I just setup the service with google voice.. I really want to keep the 911 feature I am willing to pay and if there is any way I can keep my phone number as well from my old service provider verizon. Does anyone have any suggestions willing to use something other than google voice.
There's a multitude of good VoIP providers who will port your Verizon number as well as provide 911 service.
I'm sure you'll get a number of recommendations.
An excellent one to consider is Callcentric (http://www.callcentric.com).
Quote from: Alex816 on February 17, 2012, 09:40:43 PM
I just setup the service with google voice.. I really want to keep the 911 feature I am willing to pay and if there is any way I can keep my phone number as well from my old service provider verizon. Does anyone have any suggestions willing to use something other than google voice.
Port your Verizon number to a prepaid cell, then to GV. Setup Callcentric for e911 for $1.50 setup fee and $1.50 per month. Info all over these forums
Quote from: Alex816 on February 17, 2012, 09:40:43 PM
I just setup the service with google voice.. I really want to keep the 911 feature I am willing to pay and if there is any way I can keep my phone number as well from my old service provider verizon. Does anyone have any suggestions willing to use something other than google voice.
I called 911 from a regular phone and asked the person who answered what phone number I could call to reach them other than 911. He gave me a regular phone number and I programmed that into the telephone directory on my cordless phone. So it's not 3 digits like 911 but who cares? It still gets their attention.
Quote from: jonsid on February 18, 2012, 06:36:47 PM
Quote from: Alex816 on February 17, 2012, 09:40:43 PM
I just setup the service with google voice.. I really want to keep the 911 feature I am willing to pay and if there is any way I can keep my phone number as well from my old service provider verizon. Does anyone have any suggestions willing to use something other than google voice.
I called 911 from a regular phone and asked the person who answered what phone number I could call to reach them other than 911. He gave me a regular phone number and I programmed that into the telephone directory on my cordless phone. So it's not 3 digits like 911 but who cares? It still gets their attention.
When someone calls from your house and can't give them an address, you'll care. You're saving a whole $.05 per day, but what might it cost someday not having e911?
And calling 911 without an emergency is not a good idea. They have non-emergency numbers you can call, and then get permission to call 911 if you need to test it, which you did not.
Keep in mind also that if you want to set up 2 google voice accounts on one Obi you won't be able to set up a sip provider for 911.
I am sure Stewart will tell you how you can accomplish using 2 google voice accounts and a sip provider, but just looking at what I stated (set up 2 google voice accounts on one Obi) you can't do it.
Majicjack plus and Nettalk are 911 alternatives that will connect to the line port of the Obi110.
Quote from: Rick on February 18, 2012, 06:48:05 PM
Quote from: jonsid on February 18, 2012, 06:36:47 PM
Quote from: Alex816 on February 17, 2012, 09:40:43 PM
I just setup the service with google voice.. I really want to keep the 911 feature I am willing to pay and if there is any way I can keep my phone number as well from my old service provider verizon. Does anyone have any suggestions willing to use something other than google voice.
I called 911 from a regular phone and asked the person who answered what phone number I could call to reach them other than 911. He gave me a regular phone number and I programmed that into the telephone directory on my cordless phone. So it's not 3 digits like 911 but who cares? It still gets their attention.
When someone calls from your house and can't give them an address, you'll care. You're saving a whole $.05 per day, but what might it cost someday not having e911?
And calling 911 without an emergency is not a good idea. They have non-emergency numbers you can call, and then get permission to call 911 if you need to test it, which you did not.
My caller ID shows up on their screen and I had already given my home address being associated with the number.
It would still be smarter to program the OBi to call the non-emergency number when I dialer calls 911 on the phone. This is easily done and prevents a guest from not getting the help they need because they keep dialing 911 during an emergency.
That being said, I agree with the others that have said it is much saver to subscribe to an E911 service instead of using the non-emergency number. I also use Callcentric for this service for $1.50 per month while using GV for all my outgoing and incoming calls. I have tested the service and confirmed that my 911 call center does receive the correct location information when 911 is called. $1.50/mo is a stupidly low price to pay for the piece of mind knowing anyone in my house that needs assistance will be able to get it with the least amount of hassles.
Quote from: sic0048 on February 20, 2012, 01:56:01 PM
It would still be smarter to program the OBi to call the non-emergency number when I dialer calls 911 on the phone. This is easily done and prevents a guest from not getting the help they need because they keep dialing 911 during an emergency.
That being said, I agree with the others that have said it is much saver to subscribe to an E911 service instead of using the non-emergency number. I also use Callcentric for this service for $1.50 per month while using GV for all my outgoing and incoming calls. I have tested the service and confirmed that my 911 call center does receive the correct location information when 911 is called. $1.50/mo is a stupidly low price to pay for the piece of mind knowing anyone in my house that needs assistance will be able to get it with the least amount of hassles.
Those of use that have both SP trunks set for google voice don't have the option of using Callcentric (or other sip providers). We must use alternative methods.
