Archived from groups: comp.dcom.voice-over-ip (
More info?)
I went through a similar search a few months back and spent a
considerable amount of time researching solutions. I also poseted in
this group, but didn't find a suitable solution. I wanted a device
that passthru incoming calls on either line to the sole
equipment/handset line. I also wanted the handset to use the POTS
landline by default (so visitors didn't have to "think" to get 911!)
and use the VoIP line if a key prefix was entered before the number.
I did quite a bit of looking around. I didn't want a call forwarder,
an Asterisk server, or a Mitel switch. I just wanted a little box I
could hide in the closet and forget about.
>
http://www.artech.com.tw/html/english/ax520/Ax520.htm
The device you mentioned comes close, but it would swap defaults on
power outage. Not what I wanted. I want the POTS to always be the
default, power on or power off.
BTW, the company will ship to you. Just write them an email. They got
back to me in a couple days. You can also purchase this box online
from France, where I believe it's used fairly extensively.
I also checked out this:
http://natcomm.com.au/america/index.cfm?page=product_details&id=37&product_id=37
They're outside the US too, but actually have a US ordering page. This
device too came close but didn't exactly meet my needs.
(BTW, Mark Popek has been posting often to tout a device he markets.
I'd look into it further before buying it though. It appears to
require manual selection to switch between outgoing lines, although I
may be wrong. I wanted completely automatic incoming switching, and
at-the-handset selection of outgoing line.)
I finally settled on a relatively expensive US device
http://www.testequipmentdepot.com/skutch/telecomacc/as50.htm
It does precisely what I wanted. Incoming rings on either line ring my
phone and make the other line appear busy to other callers. If you
lift the handset to make an outgoing call, you get the POTS line.
Dialing *# gives you the VoIP line, and you can proceed with dialing as
usual. When you are using one of the lines for the outgoing call, the
other line is made busy, just like in the incoming case. If power
fails, it uses the POTS line. Perfect! But expensive: about $200.
Still, I've dropped my POTS line to minimal service, under $10 per
month including tax, and I'm saving a bundle by using VoIP for all
else, so this device will easily pay for itself.
The setup is incredibly simple, as you might imagine. It's wired like
this:
POTS line--------------------------------------[L1 ]
[ AS-50 TD]---to house
phones
cable line--[modem]--[router]--[VoIP adapter]--[L2 ]
Hope this helps,
jeff
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