Jumping Into the Fray... (A GV <—> G5 Application Appr

[lcompton]

Good evening.

Well, I ordered a Linksys PAP2T analog telephone adapter (ATA) this evening. NextWarehouse.com is selling brand new retail-packaged units for USD53.53 with free shipping, which seems reasonable.

I've been struggling with terminating my T-Mobile wireless telephone account because T-Mobile is trying to entice me to stick with them with an unlimited monthly calling plan at USD49.99/month, which is the most aggressive unlimited wireless calling plan I've seen to date. Even cricKet and metroPCS, which claim to offer unlimited wireless calling plans for as little as USD30.00/month begin nickel and diming customers on long distance and roaming charges. So, the T-Mobile offering is very attractive.

The ideal telephony solution for me would be a wireless telephone only. Unfortunately, when I am home, I can only hear my wireless telephone ring if I am in the same room as the wireless telephone. Remembering to carry a wireless telephone with me as I move about my apartment is improbable at best and a nuissance at worst.

As it turns out, the Google Voice (GV) <—> Gizmo5 (G5) interface may provide a no-cost solution to my ideal wireless telephone-only solution. In addition, I won't have to provide G5 with my GV credentials or be dependent on the outbound G5 to GV arrangements in terms of call caps, cost or other restrictions.

Essentially, I can use G5 as my no-cost SIP interface to the world. This lets me setup an active ATA without violating anyone's terms-of-service. My Uniden cordless telephone system can be attached to the ATA, which means my home telephones will ring during incoming GV calls (with GV configured to ring my Gizmo account, of course.) This solves the problem of alerting me to incoming calls. Conveniently, the incoming calls can be answered using either the ATA-attached Uniden cordless telephones or my wireless telephone (albeit all with the GV three hour call cap.) The workaround to the call cap is to establish a direct T-Mobile to calling or called party connection (and remember to run my Motorola Razr from its A/C adapter.)

The nice thing about this solution is that I can abandon Skype, which will save me USD59.50/annum. Also nice will be having a common (GV) direct inward dialing (DID) number, which I may never have to change. While I don't like to talk on the telephone while driving, this solution would mean that I could begin a conversation at home and continue talking if I had to leave my apartment for some reason. The convenience factor for what this solution costs, my initial capital investment of USD53.53 for the ATA, is phenomenal.

The downside of keeping the T-Mobile account is that the Verizon Wireless BlackBerry becomes too much of a luxury at USD79.98/month (USD39.99/month for 450 minutes plus USD29.99/month for the unlimited data plan.) While I can continue to burn out the remaining five months of my Skype account, dumping the Verizon Wireless plan prematurely will cost up to USD175.00. Although, I can probably recover some of the losses through the sale of hardware I won't be using anymore on eBay. The other downside of dumping Verizon Wireless is that my DSL bundled discount price will inflate by USD11.99/month (form USD30.00/month to USD41.99/month.)

I think I'm going to try out my proposed solution using the ATA with G5 for inbound call traffic through GV and outbound call traffic through T-Mobile for a couple of months before making any decisions. It'll be an interesting experiment and I'll get to see if this solution is as convenient as it sounds.

[Boondocs]

Good luck i hope it all works out for you.

I've been using ooma now for around 5 months and have been very happy with the investment. If you make a lot of outgoing calls they have a limit of 3000 minutes but unlimited incoming. So maybe linking it to a GV account would solve that problem.

[lcompton]

Good evening, Boondocs.

Good luck i hope it all works out for you.

I've been using ooma now for around 5 months and have been very happy with the investment. If you make a lot of outgoing calls they have a limit of 3000 minutes but unlimited incoming. So maybe linking it to a GV account would solve that problem.

I appreciate your warm wishes for success. I'm not sure there is any rocket science in what I have planned so I'm guessing it's going to work out pretty well. I am fortunate that T-Mobile's coverage in my neck of the woods is very good. In fact, even when I (bicycle) ride the Perkiomen Trail (about 20 miles each way — I rode 43 miles today) I have consistently strong signal with my T-Mobile wireless telephone.

I'm heading up to Cabela's in Hamburg, Pennsylvania (I wish we had one closer to me) tomorrow for an ammo run so it will be interesting to see what kind of T-Mobile signal I get along the way.

I'm not dumping Verizon Wireless just yet. I want to wait a few months to see how Google Voice, Gizmo5 and Skype evolve. It is time for me to start putting unused telephony hardware on eBay.

