HELLO & WELCOME

[BestGear]

Guys

I am looking for a sensible PSTN gateway for home use with Elastix.

I have a Zoom 5801 ATA for FXO... but its a bit flaky and just not a professional solution... and am looking for a "proper" solution.

So - have looked at the OBi110 - looks like another Zoom 5801...with less reliability...(?).

Do all these boxes present the PSTN in the same way as the zoom, or do some present the "trunk" in the same way as a real SIP trunk would, such as VoipFone?

I dont mind buying a "low end" box if its an improvement to the zoom, but would rather buy a used "professional" product.

Does anyone have any sensible recommendations? - I see quite a few Vega, Patton, Mediatrix etc boxes - I would prefer something like that.

Lastly, are there any boxes that I should be wary of that need license keys to operate?

I only need one FXO port, but guess if it had FXS, I could replace the pair of Mediatrix 1104's I am currently using.

Many thanks in advice for the advice.

David

[WelshPaul]

I have a Zoom 5801 ATA for FXO... but its a bit flaky and just not a professional solution... and am looking for a "proper" solution.

Having used 'Zoom' hardware in the past I would agree with you. :-/

So - have looked at the OBi110 - looks like another Zoom 5801...with less reliability...(?).

The OBi110 is an impressive bit of kit and nothing like the Zoom 5801! What makes you think the OBi110 has less reliability? Over on Amazon the OBi110 has a 4.5 rating based on the best part of 1,400 customer reviews. :P

The Zoom 5801 has a 3.5 rating based on 10 customer reviews! I know which one I would buy. :-D

Do all these boxes present the PSTN in the same way as the zoom, or do some present the "trunk" in the same way as a real SIP trunk would, such as VoipFone?

The OBi110 does not present the PSTN in the same way as the Zoom...

You can Configuring an Obi 110 Device as an FXO Gateway (i.e., to allow FreePBX to use a regular phone line). You will find several guides and many topics on this subject.

I dont mind buying a "low end" box if its an improvement to the zoom, but would rather buy a used "professional" product.

The OBi110 is definitely an improvement on the Zoom 5801 in my opinion. :)

If you're not in any rush to get your hands on one, enter our competition here and you could be in with a chance of getting your hands on an OBi110 for free.

Does anyone have any sensible recommendations? - I see quite a few Vega, Patton, Mediatrix etc boxes - I would prefer something like that.

All offer a nice bit of kit but the word "overkill" springs to mind. If you have the extra money to spend and want to treat yourself then cool. :-D

Lastly, are there any boxes that I should be wary of that need license keys to operate?

Well as you probably already know, once you go down the "professional" route you're likely to encounter the need to purchase additional licenses to activate certain features/services - Cisco being one such manufacturer. Some even require a service agreement/contract to obtain firmware updates!

My advice is get yourself an OBi110, if you don't want to wait then purchase one off Amazon and give it a go, What you got to lose? If you don't like it then return it! ;-)

[BestGear]

Thank you for the quick and full reply.....!

I guess the Obi is the definitive at this end of the market then!

I assume you are in the Uk... thus no UK specific shortcomings...cli etc..?

Can you confirm how exactly it works... (which is not easy to fully understand from config, and is only known once you have one..)....when the call arrives... does the obi answer the call and pass it to asterisk.... or does it just tell asterisk the line has a call waiting,?

Generally, how is echo... and how is it in detecting the pstn caller has gone?

I will have a go with the competition.... not that I am lucky with these things... but the odds are certainly better than the lottery!

Thanks for your time on this...

David

[WelshPaul]

Another good candidate is the SPA3102 however this is now "end of line" as of Sept 2014. It's still a well sought after device though - so much so Voipfone themselves still sell them. :)

EDIT: You replied as I was posting the above...

[WelshPaul]

I assume you are in the Uk... thus no UK specific shortcomings...cli etc..?

I am indeed in the UK, Swansea. There are no shortcomings, the OBi110 works well with the UK PSTN network and CLI is displayed as normal.

Can you confirm how exactly it works... (which is not easy to fully understand from config, and is only known once you have one..)....when the call arrives... does the obi answer the call and pass it to asterisk.... or does it just tell asterisk the line has a call waiting,?

The OBi110 does not answer the call (you can configure it to if you want) by default, the caller dials your PSTN number and they hear the traditional ring, ring, in turn your phone will ring as it does normally when you receive any inbound call and upon you lifting the receiver the call is connected.

No different to plugging a telephone directly into a BT socket really. Obviously with any PBX you could have call que or IVR setup so that any call coming in on the FXO port is answered automatically.

Basically the OBi110 notifies the PBX that there is an inbound call in progress and the PBX routes the call to wherever you configured the PBX to send the call.

Generally, how is echo... and how is it in detecting the pstn caller has gone?

Simply put there is no echo on the OBi110. There has been complaints of echo when using the OBi2xx series with an OBiLINE adapter connected but this is irrelevant if you have an OBi110. The Obi110 will successfully detect when a caller has hung up and terminate the call.

The OBi110 like the Cisco and Linksys hardware comes configured for the US by default, you can configure it for use in the UK - Just upload the UK configuration file found here.

I will have a go with the competition.... not that I am lucky with these things... but the odds are certainly better than the lottery!

Well if only ten or less enter you're guaranteed to get one! :P

I have no favourites, I will pick ten of the best competition ideas pitched... They don't have to be unique or something you came up with yourself either. :)

Good Luck :-D