orchid v4 dialler

Stephen66

Hi,

How easy is it to set-up the v4 dialler box? I understand that I download a program and set in the settings I wish to use and then this sends these to
Orchid over the internet. Then the dialer box phones Orchid and retrieves
these settings; is this correct?

Why does it do it this way, it seems long winded? Also there must be
considerable expense to Orchid, having to run an internet site and
dial-in facility. Why couldn't they make it easy to program the box from the phone keypad like the v2 dialler does?

Thanks.
Stephen.

shilcor

It's pretty easy to program the V4 dialer - I received mine yesterday and had already set up my routing tables ready to download when it arrived. Having read the manual programming guide I'd hate to have set it up using the telephone keypad because the windows client application is much nicer but you can use the phone keypad to program it if you want really to. Orchid set up a default routing table for you called "Getting Started" which you can copy and customize yourself depending on what call saving services you subscribe to (18866, 1899, Onetel, etc). I pay line rental to BT, have Ontel as my CPS (carrier pre-select) provider and also use both 18866 and 1899 for call cost saving. I knocked up a simple spreadsheet to show the cheapest ways to route my calls depending of number called, time of day, etc. and then tweeked the routing table accordingly. The routing codes and carier codes are provided by Orchid and downloaded to the client application when you log in so you cannot customize them yourself. I found that I wanted to differentiate between certain vodafone numbers and other mobile numbers (because calls to vodafone are much cheaper via Onetel in the evenings but not to other mobiles). There were no suitable routing codes available but Orchid customer service is absolutely superb. I emailed them and got a reply within 30 minutes saying that if I told them the codes I wanted, they would add them for me. I did this and the codes appeared within the hour !
When I got my dialer I just had to plug it in, force it to "dial home" (an 0845 call to Orchid) to download my routing table and it was all working within 10 minutes of taking it out of the jiffy bag. I did find that I had to use a normal corded phone to initiate the "call home" rather than one of my cordless handsets because for some reason it didn't seem to complete the download properly the first time I tried. You can tell if the download has worked by logging in with the client application and checking that your routing table is shown in the "Active Routing Table" field when you view your product details.
I'm not sure why Orchid have decided to manage the routing stuff on their server rather than allowing the dialer to be hooked up directly to a PC to do it locally - maybe it makes the dialer hardware cheaper but it works fine. Their customer service is brilliant and I'm delighted with the way it all works so I'd say go for it. Don't forget to mention Moneysavingexpert when you order so you get 10% off the price.

stellagypsy

Hi Stephen66 - it really is easy to do (must be if I could do it!!), but if all else fails they will do it for you for £2.00, which is money well spent IMHO.

The most important thing is to get your CPS grid sorted out so you go for the cheapest options for you - shilcor has shown you one, mine is similar, I think for BT customers this is fairly standard, the only variation being what you do about mobile numbers. I mostly call 2 networks so I use the mobile CPS on who is best for those two networks at the relevant times.

HTH, and good luck!

Stella