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looking for WIFI based Conference phones

fskrotzki
Posts: 181
 Member Since:
2006-09-13
Submitted by fskrotzki on Fri, 04/06/2007 - 9:38am.

I don't care if it is truly cordless (no power cord) or not but I need a phone that can be taken 20-30 ft from the nearest network jack with a wall in between.

We have two small offices located in buildings with shared conference rooms so we can't get a network drop installed in the room. So I need a phone that can connect via wireless. The rooms have plenty or power so that is not a problem.

The closest thing I can find is the Polycom SoundStation 2W. Only problem with this solution is that is analog based and means that I need to install additional hardware to support it.

Any body have any other ideas?

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KodaK
Posts: 1885
 Member Since:
2006-06-14
Why not use the device you
Fri, 04/06/2007 - 9:58am

Why not use the device you want and just get a wireless bridge for it?

--

WARNING: I no longer actively participate in these forums. My thoughts on trixbox in a nutshell: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4xBMkWu1pE Use AsteriskNOW instead.


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fskrotzki
Posts: 181
 Member Since:
2006-09-13
doing that as a test in one office.
Fri, 04/06/2007 - 10:13am

The problem is the people in the remote offices can hardly find the power button on the notebook (They are sales people not tech's). Having them connect power to the bridge then the network cable between the device and the phone, then the phone power is to much for them.

Once we get past the one cable to plug in situation we have issues. It took over two weeks for them to learn how to use the built in projector in the comon room. That was one cable and press this button on your computer twice.


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kerryg
Posts: 6793
 Member Since:
2006-05-31
Look at the Linksys wireless
Fri, 04/06/2007 - 11:19am

Look at the Linksys wireless bridge. I use one at home and love it. Once its configured you never touch it again.

Kerry Garrison
Sr. Product Manager, trixbox
http://voipspeak.net - http://asterisktutorials.com

--

Kerry Garrison
http://www.VoipStore.com - http://3cxbook.com
(888) VOIPSTORE - (888) 864-7786


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fskrotzki
Posts: 181
 Member Since:
2006-09-13
re:Look at the Linksys wireless
Fri, 04/06/2007 - 12:15pm

It is NOT the config setup of the bridge that is the issue. But the requirement that they have to plug another device in and connect it to the phone then manage multiple devices both with those darn power bricks that's the issue.

So we go from the very simple idea of a phone with a power cord to a phone with a pair of cords one being power connected to anther device that also now needs a power connection.

I can see the phone calls for a few weeks as they go in to the room and plug one device in but not the other. Then they take the power brick/wall wart and plug it in but it has come unplugged from one device or the other and again it does not work.

That's why I'm looking for a all in one device.

Just like the coordless WIFI single user phones that several manufacture now have, but expand that idea of a phone to be a speaker phone.


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jahyde
Posts: 2002
 Member Since:
2006-06-02
I can see it now
Sat, 04/07/2007 - 12:37am

Sales rep happily plugging power cord into wall from a shoe box with holes in it:

Just get a wifi bridge that supports POE (like Senao 3000 series), then make sure your conference phones runs off a 12v power adaptor, then hack that power cable, and splice it into the network cable, only going to the 4 pairs that hit the bridge, and not the ones that go to the phone (unless the phone can accept POE - even better). Then splice your power connector back onto that mess, and plug it into the phone, glue that in so it dont slip out. Zip tie it all together, and throw it into a nice shoe box and cut some random holes in it, glue the lid on from the inside so they cant unplug anything or see the nasty mess. Make sure only the power cable shows, and its dumby proof.

I'm sure you could cheaply contract a chinese manufacturing plant to crank out a few nice self contained units, and you could resell this genious idea to dumb firms full of dumb sales reps across the US.

sorry - just me getting creative after dealing with a dumb sales rep ;)

--

--my PBX is run on 2 V8's


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teleweb
Posts: 192
 Member Since:
2006-11-27
Just fix the wireless bridge
Sun, 04/08/2007 - 1:56pm

Just fix the wireless bridge onto the conference phone and splice the power cable or use PoE.

It's just one device then with one power cord.


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cosmicwombat
Posts: 1173
 Member Since:
2006-05-31
What about...
Sun, 04/08/2007 - 5:35pm

a laptop and a usb speakerphone:

http://voipspeak.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=11...

--

Robert Keller - Chief Technologist at large
The VoIP Experience
Open Telephony Training Seminar


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drose25
Posts: 61
 Member Since:
2007-01-16
I know nothing about this
Fri, 04/13/2007 - 2:05pm

I know nothing about this phone other than what I've read on their site. I came across it previously, but have never tried one.

Zultys makes a Bluetooth wireless conference phone. It requires a "host" of some sort -- either a PC, Bluetooth-enabled IP phone, etc.

http://www.zultys.com/index.jsp?tab=productdetail&product=btc&det...


