[teh_chris]

hi,

i have been all over this forum for a week now reading posts, and i haven't found much advice on picking an ATA to set up for a friend of mine. there is sooo much information here it's like trying to take a drink from a firehose :-)

does anyone have some advice on a low priced ATA for use with a single line and a single provider? i haven't really picked a provider yet either, and i would welcome advice on that too, but i will save that for another post.

i will be configuring the device and sending it to my friend, so difficulty isn't as much of a concern as stability and reliability.

the SPA3000/3102 seems to be well received here, but i think it is probably overkill for this particular project.

any advice would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance for helping me out.

[esmart]

There is generic VoIP Adaptor available for 40.00 or so. I use SPA-1001 too for these kinda config.

[teh_chris]

Originally Posted by esmart

I use SPA-1001 too for these kinda config.

i considered that one, along with the the grandstream handytone 286 and the fx200, but thefx200 gets mention more as a port converter, more on that in a minute.

is the 286 under equipped for this project? the price is right, but i would rather spend the extra $10 to use the right tool for the job.

i suppose i should mention that my friend has no actual POTS service, so there is no need to handle that sort of thing, so i am basically wanting to set up a local DID and a prepay/pay as you go service. i am leaning toward teliax or voice stick since they look like you can get a free local number from them, but that will be another post, once we tackle the equipment issue.

if my friend is courageous enough, we may disconnect his house from the demarc and hardwire the ATA into his house's phone lines. i did this at my house with my lingo ATA with no issues.

based on posts here and the product websites, i am lost as to the true difference between an ATA and a port converter, hence my reluctance to consider the fx200. it doesn't help that sites like VOIPsupply list it among their ATAs. is there a post someplace that explains this? the searches i have done here yield posts about guys adding them to existing setups.

i'm not exactly a newb when it comes to VOIP, but i'm not a real expert either, there are some vocabulary differences between the various message boards that can be confusing. the terms and things used on on other forums (skype, vonage, DSL reports, etc.) are not the ones used here. so i'll just apologize now if i am way off base.

[mberlant]

It's simple. A port converter is not an ATA (and shouldn't be listed among them). Pardon the self-defining definition, but play along.

A port converter converts ports. Think of it as the telephone equivalent of a male-male or female-female modem cable. If you have one analog telephone line and need to bridge it to another analog telephone line you need a port converter. You can then dial in to one phone line, put in a PIN, and gain permission to dial out via the other phone line.

An ATA is an Analog Telephone Adapter. That is a generic term that has been co-opted by the VoIP industry, but it refers to any device that allows an analog telephone instrument (or analog telephone line) to connect to a purely digital network. You can get an ATA from your PABX manufacturer to connect a fax machine to your digital PABX, or you can buy a SIP ATA, like any of the ones you mentioned, to connect a regular telephone to your VoIP service provider via the internet.

Personally, I believe the extra money you spend for a Linksys/Sipura device over a Grandstream device is well worth it, mostly because I find it very useful to customize the Dial Plan to the environment that ATA is in, and Grandstream does not have a viable Dial Plan mechanism.

[teh_chris]

Originally Posted by mberlant

A port converter is not an ATA (and shouldn't be listed among them).

thanks for clearing that up. you would think that would be obvious, but i have found that product info on VOIP equipment is quite sparse.

sticking with the sipura line, is there one in particular that is best suited for a single line and a single provider?

i don't have an asterisk set up or anything. the goalhere is to make sip calls to him and me for free and to give him the option of placing PSTN calls on a pay as you go basis, especially to autralia.

[mberlant]

You need to choose the device based upon the physical interface configuration you need. For one phone with two VoIP services, the SPA-1001 stands alone.

For two phones, each accessing its own VoIP service, the PAP2-NA, PAP2T-NA, SPA-2000, SPA-2002 or SPA-2100 (SPA-2002 with router) will serve you very well.

For one phone and one telephone line, each accessing its own VoIP service, the SPA3000 or SPA-3102 (same, but with router) will do what you need.

[teh_chris]

excellent, thanks again for the info.

it wouldn't kill manufacturers or vendors alike to include that kind of info on a website somewhere. they could probably sell more stuff, have fewer returns from people purchasing the wrong thing, and have more happy customers who make fewer customer service and tech support calls if they documented their stuff in plain language where the buying public could find it.

this info actually settles two issues that i have, one is for setting up my friend, and one is for replacing my locked lingo ATA and service with a BYOD setup for viatalk. it looks like i can use the same model of ATA for both. hooray simplicity!

now that i have the hardware stuff settled, i will place my order(s) and post a panicked plea for help when i can't get anything to work :-) just kidding.

getting the right gear is the only thing i am worried about... since you can't just pick the equipment up at the local store, or return it for a full refund. everything else i can tinker with to get working.

thanks again for your help.