asterisk users - Apr 2010 - ATA shootout: PAP2T versus Grandstream Handytone 286

I'm considering a situation where I buy about twenty ATA devices.

I've played with the Linksys / Cisco PAP2T, and got that working fine
with some inbound and outbound faxing. The web GUI was okay. I'm
seeing prices around $45 to $50 for this thing. It comes with two FXS
ports, but I only need one FXS.

I've seen the Grandstream Handytone 286 online. It looks promising as
an alternative to the PAP2T, and I'm seeing prices hovering between
$25 and $30.

I'm considering getting one of these Grandstream ATAs onsite to play
with before I make my final decision.

What do people think about both products?

Bonus points for if people have bulk deployed these, either with TFTP
and configs pushed from a server, or some other good idea.

It seems that the PAP2T does support TFTP and an XML-based config for
deployments...

On Thu, 29 Apr 2010, David Backeberg wrote:
> I'm considering a situation where I buy about twenty ATA devices.
>
> I've played with the Linksys / Cisco PAP2T, and got that working fine
> with some inbound and outbound faxing. The web GUI was okay. I'm
> seeing prices around $45 to $50 for this thing. It comes with two FXS
> ports, but I only need one FXS.
>
> I've seen the Grandstream Handytone 286 online. It looks promising as
> an alternative to the PAP2T, and I'm seeing prices hovering between
> $25 and $30.
>
> I'm considering getting one of these Grandstream ATAs onsite to play
> with before I make my final decision.
>
> What do people think about both products?
>
> Bonus points for if people have bulk deployed these, either with TFTP
> and configs pushed from a server, or some other good idea.
>
> It seems that the PAP2T does support TFTP and an XML-based config for
> deployments...
>
PAP2T - excellent

Handytone - crap

Pretty much every large scale TSP has standardized on the PAP2T or 2102. 
There is a reason the Handytone is priced so low...

j

On Thursday, April 29, 2010, David Backeberg wrote:
> What do people think about both products?
> Bonus points for if people have bulk deployed these, either with TFTP
> and configs pushed from a server, or some other good idea.
I can't claim the bonus points. However, I did have a couple of
Grandstream 286s until one failed and I bought a PAP2T to replace
both. Best buy I made in a long time as it was very easy to set up
via the web interface and it's proved rock solid reliable. In
contrast, the Grandstream 286s had to be rebooted about once a week
and often suffered from audio dropouts.

HTH,

-- 
Geoff

Hi, I had to choose between an 8 port FXS device from Cisco/Linksys (the sipura
3000) and a similar device from Grandstream. A look on the Grandstream's
forums had me scratching my had, so much people with problems, frequently needed
restarts, etc.

The next thing, the Cisco/Linksys seems to be manufactured (at least this
device) with durability in mind, it includes a Fan and a sturdy aluminium case,
wheres the Grandstream was plastic and as far as I recall had no cooling.

I went with the Cisco because I really needed this thing stable (it's on a
Golfcourse and having there a problem means long car-drives) so up until know
(nearly a month in production) I have no Problem at all. Way cheaper and easier
to deploy than an internal FXS card ...

So, do yourself a favor and test the devices sometimes 15 bucks per device might
seem at first a bargain, but if you have more problems in the long-run sometimes
it turns into exactly the opposite.

best regards
Ray 


-
RunSolutions
     Open Source It Consulting
-
Email: rs at runsolutions.com

Parc Bit - Centro Empresarial Son Espanyol
Edificio Estel - Local 3D
07121 -  Palma de Mallorca
Baleares

----- Mensaje original -----
De: "David Backeberg" <dbackeberg at gmail.com>
Para: "Asterisk Users Mailing List - Non-Commercial Discussion"
<asterisk-users at lists.digium.com>
Enviados: Jueves, 29 de Abril 2010 21:36:36
Asunto: [asterisk-users] ATA shootout: PAP2T versus Grandstream Handytone	286

I'm considering a situation where I buy about twenty ATA devices.

I've played with the Linksys / Cisco PAP2T, and got that working fine
with some inbound and outbound faxing. The web GUI was okay. I'm
seeing prices around $45 to $50 for this thing. It comes with two FXS
ports, but I only need one FXS.

I've seen the Grandstream Handytone 286 online. It looks promising as
an alternative to the PAP2T, and I'm seeing prices hovering between
$25 and $30.

I'm considering getting one of these Grandstream ATAs onsite to play
with before I make my final decision.

What do people think about both products?

Bonus points for if people have bulk deployed these, either with TFTP
and configs pushed from a server, or some other good idea.

It seems that the PAP2T does support TFTP and an XML-based config for
deployments...

In my previous company we bought about 30 Grandstream GXP2000 phones. 
The build and design quality of those phones were terrible (not to 
mention firmware bugs).
Speakerphone and headset ports were unusable.
The external powersupply would only last a year or two before it failed.
The screen was so poor it became very dark after the backlight had been 
on a few months.
The internal PSU for taking power via POE used cheap components and 
within 2-5 years every phone had failed. Luckily I worked out how to fix 
them.

Newer models may be much better but I would not buy another one again.

David Backeberg wrote:
> I'm considering a situation where I buy about twenty ATA devices.
> 
> I've played with the Linksys / Cisco PAP2T, and got that working fine
> with some inbound and outbound faxing. The web GUI was okay. I'm
> seeing prices around $45 to $50 for this thing. It comes with two FXS
> ports, but I only need one FXS.
> 
> I've seen the Grandstream Handytone 286 online. It looks promising as
> an alternative to the PAP2T, and I'm seeing prices hovering between
> $25 and $30.
> 
> I'm considering getting one of these Grandstream ATAs onsite to play
> with before I make my final decision.
> 
> What do people think about both products?
> 
> Bonus points for if people have bulk deployed these, either with TFTP
> and configs pushed from a server, or some other good idea.
> 
> It seems that the PAP2T does support TFTP and an XML-based config for
> deployments...
>