Obi202 Multiple phones

[nite]

I currently have a DSL ISP.  I have my obi202 connected to 2 phone bases- one base connects to another wireless phone, and the other base connects to 3 other wireless phones. When I had a phone line, they were in different floors- 2nd flr and basement.

I heard that with a Cable ISP, I can change the phone box outside-unplug the wire- so that the phone bases can be connected to any wall plug.  Can this be done with DSL internet?

When the phones ring and my wife and I pick up two different phones, only the phone that was first picked up works.  Do I need to set anything in Obi portal?

Thanks.

[CLTGreg]

You're not defining "base". Do you mean two 202s or two cordless phone base stations?

You can pull the plug at the outside box so that no dial tone is coming from the phone company. This is on the "customer side" or similar wording. Basically it's the one with the easy to open screw. You may not have to do that if there's no dial tone.

If you do that then your home wiring is connected to the OBi(s) and will work. As far as picking up an extension you should draw us a picture.

Are you DSL or Cable? You certainly wouldn't pull the demark plug if you're DSL. And what kind of DSL? You talking the low speed thing that died years ago that some people still have or are you talking Uverse type?

If it's something like Uverse (or potentially the old stuff if you have a filter) then you'd take a filter and split off the internet side as usual and then leave the other side unconnected. This essentially takes the phone side from the phoneco and puts it nowhere. Then, plug the OBi(s) into the wall and you'll have dialtone to it throughout the house. You can only do this with two "lines" as far as the wire in the walls go. You're not going to be able to do two OBis in that situation or at least not until you draw us a map. You could split them so one "line" is coming out one port of each but that negates having a 202 over a 200.

You've only fed scraps so fill in the blanks for a better educated guess.

[nite]

Sorry.."base" as in the cordless phone base station that is connected to the phone jack on the 202. 

E.g. The bigger one with usually the answering machine:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/telephones-communications/cordless-phones/abcat0802001.c?id=abcat0802001 

So I have two of them connected to both phone jacks on the 202. Each base wireless connects to different cordless phones in the house.  Not sure why we didnt buy extra handsets instead of another set =/

I have DSL with 50/10 connection so I cant just unplug the wire from the outdoor box because I need it for the DSL modem.

I tried getting a L1-L2-L1&L2 splitter and connecting L1 to modem then OBI202, and then OBI202 phone jack to L1&L2 slot, and then connecting the phone base to a different wall phone jack, but the phone didnt ring during incoming calls and no dial-tone.

Please see attachment.

Did I connect the wires to the splitter correctly?

[SteveInWA]

Sorry, but your post is still confusing/confused.   You've got several different issues colliding here:  DSL service wiring, and how to use a OBi 202's two different PHONE ports.

Let's start with telephone wiring.  DSL service piggy-backs a higher-frequency signal on top of the same two-wire pair of copper wires coming from the phone company, that also carry the lower-frequency human voice.  There are different types of installations, depending on the hardware your telco uses, and how long ago it was installed.  The "big picture" is that the main connection from the telco has both signals on the wire pair, and you must remove the high-frequency data signal from that pair before connecting it to any telephone equipment.  There are a couple ways this is done.  In some cases, the DSL filter is installed in the telco's "demarcation" or demarc box, with clearly-labeled RJ-11 jack(s) for your telephone service.  In other installations, the combined signals are fed all throughout the house, and filters must be installed inline on each telephone plugged into the wall jacks.

So:  if you want to remove your telco's telephone service from your house wiring, how that's done depends on how your house was wired.  If you attempt to connect your OBi's PHONE port(s) to the combined DSL/voice wiring, it won't work correctly.  We can't tell you exactly how to re-wire things because we're not there, looking at your demarc box, etc.  You'll have to figure it out. 

One way:  DSL is filtered out at the demarc, or at the DSL modem, and you plug telephone(s)  and your OBi PHONE port into the centrally-filtered jack(s).  Another way:  the signal isn't split and filtered at the demarc, so you must install a DSL filter in-line with the OBi's PHONE jack, and with any telephone bases you use.  The third way:  don't use your house wiring at all for telephones.  Plug the cordless phone base station's telephone cord directly into the OBi's PHONE jack.

Now, as for your OBi 202:  it has two different PHONE jacks, that are not the same.  You can configure your OBi such that one or more of the up-to-four service providers you have set up, will ring on one or the other or both of the PHONE 1 and / or PHONE 2 jacks.

