Panasonic KX-TGP550
Posted by nexus99, Aug 7 2010, 09:31 PM
Ok, so I finally got this phone up and working. There weren't a great deal of resources out there about the KX-TGP550 but putting together what little I could find I got the basics in order.
First off... this is what the phone looks like:
On the left of the phone is an old Plantronics headset that my wife loves. The lifter fit with a little tweaking so she is now a happy camper.
The first thing you need to know about this phone is that you will need to download the complete instructions. The included documentation will only tell you how to assemble and power up the phone.
Instructions can be found at: Documentation and Firmware Link The current firmware can be found here as well. I strongly suggest flashing your phone before you begin configuration.
I set up 2 extensions in Asterisk (1000 and 1001) and have configured the base station as extension 1000 and the handset as 1001. Following are screen grabs of the SIP config for the ext 1000:
Since the phone uses just 1 IP you have to use different ports for each additional extension. So for extension 1001 I used 5070 as the source SIP port. This has to be configured on both the phone and the server.
I set up a ring group and have both externsions ringing when thee are incoming calls. All VM goes to ext 1000.
I guess next up is trying to figure out some of the cooler features available to Trixbox users.
SIP Phone
Posted by nexus99, Jul 26 2010, 11:01 PM
I had planned to start out with a Polycom... but after some comments here and other places I have reconsidered. Instead I will be going with a nice little SOHO system from Panasonic. The KX-TGP550. Its certified for Asterisk and leverages DECT handsets.
Link to Panasonic Description 
Adding a phone jack in the garage
Posted by nexus99, Jul 25 2010, 05:34 PM
Just a few pictures showing the process of adding a phone jack and wiring it up.
1) Found my spot, traced my old work box, cut the hole and stuck in the old work single gang plastic thingy:
And from the backside (I can see if from the access panel for TV on the outside of the house):
2) Photo of the phone wiring before modification. You can see the source from the telco equipment going into the security system wiring. It spits back out and attaches to the blue CAT 5 which distributes dial tone throughout the house.
3) I pulled the wires apart and recrimped then with new 3 way connectors to add another phone line right here:
A wider shot so you can see the new grey CAT5 that will carry dial tone to the new phone jack inthe garage. You can see the CAT5 run up from the telco access box to the TV access box which is right behind where the jack will be.
4) And now the finish work. Wiring the CAT5 to a phone port and screwing it all together.
The orange insert makes the decora plate stick out a little too far but I haven't figured out a good way around that yet.
Asterisk Home PBX Setup -Trixbox
Posted by nexus99, Jul 25 2010, 05:26 PM
I have decided to play around with setting up an Asterisk PBX here at home. There are two popular distributions out there that do most of the heavy lifting for you, AsteriskNow and Trixbox. It seems like Trixbox might be more popular so I have decided to give it a spin.
The first concern is scraping together the hardware I will need to make this happen.
From my reading I will collect the following items.
Old desktop PC to be the server. (Free)
Trixbox Software - Which is really Linux, Asterisk, and the Asterisk add ons all squished into the installer. (Free)
A 32 GB SSD so I can remove one of the moving part from the equation. (100 bucks)
A used Digium TDM410P card with 3x FXO and 1 FXS ports. (125 bucks)
I have a Vonage line and a Verizon line that I will use as my trunks. (So no additional cost)
A used Polycom 650 SIP phone (135. This is probably over kill but I have used Polycoms before and they seem to ROCK on VOIP to VOIP calls.)
Total: $360 bucks to have a commercial(ish) grade PBX at home. Sure it wont be fault tolerant but thats OK. If anything happens I can just plug old phones into the wall and be OK.
Before I get to the fun part of installing and configuring the software I need to put this computer somewhere it can run 24x7 and have access to both phone lines. My office already is sweltering from all the equipment but its the only spot that has Ethernet and a phone jack in close proximity. But my comfort trump convenience so this bad box is going in the garage and I will add a phone jack close to where the Asterisk box will be.
Construction details in the next post!
Russound ST2
Posted by nexus99, Jun 12 2010, 11:07 PM
I finally found a ST2 (dual AM-FM) for a good price and pulled the trigger.
Installation was fairly easy but there are a few gotcha's to keep in mind. First off when you integrate with a CAM6.6 you need to configure the two sources on the CAM as perephial. You then physically attach the ST2's outputs to those two source inputs on the CAM. Don't forget to connect the CAT5/6 control cable betwrrn the 2 units. Now the piece that I missed at first is that on the ST2 you have to configure it with the sources it is targeting on the CAM. Its all detailed in the instructions but its not something I expected.