[msiam]

Lisa, I have been using TMO for about 2 yrs now. Did You check out the HotSpot@home set up. this has been awesome for me. As it has been for me with the lowest amount of minutes on a plan, and you can go to the highest if you would feel better, With the Five Favs and Google Voice, I rarely go over 50 minutes a month. I'm on the phone a lot, too.. So the middle of the road plan for a single user is probably around 39 with the HS@H, add the favs, and maybe Mobile to mobile, you've got a killer plan.. while you are in the hotspot, your calls in and out are free and if you are on a call while in the hotspot, and want to leave, your call remains free even if you drive to Calif. and back on that call, unless you hang up and redial. Coupled with GV and making your caller ID show the GV number when getting an inbound cal.. that call is also free. making a call thru GV is free outgoing.. Your minutes just rarely get burned up.. Check it out.. It may spark your eyes to twinkling..

[lcompton]

Good evening, msiam.

Lisa, I have been using TMO for about 2 yrs now. Did You check out the HotSpot@home set up. this has been awesome for me. As it has been for me with the lowest amount of minutes on a plan, and you can go to the highest if you would feel better, With the Five Favs and Google Voice, I rarely go over 50 minutes a month. I'm on the phone a lot, too.. So the middle of the road plan for a single user is probably around 39 with the HS@H, add the favs, and maybe Mobile to mobile, you've got a killer plan.. while you are in the hotspot, your calls in and out are free and if you are on a call while in the hotspot, and want to leave, your call remains free even if you drive to Calif. and back on that call, unless you hang up and redial. Coupled with GV and making your caller ID show the GV number when getting an inbound cal.. that call is also free. making a call thru GV is free outgoing.. Your minutes just rarely get burned up.. Check it out.. It may spark your eyes to twinkling..

I genuinely appreciate your thoughts on this subject. The T-Mobile@Home and Unlimited HotSpot Calling plans have not escaped my notice. Unfortunately, using the WiFi service plans require a WiFi-capable telephone, which I'm not interested in purchasing. The WiFi-capable telephones aren't paricularly appealing either. I use a Motorola RAZR V3 presently. It's more compact than any of the WiFi-capable telephones offered by T-Mobile.

The telephone issue notwithstanding, it's difficult to get a handle on what your suggested options cost because you didn't provide any numbers on what you're paying. I'm logged into my T-Mobile account (on another browser tab) and I don't even have the T-Mobile@Home and Unlimited HotSpot Calling add-on service options, which is probably because I don't have a WiFi-capable telephone.

My present plan is the T-Mobile 1,000 minutes/month for USD39.99 with unlimited nights and weekends. Incidentally, T-Mobile is presently offering this promotional plan if anyone wants to check into it. T-Mobile is offering me an upgrade to their so-called customer loyalty plan, which is unlimited minutes for USD49.99/month (50% off their regularly-priced unlimited calling plan at USD99.99/month.) This seems like a heck of an offer. I'd be interesting in knowing if all of the services you have with T-Mobile (i.e. myFaves, T-Mobile@Home, HotSpot Unlimited Calling, etc.) are running you less, the same, or more than the USD49.99 target price.

The main thing that has been holding me back on using a wireless-only telephony solution is that I would never hear my wireless telephone ring when I am at home unless I am in the same room as the wireless telehone. I'm not likely to remember to constantly carry my wireless telephone around my apartment with me. (Gosh, this message is taking forever to type because I'm eating Gazpacho and it's too yummy to let sit.)

Using a Google Voice (GV) <—> Gizmo5 (G5) solution for absolutely free inbound calling would completely solve the problem of not hearing my wireless telephone since I could also ring my G5-connected Uniden Cordless telephone system (via ATA) concurrently with my T-Mobile wireless telephone. Outbound calls would always be made using my T-Mobile wireless telephone. Again, with the T-Mobile customer loyalty unlimited calling plan at USD49.99/month, minute usage is not an issue. So, there would be no need for myFaves, T-Mobile@Home, Unlimited HotSpot Calling, etc.

I think the unlimited wireless plan at USD49.99/month is going to be tough to beat. This is a pretty aggressive business move on T-Mobile's part. Heck, they managed to hook me with it. I was all set to cancel my T-Mobile account before they threw this monkey wrench into the works.

[joevv]

Hi Lisa,
Check this phone. http://www.smithgear.com/att-tl92278.html I use one just like it and it works great. As soon as i walk in the door my house phone and cell phone become one.

Joe

[lcompton]

Good evening, Joe.

Check this phone. http://www.smithgear.com/att-tl92278.html I use one just like it and it works great. As soon as i walk in the door my house phone and cell phone become one.

