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The Project : Setting up an Asterisk server at home.
Did I make it ? : Yes!
Parts list :
Introduction : The primary motivation behind the project was to automatically route ISD calls on my home phone through a cheap VOIP gateway. But eventually, I stumbled across Asterisk and then my imagination ran wild ;)
Setup : In a nutshell :
The Linksys(Sipura) 3102 acts as gateway for all calls and the HT503 for fax.
The PSTN number is the primary incoming number but all calls on it are unconditionally forwarded to a VOIP number registered to the Asterisk server at home.
Outgoing calls are routed based on whether they are local (routed through PSTN network), international (callwithus with fallthrough to localphone).
Incoming faxes are through VOIP (T.38) but outgoing ultimately get routed through PSTN (T38 -> PSTN).
Working :
It's impossible to describe the setup bit by bit, mostly because
it's been a while. For the interested, please feel free to clone
my configs : git://code.makefile.in/git/asterisk
However, there are a few things I learned that I would like
to mention. The Linksys 3102 is an excellent product but is quite
limited in what it can do. I like to think of it as a product that
*just* manages to do the job. For example, if it's already
tracking an active PSTN call, a new call on the same line (call
waiting) will simply be ignored. To fix this, I setup an
unconditional call forwarding on my home phone to a voip number
that was registered to my asterisk number so that it can do the
right thing. Another major issue is that the device lacks a good
quality echo canceller. They don't come cheap! If you are calling
a cellphone or making a ISD call, chances are that your voice will
mostly go through a canceller but for local calls, it could be a
big issue. Again, to fix it, I used a mix of Asterisk config
tweaks and changes to the gateway configuration. It's all trial
and error, really!
When I first decided to do this, I asked myself : Why do I want to do this ? How's it going to make my life better ? I didn't have any answer but then I asked myself : Will I have fun ? The answer was definitely fun. It's a good way of trying out features that you always wanted to see on your phone. No matter how weird, there is a good probability that you can do it with Asterisk. For example, I implemented a really advanced call back system that I have never ever used (Look in the configs). But there are a few that I find really useful. I like the fact that my call gets automatically routed based on the prefix. I have setup the Google Talk plugin so that whenever I get a call, I get a message from my buddy aptly called Asterisk! Voice messages get emailed to me (Just like Google Voice). I can hook my cell phone to my POTS through bluetooth and use a prefix "30" to route all calls through my cellphone. Same for incoming calls too. I can answer my cellphone from my landline. These days, when in the name of convergence, everything gets crammed into the so-called smartphone, it rarely has any juice left when I get back from work. Anyways, I am diverging.. My point was that I can take my cellphone calls from another room even when it's charging. I also have it configured to automatically forward calls from selected phone numbers to my cell phone in case no one answers the home phone. I also like the fact that my wife can all talk at the same time even though we have a single phone line!
Anyways, please feel free to take a look at my scripts and config
files. One good source of help is the Asterisk wiki at voip-info.org