Once I made that change I updated my CasaTunes software and I was off to the races! Now I need to install a decent outdoor FM ant and I am golden!
Robin Robbins Boot Camp
Posted by nexus99, Apr 18 2010, 10:39 PM
Last week I headed over to Nashville (yes, Nashville of all places...) to hang out with friends and attend the Robin Robins bootcamp. Its an interesting convention for owners of IT service firms servicing SMBs. There were a number of speakers that were very good... and provided alot of knowledge applicable outside of the small business arena.
Robin Robins
Of the speakers the ones I enjoyed the most were:
Jim Camp Link
This guy is a well know negotiation coach. He had alot of good information in his presentation that i am going to try out in real business situations.
Patrick Thean Link
Good general business info with specifics on using dashboards to drive projects. Very cool.
Randy Schwantz Link
Good information on how to sell to clients that already have solutions in place. it also is good info to have when salesmen come knocking on your door.
There were several other speakers but these were the ones that stuck out for me.
Some general thoughts about the whole experience as a first time attendee:
1) The space was too small. The attendees were literally bursting out of the meeting room. And it was a largish room.
2) The "top tier" of RR customers have been lumped in with the "2nd tier" of customers. I assume this is a signal that RR is over extended a little. Probably too much time spent servicing customers personally. If you shake up the crystal ball and look into the future does this particular business turn into just a convention and a web site in a few years after there are 40-50 million profit in the bank?
3) Connec+Wise - This product looks very cool. I like the integration module that some 3rd party developed for integration with Joomla. Now we jusy need a Joomla plug-in for Autotask. I know they have to be working on that.
4) TriOhm. Medical Practice Management software. We tried to talk to the guy that was there from this company but he was pretty put off by being asked to talk. I guess they have all the partners they need. Time to look for someone else to talk to.
5) The speakers were very good. (I guess they would be since their business is to speak and sell you their products.) Definately worth seeing.
So overall this was a very good experience.
Updates on Projects
Posted by nexus99, Apr 18 2010, 10:00 PM
CasaTunes -
I found a USB via TCP server that works on Server 2003. The Silex SX-3000GB. I was able to install the device drivers, connect my USB sound card to the USB server, and have the OS see the sound card from across the house. But I can't play any music through the sound card. There is something happening that I haven't seen before. So now to dig into why everything isn't playing together well.
The barix is still working like a champ. Its carrying one stream of music and the serial connection to the CAM 6.6.
Synergy Salamander Riser -
I finally got the screws to put this all together. I added it to the unit earlier today. Hopefully this helps my old PS3 stay cooler (I need to buy a new one one day...). Since the Plasma is 11" higher the "Samsung Buzz" is much diminished from my normal seating position. There is a crap pile of wires behind this thing now and I have done a pretty bad job of making it neat. I think I will be too lazy to work on this anymore till I get another upgrade to stick in there. Sine I now have a larger area for a center channel I will be looking for a used Definitive Technology CLR 3000 to replace my CLR 2002.
UPB Lights -
I added the switches for the front door and the entry way to my panel and got them all working. Now I just need to mount my PIR outside and see if I can write some rules to automate the exterior lights.
CasaTunes Update
Posted by nexus99, Mar 18 2010, 10:08 PM
Since I am working on CasaTunes I have decided to clean up my music for the first time ever. Basically what this means is that anything that cant be auto tagged with art has been deleted. Alot got deleted. Moving forward I will keep everything nice and tidy so I don't have to re rip anything.
This is what its looking like as hosted from my WHS:
HAI iPhone and iPad support
Posted by nexus99, Mar 18 2010, 02:50 PM
Fially HAI is making a bunch of us really happy (while making some money for themselves!)
The link below is all you need to know. (And its all I know so far anyway...)
HAI iPhone App
CasaTunes - Virtual Sound Card on WHS via Linksys
Posted by nexus99, Mar 18 2010, 12:36 PM
I picked up an old WMB54G music gateway and updated its firmware the the most current version (which isn't all that current). Luckily Server 2003 is suported and the software install was no problem. My WHS is now able to stream music to the WMB54G which I have attached to input 3 of my CAM6.6. The biggest issue is that it doesn't look like the application runs as a service. This is the downfall of most consumer applications. It really sucks having to run things in the console. But at this point for and for 50 bucks I can live with the pain.
I am still looking for a product that creates multiple virtual sounds cards on a computer and streams the output of those sound cards to a hardware device/devices that attach to speakers/amps/etc.
1 Sep 2010 - 16:24
on Asterisk Home PBX Setup -Trixbox