Orchid dialler and Sky Talk

fbrj

For many years I have used the excellent Orchid V4 dialler for routing all domestic calls and have been on NTL/VM for BB and TV.

I am considering a Sky package which can include (as I understand it) a CPS phone element (ie calls can still be routed through 18185, BT etc).

My questions are - can the dialler be programmed to use some calls through Sky (eg for free calls to 10 international destinations) and the remainder of my calls as before (essentially using Heinz's excellent updates)? How does the wiring work between the Sky box, the BT line and the Orchid dialler? Does the Sky phone system work by means of some plug in along the phone line as well as a connection to the Skybox?

Apologies if this has been asked before....but all the searches I did on these forums didn't show what I was looking for ....and not having the Sky setup it's hard to guess quite how it all works!

Heinz

If you went for Sky Talk Freetime, as you say, a CPS service, you'd get free evening and weekend UK 01/02 calls of up to 60 minutes.

The CPS part simply means that, although you keep your BT landline, pay 'line rental' to BT (BT Together Option 1 - £10.50/month - is the minimum) and your incoming calls still arrive on BT (so Caller Display, 1471 and 1571 work normally), you will have opted to have the BT exchange programmed so that, by default, (nearly) all your outgoing calls are sent via the CPS provider (and BT don't even 'see' the calls even though they carry the first leg).

The 'default' part of that sentence is the key to CPS. It means that, if you want, you can use a prefix to send an individual call via another provider (i.e. override the CPS programming for a single call). For example, using just a 1280 prefix will send that call out via BT, using just a 18185 prefix (not 128018185) will send that call out via www.18185.co.uk and so on.

In other words, CPS allows you still to pick the best carrier for your calls even though you've opted, normally, to use one provider (e.g. Sky Talk Freetime because of the free evening and weekend UK 01/02 calls of up to 60 minutes).

There are no special plugs or any connection to the Sky STB - it's all done at the BT exchange.

As Sky Talk Freetime gives exactly the same free calls as Primus Saver Option 2 (except it limits calls to 60 minutes instead of 90 minutes), the standard Heinz program (and the semi-automatic update system) for your Orchid would work just fine.

If, however, you decided to pay Sky £5 extra for the Sky Talk Unlimited CPS package, you'd have to use CW Client to program your Orchid to take account of the free 24/7/365 UK 01/02 calls and free calls to 10 specific countries. My daughter uses the Sky Talk Unlimited package and a V4 (but you can guess who manages her CW Client account for her).

fbrj

Heinz - many thanks for your helpful and informative post - all is clear now!

Heinz

fbrj wrote: »

Heinz - many thanks for your helpful and informative post - all is clear now!

You're welcome.

Beware though, I read today of a Sky Talk Unlimited customer who, instead of opting for Sky Talk on CPS, had signed up (foolishly, IMHO) to Sky's new offering of LLU line rental (see THIS THREAD) and, as a result, who has probably lost their ability to route their calls via cheap calls providers like 1899, 18185 etc.

My advice, as always, is (love 'em or hate 'em) keep your line rental with BT, CPS most of your calls and use 1899/18185/18866 and/or gateway providers for specific calls.

Snapelover

Hope it's okay to add something to this thread rather than start a new one.

I have Sky Talk Freetime which offers free evening and weekend calls. Sky have started offering free evening and weekend calls to 0870 numbers. How do I programme my V4 dialler box so that I can use their free service?

Heinz

Snapelover wrote: »

I have Sky Talk Freetime which offers free evening and weekend calls. Sky have started offering free evening and weekend calls to 0870 numbers. How do I programme my V4 dialler box so that I can use their free service?

Can't answer that without knowing some basics about your current program.

What is your current list of Carriers?

What Routing Rule number currently routes your 0870 calls and what does it currently do?

---

If it helps, my daughter is on Sky Talk Freetime (line rental still with BT) and has a 18185 A/C.

She has 18185 programmed as Carrier No.1 in her Orchid's program (Sky Talk is, of course, Carrier 0).

Her 0870 Routing Rule is No.11 and, to take account of Sky's newfound generosity, I have recently told her to update that rule by keying in:

*###0870#3100#11# (that routes 0870 calls via 18185 weekday daytimes and via Sky Talk at all other times).

Snapelover

It is programmed using your Heinz Programme.

I'm assuming that your daughter uses your programme too so that means I have to dial

*###0870#3100#11# (that routes 0870 calls via 18185 weekday daytimes and via Sky Talk at all other times).

Heinz

Snapelover wrote: »

It is programmed using your Heinz Programme.

I'm assuming that your daughter uses your programme too so that means I have to dial

*###0870#3100#11# (that routes 0870 calls via 18185 weekday daytimes and via Sky Talk at all other times).

Of course. I seem to recall now we had an email exchange a while ago.

No, she has a special program - the family get preferential treatment!

OK, your program is currently the same as Kevin Lawry's spreadsheet but this update needs a minor alteration to Routing Rule 16 (to route evening and weekend 0870 calls via Carrier 0 - Sky Talk - instead of Carrier 3).

Hence, you need to key in the string *###0870#3500#16#

In case you're wondering why Carrier 5 (18185's freephone gateway number 08081703703) is used instead of Carrier 1 (the 18185 prefix) for weekday 0870 calls, the answer is simply the per-minute rate is 5p instead of 6p!

As a point of interest, it wouldn't matter if you did use Carrier 3 for the evening and weekend routing because the use of the 1280 prefix would simply be ignored by Sky.

Snapelover

Heinz wrote: »

Of course. I seem to recall now we had an email exchange a while ago.

No, she has a special program - the family get preferential treatment!

OK, your program is currently the same as Kevin Lawry's spreadsheet but this update needs a minor alteration to Routing Rule 16 (to route evening and weekend 0870 calls via Carrier 0 - Sky Talk - instead of Carrier 3).

Hence, you need to key in the string *###0870#3500#16#

In case you're wondering why Carrier 5 (18185's freephone gateway number 08081703703) is used instead of Carrier 1 (the 18185 prefix) for weekday 0870 calls, the answer is simply the per-minute rate is 5p instead of 6p!

As a point of interest, it wouldn't matter if you did use Carrier 3 for the evening and weekend routing because the use of the 1280 prefix would simply be ignored by Sky.

Thanks very much!!