Best PC free VOIP hardware & software

BexTech

SomeOne wrote:

A cheaper alternative to the PAP2 worth considering is the Zoom 5800 ATA which you can get for £36.90 from Savastore: http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10287244
It works with the fineara voip products (e.g. Voipcheap/Voipbuster/etc..) and allows you to use the phone with your PSTN line as well.
It's also not too bad to setup.

Too many people aren't happy with it, not configurable enough. With the PAP2 or the SPA's you can configure for the correct setting of your chosen country, such as the impedance of the phone, the caller ID used and many other setting. The setting on the Zoom are too basic.

SomeOne_2

I would disagree, you can configure a lot on it.
You just have to log in with the administrator account rather than the one they supply with it, you can find admin account details if you go to Zoom's website and download the instructions for the 5801 (same model!)
May I ask where you got the "Too many people aren't happy with it" from as I would be interested in knowing other peoples' experiences with it as well as any useful tips they would have.

Bert_Anderson

I've been using the NA edition of the Linksys PAP2 that I purchased in CompUSA for US$50 (which was locked to Vonage) with Voipcheap for roughly 2 months now and "most" of the time it all works perfecly well.

I have noticed that every so often I have an issue with "one-way" audio where I can hear the called party but they cannot hear me. I've never actually figured out what causes the problem and what actually cures it - but normally fiddling with settings and/or powering off/on seems to eventually get things back to normal.

Now, considering that I took around a week (overall) to figure out how to unlock the Vonage PAP2 and configure the device for Voipbuster I'd say (to be quite honest) that these devices are great for those of us who are technically minded or like to "tinker" with pieces of technology.

I actually bought the PAP2 for my mother to make free calls from a regular handset rather than having to use a heatset/mic via the PC.

In retrospect I'd suggest the best possible option for non-technically minded folks would be to sign up for something along the lines of TalkTalk with all of your calls included with your broadband service.

BexTech

One way audio is usually down to port settings behind a NAT router, using a stun server can help, or you can open some ports.

BexTech

SomeOne wrote:

I would disagree, you can configure a lot on it.
You just have to log in with the administrator account rather than the one they supply with it, you can find admin account details if you go to Zoom's website and download the instructions for the 5801 (same model!)
May I ask where you got the "Too many people aren't happy with it" from as I would be interested in knowing other peoples' experiences with it as well as any useful tips they would have.

Various forums and groups you hear of people finding it not as good as a PAP2 or SPA unit, also for who I work for we often have customers who aren't too fond of the device, it's just not in the same league as the PAP2 or SPA units.

SomeOne_2

I've found it more than adequate for myself, however i've never tried the PAP2.
I would still recommend this to others, if you're looking for something cheap then it is worth considering!

BexTech

SomeOne wrote:

I've found it more than adequate for myself, however i've never tried the PAP2.
I would still recommend this to others, if you're looking for something cheap then it is worth considering!

It's always worth trying, as it is good value for money.

yebaws

Any comments on the orbtalk deal?

http://www.orbtalk.co.uk/content/view/25/1/

Call rates seem a tiny bit higher than sipgate (no problem for the amount I'll be using it and you get a free Grandstream HandyTone ATA-286. This will do the job of the pap2, right? I'm guessing that it will be locked to Orbtalk (unlockable?) but that's not such a problem for me as it's free when I add £50 calling credit.

Anybody with experience of orbtalk and this hardware comments appreciated...

BexTech

OrbTalk's not too bad at all, not had any problems with them, the HandyTone ATA-286 will do the 'same' job as a PAP2, just not as feature rich.

I believe it's run by the same people as VoIPTalk, if you use the following link you get an 01 or 02 number free instead of an 0871 - http://www.voiptalk.org/products/really_voip.html

pap2devon

yebaws wrote:

VOIP phone (or box that a normal phone will plug into) that will plug straight into the ethernet socket with no PC connection required.

What you want is an Analog Telephone Adapter (ATA) and not a VoIP Phone. AFAIK, a VoIP Phone is a telephone unit that has a built-in for VoIP to connect to the Internet. I have used several different ATA devices from different brands and models, i.e. DLink DVG-1402S, DLink DVG-1120S, DLink VTA-VR, Linksys PAP2, Linksys PAP2 v2.0, Linksys WRTP54G VoIP router, Sipura SPA2002, etc. Of all these brands and models, even though it has been discontinued, a Linksys PAP2 v1.0 is still my best choice (for an average person), YMMV.

I don't know where your location is; however, if you live in the US main land, you certainly can go to any local BestBuy stores (BB) and pay for the first Linksys PAP2 v1.0 (even Linksys PAP2 v2.0) for about US$60 + Tax and get an instant US$50 GiftCard (GC) towards the future purchase. I used this US$50 GC to purchase the subsequent units that only costed about $10/each + Tax of US$60 (a total of a little less than US$14). You can buy as many Linksys PAP2 v1.0 and/or Linksys PAP2 v2.0 as you like using the US$50 GC until the promotion ends. Remember, these Linksys PAP2 v1.0/2.0 are all locked to Vonage and you will have to unlock it before you can configure this device to use with other VoIP Service Providers (VoSPs). Even after you have unlocked any of these devices, they will still get re-locked to Vonage if you (incidentally) perform a factory reset while it is connected to a live Internet feed. As with a Linksys PAP2 v2.0, I would say this is a much better device than a Linksys PAP2 v1.0 mainly because it uses a TI AR7 chipset with 8/16 MB Flash/RAM and runs on a Linux OS. Please read posts in this thread to find out further discussions on this device and on how to unlock it. While you are reading those post, you may also want to lurk into this thread to find out more information on a DLink VTA-VR device.