Physical FXS to FXO Relay - Not functional in OBi110 Hardware ver 3.4

[pedro]

I have two OBi110 units one is a hardware ver 2.8 and the second (newer) unit is a hardware ver 3.4.  On the newer unit [ver 3.4] the device is supposed to contain a relay that connects the FXO to the FXS port in the event of power failure but it does not work as described in the OBi product literature.  I have tested my older unit [ver 2.8] and the relay functions as expected during power outages.  If this feature was intended to be removed I suggest OBIHAI remove it from their product description.  For some of us we consider it a life saving necessity and one of the selling points of the 110 over the much simpler OBi100.

FYI, If you have a newer OBi110 and depend on your POTS line remaining functional during a power outage I suggest you test your units functionality by simply unplugging the power adapter from the wall then taking an analog telephone off hook and listen for dialtone.

A second much simpler test procedure is to simply unplug and replug in your OBi110 and listen for an audible click of a relay inside of the device itself.

[pedro]

Anybody else test theirs?

[pedro]

I guess nobody else cares if the newer OBi hardware doesn't pass through PSTN in the event of a power failure.   

[jeffml]

I guess nobody else cares if the newer OBi hardware doesn't pass through PSTN in the event of a power failure.   

I'm interested in seeing if the new hardware has pass though but getting an answer may be difficult.  I'm not sure how long the new version has been out.  If it is fairly recent it may take sometime for those folks to find the forum.  The other thing is that many people don't care anymore.  They have cell phones and most have power dependent wireless phone systems.  That is not to say it isn't important but the necessity isn't there as it once was.

[jimates]

I guess nobody else cares if the newer OBi hardware doesn't pass through PSTN in the event of a power failure.   

Evidently everyone that says, spend more to make sure you have "reliable" 911, are not interested either.

[pedro]

I wrote Obihai support a few days ago asking for clarification on this matter.  The following is their response.

"Thank you for contacting the Obihai Support Team.
Your second OBi device is working properly."

Thanks a lot Obihai support.  That really clears things up for me. 

[stooba]

I have the same issue and have posted in another forum asking someone who has an older unit to send pictures so we can see what is missing in the new builds.

The components that I'd like to identify are:
   K1 - a relay (DPDT)
   Q206 - a transistor (likely a MOSFET of some sort to activate relay coil)
   C99 - capacitor (likely power conditioning for relay coil)
   D150 & D151 - diodes (polarity of PHONE/LINE Ring and Tip lines)
   D203 or D204 - diodes (for back EMF on relay coil)

Since the relay is missing, Resistors R38 and R39 are added as jumpers that connect the COM and NO pins to look as if the relay was present and activated all the time.

Here is a link to the pictures of my current build's PCB where you can clearly see the missing pieces.
https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=e09e9b91a0c8f298&resid=E09E9B91A0C8F298!129&parid=E09E9B91A0C8F298!104&authkey=!AO953AL5VowTwN0

While many people might not care, this is a serious issue for those of us who bought this product specifically for that feature because we live in rural areas where power outages are a common issue.

[Ostracus]

While many people might not care, this is a serious issue for those of us who bought this product specifically for that feature because we live in rural areas where power outages are a common issue.

And on that note, are there any good compact UPSs that'll run devices like these for a long time?

[stooba]

Once I get mine up and running an ip-Phone and an analog phone over both the PSTN and GV networks, I'll do some current consumption testing for all operating modes.  I'll post the results so that everyone can estimate how much time their devices will work in each mode, and determine how much backup capacity they really need.  Probably be a few weeks before i can get all that running though, so if anyone wants to beat me to it, be my guest.

[pedro]

While many people might not care, this is a serious issue for those of us who bought this product specifically for that feature because we live in rural areas where power outages are a common issue.

And on that note, are there any good compact UPSs that'll run devices like these for a long time?

Don't forget you'll need to power your router, switch, cable modem/dsl modem etc.  I have a APC Back-Ups 550VA connected to my network stack consisting of a Linksys wireless router, Linksys cable modem, and two OBi110 devices.  My UPS with semi-new batteries fully charged will run my network stack for about 4 hours.  Don't forget to connect an analog telephone or be sure to have battery power for your cordless handset base station as well.  Please note, newer OBi110 units lack the failsafe relay to connect the FXS to the FXO port so unless you power your newer OBi110 you'll be without telephone service when you need it most.  Shame on you Obihai.

[kokosin]

An alternate procedure to ensure you have PSTN service during a power failure is to disconnect the Line port cable and Phone port cable from the OBi110 and connect the two lines together.  A regular phone line connector will work.  Takes  the place of the missing relay...

[chip]

I also have the newer version and noticed the lack of relay function in the unit. Quite a pain actually because during a power outage, even with the modem, router, switch and OBI110 on a UPS, there isn't a guarantee the cable company will maintain power on their side. In fact during power outages, even with my equipment on a UPS, I do lose internet access (thank you Comcast).

I guess OBI wanted to save the $$$ on the cost of components stooba has listed above. Thank you for the breakdown and photos. Those are exactly the parts needed for a fallback.

Although it's possible to connect the cables together during a power outage to take place of the missing relay, I'd prefer not to fiddle around with cables in the dark. It's easier to leave one lesser used phone hard connected to the PSTN side as an emergency phone. My land line company is a bit more reliable than my ISP.

[Mango]

At the risk of resurrecting a thread, I just wanted to find out if the hardware version has changed since earlier this year and if the FXS to FXO Relay has been fixed by now.  If not, do we have an ETR?

Thanks if anyone can tell me!

[Ideasmiths]

Edit by myself: Problem solved

[ProfTech]

I think you have some other problem. My Obi 110 is Hardware version 2.8 and the relay still works after installing build 2744. You may need to reset to factory defaults.

[jimates]

Try one more reset process.

Disconnect the power from the Obi
Press and hold the reset switch on bottom
Reinstall power while holding the reset switch
Continue to hold the reset switch until the Obi reboots (took about 40 seconds for me)

I was changing configurations one night and I guess I just wasn't waiting long enough between changes. i was sure that I had bricked the Obi. I tried everything, then I just decided to try doing that and it came back to life.

[QBZappy]

Ideasmiths,

I had a similar experience:

Re: Power light blinking, no IP
http://www.obitalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3252.msg26406#msg26406

[Lavarock7]

For those who like tinkering, you could create your own switchover. I used to do that with my dialup modem, automatically disconnecting it from the phone line when there was no electricty.

If power fails, you bypass the OBI.

A 110v DPDT relay and a couple of telephone connectors would do the deed.

[Gradius]

Sorry for bump.

This is a real shame, I found out on hard way today.

You won't need to be on rural area to that happens.

I also have v3.4 and they really removed that feature.  It was a very bad move from OBi to remove such useful (and necessary) feature.

[searchformission]

I wrote Obihai support a few days ago asking for clarification on this matter.  The following is their response.

"Thank you for contacting the Obihai Support Team.
Your second OBi device is working properly."

Thanks a lot Obihai support.  That really clears things up for me. 

Just got off chatting with support. Whoever is handling the chat support is terrible.
The type of support I got was being ignored, and got closed down.

I was asking whether there is anything I can do to solve this relay problem with the newer Obi110 hardware. If they don't support it, then tell me so. Ignoring a customer by shutting down, without providing any help is not professional at all.


Question: Is there a way to verify what hardware version the obi110 runs on? Without logging into it via the control panel? Thanks.