News:

On Tuesday September 6th the forum will be down for maintenance from 9:30 PM to 11:59 PM PDT

Main Menu

Bought a Raspberry pi to go with my OBi

Started by giqcass, April 05, 2014, 09:33:31 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

giqcass

I bought the CanaKit Raspberry Pi model B with clear case and USB Power Supply.   I'm thinking about throwing incredible PBX on there.  I've got an Obi110 and a Obi202 I'll hook up to it.  Just waiting on delivery.  This should hopefully provide weeks of tinkering fun.
Long live our new ObiLords!

drgeoff

I recommend a different link - http://nerdvittles.com/?p=8222.  You start by installing raspbx (http://www.raspberry-asterisk.org/) and then add the verdvittles extras.

giqcass

I'll check that out. I see they also talk about the  BeagleBone Black.  LOL maybe I should have paid a little extra for that.
Long live our new ObiLords!

Ostracus

For what you're aiming for the Raspberry PI should be enough.

giqcass

I had no issues getting raspbx on the PI but Incredible PBX is giving me errors.  It tries to create a new Asterisk folder.  I went through the whole thing twice.  Each time with a fresh install of raspbx.  I'm not sure what I could be doing wrong unless I just typed something incorrectly.  It appears relatively simple.  I used the suggested link from drgeoff.

I installed raspbx a third time without the nerd upgrades and I am currently exploring the basic options.
Long live our new ObiLords!

drgeoff

I've only done it twice but didn't have any issues.  Install raspbx to the SD card, boot from the card. Then

cd /
wget http://incrediblepbx.com/incrediblepbx11-raspbx.gz
gunzip incrediblepbx11-raspbx.gz
chmod +x incrediblepbx11-raspbx
./incrediblepbx11-raspbx

giqcass

#6
I'll have to give it another try.  Those are the commands I used.

EDIT: Here are the things I did differently this time.
1)I ran the Rapbx update before the Incredible Pbx installer.
2)I ran the commands from SSH rather then entering them directly via a keyboard attached to the PI.
I don't know what made the difference but the whole thing worked flawlessly this time.
Long live our new ObiLords!

giqcass

#7
Lenny does not seem to be working for me.  When I looked through the logs I noticed it was dialing a sip Uri.
2233435945@rentpbx.mundy.org  I thought Lenny actually ran on the box itself.  I'll need to check into that a little more.

Anyway I didn't want to actually register an extension on the system yet since I am only experimenting and I am currently using all 4 SP slots. So I created a Voice Gateway and added the following to my Obi.  This is the default setup with the in bold text added.

Physical interfaces
>>>>>>>>>>>>>Phone port 1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> DigitMap
([1-9]x?*(Mpli)|[1-9]S9|[1-9][0-9]S9|911|**0|***|#|##|**70(Mli)|**8(Mbt)|**81(Mbt)|**82(Mbt2)|**1(Msp1)|**2(Msp2)|**3(Msp3)|**4(Msp4)|**00(Mvg8)|**9(Mpp)|(Mpli))

Physical interfaces
>>>>>>>>>>>>>Phone port 1
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> OutboundCallRoute
{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{(<##:>):li},{(<#:>):ph2},{(<**70:>(Mli)):li},{(<**82:>(Mbt2)):bt2},{(<**81:>(Mbt)):bt},{(<**8:>(Mbt)):bt},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1},{(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**3:>(Msp3)):sp3},{(<**4:>(Msp4)):sp4},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli},{(<**00:>(Mvg8)):vg8}

This gives me the option to dial **00 and and send a number through the Raspberry PI.  I changed the digit map on the Voice gateway to (xx.|*xx) so star codes would work on the raspberry pi such as *61 for the time of day. I tried **5 but it seems to conflict with some other rule.
Long live our new ObiLords!

Usetheforceobiwan

#8
Quote from: giqcass on April 06, 2014, 07:37:02 PM
I'll check that out. I see they also talk about the  BeagleBone Black.  LOL maybe I should have paid a little extra for that.

BBB are damn near impossible to find, much less at list price.  If you think the RasPi will not have enough under the hood eventually, go ahead and place your order for the BBB now as it will take at least 8 weeks to get to you.  After you get the BBB, use the RasPi for video projects/experiments with the BBB used for RasPBX.  

drgeoff

Quote from: giqcass on April 22, 2014, 11:26:10 PM
I tried **5 but it seems to conflict with some other rule.
I'm sure I read somewhere that **5 is hardcoded into OBis.  Adding a device to OBiTALK?

http://www.obitalk.com/obinet/pg/obhdev/add?nxtstep=2

azrobert

Quote from: giqcass on April 05, 2014, 09:33:31 PM
I bought the CanaKit Raspberry Pi model B with clear case and USB Power Supply.   I'm thinking about throwing incredible PBX on there.  I've got an Obi110 and a Obi202 I'll hook up to it.  Just waiting on delivery.  This should hopefully provide weeks of tinkering fun.