See my discussion here for more details on connecting two different telephone lines to one OBi 202:

http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=10526.0

[Taoman]

So:  if you want to remove your telco's telephone service from your house wiring, how that's done depends on how your house was wired.  If you attempt to connect your OBi's PHONE port(s) to the combined DSL/voice wiring, it won't work correctly.  We can't tell you exactly how to re-wire things because we're not there, looking at your demarc box, etc.  You'll have to figure it out. 

I may be wrong, Steve, but based on his 2 posts I think he may have a naked DSL connection.

When I had a phone line, they were in different floors- 2nd flr and basement.

[SteveInWA]

So:  if you want to remove your telco's telephone service from your house wiring, how that's done depends on how your house was wired.  If you attempt to connect your OBi's PHONE port(s) to the combined DSL/voice wiring, it won't work correctly.  We can't tell you exactly how to re-wire things because we're not there, looking at your demarc box, etc.  You'll have to figure it out.  

I may be wrong, Steve, but based on his 2 posts I think he may have a naked DSL connection.

When I had a phone line, they were in different floors- 2nd flr and basement.

Thanks; that could be.  It wouldn't change the issue of how to wire in the OBi to the house wiring:  the DSL signal would still need to be confirmed as removed from the house wiring, or filtered to prevent the DSL signal from interfering with the OBi.  If it's naked DSL, all that means is that there is no telephone-company-provided ~100VAC ring voltage to worry about and remove at the demarc, because the telco turned it off at their central office, right?

The problem is, we have no way to see how the house is wired, without being there, with test equipment, and I wouldn't want to guess and be wrong.  The safest, and easiest way to deal with it would be to insert DSL filters inline with the OBi's phone ports -- the filters don't hurt anything if there is no DSL there to filter - they are simply low-pass filter networks.  The better approach is to isolate the wiring from the telco to the DSL modem on a separate run of wire, not connected to anything else in the house.  That's how my telco wired my house for DSL many years ago, before I replaced it with FiOS.

Hopefully, the OP now has a better understanding of how things work, and can ask more questions and provide more information, if necessary.

[drgeoff]

For clarification. The filters do more than prevent the high frequency DSL signals interfering with phones or OBis. Having the DSL signals 'loaded' by any equipment additional to the DSL modem is a sure-fire way of crippling the DSL speed.

Even with filters between each wall socket and phone, the house wiring to those sockets is still able to act as an antenna picking up interference. And it can cause impedance mismatches and reflections further hampering the DSL. If maximising the DSL speed is a priority (possibly because the speed is low) it is best to have a single filter as close as possible to the point where the telco line arrives and have all house phone wiring fed from the 'phone' output of that filter.

[nite]

Issue#1
Called my ISP and they said I have Dry DSL.  The phone jack to the modem does not require a filter.  Are you suggesting I should put a phone filter between the wall jack and the phone base unit?

Issue#2
All the cordless phones ring but we can only listen to one at a time.  E.g. If she picks up and then I pick up, she will hear incoming voice, but I dont.


Thanks for all the replies =)

[drgeoff]

Issue#1
Called my ISP and they said I have Dry DSL.  The phone jack to the modem does not require a filter.  Are you suggesting I should put a phone filter between the wall jack and the phone base unit?

Issue#2
All the cordless phones ring but we can only listen to one at a time.  E.g. If she picks up and then I pick up, she will hear incoming voice, but I dont.


Thanks for all the replies =)

Re issue #2.

That is normal for DECT phones, but there is often a way for another handset to join an existing call.  Consult the handbook for your phones.

[MurrayB]

If you have Panasonic DECT 6.0 phones hit the CONF soft key and the the handset will join the conversation.

[nite]

Issue#2
-I don't see the CONF button.
*Please see attachment for the two phone station units i have.
Is there something I have to configure in OBI so that the two phone jacks work together?

[MurrayB]

Sorry I should have been more explanatory!

When one handset answers the phone the other handsets may display CONF on the screen probably over the center soft key below the screen, LCD display if you will, pressing that key will join the handset to the conversation with the other handset. Both handsets have the ability to operate independently such as leaving the call by hitting off for example or activating speakerphone on that handset.

This is also in the instruction manual. If you don't have one PDF versions are available by searching via your model number.

Good Luck!

[drgeoff]

The CONF method does not require any configuration of your OBi but will only work for handsets on the same base station.

[nite]

I think the same base station is the issue =/

What about issue #1?  If I have Dry DSL, should I still unplug the wire in the outside box?

[MurrayB]

You are connected to the Internet through the DRY DSL connection to the phone company. If you disconnect, unplug, the wire from the outside box no internet connection.