Then buy another OBi box if you already have two SIP providers. How difficult is that? We are talking about the safety of persons and property here. If you cannot spend the extra $50 for another box and $1.50 per month for a real E911 solution, then I won't have a lot of sympathy for you when your house burns down or a family member dies of a heart attack because the 911 operator didn't have the proper information in the format they are use to dealing with and the help that was desperately needed was delayed in arriving. I mean seriously people, this is a small price to pay for the added protection E911 service provides.
is this a forum or a lecture hall?
Quote from: sic0048 on February 26, 2012, 04:01:21 PM
Then buy another OBi box if you already have two SIP providers. How difficult is that? We are talking about the safety of persons and property here. If you cannot spend the extra $50 for another box and $1.50 per month for a real E911 solution, then I won't have a lot of sympathy for you when your house burns down or a family member dies of a heart attack because the 911 operator didn't have the proper information in the format they are use to dealing with and the help that was desperately needed was delayed in arriving. I mean seriously people, this is a small price to pay for the added protection E911 service provides.
Well, you said it would be smarter to program an alternate number rather than nothing. That is what I am doing and that is reflected in the statement I made concerning alternate methods.
And I already have 3 Obi's.
Quote from: Rick on February 18, 2012, 04:20:58 PM
Port your Verizon number to a prepaid cell, then to GV. Setup Callcentric for e911 for $1.50 setup fee and $1.50 per month. Info all over these forums
Can one of you please outline exactly what one needs to sign up for on the Callcentric website to be able to use it for 911 calls? I have Google Voice but am not sure exactly what plan or plans to sign up for at Callcentric, including whether I need to sign up for a phone number. Looks to me like i need to sign up for only outgoing service, and that too only the pay per call rate plan. Is that correct? Any link to a clear step-by-step procedure will help. Thanks!
Quote from: bawaji on March 11, 2012, 08:46:27 AM
Quote from: Rick on February 18, 2012, 04:20:58 PM
Port your Verizon number to a prepaid cell, then to GV. Setup Callcentric for e911 for $1.50 setup fee and $1.50 per month. Info all over these forums
Can one of you please outline exactly what one needs to sign up for on the Callcentric website to be able to use it for 911 calls? I have Google Voice but am not sure exactly what plan or plans to sign up for at Callcentric, including whether I need to sign up for a phone number. Looks to me like i need to sign up for only outgoing service, and that too only the pay per call rate plan. Is that correct? Any link to a clear step-by-step procedure will help. Thanks!
You must sign up for at least the Pay Per Call plan. Then you sign up for E911 for the $1.50 setup and $1.50 per month. You WILL get a Callcentric number.
Once you get a confirmation from Callcentric, put this in the Physical Interfaces > Phone Port > Outbound Call Route:
{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{(<#:>):li},{911:sp2},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1}, {(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}
Click Submit, Reboot the OBi, call the NON-EMERGENCY number for your dispatch center and ask permission to test E911. When you test it, they should be able to see your name and address, AND the phone number. I asked what it was, the dispatcher noted it was "out of area" and read it to me, it was a California number, see my post on how the Callcentric process works.
Here is what I setup for my 911 on SP1 (GV):
Phone OutboundCallRoute:
------------------------
{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{(<#:>):li},{(<911:1408xxxxxxx>):sp1},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1},{(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}
Also I have the following setup:
Phone DigitMap:
---------------
([1-9]x?*(Mpli)|[1-9]S9|[1-9][0-9]S9|**0|***|#|**1(Msp1)|**2(Msp2)|**8(Mli)|**9(Mpp)|(Mpli))
But, when I call 911, it always get the busy signal from my phone. What I am missing here?
Quote from: userobi110 on March 11, 2012, 12:40:33 PM
Phone DigitMap:
---------------
([1-9]x?*(Mpli)|[1-9]S9|[1-9][0-9]S9|**0|***|#|**1(Msp1)|**2(Msp2)|**8(Mli)|**9(Mpp)|(Mpli))
Your PHONE Port DigitMap should be:
Physical Interfaces -> PHONE Port -> DigitMap:
([1-9]x?*(Mpli)|[1-9]S9|[1-9][0-9]S9|
911|**0|***|#|**1(Msp1)|**2(Msp2)|**8(Mli)|**9(Mpp)|(Mpli))
Thanks a lot - it's working now.
Quote from: sic0048 on February 26, 2012, 04:01:21 PM
Then buy another OBi box if you already have two SIP providers. How difficult is that? We are talking about the safety of persons and property here. If you cannot spend the extra $50 for another box and $1.50 per month for a real E911 solution, then I won't have a lot of sympathy for you when your house burns down or a family member dies of a heart attack because the 911 operator didn't have the proper information in the format they are use to dealing with and the help that was desperately needed was delayed in arriving. I mean seriously people, this is a small price to pay for the added protection E911 service provides.
As a fire fighter, paramedic and certified emergency dispatcher, I couldn't agree with you more. A 911 operator can take in as many as 2 calls per minute. E911 has allowed us to automate dispatch processes which speeds up response times by well over a minute and usually multiple minutes.
Consider these facts:
1) A heart without adequate oxygenation will start to die in 90 seconds.
