Saturday, July 02, 2005
Linksys PAP-2 experiences
An "as it happened" walkthrough of setting up a Linkysys PAP-2 :-
The Linksys PAP2 is an analogue telephone adapter (ATA) to allow a normal phone to make Voice over IP (VoIP) calls. It has an ethernet socket to connect to a broadband router and two RJ11 phone sockets. Wall mounting screw holes are provided, as is a plastic foot to allow the unit to sit vertically on a surface. At 4 inches (100mm) square by an inch (30mm) thick it isn't large.
I bought mine from http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/ for just over £40 inc VAT and p&p. The price was the main reason for selecting it over the Sipura models.
The box says model PAP2-UK but the device PAP2-NA, as the quick installation sheet says to dial "1 + area code + number" it would appear to be a USA model localised for the UK by adding a clip-on 13A plug for the power supply and a few sheets of CE compliance information.
On plugging in to the LAN and powering up I had one intense blue LED pulsing away with the letter D in morse ie -.. -.. this is the power LED. Not quite the "all LEDs will be solidly lit" of the documentation. I had to find an RJ11 to BT adapter so I could plug in the DECT phone I planned to use.
After a bit of thought I realised that the LAN LED was not lit and nor was the other end on the router, so tried a different cable and got the LAN LED up and the power LED stopped flashing - one step forward ! Reverted to original cable after a bit of wiggling plug in socket.
I see from the router that I can ping the PAP2 on the IP address it collected by DHCP. Popping the relevant IP address into Firefox I get to the Linksys PAP2 configuration page. Under Line 1 it correctly shows the Hook State: as "On" and it toggles in response to me keying the DECT phone. So far so good. There is however no dial tone, so I will RTFM and set it up as guided.......
First tried the phone keypad tone IVR menu - punch **** into the phone keypad and it responds verbally, hang up to exit. So I know the phone connection works, and where to go if I needed to set up the IP address manually. 110# discloses the current IP address, 100# says if DHCP is enabled or not. 732668# (reboot#) and 73738# (reset# - a factory reset) might be handy later.
Back to the web interface - this has Basic View and Advanced View modes, and runs in Admin and User modes (the upper right of the screen says User Login when in Admin mode, and vice versa). Default is to have no passwords, though the CD manual refers to setting passwords via the IVR system. This looks a bit clunky - "To enter A, B, C, a, b, or c — press 2" - however its actually just using a PIN as to put in Phil you would enter 7445, its not like texting and pressing the 2 key 5 times to get a 'b'.
Clearly the assumption in the manual is that the unit is shipped pre-configured with a voice service, as the last chapter of the manual concludes
"Configuring the Settings for Your Internet Phone Service
If you want to change the settings for your Internet phone service, visit the website of your Internet phone service provider and make configuration changes online. For more information, refer to the instructions provided by your Internet phone service provider."
The IVR menu command 7932# is to enable/disable the web interface, this is where a password would be required if a service provider had shipped the unit locked down to their service.
So, another cup of coffee then let's try to figure out the setup :-)
In the User mode, Basic or Advanced view, there are 4 screens on the web interface titled Info System User1 User2. Info is a Status screen, System covers TCP/IP network settings and password and the User screens are full of Speed dial, Suplementary services, Distinctive ring and othe ruser features.
Change to Admin mode and extra screens become available - SIP, Regional, Line 1 and Line 2. Sounds like I'm going the right way. In the Advanced view version a further screen - Provisioning - appears. Checking back at some of the other screens I can see that Advanced really is when it comes to things like defining dial tones and codec pre-selection strings. Let's stick to basic for now....
Under Regional I select GMT +1 for the timezone and put in the date in mm/dd/yyyy format and the time in hh/mm. The screen actually specifices mm/dd but that left me in 2003 ! There's a drop down box for setting FXS impedance - this is set at 600 (ohms ?) but the dropdown box has a myriad choice of ohms + capacitance values. If I find out what the UK phones expect I can change it later.
Line 1 looks to be the place for setting up the account details. I'll start with a Sipgate account from www.sipgate.co.uk as this gives me a free regional incoming number that matches my local dial code 01780. The PAP-2 isn't listed on Sipgate's help pages, so I look at the "other devices" page, then revert to the X-ten page where you can get a personalised setup screen pre-filled with your details (bit of a crutch for a newbie). Taking the minimalist approach I entered :-
Proxy: sipgate.co.uk
Display name : Phil Thompson
User ID : 140xxxx
Password : *****
the default SIP port (5060) and registration time (3600s) seemed to match sipgate's needs, so I hit "Save settings", get a "please wait page - bit of red and blue flickering from the power LED and, lo, the Line 1 blue LED is lit :-) and the Info page shows Registration: Online under Line 1 Status. Flip the DECT phone open, punch the green button and YES ! we have a dial tone.
