(Part 2) Reddit mentions: The best telephones

Are you technical? have the patience for a DIY method?

PBX (voip) system:
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Here's a guide on configuring a PBX system:

FreePBX tutorial

Here's how to install FreePBX on a raspberry pi ($35 device, supposed to be able to handle ~5 active callers):

FreePBX Raspberry Pi install video

RasPBX site <-- (os in video above)

From their FAQ:
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>What is the performance of Asterisk running on the Raspberry Pi?

>In a typical setup with RasPBX, 10 concurrent calls are possible on a Pi 1. This is also the case for conferences, meaning 10 participants can join a conference. More than 10 calls do work, but audio quality decreases considerably with every additional call.


Voip phones:
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Here's the affordable phone I use (works great):

Yealink T21P

^ !!!! YOU NEED TO BUY THE ADAPTER SEPARATE OR HAVE A SWITCH THAT HAS POE (Power over ethernet, 802.1at [PoE] or 802.1af [PoE+] will work for this phone). Plenty of cheap switches on amazon or you can get a PoE injector.

Just google / youtube Yealink for other models. There are more feature rich, depending on what you need.

VOIP Provider:
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I use voip.ms (I'm in Toronto, Canada). But they have servers throughout US. You might find a better wholesale voip provider, just do some research. I can tell you that $25 deposit on voip.ms goes a long way.

Voip MS Wiki


QoS:
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Quality of Service is what gurantees a certain quality (priority and or bandwidth reservation) for your VoIP (or other traffic). So people watching the NHL playoffs will not screw with your calls and make you sound robotic :]

Get a router like this:

Ubiquiti Edgerouter-X

Here's a guide to setup QoS

EdgeOS QoS <-- (this works with FreePBX / voip.ms by default. May you will have to tweak the dscp values for another pbx / provider)


EdgeOS (Edgerouter operating system) has zero licensing fees and an extremely low cost of ownership. Also has an easy wizard these days (and a decent gui) to get started quick. Running it for my network/VoIP setup and a couple of my clients flawlessly.


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If you found any of this useful be sure to thank Chris Sherwood (Crosstalk Solutions) on youtube, the creators of RasPBX and feel free to join the guys & gals on the ubiquiti community forums.

I personally do not consult for remote clients but you could reach out to Chris and he may take you on as a client. He's been doing VoIP for a long time.

Feel free to reply here if you have any questions / comments.

You could skip the asterisk solution, and use the grandstream PBX. The GUI is significantly cleaner (also with less features) but should be able to have voicemail, ring groups, call queues or "agents", custom dial rules, etc. It would save you a lot of money over a traditional phone system.

The PBX would run around 300-500$ depending on where and what you get, but amazon has one for 360$ here https://www.amazon.com/Grandstream-UCM6204-Innovative-PBX-Ports/dp/B01LZKCBD7/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1524428192&sr=1-1&keywords=grandstream+pbx

this pbx should be easy to setup (youtube videos are great on the subject) and the one price includes all features, and software updates are free as long as the device is still "supported".

As for your phone endpoints, grandstreams are cheap and work great. Their best phone IMO is around 100$ on amazon, and they have cheaper options as low as 50$ (on amazon)

grandstream GXP 2170 is pretty nice
https://www.amazon.com/Grandstream-GS-GXP2170-VoIP-Phone-Device/dp/B019X06IFS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524428063&sr=8-1&keywords=gxp2170

Or the 1625 (for the cheaper option) for 40$ https://www.amazon.com/Grandstream-GXP1625-Medium-Business-Device/dp/B00VNMWRFK/ref=pd_sim_229_7?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00VNMWRFK&pd_rd_r=EJ27CJTWYAPA4D2Z7HNE&pd_rd_w=YQDrV&pd_rd_wg=3Cr2u&psc=1&refRID=EJ27CJTWYAPA4D2Z7HNE

The above phones will work with any sip based phone solution

If you're looking for the "easy drop in and just works" solution, you could try ring central, or 8x8. But i think theyre crazy expensive for what they actually do.