2) A brain without adequate oxygenation will start to die in 3 minutes.
3) General rule of thumb is you have 60 minutes from the moment a trauma occurs to get the patient into the operating room or risk losing life or limb. Every second counts.
Is your life or the lives of your friends, family and relatives worth saving less than $30/year if you amortize the initial equipment, setup costs, and monthly charges over 5 years?
If ANYONE answered yes, then go get yourself admitted to a psychiatric ward at local hospital, but DON'T call 911 to get you there.
Quote from: Rick on March 11, 2012, 08:56:48 AM
You must sign up for at least the Pay Per Call plan. Then you sign up for E911 for the $1.50 setup and $1.50 per month. You WILL get a Callcentric number.
Once you get a confirmation from Callcentric, put this in the Physical Interfaces > Phone Port > Outbound Call Route:
{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{(<#:>):li},{911:sp2},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1}, {(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}
Click Submit, Reboot the OBi, call the NON-EMERGENCY number for your dispatch center and ask permission to test E911. When you test it, they should be able to see your name and address, AND the phone number. I asked what it was, the dispatcher noted it was "out of area" and read it to me, it was a California number, see my post on how the Callcentric process works.
Thanks a lot for clarifying. Hope it works out!
Quote from: sic0048 on February 26, 2012, 04:01:21 PM
Then buy another OBi box if you already have two SIP providers. How difficult is that? We are talking about the safety of persons and property here. If you cannot spend the extra $50 for another box and $1.50 per month for a real E911 solution, then I won't have a lot of sympathy for you when your house burns down or a family member dies of a heart attack because the 911 operator didn't have the proper information in the format they are use to dealing with and the help that was desperately needed was delayed in arriving. I mean seriously people, this is a small price to pay for the added protection E911 service provides.
I don't quite understand this though.
If I have 2 Obi's then I would have to have 2 seperate phone lines correct?
If you have a land line in service, and have a Obi110, it wouldn't matter. You would just use 911 on the land line.
For multiple Obi's you split the line ahead of the Obi's and connect the same line to all of them. I have 3 Obi's with 5 google voice numbers; and one NetTalk Duo connected to all 3.
The problem is when both SP's are set up with google voice there is no option for a sip provider to use for 911. So you would either need another Obi or a landline.
Quote from: omegaroach on March 14, 2012, 04:06:18 PMIf I have 2 Obi's then I would have to have 2 seperate phone lines correct?
If you are using Callcentric, Anveo or any other SIP provider that accepts unregistered (but authenticated) calls, or that accepts multiple registrations with the same credentials, you could configure multiple OBi devices to use the same SIP account for 911. Of course, that makes sense only if the devices are at the same physical address.
Quote from: pigpile on February 26, 2012, 05:40:27 PM
is this a forum or a lecture hall?
THANK YOU!!! There are some people on this forum that really need to stop trying to impose their beliefs and values on others. Not everyone thinks that "being safe" should be a top priority in life. We're all going to die someday, and to be honest I'd rather do it BEFORE I'm so old and feeble that I hate every second of my continued existence on this planet.
It's like the people who try to sell alarm systems. "Aren't you worried that... blah blah blah (this or that bad thing might happen)." No, I'm not. No, additional safety is not worth an extra so many cents (or dollars) a day to me. There are plenty of people who spend half their lives worrying about bad things that might happen to them, and if that's the way they want to live it's their choice, but I REALLY wish they'd stop trying to push all their fears onto the rest of us. It's okay to ask how to get a certain grade of 911 service if that's what YOU want, but it's NOT okay to lecture others that they should make the same choice you have.
(I'm not saying that people should have total disregard for safety, but there is a happy medium in there somewhere. I'm just waiting for the day the "safety nannies" get every sport banned because sports are inherently unsafe. And I don't just mean contact sports like football - people have been killed while playing just about every sport there is, either due to slips and falls, or getting beaned in the head with a ball or other object. Some people won't be happy until we all live in padded rubber rooms and eat nothing but bland vegetables).
Quote from: jimates on March 14, 2012, 06:28:14 PM
If you have a land line in service, and have a Obi110, it wouldn't matter. You would just use 911 on the land line.
I understand this part. I don't have a landline though (trying to avoid getting one if possible)
Quote from: jimates on March 14, 2012, 06:28:14 PM
For multiple Obi's you split the line ahead of the Obi's and connect the same line to all of them. I have 3 Obi's with 5 google voice numbers; and one NetTalk Duo connected to all 3.
So whatever e911 service I choose, I just add to all the OBI's I have. I don't need a seperate contract for each OBI.
So I split coming from the router to the OBI, but then coming out of the OBI do I need to have seperate phones from each OBI?
I have a base unit with 6 wireless phones that I am using. I assume I would need another base unit to connect to the second OBI. correct?
Quote from: jimates on March 14, 2012, 06:28:14 PM
The problem is when both SP's are set up with google voice there is no option for a sip provider to use for 911. So you would either need another Obi or a landline.
I understand this part too. And I do have 2 google voice numbers set up. Now that I think about it might be beneficial to have a third (one for me, on for the wife, and one for home). But would I then need 3 seperate physical phones?