That's a pretty spiffy contraption. I'm tempted, but I'm not sure what that setup will do for me that the solution I'm planning to try won't. I've already spent USD53.53 for the Linksys PAP2T ATA. The A.T.& T. DECT 6.0 Bluetooth Cordless Telephone comes with two handsets for a total of USD89.95. I require a total of four handsets, which will cost me an additional USD39.95 each for two additional handsets. That brings the cost up to about USD170.00, which is steep for me.

I'm going to give this ATA solution I've worked out a try. If it does what I need, I may sit tight with that for the time being.

Honestly, the VoIP market volatility is getting old. MagicJack's shenanigans with call caps, Skype's impending legal woes and the uncertainty of the relationship between Google Voice (GV) and Gizmo5 (G5) has just about put me at my limit. If the cordless telephone link you provided can be used with a wireless telephone only (i.e. no landline required), it would effectively let me use my T-Mobile wireless telephone as a home phone (through the cordless telephone system) and a go-with-me telephone when I leave home. That's very attractive. So, if the GV <—> G5 setup blows up, I may end up going with a home telephone system like the one to which you linked that can interface to a wireless telephone for general home telephone use.

[lcompton]

Good morning.

So, I was in my local Target last evening looking for Sweettarts (I never said that I wasn't a big kid!) and I just happened to be walking past the telephone doo-dads aisle when I noticed that A.T.& T. cordless telephone system with Bluetooth. It's the same model to which Joe linked, but it's in the Target across the street from me (no shipping charges) and it comes with two extra handsets instead of one. Target is selling this setup for USD99.99, which is much more attractive.

I studied the box and it appears that the cordless telephone system can be used with a Bluetooth-linked wireless telephone only. I was really tempted to buy it until I remembered that I have about USD80.00 that has to last me until payday, which is a week from this Friday.

There was some older gentleman watching me study the telephone box. How come people always seem to watch what I'm doing and then copy me? It's so incredibly annoying. Anyway, I counted the boxes on the shelf and there were three — all sealed. I'm going back on the 14th and if they have any sealed boxes left, I'm going to pick one up. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of being able to directly connect my T-Mobile wireless telephone to a home telephone system. In addition to eliminating the volatile VoIP market from my home telephone setup, it's just too spiffy!

I appreciate your calling my attention to this capability, Joe.

In other news, my Linksys PAP2T arrived today. It's about the same size as my D-Link DPH-50U — in other words, tiny. I'll tinker with the PAP2T this evening and see if I can get Gizmo5 functioning on it. If the PAP2T works out I can always connect one of its analog ports to the analog port of the new cordless telephone system.

[mufon]

The pap2 is an excellent ATA. For Gizmo5 be sure to use "proxy01.sipphone.com" as opposed to the actual ip address and you should experience smooth sailing.

[lcompton]

Good afternoon, mufon.

The pap2 is an excellent ATA. For Gizmo5 be sure to use "proxy01.sipphone.com" as opposed to the actual ip address and you should experience smooth sailing.

The thing about being a terminal geek (that would be me) is that leaving gadgets, doo-dads, and thing-a-ma-jigs in their boxes for later just never seems to work out.

Okay, so, I opened the Linksys PAP2T ATA and put it on my LAN and began tinkering. The first thing I do with LAN-attached server doo-dads is turn off DHCP and static IP the server. My LAN is segmented with my own Class C IP network (another sign of being a total geek — I have my own Class C network registered with ARIN) and I have address space allocated by function; i.e. print servers, telephony servers, etc.

I saw a nice little box on the PAP2T web page and typed in a password thinking that it would be a nice touch. It never dawned on me that I wasn't asked anywhere to input a user name.

The real fun began after saving the IP changes to the PAP2T. After the reset, I visited the PAP2T's new static IP address and was promptly prompted (say that five times real fast) for my username and password. Well, naturally I thought the user name would be the same as on my Linksys WRT54G router, which is Admin. It's a Linksys default and it can't be changed. Quickly, I discovered that I was locked out of my PAP2T because nothing I tried for user name would let me login.

I'll insert a pause here why you readers laugh heartily...

Are we done? Shall I continue?

Continuing...

I quickly discovered that the PAP2T has an extensive IVR (interactive voice response) system, which, among other things, lets one reset the PAP2T to factory defaults. So, I picked up the receiver on my test telephone, pressed * * * * (that's four asterisks in a row) and then dialed 73738 (the reset-to-factory-defaults code) and then pressed 1 to confirm that I wanted to reset the PAP2T.