Asterisk looks super complex from a distance, simply because of how complicated the setups can be. However once you learn a few basics Asterisk actually has the nicest configuration system I have ever seen. It's downright beautiful in a weird way.

These video tutorials are actually quite helpful too.

And to be honest, most people I know say the same, Asterisk looks intimidating at first, and then it just clicks. It is an insanely popular SIP server too, and runs on far more servers than you probably realize. FreePBX or whatever the web based UI thing is, in my opinion, doing you a disservice in reality. Compared to other servers (such as Apache, or god help you, nginx) even a novice user can setup a secure, well made, and reliable SIP server.

Give it a shot, I mostly did it as a personal learning experience, and now I have a Ubiquiti phone on my desk, GrandStream Wave on my phone, and Phonerlite on my laptop.

I like having real control over everything, something Skype or a provider like Callcentric can't really provide. I am, however, using Twilio for trunking and incoming calls though, and that's because their rates are excellent and I've used them for quite a while, and they have easy to follow Asterisk tutorials too.

Wait. Lets back up. You say "instead of paying for expensive landline PHONES why not use a smartphone." (emphasis mine).

So you mean to tell me that your issue here is that the PHONE itself is the "expensive" component in your setup? Not the phone service? And your contention is that a smartphone + some other wireless device to make the smartphone do what it wasn't designed to do and connect up to an oldstyle copper POTS line is somehow gonna be cheaper than just buying a landline phone made specifically for that purpose?

Here's a 2-pack of wireless POTS phones for $55:
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KX-TGE232B-dect_6-0-2-Handset-Telephone/dp/B00IWE0CYU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1425243243&sr=8-1&keywords=landline+wireless+phone

I found that without even trying and those are new. Because landline phones are basically a dead technology, you can go into the electronics section of any second hand or thrift store in America and pick up a wireless phone setup for less than $20.

"The internet" is relevant in this specific case because there are a bunch of services that allow you connect up the POTS system in America over the internet for free. First one that comes to mind is Google Hangouts / Google Voice. After you set up a Google Voice phone # (which is free), you are able to make & receive calls from Google Hangouts running on a computer or Android device. Costs nothing to set up and costs $0.00/minute to make & receive calls in North America. Does not require any sort of phone line, land or otherwise. Google Voice also does a bunch of other nice stuff, but in this particular case its a nice way to take an extra Android device and turn it into a usable telephone device for free. It'll work as long as the device is on the internet. Some of my savvy-but-poor friends who don't have mobile data use this method with phones & tablets and just hop from WiFi network to WiFi network, since in the city there is now pretty good WiFi coverage for free.

I've used voip for my home phone service for the past several years.

I first started with an ATA connected to a Panasonic DECT cordless phone. This worked fine, but I was always having to troubleshoot issues with DTMF talk-off and echo.

A few years later, I decided to stop using the ATA and upgrade to an actual IP phone. The difference was huge. I never had echo issues or DTMF talk-off issues with the IP phone. Also, the sound quality was much better and there was less latency in the conversation.

I would highly recommend that you spend a little more money and get an IP phone. They don't have to be as expensive as a Cisco phone. Here are a few that may be worth considering (I'm not sure if you are looking for a desk phone, or a cordless one.):

https://www.amazon.com/Grandstream-Enterprise-Telephone-GXP2130-Included/dp/B00JBVVZV2/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1486317550&sr=8-4&keywords=ip+phone

https://www.amazon.com/Yealink-YEA-W52P-Business-Cordless-Phone/dp/B00BIV3Y26/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1486317550&sr=8-15&keywords=ip+phone

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KX-TGP600-Dect-Cordless-Handset/dp/B011S51ZN6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1486317617&sr=8-4&keywords=panasonic+ip+phone

https://www.amazon.com/Yealink-Professional-Gigabit-Phone-PART/dp/B00PBBAI3C/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1486317653&sr=8-7&keywords=yealink

I got my dad one of these pendant's.

Basically, you can program up to 4 phone numbers for it to call once the button on the pendant is pressed. You can also program it to call "911" (which you can turn off). When it calls the first number, it asks the person answering to press "7" to continue. This is to make sure it hasn't reached an answering machine. If no one answers or doesn't press "7", then it will call the next number.