I couldn't let giqcass have all the fun, so I bought a Rasp PI on sale at Newegg for $38.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4641E08083&nm_mc=EMC-GD042314&cm_mmc=EMC-GD042314-_-index-_-Item-_-9SIA4641E08083

You can buy a Rasp PI for $35, but with the free shipping this is 3-4 dollars cheaper.

I already have a 5v power supply from an old router, an SD card and a USB WiFi adapter, so all I need is an enclosure.

drgeoff

Quote from: azrobert on April 23, 2014, 10:04:10 AM
I already have a 5v power supply from an old router..
Over the last two years I have more than 2000 posts on the RPi forum, the majority of them in the Troubleshooting section.  A very significant fraction of people's problems turn out to be an inadequate power supply.  Those originally intended as mobile phone chargers are particularly bad.  Also, even if the supply itself is OK, some of the aftermarket USB to micro-USB cables drop too much voltage because they are too thin, too long or use wet string instead of copper.  Checking that the voltage between TP1 and TP2 is at least 4.75 and preferably not more than 5.3 is the first thing to do if getting no or erratic operation. 

azrobert

drgeoff,

Thanks for the info.

I just ordered the PI today, so I haven't tested it.
It's a 5V 2.0 amp power supply from a Buffalo router, so I think its high quality.
The problem is it has a barrel connector.
I've been thinking about buying a PI for awhile, so I converted the PSU using a USB to Micro USB cable.
I might have problems because the cable is cheap.
I have the female part of the barrel connector.
Would it be easy to solder it to the PI?

As you can see I'm super cheap and don't want to spend $10 for a PSU. LOL

giqcass

So far the best feature of the Raspberry PI as a PBX has been AsteriDex.  I don't think I have mentioned this before but I have been legally blind since August of last year(not completely blind though).  AsteriDex let's me dial 411 and say the name of the person I want to call.  Having my own dial by name directory is just incredible since I can't see the phonebook on my telephone without a magnifying glass.

I think the next feature I want to get figured out is outbound faxing.  I send very few faxes.  Maybe 1 or 2 per year but I plan to get that set up soon because you never know when you might need it.
Long live our new ObiLords!

drgeoff

#14
Quote from: azrobert on April 23, 2014, 06:21:40 PM
drgeoff,

Thanks for the info.

I just ordered the PI today, so I haven't tested it.
It's a 5V 2.0 amp power supply from a Buffalo router, so I think its high quality.
The problem is it has a barrel connector.
I've been thinking about buying a PI for awhile, so I converted the PSU using a USB to Micro USB cable.
I might have problems because the cable is cheap.
I have the female part of the barrel connector.
Would it be easy to solder it to the PI?

As you can see I'm super cheap and don't want to spend $10 for a PSU. LOL

There are several options.

1.  If the USB to micro-USB cable looks weedy (is that term understood your side of the pond?) then just use a short length of it with the wanted micro-USB plug.  If necessary extend that with a length of decent weight twin core.

2.  You can fairly easily solder a short length of twin core to the underside of the RPi.  The two ground legs of the RCA video out phono socket are an easy place for the negative.  Positive side to the end of F3 nearest the edge of the board.  Solder your barrel connector to that twin core.  (I was taught that the sex of a coaxial connector is defined by the centre pin.)

3.  The GPIO header (the double row of pins) has pins where you can take 5 volts supply in or out of the board.  However that point is on the circuitry side of F3 (a poly-silicon self resetting fuse) so you you don't have the little bit of protection from mishaps that provides.

4.  You can feed power in via the full size USB sockets.  PSUs don't come with cables with the appropriate type of USB plug to do that.  However if you are using a powered USB hub, many of those (in blantant disregard of USB specs) do feed power out of the socket that connects to the host device.  Many people power their RPis that way.

Whatever DIY you do, make absolutely sure before applying power that you have the polarity and voltage correct.  The RPi's tend to be not very forgiving of mistakes.  Also, if you are ever tempted to connect things to the GPIO lines, those are also quite fragile with no buffering from the chip internals.  Mistakes there frequently take out more than just the abused GPIO and make the RPi a write-off.

Two more things which almost no-one knows before they purchase a RPi:

a.  The USB implementation has some issues which means that some USB devices don't (and probably never will) work as well as they do when used with a PC or Mac.

b.  Bus powered USB devices which take a lot of current (eg hard drives) can be a problem if the RPi is conventionally powered (via the micro-USB socket or other input on the 'non-circuitry' side of F3).  Irrespective of the capability of the PSU, the F3 fuse mentioned above limits the total current which can be supplied to the RPi itself and any peripherals plugged into its USB sockets.  Flash drives, normal keyboards, mice, most Wi-Fi adaptors are OK.  Things like illuminated keyboards, keyboards with built-in USB hubs, hard drives without their own supplies etc may not be.  Use a powered hub with those.

azrobert

#15
drgeoff,

I really appreciate your comments.
I looked up the meaning of weedy and this cable is definitely weedy.

