[WXC/VFX] Can I do this or am I dreaming?

Forums › One New Zealand (including Vodafone, WxC, Farmside) › [WXC/VFX] Can I do this or am I dreaming?

adventdesigns

115 posts

Master Geek

#13580 18-May-2007 14:28

Ok so heres what I thought Id be able to do with VFX, sadly I didn't look into it more before I ordered the SPA2102. I would like to use my laptop with my bluetooth headset to make phone calls through the VOIP service, this is obviously possible with a softphone but VFX requires hardware. I was thinking that the hardware would allow me to make calls through my laptop to the SPA2102. Can I do this? I really want to be able to make phone calls without having to hold a phone to my head!

grant_k

3539 posts

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#71150 18-May-2007 14:33

What you need is a cordless phone with a "Hands-free" Kit i.e. headset with earphones and microphone.

Dick Smith would probably have something like this, but if not, I can point you towards another company who does -- they are more expensive than DSE though.

adventdesigns

115 posts

Master Geek

#71153 18-May-2007 14:40

The thing is... I changed to voip so i could use my laptop to control my phonecalls, contacts etc. Is there no way to use a softphone through hardware?

grant_k

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#71156 18-May-2007 15:09

adventdesigns: The thing is... I changed to voip so i could use my laptop to control my phonecalls, contacts etc. Is there no way to use a softphone through hardware?

There are 2 ways you could do this:

1) Install Asterisk / Trixbox on a separate PC (or Virtual PC) and run a softphone as a client. Tony Hughes has written an excellent tutorial on how to do this if you are interested. You would need an X100P card as well as a physical PC (or Virtual PC).

2) Use iTalk instead of VFX because they have a softphone client. However, the reliability of iTalk is pretty suspect unless you happen to be lucky like Sbiddle

Buying a cordless phone is going to work out way cheaper than Option (1). Option (2) would cost much the same as VFX, so no extra cost there, just many likely problems with reliability.

Here's a third option: Use Skype from your laptop to make outgoing calls via SkypeOut. For incoming calls, you would need to set up forwarding from a local number to receive calls via SkypeIn. However, there is a lot of lag with Skype calls from NZ which from personal experience you are likely to find annoying.

My advice is to buy the Cordless Phone!

Niel

3267 posts

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#71162 18-May-2007 15:56

We tried out our new wireless router and my wife's new work laptop, with our PC plugged into the router and the laptop connected wireless to the same router and using Skype we still had about 1/2 seconds delay!

It is possible to do what you want to, but not cheaply using standard hardware. You could connect the headset to the PC (Bluetooth should be best) and route it to a sound card to plug into the phone port using either custom or specialised hardware. It sounds messy. But even being an electronic engineer, my head hurts just thinking about the possibility.

You can never have enough Volvos!

adventdesigns

115 posts

Master Geek

#71164 18-May-2007 16:54

We changed to VFX for the free local calls so Im not to interested in extra costs, I will try and find a way around it and hopefully Xnet will comeout with a softphone sooner or later.

If anyone has any other ideas let me know :D

maverick

3594 posts

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WorldxChange

#71166 18-May-2007 17:13

there will be a softphone option in the future....sorry no ETA on, this being discussed in house at present, we have options but working through requirements
at this stage

Yes I am a employee of WxC (My Profile) ... but I do have my own opinions as well

https://www.facebook.com/wxccommunications

adventdesigns

115 posts

Master Geek

#71169 18-May-2007 17:16

Oh well for the time being, I already orderd the SPA2102 so no turning back, Might try the Askerik idea, sounds like it could be fun to play with.

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Niel

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#71210 18-May-2007 21:46

http://www.pocketnow.com/index.php?a=portal_detail&t=reviews&id=492
There is something called a Bluespoon Home which you us for connecting a Bluetooth headset to a normal phone line. There is no dial pad so you still need something like a voice modem to dial. It seems like Bluespoon has closed down, but the article is still interesting.

You can never have enough Volvos!

Niel

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#71211 18-May-2007 21:58

It must be Friday, saying only half I intend to...

So yes, you can get a voice modem between a PC serial port and the VFX port and plug a wired headset into it and dial from any program that supports dialing similar to the link I've provided in the previous reply. The modem should cost only $10 or so, a wired headset about the same. Bluetooth would be nice, but expensive and low quality.

You can never have enough Volvos!