Comparing Features to Dialmate for free minutes and hiding caller id to customers!!!
Submitted by jcorey2293 on Fri, 08/15/2008 - 12:22am.
Let me explain my future setup. 3.06ghz p4 2gb ram. Installing trixbox ce from iso download. Before I do that obviously I need FXO and FXS cards. I've read different post about these. I'm looking for really cheap cards. Some post states that there were some on ebay for around $20 but the call can be choppy. Is this for analog and VoIP? What I'm wanting to do is setup an auto attendant. I have 2 incoming analog lines (not rollover, each one is a published number for a different business). I want to setup menu options for the caller and then have the call bridged/conferenced with a third analog line that I have that is just sitting there to my cell. So if customer calls 555-1234 they listen to the menu, press a number, then it plays hold music, while my other number 555-9876 calls my cell and then bridges/conferences 555-1234 & 555-9876 together.
This does 2 things for me. 1) I work on the road. My office is my car. It will allow the customer to never find out my cell number. 2) If you have alltel or t-mobile that has favorite numbers with unlimited calling, you can program one of your number to the 555-9876 and you will never use any minutes. Because the phone was never forwarded or transferred. It was bridged/conferenced.
But, where it will really comes in handy is when I call trixbox and tell it to dial a customers number. Instead of my cell number showing up on the customers caller id, it shows the number that is connected to trixbox (the published number). There is a device that does all this but there is no auto attenant and is called dialmate, http://www.woodtel.com/. The way dialmate would work is I call 555-1234 press * and then dial the customers number. Then hang up. Then dialmate calls me from 555-9876(which is my free minute line) and then calls the customers number on 555-1234 (the published number). Again 555-1234 shows up on the caller ID and the customer never saw my cell number. And again I only spent just one minute calling 555-9876 to have it call me back on a free number.
My Questions?
1)I have read a lot of post about people doing the 3way conferencing as in the 2nd paragraph. But is that possible?
2)Is there a way for me to call trixbox and have it dial a number for me? As described in the 3rd paragraph.
3)If so I have 3 actual incoming analog lines. 2 main, 1 spare. I want one extension at home. No need for more phones. How many FXO/FXS cards do I need?
4)Will I get a choppy calls from buying cheap card if I am using analog lines, not VoIP?
Well I kinda figured it out.
Fri, 08/15/2008 - 12:55am
Well only if I knew what abbreviations stood for, I wouldn't have taken the time to type this whole thing out. For anyone looking for the same answers as me. This is what I found. For using my favs or myfavs or in-network calling (spelled it out for people that do a search). To call out and save minutes, it is called DISA explained here, http://trixbox.org/forums/trixbox-forums/trixbox-ce-project-bount... . For caller ID to show up, It has to be a VoIP line not analog, http://trixbox.org/forums/trixbox-forums/help/how-totally-change-... . OK so I guess, now my questions 1&2 are answered, any comments on 3&4. Really 4.
Quote:
OK so I guess, now my
Fri, 08/15/2008 - 5:48am
Quote:
OK so I guess, now my questions 1&2 are answered, any comments on 3&4. Really 4[/quote
The $20 cards or any cards that are built around the x100p chipset are awful. They are actually just old modems repurposed. Getting more than one to work is a nightmare.
We have all had good luck with the Openvox cards as an economy card. Best prices are at www.blujay.com/bullzeye - the owner of the site huebs73 is a member here. You can send him a PM.
--
Scott
aka "Skyking"
3)If so I have 3 actual
Fri, 08/15/2008 - 10:10am
3)If so I have 3 actual incoming analog lines. 2 main, 1 spare. I want one extension at home. No need for more phones. How many FXO/FXS cards do I need?
I read some more post today and now I am even more confused. I read this one post that I can't find anymore. I am still researching so I can post it on here for you can read it. Someone is this post stated that for as system like mine, you had to loop or plug a telephone cord into one rj11 jack on the FXO card and the other end into one jack on the FXS card. Basically because I am using DISA or callback, the FXO doesn't do callbacks just FXS ports do.
So instead of me just needing 3 FXO port for three incoming analog line and 1 FXS port for 1 extension. This guy explained I would need one more FXO and one FXS port and have to plug them into each other for the DISA to work. Any ideas of how to actually wire this thing?
FXO - Imagine Trixbox as the
Fri, 08/15/2008 - 10:34am
FXO - Imagine Trixbox as the phone. It can answer calls and make calls.
FXS - Imagine Trixbox as your teleco. You can plug an analog phone into it and make a call as you would plug it in the wall (assuming the Trixbox is properly configured).
From what you want to do, you'll need 3 FXO ports (one 4-port card will work). If you want to use an anolog phone on your analog line from your teleco, plug it in another wall jack seperate from the Trixbox.
I read some more post about
Fri, 08/15/2008 - 11:05am
I read some more post about this. I haven't found that post I was talking about, but I will. Basically what he was talking about was because I have 2 main lines. I have line 555-1111 and Line 555-2222 that are published and are both incoming. The third 555-3333 is the one for DISA/3-WAY. They were trying to state they you need one DISA line per incoming line. So if someone called 555-1111 ----> 555-3333 would call my cell. But if someone called 555-2222 -----> 555-4444 would call my cell. It didn't make much sense to me thats why I got confused. You should be able to use 555-3333 to make both calls. I thought it was ridiculous that you needed one outgoing line per incoming line. Now unless he was wanting them to do it simultaneously, then I understand, but thats not what he stated. So they were talking about using an additional FXS port connected/looped to a FXO port. But I have read enough post to understand that this guy was crazy. lol
Member Since:
2008-08-14