LEDAdd1ct
Flashlight Enthusiast
Figured this was more in line with non-flashlight electronics than general Cafe stuff.
In 2006, I rented a phone number from Skype in the area code I am from so that people there could easily call me. I left my desktop computer on 24/7, and used a Yealink USB adapter to allow inbound calls to ring my regular phone. You can see it by searching "B000JCU88S" under Google.
There was a tiny piece of intermediary software, and it "knew" that when I lifted the phone off the hook to pick up the Skype call. I used a vertical, wall mounted, rotary telephone on top of a giant speaker, and placed it inside an empty shoebox, with the other end of the shoebox weighted down with a full gallon of water. When the phone rang and I lifted the phone off the hook, the intermediary application told Skype to answer the call. My monitor could be off, and I had the look, feel, and auditory sensations of using a regular telephone.
Since the phone I was using was a vintage rotary phone, there wasn't enough voltage to make it ring; the Yealink USB adapter is only powered by a USB port, after all. So, I bought an RJ-11 port splitter, and plugged it into the Yealink adapter. Then, I plugged my analog rotary phone into it. I also plugged in a cheap electronic phone, which would ring when a call came through. I also plugged a physical answering machine into the RJ-11 splitter. Now, when I came home, I could easily see if a call came through, as the red light on my answering machine would be blinking. The few outbound calls I made I made through Gizmo Project, later rebranded Gizmo5, and now defunct.
It is now 2013, seven years later, and I paid $30.00 to rent a SkypeIn telephone number in my family's area code (I canceled the phone number I was using in 2006 when the need for it expired). All inbound calls go to Skype. I paid an additional $30.00 for unlimited outbound calls through Skype. For $60.00 ($5.00 a month) I am almost there.
From reading the reviews on the more modern version of the Yealink USB adapter, model Skytone RST401, the intermediary driver software which interfaces between the USB hardware adapter and Skype itself works with Skype 3.8, which can be downloaded from the fabulous database of archived older software, filehippo. In theory, this should allow me to duplicate the setup I used seven years ago, where when the phone rings, I can pick up a real, physical phone and have Skype pickup the call. Using a low powered Celeron machine with 17w TDP CPU, I should be able to implement this setup. However, I have some misgivings with running Skype 3.8, when the portable version of Skype I downloaded today shows as 6.7.59.102. So, here are my questions for the tech savvy crowd:
1) Do you think I will be losing anything significant by running Skype 3.8 instead of the (much) more modern version? I don't care about video. I don't care about chat.
2) Does anyone know if version 3.8 would not support more modern codecs?
3) Does anyone have any direct experience with the more modern version of the Yealink USB adapter, labeled as the Skytone RST401?
4) Any other thoughts?
I should be able to use a modern DTMF phone of my choice, answer calls by picking up, and dial directly from the keypad into Skype.
1) The plethora of Made in China USB "phones" out there do not have the same quality feel as using a real landline telephone, which this setup will allow.
2) While there are hardware phones out there, I do not have the freedom to swap/in out various caller ID logging devices, including a separate caller ID thin client which acts as a server I can access anywhere on my LAN (or in the world, with a little bit of magic). Also, using a hardware phone takes all the fun out of building this neat little project!
Here are some helpful links. Hopefully, more than simply sharing my own proposed setup, this will benefit others:
Review Here
SkypeMate Hardware/Software Interface Driver Here
More Drivers Here
Good Reading Here
Complete User Guide Here
Version 6.0 Can Be Found Here
I like tinkering (wouldn't be on this forum if I did not) and I think this will work, as it did seven years ago. I view this as a mad scientist's forum, and would love feedback from people on this board, who also indulge in technological hobbies.
NOTES:
1) My misgivings about using a long out of date version of Skype may no longer be relevant. The latest release of Skypemate appears by design to support Skype version 6.0. Link here.
2) It will be some time before I can implement this setup. Hopefully, within a few weeks I will have some updates as to how the complete system is functioning.
3) I am not looking to burn out the mini computer's USB ports. I will probably use a powered (AC-->DC adapter) USB hub so that the USB port on the computer's motherboard does not have to do the heavy lifting.
