[VoIP] DP-compatible ATAs

[Steph Kerman]

Shane Young wrote:
> Quoting Steph Kerman <stfkerman at jps.net>:
>> At some point I expect to have an on-premise *. I own traditional D4 
>> channel banks with various card types I could connect to it. Hell 
>> will probably freeze over before I will feel like paying $375 for a 
>> T1 interface card. Just not worth it to me.
> I got one for $250 ONCE, never seen them that low since then.
>> I wonder how many others are eager to spend this kind of money. If I 
>> understand correctly, a number of people who bought those "most 
>> economical candidates" wasted their money, ending up with non-working 
>> cards. Please bring me up to date. What does it cost to buy a new, 
>> warranteed one?
> I just bought two for $350 each shipped this week and previously 
> purchased two others. Never had a problem with any of the cards I've 
> purchased.
>> To my way of thinking, senderizing my XB and using it as the tandem 
>> for the SXS units is a better expenditure of energy with a more 
>> interesting result than doing it with an *.
> Yes, and wiring it directly to each and every one of our switches 
> would be cool too :)
"The impossible takes a little longer..."
> Bob Riddell had a plan in place to use the Stromberg XY as a tandem 
> for the Western, AE, North, Federal and ITEC boards but was pushing 
> what would be available for numbering.
Bearing in mind that I have 100 real PSTN DID #s and at some point want 
to allocate some of them to at least one of the SXS units, I also want 
the CNET #ing plan to overlap the PSTN #ing plan.  When calls are 
extended throught the XB to the SXS I'd prefer to have the DP outpulsing 
of real wirespring sender audible to the caller, not ersatz "recorded" 
outpulsing sounds from an * box.
> With a digital tandem toll center (Asterisk) we can be less 
> restrictive with our numbering.
True but I believe that machines that inherently have metallic 2W trunks 
should be connected directly together and not go back and forth between 
2W analog and 4W digital any more times than necessary.  As long as my 
DID trunk is delivered on analog copper, I won't be inserting an * 
between the PSTN and my switches for this reason.  I have no objection 
to inserting an * between an inherently 4W digital medium like CNET and 
my switches.
> Bob originally hadn't planned on any outside connectivity either. He 
> also planned on tossing out the ANI machine. I pushed him to save it 
> for "someday" Shane would come up with a way to make it do something 
> and now it does.
>
> The beauty if Asterisk is you can use minimally, or to great extream.
> You aren't forced to do it a certain way.
In the context of the switching environment under discussion, that's 
true as long as you don't object to going back and forth 2W analog and 
4W digital N times.
> You can use ATA's if you can get them to work and home to somone 
> else's Asterisk even.
>
> Oh, a final note, possibly repeated, is that these less-expensive 
> cards and even many of the more-expensive cards don't have echo-cans 
> built in. However, Phil McCarter was able to find some standard T1 
> echo-cans on eBay. By bringing things out to a standard DS1 interface, 
> we are able to easily reduce the echo. Canceling echo on ATA's could 
> be more difficult.
I thought * had some built-in echo canc. capability.  Is it too lame to 
be useful?

Steph