TIPS FXO/FXS recommendations for a home setup

[chuckw]

I'm setting up a PIAF system for home to:

• add a voip line in another area code so my relatives can call my wife with a local call
• add a voip line for a side business that will go to voicemail (won't ring except in my home office)
• answer both voip and pstn calls with my existing single line cordless phone.

I have at most $250 to spend on the voip hardware, I need 1 FXO and 1 FXS + a voip phone, or 2 FXS. (The voip phone or 2nd FXS would be for my office)

I've read all the other "home" posts, and looked at entry level hardware, and have come up with the following options:

1. X100P and SPA2012
2. SPA3012 and voip phone.
3. OpenVox A400P with 1FXS, 2 FXO.
4. OpenVox A400P with 1FXS, 1 FXO, and voip phone.

What will have decent sound quality, and be the simplest to get configured in PIAF? Is there a better option than any of the ones I have above?

 

[jaray]

Be careful with the x100P, they're cheap and can work but can also be clunky and have issues. Mine seemed fine, then suddenly started having out of the blue crazy voice issues, loud distortion etc. Really hit and miss.
So I went back to my spa3102. Lots of support out there and you can plug your cordless right into it. I'd suggest going with the SPA. Just as many people will likely tell you issues they might have had with SPA3102's, but $ for $ I think you'll be happy. Really the only next option is more $$$ for a proper Sangoma, digium etc fxo card. Likely break your budget though.

...just my opinions though...

 

[Hat]

I agree with jaray. Dollar for dollar, a Spa 3102 with your existing analog phones is your best bang for the buck (well under $100) I have a spa 3000 at home driving all my existing (3) phones. The only issue with respects to configuring I have with my Spa unit is my inability to nail down the slight echo on the line. See this post for a basic setup of a SPA with PiaF.

As for the voip phone, a budget purchase would be a Grandstream GXP 2000 (~$75) or their BT series ($50 or less). I have the GXP 2000 in my home office. Yes, Grandstreams products may not be on par to the other brands, but for the price and your specific use (home), you can't beat it. I have not had any issues with mine.

Tom

 

[wardmundy]

When you get echo on the line with an SPA-3xxx, try placing the call on hold and then pick it up again. Works like a champ for us.

 

[chuckw]

When you get echo on the line with an SPA-3xxx

I can already hear my wife using the vonage quote: "oh this stupid computer line - let me call you back on the real phone".

So the X100P is out - the remaining question is about where I get the FXO. I see that I can buy Octasic SoftEcho inexpensively - would that option make the OpenVox card a better choice if I run into echo problems?

 

[jmullinix]

I am a big fan of Sangoma products (OK, I am dealer also); they just work. In this case an A200 with echo cancelling would be overkill. You might want to look at an A200 with one FXO (2 ports). The price on that should be about $272 US. I think it comes with software echo cancellation and I will ask if you need me to.

 

[dad311]

Because Im "thrifty" and only use my Pbxiaf @ home. I use a Zapmicro card which was plug N play. Works good and sounds good.

 

[hraynor]

I use AudioCodes MediaPack gateways. They're pricey new, but you can get them on eBay.

These are CARRIER quality gateways and have tons of options (though this is a mixed bag) allowing all sorts of options including redundancy, alternate dial plans, etc. MUCH more than your SPA functionality.

You should be able to pick up an MP-104 FXO for around $100-$125 (this is 4 FXO ports). MP-104 FXS you should be able to get around the same or less. Mediatrix 1104s (4 FXS) work great as well. I've picked them up for less than $50.

I just happen to prefer using VoIP gateways instead of PCI cards.

BTW - if you were to buy new, depending on the number of lines you need, I'd look into the AudioCodes MP-114 MIXED (2 FXS/2 FXO), or the MP-118 MIXED (4 FXS / 4 FXO). I have one and it is a great gateway.

A bit tricky to config I might add though, but I can help if you need.

I donated my MP-104 FXO and MP-104 FXS to a friend who runs a local business and both are being used in production with PBX In A Flash 1.3. Been working fine for the last 6 months with 5 Polycom 501 phones, using 2 FXS lines (credit card machine and fax off the MP-104 FXS), and 4 analog incoming lines.