4) The fact Yealink continues to release updated versions of Skypemate in parallel with newer builds (or complete versions) of Skype is a positive sign.
In 2006, I rented a phone number from Skype in the area code I am from so that people there could easily call me. I left my desktop computer on 24/7, and used a Yealink USB adapter to allow inbound calls to ring my regular phone. You can see it by searching "B000JCU88S" under Google.
There was a tiny piece of intermediary software, and it "knew" that when I lifted the phone off the hook to pick up the Skype call. I used a vertical, wall mounted, rotary telephone on top of a giant speaker, and placed it inside an empty shoebox, with the other end of the shoebox weighted down with a full gallon of water. When the phone rang and I lifted the phone off the hook, the intermediary application told Skype to answer the call. My monitor could be off, and I had the look, feel, and auditory sensations of using a regular telephone.
Since the phone I was using was a vintage rotary phone, there wasn't enough voltage to make it ring; the Yealink USB adapter is only powered by a USB port, after all. So, I bought an RJ-11 port splitter, and plugged it into the Yealink adapter. Then, I plugged my analog rotary phone into it. I also plugged in a cheap electronic phone, which would ring when a call came through. I also plugged a physical answering machine into the RJ-11 splitter. Now, when I came home, I could easily see if a call came through, as the red light on my answering machine would be blinking. The few outbound calls I made I made through Gizmo Project, later rebranded Gizmo5, and now defunct.
It is now 2013, seven years later, and I paid $30.00 to rent a SkypeIn telephone number in my family's area code (I canceled the phone number I was using in 2006 when the need for it expired). All inbound calls go to Skype. I paid an additional $30.00 for unlimited outbound calls through Skype. For $60.00 ($5.00 a month) I am almost there.
From reading the reviews on the more modern version of the Yealink USB adapter, model Skytone RST401, the intermediary driver software which interfaces between the USB hardware adapter and Skype itself works with Skype 3.8, which can be downloaded from the fabulous database of archived older software, filehippo. In theory, this should allow me to duplicate the setup I used seven years ago, where when the phone rings, I can pick up a real, physical phone and have Skype pickup the call. Using a low powered Celeron machine with 17w TDP CPU, I should be able to implement this setup. However, I have some misgivings with running Skype 3.8, when the portable version of Skype I downloaded today shows as 6.7.59.102. So, here are my questions for the tech savvy crowd:
1) Do you think I will be losing anything significant by running Skype 3.8 instead of the (much) more modern version? I don't care about video. I don't care about chat.
2) Does anyone know if version 3.8 would not support more modern codecs?
3) Does anyone have any direct experience with the more modern version of the Yealink USB adapter, labeled as the Skytone RST401?
4) Any other thoughts?
I should be able to use a modern DTMF phone of my choice, answer calls by picking up, and dial directly from the keypad into Skype.
1) The plethora of Made in China USB "phones" out there do not have the same quality feel as using a real landline telephone, which this setup will allow.
2) While there are hardware phones out there, I do not have the freedom to swap/in out various caller ID logging devices, including a separate caller ID thin client which acts as a server I can access anywhere on my LAN (or in the world, with a little bit of magic). Also, using a hardware phone takes all the fun out of building this neat little project!
Here are some helpful links. Hopefully, more than simply sharing my own proposed setup, this will benefit others:
Review Here
SkypeMate Hardware/Software Interface Driver Here
More Drivers Here
Good Reading Here
Complete User Guide Here
Version 6.0 Can Be Found Here
I like tinkering (wouldn't be on this forum if I did not) and I think this will work, as it did seven years ago. I view this as a mad scientist's forum, and would love feedback from people on this board, who also indulge in technological hobbies.
NOTES:
1) My misgivings about using a long out of date version of Skype may no longer be relevant. The latest release of Skypemate appears by design to support Skype version 6.0. Link here.
2) It will be some time before I can implement this setup. Hopefully, within a few weeks I will have some updates as to how the complete system is functioning.
3) I am not looking to burn out the mini computer's USB ports. I will probably use a powered (AC-->DC adapter) USB hub so that the USB port on the computer's motherboard does not have to do the heavy lifting.
4) The fact Yealink continues to release updated versions of Skypemate in parallel with newer builds (or complete versions) of Skype is a positive sign.
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