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mdonato
Posts: 113
 Member Since:
2006-05-31
simple solution to salesperson ignorance
Sun, 04/15/2007 - 6:43am

i know you want to make it as easy as possible, so why not go buy yourself a dymo or ptouch labeler and either color code or number all of your cable ends to the corresponding port. that way even a kindergartgen kid could put it together if someone happened to take it apart.......
(I'm siding with Kerry on this, the linksys bridge is about as easy as it gets)

I know it's not really an answer, but sometimes you just have to let them learn the hard way that if they mess with things they won't work.

-Mike Donato
mdonato@sitetechllc.com


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RoadKill
Posts: 233
 Member Since:
2006-05-31
HiPolycom has a Wireless
Sat, 04/21/2007 - 1:48pm

Hi

Polycom has a Wireless Conference Phone, and it even come with batteries, so no cabel, it can not get much simpler ;-)

it come as DECT or WDCT if you use the DECT version you can either connet to the analog basestation that come with it or connect it to a SIP basestation
SIEMENS DECT (S450 IP / M34 USB / C455 IP / C450 IP) 1/2 voice channels
Kirk Telecom part of Polycom (Wireles Server 600v3) 12 voice channels

http://www.polycom.com/products_services/1,1443,pw-34-10993-6199,...

--

Mark Petersen

ISDN: Billion HFC, OctoBRI HFC-8
SIP: Snom 3X0, Snom820, Cisco 7941, Linksys PAP2, PerfecTone IP-300
DECT: KWS 600v3, KWS 300
Asterisk: 1.2, 1.4, 1.6.0, 1.6.1 (150 servers)


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RoadKill
Posts: 233
 Member Since:
2006-05-31
Hi Konftel also have a DECT
Sat, 04/21/2007 - 1:59pm

Hi

Konftel also have a DECT Conference Phone

http://www.konftel.com/default.asp?id=2647&PTID=&refid=2663

--

Mark Petersen

ISDN: Billion HFC, OctoBRI HFC-8
SIP: Snom 3X0, Snom820, Cisco 7941, Linksys PAP2, PerfecTone IP-300
DECT: KWS 600v3, KWS 300
Asterisk: 1.2, 1.4, 1.6.0, 1.6.1 (150 servers)


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RoadKill
Posts: 233
 Member Since:
2006-05-31
Hi Oricom also have a DECT
Sat, 04/21/2007 - 2:12pm

Hi

Oricom also have a DECT Conference Phone
http://www.oricom.com.au/product.asp?prod=34

--

Mark Petersen

ISDN: Billion HFC, OctoBRI HFC-8
SIP: Snom 3X0, Snom820, Cisco 7941, Linksys PAP2, PerfecTone IP-300
DECT: KWS 600v3, KWS 300
Asterisk: 1.2, 1.4, 1.6.0, 1.6.1 (150 servers)


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RoadKill
Posts: 233
 Member Since:
2006-05-31
Well to conect DECT to
Sat, 04/21/2007 - 2:23pm

Well to conect DECT to asterisk you need a DECT basestation that support SIP

At the moment only Siemens and Kirk Telecom (Polycom) has these, to my knoleged.
Siemens support either 1 or 2 SIP channels and the Kirk Telecom support 12 to 2800 SIP channels

DECT is a much bether standart for wireless voice as it work with garantied bandwith just as GSM, where Wireless A/B/G do nog garantie any bandwith and just one wireless PC can make it sound like jitterbug

SIEMENS DECT (S450 IP / M34 USB / C455 IP / C450 IP) 1/2 voice channels
Kirk Telecom part of Polycom (Wireles Server 600v3) 12 voice channels

--

Mark Petersen

ISDN: Billion HFC, OctoBRI HFC-8
SIP: Snom 3X0, Snom820, Cisco 7941, Linksys PAP2, PerfecTone IP-300
DECT: KWS 600v3, KWS 300
Asterisk: 1.2, 1.4, 1.6.0, 1.6.1 (150 servers)


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nowfal
Posts: 5
 Member Since:
2007-08-09
my setup
Tue, 09/09/2008 - 11:36am

I use a polycom soundstation 2w and I plug the base station into an ATA (analog telephone adaptor), specifically I use the Mediatrix MX-1102. No dtmf issues, caller id works perfectly and the range is sick. I can take the conference phone into any room of my 5,000 sq ft office.

I'm sure you can use a less expensive ata, but I had this one laying around..it's kinda overkill for just one phone line (it has 2 and supports fax).

links:

http://www.polycom.com/usa/en/products/voice/conferencing_solutio...

http://www.voipsupply.com/mediatrix-mx-1102

--Nowfal


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