No major problems other than a fax detection bug I found in PIAF which was easy to fix (will have to post the fix - it was one of the custom files had a typo in it).

 

[wardmundy]

No major problems other than a fax detection bug I found in PIAF which was easy to fix (will have to post the fix - it was one of the custom files had a typo in it).

Please do post the bug so we can fix it. Thanks.

 

[hraynor]

Ward, will do. I'll need to access the system remotely to see what I had done, its been about 2 months or more ago. There was a syntax error in one of the custom config files that kept throwing errors in the log. Went back to the default file, and replaced the line with that. It was around a DB lookup I believe.

If Asterisk detected a fax, this error caused Asterisk to hang up the call before it was routed to the correct extension.

I'll see if I can remotely get into the system to see where I had modified this and post here later today if possible.

 

[hraynor]

Ward,

Problem is in extensions_custom.conf, in section [ext-fax]. Issue is the call to DBGet... ie:

Replace the line:

extern => analog_fax,2,DBGet(DIAL=DEVICE/${FAX_RX}/dial);

with

exten => analog_fax,2,Set(DIAL=${DB(DEVICE/${FAX_RX}/dial)});

Seems that DBGet() is no longer valid...

I simply looked back at the [ext-fax] section in extensions.conf to find out how to do this.

I'll post to another thread so that this can be searched for others that had issues...

This was with PIAF 1.3 32 bit that was installed about 8 months ago. Has been updated with all the latest updates in FreePBX, etc (except for today's update to core - haven't done this yet).

 

[wardmundy]

Grrrr. Another Digium improvement.

Thanks. I'll fix it.

 

[l3iodeez]

Single FXO

I need to add a single FXO port to my existing setup in an office environment. Right now we are using an R4FXO-EC for the 4 incoming lines, and IP phones at the desks.We are moving to a new office with more lines, and I need one more FXO, for a fax line. I am looking for a low-cost high-quality solution for a single FXO port. I looked at the Sangoma USBfxo which is about the right price, but I would prefer something internal as this is a permanent installation. Is there a cheap 1 or 2 port FXO pci card that will do the job of receiving faxes?

 

[briankelly63]

I have / had many of the sipura / linksys spa-whatevers including the latest 3102. They do a lot of interesting things for the price but ECHO IS A BIG PROBLEM with them. I prefer these for linking plain old telephones to the asterisk box but not for FXO connections. If you go this route with your phone system you've got to invest in some decent, expandable hardware. Look at the digium AEX800p pci express series or something like that where you can use FXO or FXS modules. The MG2 or Oslec echo supression is FAR superior to any claimed echo suppression on the linksys adapters.

Not that this doesn't have negatives but the cheapest way to avoid these issues is don't connect to any analog lines.

brian

 

[maelec]

l3iodeez,
If you only need the FXO port for incoming fax you don't need EC. I'm using a 3102 for incoming fax with EC turned off. I don't believe I've missed a fax.

 

[MichiganTelephone]

As I mentioned in another thread, I've just posted on my blog a two-part (so far) review of the Obihai OBi110 VoIP device, which is a bit similar to a Sipura SPA-3000 or Linksys/Cisco SPA-3102 in that it has an FXO port and an FXS port. The second article has links to documentation on this device, and in particular to a set of instructions on the Obihai web site for using the device with Asterisk. Anyone who has been using, or considering the use of one of the aforementioned Linksys/Sipura devices might want to give the Obihai OBi110 a try. Unfortunately, I don't have a PSTN line anymore, so the only way I could test it in that scenario would be to connect the Obihai's FXO port to the FXS port of another VoIP adapter, and I haven't yet done that but if there is any interest, I probably could.

Review of the Obihai OBi110 VoIP device, Part 1: Use your phone with Google Voice for free incoming and outgoing calls

Review of the Obihai OBi110 VoIP device, Part 2: The OBiTALK portal, documentation, and using the device as an FXO port with Asterisk

Disclosure: I did receive an OBi110 from Obihai for review purposes — see the full disclosure at the bottom of either article.