Dumb 2Talk questions....

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DonGould

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#72140 21-Nov-2010 18:24

Ok... sorry in advance for the dumb questions but I'm over trolling round google and 2talk web sites...

1. Where do I figure out how much credit I've got left for calls? I can see what I've spent on individual calls but can't figure out what I've got left. I signed up for 10 talk... but part way though the month so it only cost me $3.77... so I assume it's allocated me some minutes etc but can't find info on that at all.

2. what's the porting process from Telstra and Telcom like? Are there any gotyas that I need to know about? Do they cancel the lines with your old provider for you as part of the porting?

3. What ATA do I use for fax? Linksys SPA-2102 or SPA-3102 why do I choose one over the other?

4. Should I expect the call quality to be as good as telecom/telstra? At present I've got enough volume on my cordless but seem to be distorting and dropping packets.

I'm interested in all of this because I started telling ppl about my adventures today and have other ppl now who want to join the fun.

D

rscole86

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#407364 21-Nov-2010 18:29

1) I've never looked, but I am sure ive seen it in the billing area somewhere.

2) From Telstra, I had no problems at all. I let TCL know I was going to do it, asked 2talk to do it, and then checked with TCL that it was done.

3) I use their email faxing, not had any issues yet.

4) Call quality is good for me, both local and international calls. Even remote dial-ins. Have you tried it with a fixed line. What is your broadband line quality like? Is the connection being used by anything else at the same time?

DonGould

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#407370 21-Nov-2010 18:42

rscole86: 1) I've never looked, but I am sure ive seen it in the billing area somewhere.

2) From Telstra, I had no problems at all. I let TCL know I was going to do it, asked 2talk to do it, and then checked with TCL that it was done.

3) I use their email faxing, not had any issues yet.

4) Call quality is good for me, both local and international calls. Even remote dial-ins. Have you tried it with a fixed line. What is your broadband line quality like? Is the connection being used by anything else at the same time?

Fax - the guy's 65 and just wants to put a bit of paper on his existing machine and have it work. I'm going to save him $2500/y so he doesn't mind spending a few bucks on an ata that supports T38 as recommended by 2t.

Personally I'm going to hook up a fax to email for myself, though we just don't use fax at all these days.

bb line is TC.nz hfc in chch. 15/2 and nothing else significant running at the time... email checking, skype * 2, odd web page perhaps.

I think the distortion is simply that I don't have the ATA configured correctly for the panasonic phone.

I have done a number of calls to fixed lines to compare performance.

the performance passed the WAF test, but I'm just not happy its quite as good as I'd like.

DonGould

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#407387 21-Nov-2010 19:24

Ok... Impedance...

2talk say: FXS Port Impedance: 220+8200 - - 120nF

but Steve says: 370+620||310nF - http://www.geekzone.co.nz/sbiddle/7208

So who's correct.

I changed to steve's recommendation and the call qty imporved but now the ringing tone when placing a call is very quiet.

FXS Port Input Gain:-4
FXS Port Output Gain:-10

sbiddle

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#407397 21-Nov-2010 19:43

DonGould: Ok... Impedance...

2talk say: FXS Port Impedance: 220+8200 - - 120nF

but Steve says: 370+620||310nF - http://www.geekzone.co.nz/sbiddle/7208

So who's correct.

I changed to steve's recommendation and the call qty imporved but now the ringing tone when placing a call is very quiet.

FXS Port Input Gain:-4
FXS Port Output Gain:-10

I am correct - New Zealand uses the BT2 standard and this is clearly defined by Telecom. In newer SPA2102 firmware however Linksys have removed a number of different values. Impedance mismatch causing echo is a far greater issue when you're using an FXO device to connect to an existing PSTN line and isn't so much of a concern when using an FXS device such as a 2102.

The recommended option for NZ is probably just to stick with the US 600ohm setting for most phones.

-10 is very low, I've never come across phones that needed to be set that low.

nate

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#407402 21-Nov-2010 19:54

1. Login to 2Talk Live, and under Account details, click Change my monthly plan type. I'm sure there's a more direct way to see your usage, but that's how I found it.

2. Porting can go very wrong if you don't know what you're doing. The main thing to keep in mind is any phone numbers that you port, any associated services (such as fixed lines, broadband, stepper numbers, call minder, call waiting etc) will be dropped. If you port your main phone line and it has broadband on it, you will have no internet. Speaking from experience, it does take a week or so to reverse this, so make sure you port the correct numbers.

Also, you'll need your exact billing details to give to your new provider. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches and needless back-and-forward if you get it correct the first time.

3. I'd recommend the SPA-2102 only because that's the one I'm familiar with.

4. Call quality is as good, if not better than POTS. We use VoIP extensively at work (with 2Talk and WxC) and I use it at home. I've yet to have someone ask if it's VoIP, and if I do mention it, most people are amazed that it sounds no different.

DonGould

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#407404 21-Nov-2010 20:02

sbiddle:
DonGould: Ok... Impedance...

2talk say: FXS Port Impedance: 220+8200 - - 120nF

but Steve says: 370+620||310nF - http://www.geekzone.co.nz/sbiddle/7208

So who's correct.

I changed to steve's recommendation and the call qty imporved but now the ringing tone when placing a call is very quiet.

FXS Port Input Gain:-4
FXS Port Output Gain:-10

I am correct - New Zealand uses the BT2 standard and this is clearly defined by Telecom. In newer SPA2102 firmware however Linksys have removed a number of different values. Impedance mismatch causing echo is a far greater issue when you're using an FXO device to connect to an existing PSTN line and isn't so much of a concern when using an FXS device such as a 2102.

The recommended option for NZ is probably just to stick with the US 600ohm setting for most phones.

-10 is very low, I've never come across phones that needed to be set that low.

I'm using a PAP2T not the the 2102.

I did just set the impedance per your rec and yes it's working better but now the vol on the ringing when placing a call is lower... I'll keep mucking about. not sure why I set it to -10.

Thanks for the help.

richms

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#407420 21-Nov-2010 20:59

I have -3 on both gains on a pap2t and its about right, 600 ohm was the one which worked best for me, on the recommended one there was more of that one way speach thing happening when both talked at once.

Richard rich.ms

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webwat

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#410101 27-Nov-2010 00:23

Linksys ATAs don't support the VoIP T.38 fax protocol as far as I know, fax sometimes works ok but best to look for a model that lists "T.38" as one of the features.

Time to find a new industry!

Niel

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#410129 27-Nov-2010 08:51

The PAP2T is useless for FAX, the SPA2102 has good results if your VoIP provider is setup to treat FAX different from voice (XNet does, but they are the leaders in VoIP in NZ and perhaps worldwide).

You can never have enough Volvos!

sbiddle

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#410151 27-Nov-2010 09:43

webwat: Linksys ATAs don't support the VoIP T.38 fax protocol as far as I know, fax sometimes works ok but best to look for a model that lists "T.38" as one of the features.

Older ones such as the PAP2 don't but all models in the last ~3 years such as the 2102 and 3102 do T.38 and this works very well. The biggest catch with faxing is that your VoIP provider needs to also handle fax traffic within their network and at their interconnects.