OBi110 as Google Voice-telco bridge

[molasses]

Hello all, I apologize if this subject's been hashed out before, but after about twelve hours of intense googling and head-scratching, I can't seem to find a solid answer.

I have a POTS landline. For various reasons, I like my POTS landline very much, and would like to continue using it. I also have a Google Voice number, which I also like very much. Presently, I use these two things together, for both long-distance (I want to keep my landline account at local-only) and other Google Voice features (centralized voicemail, etc). Also, everyone already has my GV number.

I have no problem with using my PC and the GV web interface to connect calls with my landline, but I'd like a box to automate this process, mostly for guests' use.

Can the 110 be used for this purpose, with or without tweaking? For clarity: I pick up my handset, which is connected to the OBi110 (which, in turn, is connected to the internet and the telco line), and dial a phone number. The 110 sends my request through GV which hands the call over to my landline, connecting me to the call's recipient.

Any and all feedback is appreciated. Thank you for your patience, as my understanding of telephony could use some development. (I'd used the 110 a couple of years ago for different reasons, then gave the box to someone who needed it. If I can apply the abovementioned uses to the device, I'll place an order for another one immediately.)

[drgeoff]

I'm not sure that I understand what you want to do.

You dial on the phone connected to the PHONE port on the OBi110.  The call goes out on your GV service and tries to connect to the called number. If it succeeds you have two way voice between your phone and the callee's phone.  How is your telco line to be incorporated into that call?

When using the OBi110 with GV there is no callback to your POTS line as there is when initiating a GV call via a web page on your PC.

[azrobert]

I think what you want to do is give someone access to your landline to make an outbound call.
If this is correct you have 4 options:

1. You call them via GV.
You hit flash and dial the number for them.
Hang  up.
This is a normal call transfer.

2. They call your GV number.
They are sent to the Auto Attendant based on their callerid.
They follow the prompts to make an outbound call.

3. They call your GV number, let it ring once and hang up.
Auto Attendant will call them back.
They follow the prompts to make an outbound call.

4. They call your GV number.
They will unconditionally get dial tone on the landline.
They dial a number.

[molasses]

Thanks for your responses, this helps clear things up. I'll look into other avenues.

[drgeoff]

We are none the wiser about what he wants.

[molasses]

I thought I'd stated it pretty plainly in the third paragraph, even going so far as to set the paragraph apart to make it plainer. If I'd yet developed the capacity to explain it more technically, I'd likely have fixed the problem on my own by now (which I still intend to do).

But still, thanks for the responses.

[SteveInWA]

I have no problem with using my PC and the GV web interface to connect calls with my landline, but I'd like a box to automate this process, mostly for guests' use.

Can the 110 be used for this purpose, with or without tweaking? For clarity: I pick up my handset, which is connected to the OBi110 (which, in turn, is connected to the internet and the telco line), and dial a phone number. The 110 sends my request through GV which hands the call over to my landline, connecting me to the call's recipient.

My interpretation of what you said here, is that today, you are accustomed to using a PC and the Google Voice web page, with the "Click the red and white CALL button to place a call" feature.   You tell GV to call you on your POTS land line, which it does, and then it bridges the call to your desired party.  Right?  Please confirm.

If that's the case, then you don't even need an OBi to do that with your telephone.  Just call your own GV number from your landline phone (either manually or via a speed dial) , access your menu* and press "2" to make the outbound call to your desired party's number.

* by default, GV forwarding phone numbers with type = work or = office are set to ring your GV number when you call it from that phone.  To bypass this ringing and go directly to your GV menu, change the "Voicemail access" option here:

https://www.google.com/voice#phones

Click the Edit button, then click "show advanced settings" to see the Voicemail access setting.

On the other hand, the typical use case for GV with an OBi is to simply call the number from the OBi-attached phone, and it will bridge the call for you, over VoIP to the OBi, instead of the extra route back and forth via your POTS landline.

[Usetheforceobiwan]

I thought I'd stated it pretty plainly in the third paragraph, even going so far as to set the paragraph apart to make it plainer. If I'd yet developed the capacity to explain it more technically, I'd likely have fixed the problem on my own by now (which I still intend to do).

But still, thanks for the responses.

My interpretation of what you want, you want to be able to have people dial into the landline connected to you Obi,  which is a local call for them,  and be able to make outgoing (free) calls through your Google Voice line.  Is this correct?  Now if this is correct, do you want them to make the calls through an automated attendant (AutoAttendant in Obispeak) or do you want to the calls to go through to pre-determined end points based on the Caller ID of the number (person) which dialed into your Obi land-line number?