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telephone cable to delay landline ring?

Started by babobi, October 01, 2014, 01:15:24 PM

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babobi

Is there such a thing as a simple telephone cable that'll delay the ring heard on my landline? Junk and spam phone calls are forwarded to my Google Voice, but a short "forward ring" indicator is heard whenever one of these calls attempts to go through. I'm seeking a simple analog solution without going through trial and error experimentation in the Obi programming matrix. Thanks in advance all !

drgeoff

I can't think how such a device could be designed with only a few simple low cost electronic components.

And I can't imagine there is any demand for such a device that would justify anyone manufacturing and marketing one.

ianobi

It only requires one setting to be looked at / changed in your OBi:

Physical Interfaces -> LINE Port -> LINE Port -> RingDelay: 4000

4000 = 4 seconds and is the default. That should be more than enough to stop one short ring. However, you may have had reason to change it in the past.

azrobert

Quote from: ianobi on October 06, 2014, 08:27:47 AM
It only requires one setting to be looked at / changed in your OBi:

Physical Interfaces -> LINE Port -> LINE Port -> RingDelay: 4000

4000 = 4 seconds and is the default. That should be more than enough to stop one short ring. However, you may have had reason to change it in the past.


I thought this delays the ring, not stop it.

ianobi

My understanding of this:

QuoteJunk and spam phone calls are forwarded to my Google Voice, but a short "forward ring" indicator is heard whenever one of these calls attempts to go through.

is that one short ring is sent to the OBi. RingDelay will absorb the first ring and maybe the second while it's decoding CallerID. I.e. any ringing current sent in those four seconds will not make it through to the Phone Port.

drgeoff

Quote from: ianobi on October 06, 2014, 09:37:27 AM
My understanding of this:

QuoteJunk and spam phone calls are forwarded to my Google Voice, but a short "forward ring" indicator is heard whenever one of these calls attempts to go through.

is that one short ring is sent to the OBi. RingDelay will absorb the first ring and maybe the second while it's decoding CallerID. I.e. any ringing current sent in those four seconds will not make it through to the Phone Port.
I have the same understanding.

azrobert

I setup an experiment.
I have my OBi110 connected to my PSTN line.
I also have an analog phone connected directly to the PSTN line.
I called the PSTN number and let it ring once and hung up.
The phone directly connected to the PSTN line rang once.
The phone connected to the OBi110 also rang once approximately 4 seconds later.

I think this proves the OBi110 RingDelay setting only delays the ringing.

ianobi

@ azrobert - Empirical testing is definitely the way forward!

I set up the exact same experiment and got the same results as you. I think that it's odd that the OBi110 would ring the Phone Port even though the call on the Line Port has hung up. However, that is what happened.

Next I extended the experiment to try a RingDelay of 10000 (10 seconds). This time the single incoming ring from the PSTN line was absorbed. Lastly I reduced the RingDelay to 6000 (6 seconds) and the single incoming ring is absorbed and not passed to the Phone Port.

It will be up to the OP to consider if a RingDelay of 6 seconds rather than 4 seconds is acceptable to solve the original problem of hearing the single "forward ring".

Well I've learnt something today, so another day not wasted   :)

babobi

Thank you lanobi! Your instructions solved my problem and worked for me! May I ask you another question? When I dial out I notice a delay of several seconds before I hear ringing of the dialed number. Is there any way to shorten that delay? Thanks again in advance.

ianobi

The most important factor causing delays on outgoing calls, SIP or PSTN, is matching the number dialled in your digit maps. There are many posts in this forum on this subject! For example, if you are dialling an eleven digit number starting with "1", then a rule such as "1xxxxxxxxxxS0" will process the number instantly.

If your digit map is perfect, then a SIP call will be routed instantly, but remember the called party may not respond instantly. With a PSTN call there are additional delays at the sending party. The DTMF digits have to be sent to line. The OBi assumes a worst case scenario and sets the DTMF tone settings as follows:

Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > LINE Port > DialDigitOnTime: 200
Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > LINE Port > DialDigitOffTime: 200

So that adds another 2 seconds or so delay at the sending end. I use:

Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > LINE Port > DialDigitOnTime: 80
Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > LINE Port > DialDigitOffTime: 80

Which works fine. I know some who use:

Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > LINE Port > DialDigitOnTime: 80
Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > LINE Port > DialDigitOffTime: 50

It all depends how good your PSTN line is.

Another small delay for outgoing PSTN calls is:
Physical Interfaces > LINE Port > LINE Port > DialDelay: 500

This allows half a second for the PSTN line to be "seized" and return dial tone before the OBi starts to send out the DTMF tones. I would say that this setting is about right for most people. There have been cases where some have found it necessary to increase this setting to 1000 (1 sec) to make outgoing calls more reliable.


ProfTech

Hello Ianobi,
Not disagreeing with you or arguing in any way but I've been playing with this on my 110. I thought I noticed that it was taking much longer to hear ring back on the PSTN after I upgraded to 2872. Started looking and quickly discovered that the "DetectOutboundConnectMethod" setting has been removed. I'm only dialing 7 digits so shouldn't be a long delay at all. Outbound route is [2-9]xxxxxx. I tried [2-9]xxxxxxS0 but it seemed to make zero difference. Currently set to default 500ms Dial Delay and on/off 100/100. Like I said, it just seems to be a lot slower. Haven't figured a way to time it exactly.  ???

ianobi

I'm not sure why "DetectOutboundConnectMethod" has been removed. It raises the question is it now set to one of the previously available options or to "none". I remain on software 1.3.0 (Build: 2824) and still have "DetectOutboundConnectMethod", although mine is set to "none". If your software is hard wired for the option "Assume connected after a short delay", then that will add a further short delay compared to the setting "none".

The "S0" setting only has an effect when applied in DigitMaps, not OutBoundCallRoutes. However, if your DigitMap is well crafted, then an exact match with [2-9]xxxxxx will be processed instantly with or without an "S0". If you have rule such as "xx." in the same DigitMap as [2-9]xxxxxx, then an extra two seconds will be added to the processing time unless you add the "S0".

Exact timings may be available via syslog. It's a while since I looked, but it might be interesting.

Timing by ear is very difficult as you are waiting to hear ringing tone from the called party and that may be influenced by all sorts of variables at their end.

ProfTech

ianobi,
I was suspecting the same thing. I'm pretty sure the "AssumeConnectedAfterAShortDelay" setting was the setting where the Obi generated its own "fake" ring to give the user the warm & fuzzies. I thought I read somewhere that the FCC mandated that a fake ring not be used. If that is the setting Obihai defaulted to and are leaving out the fake ring that could answer why the long delay. Just by ear it sounds greater than 4 seconds. maybe as much as 6. I mis-stated where I have the [2-9]xxxxxx. It is in the dial plan. I removed anything ending in xx. long ago. It is more of a minor annoyance than anything else. I've also noticed it takes a bit to hear ring when I dial a Callcentric number as well so not a big deal for me.

ProfTech

I wanted to update my original post. I did some more experimenting with Build 2872 and it seems that all of my outdials may have been delayed, not just the PSTN. I experimented with my Digit maps and I think I may have had an error that was causing an extra 2-3 second delay on dialing almost anything. Seems like it is working now. I sometimes hear ringback and sometimes do not but I think that may be normal.