phone number and letting it go, rather than scanning it, saving it to a hard drive and then faxing it from the software. My current fax machine does allow me to fax directly from my laptop, though, which can also be handy at times.
My wife and kids also like the convenience of using the local fax machine to send occasional faxes. They don't seem to like messing with the scanning of documents yet.
For now I'm leaning towards keeping a dedicated line for my fax machine, but that may change if there are a lot of line charges and taxes and garbage that make those fees go up a lot, or the VoIP providers can't consistently send or receive the faxes.
Quote from: Felix on January 06, 2013, 12:35:32 pm
Now that you have service provider(s) for your phone lines, you can set up your OBi202 with four of them - Google Voice and/or SIP providers. OBi202 allows very flexible configuration of two phones and four providers. Until you are sure that it's not good enough, I wouldn't complicate the picture with OBiPLUS
Could I then hook up 2 Google Voice lines to one landline for my office, and for the other phone port pair another Google Voice for the family along with a CallCentric line for the fax all on one OBi202?
If not, or if I would like to separate the family and fax line even if I could pair them on one line, could I hook up the second OBi202 without having to set up OBiPLUS?
Quote from: Felix on January 06, 2013, 12:35:32 pm
Last, ringing home phones when cell phone rings. OBi BT adapter is one solution. I have Panasonic cordless phone that has the same functionality. When cell phone rings, all handsets ring as well. Very convenient.
Thanks much for that link. I was looking for something like that earlier today but had started with the 2 & 4 line models which seemed rather pricey, and hadn't found a good 1 line model. If I can combine the two business lines into one, that would be perfect for me, and I could let the family use the hard wired phones for their new line. Or alternatively, I could use the hard wired ones and let them use the cordless lines. That might be even better, especially if it could be set up so that the kids had their own number, and my wife's number could be brought into the picture only when she's home. Then no one would pick up her calls unless she was home and left her cell phone in her purse by the front door. ;-)
Thanks again for the reply. Hopefully I'll be able to sort everything out and be ready to try and set up a decent system by the time the OBi202s arrive.
JeffDB:
Quote from: giqcass on January 06, 2013, 08:31:27 pm
The easiest way to do battery backup is buy an UPS(uninterruptible power supply).
I couldn't see why you wanted to do the ObiPlus service myself based on your description of what you wanted. The Obi devices do so much already it's ridiculous. You can connect them to each other without ObiPlus.
Thanks for that info, giqcass. I didn't see your reply before my earlier post. Glad to hear I could probably hook them up together without too much fuss.
Quote from: giqcass on January 06, 2013, 08:31:27 pm
I just re-checked there was a problem when I connected two phones via bluetooth. One seemed to get knocked off. You have two Obi202 so you can at least do two by using two BT dongles on the separate Obi devices. Both could be directed to one Obi if you like by using some of the advanced routing features.
That may not be an issue for us. My main line is also my cell number, so I don't mind if it rings all the time. I'm usually home all the time anyway, or when I leave the family is with me most of the time. If it rings no one else will answer my phones anyway.
Where the BT would seem to come in handy would be for my wife who leaves her cell phone in her purse. If I could get her to finally get a Google Voice number she could have it simulring the family number, but that could get annoying as she works out of the house, and is off shopping and running around a bit. If it could ring the family line only when she's home that would be ideal.
Quote from: giqcass on January 06, 2013, 08:31:27 pm
Like Felix said you should look into using a fax service instead of a fax machine. Its a good option to explore. I use them on rare occasions. The biggest advantage is they send a PDF to your email which you can save or print. It gives you access to both send and receive when you aren't at home.
I had tried JFax or eFax I believe some years ago and they sent them as Tiff attachments which tended to take up a bit of disk space. PDF would be an improvement. So far I've basically been at my home/office almost all the time, but I am planning on trying to go out into the field more to some businesses. Being able to send & receive faxes while away from the office could indeed be a benefit at those times. I suppose a USB fax modem might be an option for those times, at least when I might have access to a phone line, but that wouldn't be as ideal as the online fax service, of course.
Quote from: giqcass on January 06, 2013, 08:31:27 pm
I assume you will want proper 911 service. The company that supply's that for you may also supply the fax service as one package.
Although we do have cell phones, which would probably suffice in most instances, it would certainly be good to have 911 service on a landline as well. If I had the dedicated fax line with a VoIP provider that might be one way to get it. Or maybe I'd be better off having the second business line with a VoIP provider that offered that option. I'll have to think about it some more.
Quote from: giqcass on January 06, 2013, 08:31:27 pm
Here is how I would personally set this up. One Obi 202 to run one or two home phone lines for the family. This would also be connected to some service for 911 that would cost $12-$24 per year for the 911. One Obi 202 would run the business phone systems. One virtual fax line that would allow you to send and receive faxes directly from your computer.
Yes, that certainly sounds reasonable. If it isn't the exact final set up, it will certainly be very close to that.
Thanks again for your help giqcass and everyone else.
Ostracus:
Well my reference to "ecosystem" as well as IP phones, is contained in the ObiPLUS Tutorial.
Also something useful to consider is that a lot of VoIP providers offer more than just a connection to the POTS (Plain Old Telephone System), or other VoIP users. From Ring Groups to flexible IVRs. A business can get bang for the buck.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[*] Previous page