My apprehension level quickly declined as I typed in the DHCP-assigned address into my browser and was immediately greeted by the PAP2T web daemon. Whew...

So, I setup my customized IP configuration again and decided, this time, to bypass the password setting until I study setting up access security for the PAP2T.

Next, I logged into my Gizmo5 account and grabbed the proxy and SIP number from the account information page. They plopped nicely into the PAP2T boxes. Five minutes of dialing test calls through Google Voice and a bunch of wow-wee's later and, I'm impressed. This whole ATA thing is pretty neat. The voice quality is stunning.

At the moment, this Google Voice —> Gizmo5 setup would seem to be a method for free inbound calling. The only customer premise requirement is an ATA and traditional telephone. In my case, the outbound calling will be handled by T-Mobile wireless. If I purchase that Bluetooth-enabled A.T.& T. cordless telephone setup, I'll be able to tie my ATA and T-Mobile wireless telephone into the same physical home telephone system, which would make inbound/outbound calling seemless. Better yet, I wouldn't really need Gizmo5 since I can handle unlimited inbound and outbound calling on the T-Mobile wireless account.

Very intriguing, indeed...

[Buttafuoco]

Lisa, where did you get your savoir-faire. I pine for smart babes. I live in New York, that makes us practically neighbors.

Joe B.

[lcompton]

Good evening, Joe.

Lisa, where did you get your savoir-faire.

I sleep at a Holiday Inn Express.

I pine for smart babes.

I didn't realize Amy Fisher was a smart babe. It doesn't seem smart to shoot your boyfriend's wife in the face while wearing a T-shirt your boyfriend gave you with the name of his body shop emblazoned across it.

I live in New York, that makes us practically neighbors.

That's true, but not too close.

[bitstopjoe]

WAY out of shooting range

Joe Sica

[lcompton]

Good evening, Joe.

WAY out of shooting range

I definitely needed that laugh! You're the best!

[bitstopjoe]

And I am worse in person and on the phone, but then it is not my fault!! I grew up watching the Penis Van Lesbo show ( later changed to the Dick Van Dyke show, for PC reasons of course ) And the one liners kinda rubbed off!

See I can't help myself


Joe Sica

[lcompton]

Good afternoon.

Setting up custom dial plans for an ATA is a lot of fun — seriously. I scrapped the default dial plan that came with my PAP2T and created one to my liking.

Default Dial Plan (came with ATA):

Code: Select all

(*xx|[3469]11|0|00|[2-9]xxxxxx|1xxx[2-9]xxxxxxS0|xxxxxxxxxxxx.)

New Dial Plan:

Code: Select all

(*xx|411|[2-9]xx[2-9]xxxxxxS0|1[2-9]xx[2-9]xxxxxxS0|xxxxxxxxxxxx.)

The new dial plan allows star codes (*xx), calls to 411, 10-digit dialing, 11-digit dialing and free-form dialing with a 12-character minimum.

In case anyone hasn't tried it, Gizmo5 calls to 411 connect to some kind of Google voice response system allowing the caller to speak the name, city and state of a business or type of business. Once the voice response system finds the business that the caller wants, it connects the caller — with no charge. This is pretty neat.

The Philadelphia metropolitan area hasn't had 7-digit dialing in over ten years. So, I added 10-digit dialing and left the 11-digit dialing in the plan eliminating area codes that begin with 0 or 1, which do not exist. The 12-character minimum free-form dialing at the end of the dial plan string doesn't seem to have much purpose, but I left that as well.

Of course, unless I fund my Gizmo5 account, the only outbound dialing that functions is 411.

EDIT I:

1. I just discovered that outbound toll-free calls through my Gizmo5-connected ATA are also free. I'm not sure if there is a call cap though.
2. For those of whom are using the Linksys PAP2T, here is the Daylight Saving Time (DST) rule I setup on my ATA:

   Code: Select all

   start=3/8/7/2:0:0;end=11/1/7/2:0:0;save=1

   This will function for all of North America. Remember, you'll need to set the GMT offset correctly for standard time and let the DST rule compensate for the time changes.
3. It's neat that I can set the caller ID name to display. I wish I could test it out without funding my Gizmo5 account. I don't much feel like giving the Gizmo5 folks my credit card number.

EDIT II:

1. Duh! I just realized that outbound caller ID on Gizmo5 is a nickel-and-dime service for which one must pay USD4.00/annum. So, I guess the caller ID displayed value one programs into the ATA is ignored by Gizmo5 on outbound calls.

More to come...