Telephony question

[MDH1966]

I don't use VOIP. I would like to use LMCE to see CallerID on the screen and to possibly replace my answering machine.  Can I interface my analog phone line with LMCE through a data/fax/voice modem?  I have read on the wiki and it looks like LMCE can interface with analog phone lines both inside and outside the house. But all it talks about is using outboard equipment like Linksys SPA3102. Is it possible to do it with a data/fax/voice modem or does it have to be a specialized interface. I'm not looking to actually make phone calls with this.

Thanks,

M.

[tschak909]

This system was designed to be used, out of the box, with a VOIP service. Since you're not doing this. It will take a lot more configuration, and you'll need to use an analogue telecom adaptor like the Sipura SPA3102.

The irony? You'll pay less, for more flexibility with a VOIP service, from Broadvoice. (BYOD)

-Thom

[MDH1966]

Thanks for the info Thom...I get that the cost and flexibility is better with VOIP and I would go that route if I could. Unfortunately, my internet (mobile broadband only) can be less than reliable and clogs up very easily.  And to get it as good as it is, I have an external YAGI antenna pointed at the cell tower because I am on the fringe of service.  I guess that's the price I pay for being far enough out of town to have a little bit of land so I can have horses in my back yard.  I have found pages on the wiki on how to set up a SPA3102 and even tie it in to a legacy analogue phone line.  I just hoped that it could be done with a simple data/fax/modem just to pull down the caller ID.

Thanks,

M.

[Marie.O]

There are specific telephony cards that work, but are not PnP atm. Using regular modems is something that does not work reliable, IF at all. An external SIP ATA (that's what the SPA is), is the best solution to get regular phone lines into the system. They are fairly inexpensive, and just work.

[MDH1966]

There are specific telephony cards that work, but are not PnP atm. Using regular modems is something that does not work reliable, IF at all. An external SIP ATA (that's what the SPA is), is the best solution to get regular phone lines into the system. They are fairly inexpensive, and just work.

I've looked around and you are correct, they are not that expensive. One cool thing is that it looks like it may allow me to use VOIP phones in the house to be able to use the intercom features and other telephony features in LMCE. It seems that these phones would be able to touch the outside analogue phone line through the SIP ATA. This is something to think about. Especially since I could run one CAT5 line out to the barn for all my communication needs. Right now, I am going to concentrate on getting my system online. I am still having trouble with getting my MD to boot correctly and also getting my HVR-2250 to work as well. I am going to buy a HDHomeRun-Dual soon but I already had the HVR-2250 so that will have to do for now. Besides, these two issues are forcing me to learn the LMCE system better than if it was flawless from day one. :-)

Thanks for all the advice and I especially appreciate the developers for working on this. I'm looking forward to 10.04.

M.

[tschak909]

I would like to point out, to get the full experience of using the media director phones, you can attach a Phoenix Solo USB microphone and a set of speakers (for echo cancellation and output)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNaWUM4bX3I

-Thom

[Marie.O]

Does the solo mic still work pnp?

[tschak909]

if you install a tuner that installs mandingo's v4l2 package, then the solo mic will break. This shouldn't happen in 1004.

-Thom