If you want two concurrent calls, there are several options:
1. Least expensive would be a second base unit compatible with your existing handsets. You would register some phones to one and some to the other, effectively making two "strings", one connected to each OBi. You could set it up so incoming calls to either GV number would ring all phones. A second call would ring the phones on the idle string, or you could answer from the active phone (call waiting). Likewise, when one phone is in use, you could make a new call from a phone on the other string, using either GV account.
2. Replace the existing phones with a two-line cordless system. Then, when one phone is in use, you could make and receive calls on any other.
3. Get an IP phone system, e.g. Gigaset A580 IP (or better), or Panasonic KX-TGP550 series. The OBi devices would then essentially be just protocol converters for GV.
With option 2 or 3, you could put a third GV account on one of the OBi devices. For option 1, if you wanted all phones to have access to SIP (for 911 or a low-cost international provider), you could have the third number be with a SIP provider, have it come in via e.g. an IPKall DID, or you would need a third OBi.
If one of the Obi's is a 110 you can connect the second Obi's phone port to the Obi110's line port. This will ring the phone(s) connected to the Obi110 for all calls coming in on both devices.
To access the services on the second Obi you would press # on the phone handset. Since the Obi110's default for 911 is the line port, 911 calls would go out on the second Obi using whatever service is set as default.
As Stewart pointed out, concurrent calls are not possible with this setup.
You can, but I do not recommend, daisy chain more than two devices.
I have a Uniden 6 handset phone system on one Obi, and 2 with single handsets on each of the other 2. The handsets can be associated with multiple bases but only a max of 6 handsets associated per base. So even with multiple bases I could only have max. 6 handsets associated with each one at any one time.
Example:
Uniden base #1 - 6 handsets
Uniden base #2 - 3 handsets + 3 handsets from base #1
Uniden base #3 - 3 handsets + remaining 3 handsets from Base #1
You manually choose which base you want to connect to. Handsets only connect to one base at a time so it will receive or place calls on which ever base was last selected by the user.
The new Uniden systems allow 12 handsets (older handsets not compatible with new systems).
For a concurrent calling setup you could have 2 Obi's with 2 phone bases. Associate all 6 handsets with both bases but select base #1 for use. Set the second Obi to fork all calls to the first Obi. Incoming calls on both Obi's will ring all phones. When the phones are in use they will display "Line in Use" and you can select the other base and place your call. There are many variations that can be used to set something like this up, and if you use SIP services on the second Obi that allow you to set the outgoing caller id, all outgoing calls can carry the same caller id number.
Quote from: MichiganTelephone on March 14, 2012, 11:56:03 PM
Quote from: pigpile on February 26, 2012, 05:40:27 PM
is this a forum or a lecture hall?
THANK YOU!!! There are some people on this forum that really need to stop trying to impose their beliefs and values on others. Not everyone thinks that "being safe" should be a top priority in life. We're all going to die someday, and to be honest I'd rather do it BEFORE I'm so old and feeble that I hate every second of my continued existence on this planet.
It's like the people who try to sell alarm systems. "Aren't you worried that... blah blah blah (this or that bad thing might happen)." No, I'm not. No, additional safety is not worth an extra so many cents (or dollars) a day to me. There are plenty of people who spend half their lives worrying about bad things that might happen to them, and if that's the way they want to live it's their choice, but I REALLY wish they'd stop trying to push all their fears onto the rest of us. It's okay to ask how to get a certain grade of 911 service if that's what YOU want, but it's NOT okay to lecture others that they should make the same choice you have.
(I'm not saying that people should have total disregard for safety, but there is a happy medium in there somewhere. I'm just waiting for the day the "safety nannies" get every sport banned because sports are inherently unsafe. And I don't just mean contact sports like football - people have been killed while playing just about every sport there is, either due to slips and falls, or getting beaned in the head with a ball or other object. Some people won't be happy until we all live in padded rubber rooms and eat nothing but bland vegetables).
I don't know how you can equate E911 services with safety nannies, wearing helmets on motorcyles, or similar. Even alarm systems. I do agree that lecturing should not be done on these forums, but informing those unfamiliar with the situation, and possible consequences, should be done IMHO. I didn't get my alarm system monitored to be safer. Someone breaking into my home and hearing the alarm has no idea if it's monitored or not, so they likely make a quick escape because they don't know. Monitoring of smoke/CO isn't really safer (unless I'm overcome and not able to hear the alarm). Monitoring allows me to save money on my insurance, resulting in a net saving (Insurance savings is > than monitoring costs), so I make a profit AND know that when I'm not home the house is "being watched". E911 really impacts two things - 1) the caller is not able to speak and 2) the caller doesn't know the physical address or the operator doesn't understand the physical address or types it in wrong. E911 eliminates those issues for $1.50 a month.
Just a thought, maybe you should have a liability waiver for all visitors to your home.
