asterisk users - Oct 2004 - Re: Vonage, PSTN, 911, and hardware question (Rajeef Sharma)

I'm sure some of these questions have been responded to already,
however I'm just catching up :).  I use Vonage w/ * currently,
although I am going to switch away from them shortly.
>1.
Yes, ATA -> X100P -> * is very straightforward. 
>2. 
I don't know of any way to do this other than keeping an analog
handset connected to PSTN somewhere in your house.  Perhaps someone
else on the list has responded with a way to do this.  Also in your
dialplan you'd want to make sure that 911 calls go out via your Zap
channel (Vonage ATA device) as you can set the 911 calling locale via
their website.  I haven't checked as to whether you can do this with
the softphone account but it stands to reason that you could.
>3. 
Yes, however if you're planning on using Vonage, you might consider
the following scenario (involves purchasing 9.95/month softphone):
Vonage ATA (main #) simulrings Vonage Softphone account.

* accepts incoming SIP calls from Vonage Softphone acct.

* calls out on Zap/1 channel (* -> X100P -> Vonage ATA)

This allows you to 1) make unlimited calls outbound via the analog
line connected to ATA device. 2) accept multiple incoming calls via
SIP Softphone Account.  Currently (AFAIK) Vonage is not charging extra
for simultaneous inbound as some other providers (BV for example) are.
 Softphone account is limited to 500 minutes of outbound calls.  You
can setup * to rollover to SIP outbound in the event that the Zap
channel (ATA device) is busy or unavailable.
>4. Hardware.
Sarge works GREAT with *.  You can go here to find a step-by-step
Sarge & * install.
http://www.asterisk.net.au/debian/1/

I would suggest purchasing an X100P directly from Digium.  Yes, you
can go buy a modem on ebay with the proper chipset for 1/4 the price
or less, but you will not get support and you could have any number of
issues such as static, dropped calls, etc that would be very difficult
to diagnose.  IMHO (I've purchased both) the Digium card is worth the
extra expense.  Also you're supporting the company that's making this
all possible.

I would be happy to give you some configuration examples if you need
them.  First time install can be very frustrating.

RT