My Pi shipped today and I should get it Monday or Tuesday.
I found this picture of a Pi:
http://i.imgur.com/DRFtN.jpg
I don't know if this Pi is the current version.

I see the large contacts by the phono socket.
I was thinking using the positive and negative contacts by FD3 (upper left by the Micro USB connector).
Is this OK?
There is an open space on the board to the right where I can super glue the barrel connector.
Hopefully it will fit an open case like this:
http://www.amazon.com/Kootek-Transparent-Clear-Raspberry-Enclosure/dp/B00E8CB0XC/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1398360618&sr=8-19&keywords=raspberry+pi+case
Anyway, this is going to be my last option.

When I built this cable I didn't want to deal with soldering thin wires.
I exposed the USB contacts and soldered the female barrel connector to the contacts.
I checked the polarity about 3 times.
I will check again before using it with the Pi.
I did some reading last night and this is turning into a learning experience.
They recommend a .75 AMP PSU for the Pi.
My PSU is almost 3 times that at 2 AMP.
More power is not a problem, the device will only draw what's needed.
Again, is this correct?
My cheap cable will have more resistance, so less power will get to the device.
I decided not to use my WiFi adapter, reducing the power requirement.
I'm not going to use any peripherals on the Pi.
I will use software apps to update/monitor the Pi, further reducing power req.
See: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,29175362
Hopefully my PSU will work with the above.
Any faults with my logic?

I have another option and might try this first.
I have a tablet that I only use when we travel.
It has a 5v 1.5 AMP PSU.
It's about twice as heavy as a cell charger and the cable is shorter and about 50% thicker than the cable I'm using above.
I could use this PSU with the Pi and use above PSU with the tablet.
I tried and it does recharge the tablet.

Thanks again!


drgeoff

1.    That is an old board, just like my two delivered May/June 2012.  Since 18 months ago they all have mounting holes.  However the current ones are very similar to the picture.

2.  The four relatively large plated through holes with FD3 in their midst are all connected to the metal casing of the micro-USB connector.  My resistance measurements suggest there is a diode between those and the negative supply.

3.  Although there are no components in the area you mention, there are vias which are only protected by varnish.  You need to be sure there is no possibility of that protection being damaged and a via coming into contact with any metallic part of the barrel connector.

4.  As you appear to realise, it is preferable to use the existing micro-USB connector.  Resistance is proportional to length so even a weedy cable can be OK if kept short.

5.  Your 2 amp supply is fine.  The RPi just takes what it needs. A PSU that has a massive current rating can be a problem as some don't regulate well when very lightly loaded.  But your one is not in that ballpark.

6.  A combination of ssh (using eg the putty program) and a web browser is entirely adequate for initial configuration and day to day updates of RasPBX.  If you are using wired ethernet (rather than Wi-Fi) you don't even need to attach a keyboard/monitor at all if your router can tell you the address assigned by DHCP.

giqcass

Once again I am having installation issues.  I thought I might share the problem and solution.  I tried the one click install for Wolfram Alpha.  I don't know what the deal is but the system decided to save the installation files incorrectly.  For instance
wget http://nerd.bz/w8HCDF  saves the file as w8HCDF instead of using the file name.  As a result I had enter each link into a browser to find the actual file locations then download them and unzip them manually.  I eventually got it working after a lot of manual tinkering.  ;D

So far the system seems stable.  I may use the PI for my primary outgoing if it continues it's solid performance. 
Long live our new ObiLords!

drgeoff

Quote from: giqcass on April 25, 2014, 01:57:15 AM
Once again I am having installation issues.  I thought I might share the problem and solution.  I tried the one click install for Wolfram Alpha.  I don't know what the deal is but the system decided to save the installation files incorrectly.  For instance
wget http://nerd.bz/w8HCDF  saves the file as w8HCDF instead of using the file name.  As a result I had enter each link into a browser to find the actual file locations then download them and unzip them manually.  I eventually got it working after a lot of manual tinkering.  ;D

So far the system seems stable.  I may use the PI for my primary outgoing if it continues it's solid performance. 
Strange.  I didn't have any of those issues when I tried Wolfram Alpha a couple of months ago.

giqcass

Quote from: drgeoff on April 25, 2014, 04:04:52 AM
Strange.  I didn't have any of those issues when I tried Wolfram Alpha a couple of months ago.
Despite my troubles the hardest part of the setup...........
Coming up with a good question to ask Wolfram Alpha. lol
Long live our new ObiLords!