"Warning - if you have to call 911 while in my home, the 911 operator will not receive location data automatically which they then incorporate into a mapping service to most efficiently dispatch emergency services. Therefore, it's possible that if you, as a guest in my home, cannot provide the correct address, or the dispatcher misunderstands the address that you do provide, that emergency services may be delayed in their response, and possibly may adversely effect your health and well-being. Your signature on this form releases me, and my estate, from all liability if your health and well-being is adversely effected". ;)
Quote from: Rick on March 15, 2012, 07:12:30 AMJust a thought, maybe you should have a liability waiver for all visitors to your home.
"Warning - if you have to call 911 while in my home, the 911 operator will not receive location data automatically which they then incorporate into a mapping service to most efficiently dispatch emergency services. Therefore, it's possible that if you, as a guest in my home, cannot provide the correct address, or the dispatcher misunderstands the address that you do provide, that emergency services may be delayed in their response, and possibly may adversely effect your health and well-being. Your signature on this form releases me, and my estate, from all liability if your health and well-being is adversely effected". ;)
Just a thought, maybe flying unicorns should land on my lawn and fart gold coins.
THAT'S as likely to happen as what you suggested.
Here's another thought: Maybe you should stay home, in your nice monitored home with the alarm system, and not ever go visit anyone else. Because, you know, maybe the person you're visiting is like most people and hardly gives a thought to safety unless they are standing next to the edge of a cliff or something. If people like you would stay home, the rest of us wouldn't need to worry that you might try to use our phones.
Or better yet, you could bring your own cell phone, which will always have 911 access.
Before we get too carried away here, let me explain my objection to this whole e911 business. Basically, I see it as a money grab by the incumbent phone companies. They soak local governments for the 911 trunks (and in some cases the equipment) and then they turn around and soak local phone users. But in my opinion, that's an unfair distribution of the costs, because it puts the brunt of the expense on phone users. In the old days, at least there was usually only one change per household but nowadays with both parents plus the kids carrying cell phones, and maybe a landline or commercial VoIP service, they may get soaked for the 911 charge multiple times. Meanwhile the homeless guy on the street pays nothing.
But here's the problem, e911 benefits EVERYONE. So really, it should be funded in the same way that public sidewalks or bike paths are funded, which is to say, everyone able to pay should contribute their fair share, and not a penny more. If someone gets into a car accident outside your home and you call 911, they get the benefit whether they have ever paid a dime toward 911 funding or not. If police and fire departments can be funded from taxes, why not e911? As a bonus, government would have more incentive to make the phone companies justify their costs, instead of just letting them claim they need to charge every customer so much per line. The real inequity is where you have a factory or store with maybe 25 employees or more, but they only have one incoming phone line so they pay one e911 charge, yet the family of five that is barely scraping by might be paying five or six e911 charges. So when I hear preachy people try to convince people that they simply MUST have e911, I always wonder in the back of my mind if they aren't telephone company shills (or stockholders) trying to fatten their own wallets. I realize not every e911 proponent has a financial stake in getting people to pay more and more for the service, but that's the point, we don't know what motivates people to stick their nose in other people's business, and very often that reason is in some way self-serving.
Not that I was concerned, but I did bring up what I thought would be a big "safety concern" for those people that are 911 fanatics. My concern was dismissed as unimportant and of no concern by anyone else.
Obi's speed dial process will interfere with calling any number, including 911. If you delay while dialing 911 the Obi will dial the number stored in the corresponding speed dial location. If there is no number in that speed dial location the Obi will return "there is no call route available ......).
I think you should have to press # or * before the Obi will process the speed dial.
So make sure you are not injured or choking on smoke so bad that you can't dial the 3 digits without a 2 second delay. But look at the bright side, maybe whoever answers from speed dialing 9 knows your address and can call 911 for you.
Quote from: jimates on March 15, 2012, 01:15:08 PM
Not that I was concerned, but I did bring up what I thought would be a big "safety concern" for those people that are 911 fanatics. My concern was dismissed as unimportant and of no concern by anyone else.
Obi's speed dial process will interfere with calling any number, including 911. If you delay while dialing 911 the Obi will dial the number stored in the corresponding speed dial location. If there is no number in that speed dial location the Obi will return "there is no call route available ......).
Actually, your concerns were addressed by Obihai with a revised Speed Dial rule in the PHONE Port DigitMap:
|[1-9]S9|[1-9][0-9]S9|
You now have 9 seconds after dialing 1 or 2 digits before the Speed Dial activates (if you don't terminate your dialing with a #).
mine still dials after 2 seconds. I had modified that digit map early on and didn't know about any "fix".
But still no one else was concerned when I mentioned it.
Is it possible to program the Obi to speed dial a number, than when the number answers, select an option? For instance the direct non 911 number for the 911 emergency service where I live is: 757 385 5000 than press option "1" .
Quote from: RonR on March 15, 2012, 01:38:35 PM
Quote from: jimates on March 15, 2012, 01:15:08 PM
Not that I was concerned, but I did bring up what I thought would be a big "safety concern" for those people that are 911 fanatics. My concern was dismissed as unimportant and of no concern by anyone else.
Obi's speed dial process will interfere with calling any number, including 911. If you delay while dialing 911 the Obi will dial the number stored in the corresponding speed dial location. If there is no number in that speed dial location the Obi will return "there is no call route available ......).
