Follow Up To The VOIP Phone Project

Things I've Learned:

Well....let me tell ya, I have learned a few things in the past day or two so...

Shall I go down the list?

Before I do let me explain something. I didn't learn all this because the system failed. I learned all this because I can't leave a working system alone and must always tweak things. So what I mean by that is at one point I had my network down! When I say down, I mean I unplugged everything. (Router, switch, and ATA no power, no network!)

Why Would You Do This....

Testing, tweaking, and just messing around.

So How About That List?

So when the network was down and everything was unplugged (except one of my cordless phones)
The phone still worked! I had an incoming call!

Why You Ask?

1. The PSTN line is plugged directly into the ATA, from the ATA its plugged into the 5 port phone jack. The cordless phone is also plugged into the 5 port phone jack. So it looks like the PSTN carries the current from the main line through the ATA into the 5 port phone jack, even thought there is no power to the ATA. Cool eh? So in theory I can also make local out going calls on the PSTN line if both VOIP systems go down. (For $5 a month I get to keep my PSTN line...very basic)

The next thing I found was with the Skype phone.

2. I powered up the Skype phone, but kept the router, and ATA off. What I found was the same situation as above, but.....I could not use Skype because there was no network.

So time to move on and play with this a bit more!
I power up the router and now I can call out on Skype. No big deal. So I had an idea.....

Question: What happens If I press talk on the Skype phone and enter a phone number?
Answer: It dials out using sipphone/gizmo.....Cool

So with the Skype phone I can choose what service I want. For Example:
If I want to use Skypeout I just select the person in my contacts and press talk.
If I want to use Gizmo/Sip just dial a number and then press talk.
Or dial a number, select option, and select landline

Very cool!!!

Anyway, thats my big list of what I have learned.