Once they press the pendent button and the call is made, they can speak to and hear the other party directly from the pendant.

If you'd rather get an e-mail/text rather than a call, you can get a cheap VOIP (Voice over IP) telephone number and program the pendant to call the VOIP number. Then you program the VOIP to send a text or e-mail upon receiving any calls to that number. Well, you don't "program" anything, you just check a few boxes in the VOIP set-up menu system offered by your VOIP provider.

A VOIP phone number can be as cheap as $1.00/month. Take a look at Callcentric or VOIP.ms.

Good luck!

I really like the Patton M ATA, it's POE powered and fax works well with it in my experience.

https://www.amazon.com/Patton-M-ATA-1A-EUI-M-ATA/dp/B00I0XCZHK

But to your question, yes it's pretty well standardized. There are far fewer features on an ATA vs a desk set so you just need the basics and it works fine.

Just touching on telephones, we’ve been using https://www.callcentric.com/ for years for residential phone and they have some practically free plans. They used to even have free numbers if you’re not fussy about area code but I think they discontinued that.

To get dial tone I’d just KISS and use something like this.

Edit: forgot this: Grandstream GS-HT802 2 Port Analog Telephone Adapter VoIP Phone & Device, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JH7MYKA/

Per Microsoft's website, Skype needs the following ports to be open for Skype to work:

TCP: 443 // UDP: 3478-3481 // UDP and TCP: 49152-65535

Make sure those are open on your VLAN and that your security software isn't restricting access to them.

If opening those ports isn't feasible, you may want to invest in some VoIP phones that support Skype, and make sure your VoIP phones are on a completely separate VLAN than the security software.

One such phone I know of: https://www.amazon.com/Polycom-VVX-Phone-Skype-Business/dp/B01LWN4S32/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1525895145&sr=1-1-spons&keywords=skype+phone&psc=1

I think your statement is far beyond the truth. It's like saying the Cortelco ITT 2500 was the best phone we were ever gonna get because it provided all the basic functions of a phone, and that's really all you need.

The commercial aviation industry does need something revolutionary, and has for awhile, since we're all sitting in retrofitted planes from the early 80's, while airlines buy each other out instead of actually competing to make air travel a worthwhile experience again.

if your hand is right there with the clothespin anyway, why not just press a button near the rim? $10 on amazon. or those beams across store doorways to alert when someone comes in? or ditch the clothespins and install a deli ticket ticounter!

if you want to build the electronics, i'd suggest attaching a magnet to the clothespin and using a reed switch near the rim. could accidentally go off from just being near (but not in) the jar, but its easy, small, and not terribly technical. connect it back to that $10 amazon switch for the noise.

Pagers are a good idea. Place I work at uses something like this for customers when we fill up and it works great.

your cable bill will spike too.. there is no way triple play is going to cost your $140 after the trial period expect it to go up about 30%

Since you are in north jersey you can get a ton of Antenna broadcasts. I would suggest that you get the 50/50 from Verizon and then install an antenna then hook up your own VOIP service using Google Voice/messenger and a obi device and get a Vtech link to cell phone that will let you use either your voip or your cellphone to make and receive phone calls

these things let you plug your phone in and use it over the internet over your google account and you can get a free phone number or port one in for a small fee.

https://www.amazon.com/OBi200-VoIP-Phone-Adapter-T-38/dp/B00BUV7C9A/


I got this from amazon for $32 about a month ago not sure why the price went up but I would wait until it goes down again.. you can add phones to it if you need more in your home

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007P8DLR4/


So you would have voip cellphone service so you don't need the triple play for phone.. then you have a low end data package .. and then you can get sony vue or sling or other services to watch special TV offerings like sports networks and kids channels whatever you need.

you end up only paying for your data plan but verizon needs to setup the Ethernet port in your home.. don't let them install the data plan on the coax ont port or you get screwed with rental fees for device you can't install on your own.. anyway..