Actually, your concerns were addressed by Obihai with a revised Speed Dial rule in the PHONE Port DigitMap:
|[1-9]S9|[1-9][0-9]S9|
You now have 9 seconds after dialing 1 or 2 digits before the Speed Dial activates (if you don't terminate your dialing with a #).
Fixed it. I have a custom digit map for second dial tones, so I had to manually input the changes.
Thanks RonR.
Quote from: richardcoop on March 16, 2012, 06:13:09 AM
Is it possible to program the Obi to speed dial a number, than when the number answers, select an option? For instance the direct non 911 number for the 911 emergency service where I live is: 757 385 5000 than press option "1" .
No such capability exists.
Quote from: MichiganTelephone on March 14, 2012, 11:56:03 PM
Quote from: pigpile on February 26, 2012, 05:40:27 PM
is this a forum or a lecture hall?
THANK YOU!!! There are some people on this forum that really need to stop trying to impose their beliefs and values on others. Not everyone thinks that "being safe" should be a top priority in life. We're all going to die someday, and to be honest I'd rather do it BEFORE I'm so old and feeble that I hate every second of my continued existence on this planet.
Even if you live alone in a detached home, you probably have visitors come by your house. Therefore you are being pretty hypocritical because while you can choose to ignore forum posts, someone in your house does not have the same ability to make their own choices regarding 911 service. YOU made the decision to not have 911 location services. Even if they can pick up the phone and dial 911 (no guarantee that they can), most guests won't have your full address memorized to be able to provide it to the 911 operator. Talk about pushing your beliefs on someone - just because you believe that nothing will happen doesn't mean it won't.
You probably don't wear your seatbelt either or a helmet while riding a motorcycle and claim that you are only effecting yourself by those decisions. ;)
I'm all about saving a buck. This is why I looked at the Obi system and dropped my landline phone. But having 911 service with your location being automatically provided is the de facto standard in the US now and by not providing it you are putting people at risk. It's just too inexpensive to be worth the gamble IMHO.
Am I missing something? I dropped my landline almost 8 yrs ago and switched to voip. Even though my local phone co. shut the service down I can still use any phone, connect it to the RJ in the wall and have 911 service. There's no dialtone, per say, but you still get a live operator, probably the same as paid e911 service. No Obi ATA or need be involved and no bill from Ma Bell.
I thought this was a federal law to provide free 911 or am I just "lucky"?
Synchron 8)
Quote from: synchron on March 22, 2012, 12:03:30 PMThere's no dialtone, per say, but you still get a live operator, probably the same as paid e911 service. No Obi ATA or need be involved and no bill from Ma Bell. I thought this was a federal law to provide free 911 or am I just "lucky"?
The rules vary by state. In which one are you?
In California, a "disconnected" line has dial tone. You can call 911, or 611 (for repair, if your line got this way by mistake), or 811 (if you didn't pay the bill, or to order new service). All other calls are sent to a recording that explains the above three options. With such a line, I'd be concerned that it could fail, or be accidentally disconnected when the pair was reused to provide service to someone else. You could make a test call every month or two (to the recording), to have some confidence that the line would be available, should it be needed in an emergency.
I very much doubt that you would be routed directly to a PSAP just by going off-hook -- there would be too many false calls caused by testing, accidental shorts, etc. I suggest that you pick up the phone as a test. If you do get the PSAP, immediately state that you don't have an emergency and are just testing; don't hang up until they confirm this. Otherwise, ask the operator what your options are, and whether it would be ok to do a periodic test.
The phone I use for the wall (seperate from the Wireless Uniden system I use with voip) is pretty old with a pulse dialer. But, you're right, there is a faint dialtone and if I dial a 7digit number I get a recording but it comes in loud and clear. The recording pretty much says no service. I dialed '611' and got an AT&T gal and she reassured me that 911 can definitely be used ICOE. She was very friendly and was able to read out my location (street address, unit#, town) but not my name via CLID. I'm in Southern CA.
synchron 8)
My line in Michigan was dead, no faint dial tone. California is very progressive...
Quote from: sic0048 on March 22, 2012, 09:40:46 AM
Quote from: MichiganTelephone on March 14, 2012, 11:56:03 PM
Quote from: pigpile on February 26, 2012, 05:40:27 PM
is this a forum or a lecture hall?
THANK YOU!!! There are some people on this forum that really need to stop trying to impose their beliefs and values on others. Not everyone thinks that "being safe" should be a top priority in life. We're all going to die someday, and to be honest I'd rather do it BEFORE I'm so old and feeble that I hate every second of my continued existence on this planet.
Even if you live alone in a detached home, you probably have visitors come by your house. Therefore you are being pretty hypocritical because while you can choose to ignore forum posts, someone in your house does not have the same ability to make their own choices regarding 911 service. YOU made the decision to not have 911 location services. Even if they can pick up the phone and dial 911 (no guarantee that they can), most guests won't have your full address memorized to be able to provide it to the 911 operator. Talk about pushing your beliefs on someone - just because you believe that nothing will happen doesn't mean it won't.
If I go to someone else's home I make NO assumptions about what safety provisions they may or may not have made. Maybe it's the neighborhood I live in but I get the distinct impression that most of the people around here are not super concerned about safety. I like living here!
Quote from: sic0048 on March 22, 2012, 09:40:46 AMYou probably don't wear your seatbelt either or a helmet while riding a motorcycle and claim that you are only effecting yourself by those decisions. ;)
Actually, I wore a motorcycle helmet back before it was illegal to ride without one. And I didn't give a damn if that made me seem "uncool" among my peers — I valued my noggin more than their approval. But if the only way I'd have been able to obtain a motorcycle helmet was to rent one and pay a monthly fee, I'd probably have gone without it or just given up motorcycle riding.
Quote from: sic0048 on March 22, 2012, 09:40:46 AMI'm all about saving a buck. This is why I looked at the Obi system and dropped my landline phone. But having 911 service with your location being automatically provided is the de facto standard in the US now and by not providing it you are putting people at risk. It's just too inexpensive to be worth the gamble IMHO.
At risk of becoming one of the "lecturers", I'll just say this: You're making quite an assumption there about a "de facto standard." How do you know that the person you visit has any landline service at all? If they have a cell phone, how do you know that it's charged up and usable?
Believe me, it's not an academic question. A huge percentage, perhaps even a majority of people under 30 have no landline phone service, and rely on cell phones exclusively. And that age is creeping upwards as people age - I expect it will be true of people under 40 and maybe even under 50 real soon now, if it isn't already.
So if you are really THAT concerned about safety, you'll carry your own cell phone wherever you go, and you'll always have a way to charge it up. Because if you make unwarranted assumptions about people you visit, those assumptions could cost you your life!
I think my remark about 911 with location services being the defacto standard is pretty accurate. If you can find either a landline telephone or cell phone, the average person expects to be able to pick it up and dial 911 and get help. Going a step further, while they probably wouldn't be able to put this into words (we techies think about stuff like this, but the average person doesn't), they expect 911 to know where they are located without them having to know the physical address where they are located.
Not being able to find a phone is bad, but at least a person understands the situation they find themselves in and can work within those parameters. For most people, this means finding a phone becomes a high priority, even if it means running to a neighbor, asking a person to use their cell phone, etc, etc, etc.
However, if you have a phone in your house, yet it does not dial 911, or if it does not provide your location automatically, that is going to cause confusion and loss of time because a caller expects one thing but experiences another.
In a best case scenario, you are adding extra stress to an already stressful situation and time will be wasted getting the needed location information to the 911 operator. Imagine a caller's stress/panic level when the 911 operator asks "Where are you located" and the caller doesn't know the address. It would be like being punched in the stomach, and then they still have to get the correct location information and convey it to the operator.
In a worse case scenario, the caller goes through that and then gives the operator the wrong information. For example, I live on a Court which is near a Street with the same name. If the caller gave my address as 1 Maple Street instead of 1 Maple Court, help would be severely delayed in getting to the correct address.
I hope my comments haven't come off as being argumentative or negative in nature. I enjoy the banter between people and want to make sure it stays informative and respectful.
Hey Rick,
I signed up for pay pre call plan which is free. But I do not see the ability to pay $1.50 for the e911, i know you dont work for them but if you could point me in the right direction i would appreciate it.
Sly
Quote from: Rick on March 11, 2012, 08:56:48 AM
Quote from: bawaji on March 11, 2012, 08:46:27 AM
Quote from: Rick on February 18, 2012, 04:20:58 PM
Port your Verizon number to a prepaid cell, then to GV. Setup Callcentric for e911 for $1.50 setup fee and $1.50 per month. Info all over these forums
Can one of you please outline exactly what one needs to sign up for on the Callcentric website to be able to use it for 911 calls? I have Google Voice but am not sure exactly what plan or plans to sign up for at Callcentric, including whether I need to sign up for a phone number. Looks to me like i need to sign up for only outgoing service, and that too only the pay per call rate plan. Is that correct? Any link to a clear step-by-step procedure will help. Thanks!
You must sign up for at least the Pay Per Call plan. Then you sign up for E911 for the $1.50 setup and $1.50 per month. You WILL get a Callcentric number.
Once you get a confirmation from Callcentric, put this in the Physical Interfaces > Phone Port > Outbound Call Route:
{([1-9]x?*(Mpli)):pp},{(<#:>):li},{911:sp2},{**0:aa},{***:aa2},{(<**1:>(Msp1)):sp1}, {(<**2:>(Msp2)):sp2},{(<**8:>(Mli)):li},{(<**9:>(Mpp)):pp},{(Mpli):pli}
Click Submit, Reboot the OBi, call the NON-EMERGENCY number for your dispatch center and ask permission to test E911. When you test it, they should be able to see your name and address, AND the phone number. I asked what it was, the dispatcher noted it was "out of area" and read it to me, it was a California number, see my post on how the Callcentric process works.