If you eval yourself of those options you will save about $100 a month once the trial ends.

There should be a lot of possible things like this, as a quick search turned up a few possibilities.

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https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Caregiver-Buttons-Wireless-Pager/dp/B0032FMSWS/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_121_tr_t_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4TSB76SRF6JXA78MNCMH

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I like this one that can be tied to a land line. No monthly fee is the best part! Just a button and remote call box.

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https://www.amazon.com/Medical-Alert-System-Seniors-MONTHLY/dp/B018DJ428A?th=1

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Good point how about this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00FYU8T4U?cache=bf72a1035c77b2b153078fcbb2f8e65d&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1411312894&sr=8-2#ref=mp_s_a_1_2 This is surely better than a cordless phone of similar price: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00AF83FOK?cache=bf72a1035c77b2b153078fcbb2f8e65d&pi=SY200_QL40&qid=1411312785&sr=8-1#productDescription_secondary_view_pageState_1411312793722 but why surely the technology isn't that different

Something like this? https://www.measypos.com/waitercallbuttonsystem/

or this? https://www.amazon.com/SINGCALL-Wireless-Supermarket-Restaurant-Receiver/dp/B00ECU9B4U

You could find a system that's reliable and affordable, then just sell to restaurants, install, train, etc. Or lease the equipment with a monthly service fee, free on-call support and service.

I don't think there's any non-Cisco equipment that can do that, but you could buy a passive PoE injector. It only powers one cable, but it is cheaper than buying a whole Cisco PoE switch.

Like this: TL-PoE150S

Or you could just buy a Cisco power brick (keep in mind it needs an IEC C13 cable), which is about the same price: Cisco CP-PWR-CUBE

The Cisco IP phones are very cool, so I hope you get them working.

BTW, what your "large telecom company" is almost certainly doing is connecting your analog telephone to a voip adapter. i.e. you are already using voip.

Look for and buy a "business" telephone system. "business" phone systems will have the features that you need. Don't get voip adapters for your analog phones.

Get something like the following. It is expandable up to 6 lines:

https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KX-TGP550-SIP-DECT-Phone/dp/B002SUEQBY

When you said you would "move over from a landline to voip.ms" - what did you mean? To use voip.ms, you need SIP telephones (like Cisco SPA504G) or an Analog Telephone Adapter. What's your plan?

An ATA has three ports: power, Internet, and plain old telephone. It uses your Internet connection to communicate with voip.ms, and makes conventional telephones work over a VOIP protocol.

So one way to use an ATA is:

1. Disconnect your home phone wiring from the existing provider, probably at the "MPOE" (main point of entry).
   
2. Set up your ATA and configure it - see the voip.ms wiki.
   
3. Plug in a phone, check for dial tone, make a call, receive a call.
   
4. When that's all good, use a plain old modular phone wire to connect the ATA port to your home telephone wiring - and all your old phones (including your burglar alarm) will work through the ATA using the SIP voice-over-IP system.

Consider the Panasonic KX-TGP550 SIP DECT.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-KX-TGP550-SIP-DECT-Phone/dp/B002SUEQBY/ref=sr_1_3?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1451685963&sr=1-3&keywords=panasonic+sip

Supports up to six phones and eight lines. Can do everything you want except for record calls. I think there are other means available to record calls.

My tiny little home router only has 4 ports but thankfully it's just my deskop & the Meraki MR18 WLAN using the ports so I think I'm good on the port situation so no need for a gigabit internal switch. I will check out the Grandstream, Polycom, and Yealink handsets and see if I can find something decent.

/u/mike2312 - I don't really know how much I will need to spend for a decent phone so I'm just looking for a generic range of options, if you want to suggest something go nuts, I'll kibosh any options once I have a bit more understanding of what's available. And sorry! I'm sure that's kind of annoying but I know literally nothing about handsets

Edit: I was thinking of something like this Cisco SPA 303, because a review specifically mentions it works with voip.ms, which is the service I use

absolutely.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=elderly+alert+call+button

here's a set for $20

https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Caregiver-Buttons-Wireless-Pager/dp/B0032FMSWS/