Quote from: sic0048 on March 26, 2012, 08:13:58 AM
I think my remark about 911 with location services being the defacto standard is pretty accurate. If you can find either a landline telephone or cell phone, the average person expects to be able to pick it up and dial 911 and get help. Going a step further, while they probably wouldn't be able to put this into words (we techies think about stuff like this, but the average person doesn't), they expect 911 to know where they are located without them having to know the physical address where they are located.
I am old enough to remember when there was no 911 at all. I also remember that for a long time after 911 was available, the 911 dispatchers had absolutely no idea where you were. In the "formerly GTE" territory where I live, there were several exchanges that didn't have the enhanced 911 until the mid-90's (when the switches were finally converted from the old step-by-step switches to digital). For all I know there may still be some small, independent exchanges that don't offer enhanced 911, or only started to very recently.
So the expectation that you have is a relatively new one, but as technology progresses, expectations must necessarily change. The new reality may be that the most reliable way to summon help in an emergency is by using your personal cell phone, because many newer cell phones have GPS tracking. Whereas, with all the VoIP technologies, even if a person has a commercial 911 service and sets their correct address, that doesn't mean they will remember to change it the moment they move. I know someone who has service with a VoIP provider (one of the major ones that starts with a "V") and has moved twice and on both occasions never bothered to change his 911 address. The only way I know this is because at some point he asked me to help him configure something and when we logged into his account, I noticed the incorrect former address (and yes, I did fix it for him — took all of 30 seconds).
And, I know another guy who doesn't want 911 service at all because, and I kid you not, he's afraid that if he registers with 911 some bill collectors that he's trying to avoid will find him! I can only shake my head...
So what I am hearing is that you have a particular set of expectations, and I'm just saying that perhaps it's your expectations that need adjusting given the new reality that just because you happen to see a telephone instrument sitting on a countertop in someone's home, that does not actually mean it's connected to anything that will give you useful 911 service. I would guess there are probably people who have dropped their landline service completely, but still the phone sits where it always has, just because they were never motivated to disconnect it, or maybe they just like the looks of it.
You can have all the expectations you want but at the end of the day, if you pick up someone's else phone in an emergency and dial 911, the new reality is that it just might not do what you expect it to do. You'd be far better off reaching for your cell phone, particularly if it has GPS capability and your local 911 center can receive that information. And anyway, if someone is running from house to house looking for a working phone, I'd say that makes them the one that's not preparing for an emergency. Have you noticed how thin your local phone book is getting (unless the phone company in your area does what the one in my neck of the woods does, which is to continue to carry listings for phones that were disconnected four or five years ago — I guess that's one way to try to hide the fact that landlines are becoming a thing of the past!)?
Oh, and by the way, there have been several noted cases where people with landlines either died or received delayed help because the company that manages the 911 address database either had an incorrect address or an incorrect city on file. In one case I recall, a Wisconsin man died while waiting for an ambulance that was dispatched to a city on the opposite side of a river from where he was (I want to say it was in the Appleton/Neenah area, but don't quote me on that). As I recall, he and his family could actually hear the sirens as the ambulance went to the wrong address. So even if a person has landline service from a phone company, that doesn't necessarily mean that help will be sent in an emergency after 911 is called.
I realize that 911 service hasn't always been available, especially in rural areas (I'm old enough to remember too). But it has been the official national emergency number since 1999 and providers have been steadily implementing and improving service before, during, and after that time.
I think we are in a funny time with 911 and VOIP systems. VOIP isn't that mainstream yet, but there are a lot of people adopting it. If anything, I think this is probably the most "dangerous" time in the lifecycle regarding VOIP and 911. There haven't been enough tragic stories about 911 delays due to VOIP and 911 yet. So people haven't been educated to the risks of a VOIP system with regards to 911 and they haven't been trained to maintain their system with regards to 911 (like updating their address properly). As more people move towards VOIP and more time passes, there will be more tragic stories that come out. Unfortunately it will take a few deaths before people really start to wake up about this.
MichiganTelephone - your story about the incorrect location information being provided for 911 is tragic. It certainly was more common back in the early days of 911. It might still be a problem today too in some areas. I do know that a lot of cities and towns changed street names over the years to help prevent that type of issue. While regular 911 might not be perfect, it is certainly much better than not having location services provided. Depending on a person to accurately give an address in a moment of high stress is more problematic than relying on the e911 system to provide the location. Without e911 service, a person using VOIP is much more likely to have delays in receiving help than a person with e911 service. As your story reminds us, sometimes those delays are the difference between life and death.
Plus, if a person is using an e911 service and actually tested it to make sure it works could rest assured that as long as the e911 data was provided (the service wasn't down for some reason), the 911 operator would receive the correct location data.
I realize there are some stubborn people out there that are determined to get free telephone service just to brag about it or for some other reason I cannot explain. It doesn't matter what any of us write on a forum. I hope they never need 911 or if they do that everything works out even without e911 service being provided. But for those people that feel the value of having 911 service is more than the $1.50/mo cost, it's nice to know that the Obi can work with e911 providers to give us the safest possible solution for 911 calls. It might not be perfect, but it is much better than nothing IMHO.