The sipgate account page shows me online, so I dial up from the BT landline and the X-ten softphone on my PC leaps into action. Oh pooh. Two things registered on the same account.
Shut down X-lite, redial, "the service cannot be connected" message from BT. Let's try outbound - dial the sipgate 10000 test number and yes, a German guy talks back at me. So I have an outbound phone service but not incoming - sounds like a job for "Router Man".
The only port forwarding to the desktop is port 4569 which is IAX2 protocol, but I do know the X-lite was setup to use STUN in some way.
After hacking around I can get silence from BT when I try to call myself, but nothing else happens. Try again in the morning.
The Linksys PAP2 is an analogue telephone adapter (ATA) to allow a normal phone to make Voice over IP (VoIP) calls. It has an ethernet socket to connect to a broadband router and two RJ11 phone sockets. Wall mounting screw holes are provided, as is a plastic foot to allow the unit to sit vertically on a surface. At 4 inches (100mm) square by an inch (30mm) thick it isn't large.
I bought mine from http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/ for just over £40 inc VAT and p&p. The price was the main reason for selecting it over the Sipura models.
The box says model PAP2-UK but the device PAP2-NA, as the quick installation sheet says to dial "1 + area code + number" it would appear to be a USA model localised for the UK by adding a clip-on 13A plug for the power supply and a few sheets of CE compliance information.
On plugging in to the LAN and powering up I had one intense blue LED pulsing away with the letter D in morse ie -.. -.. this is the power LED. Not quite the "all LEDs will be solidly lit" of the documentation. I had to find an RJ11 to BT adapter so I could plug in the DECT phone I planned to use.
After a bit of thought I realised that the LAN LED was not lit and nor was the other end on the router, so tried a different cable and got the LAN LED up and the power LED stopped flashing - one step forward ! Reverted to original cable after a bit of wiggling plug in socket.
I see from the router that I can ping the PAP2 on the IP address it collected by DHCP. Popping the relevant IP address into Firefox I get to the Linksys PAP2 configuration page. Under Line 1 it correctly shows the Hook State: as "On" and it toggles in response to me keying the DECT phone. So far so good. There is however no dial tone, so I will RTFM and set it up as guided.......
First tried the phone keypad tone IVR menu - punch **** into the phone keypad and it responds verbally, hang up to exit. So I know the phone connection works, and where to go if I needed to set up the IP address manually. 110# discloses the current IP address, 100# says if DHCP is enabled or not. 732668# (reboot#) and 73738# (reset# - a factory reset) might be handy later.
Back to the web interface - this has Basic View and Advanced View modes, and runs in Admin and User modes (the upper right of the screen says User Login when in Admin mode, and vice versa). Default is to have no passwords, though the CD manual refers to setting passwords via the IVR system. This looks a bit clunky - "To enter A, B, C, a, b, or c — press 2" - however its actually just using a PIN as to put in Phil you would enter 7445, its not like texting and pressing the 2 key 5 times to get a 'b'.
Clearly the assumption in the manual is that the unit is shipped pre-configured with a voice service, as the last chapter of the manual concludes
"Configuring the Settings for Your Internet Phone Service
If you want to change the settings for your Internet phone service, visit the website of your Internet phone service provider and make configuration changes online. For more information, refer to the instructions provided by your Internet phone service provider."
The IVR menu command 7932# is to enable/disable the web interface, this is where a password would be required if a service provider had shipped the unit locked down to their service.
So, another cup of coffee then let's try to figure out the setup :-)
In the User mode, Basic or Advanced view, there are 4 screens on the web interface titled Info System User1 User2. Info is a Status screen, System covers TCP/IP network settings and password and the User screens are full of Speed dial, Suplementary services, Distinctive ring and othe ruser features.
Change to Admin mode and extra screens become available - SIP, Regional, Line 1 and Line 2. Sounds like I'm going the right way. In the Advanced view version a further screen - Provisioning - appears. Checking back at some of the other screens I can see that Advanced really is when it comes to things like defining dial tones and codec pre-selection strings. Let's stick to basic for now....
Under Regional I select GMT +1 for the timezone and put in the date in mm/dd/yyyy format and the time in hh/mm. The screen actually specifices mm/dd but that left me in 2003 ! There's a drop down box for setting FXS impedance - this is set at 600 (ohms ?) but the dropdown box has a myriad choice of ohms + capacitance values. If I find out what the UK phones expect I can change it later.
Line 1 looks to be the place for setting up the account details. I'll start with a Sipgate account from www.sipgate.co.uk as this gives me a free regional incoming number that matches my local dial code 01780. The PAP-2 isn't listed on Sipgate's help pages, so I look at the "other devices" page, then revert to the X-ten page where you can get a personalised setup screen pre-filled with your details (bit of a crutch for a newbie). Taking the minimalist approach I entered :-
Proxy: sipgate.co.uk
Display name : Phil Thompson
User ID : 140xxxx
Password : *****
the default SIP port (5060) and registration time (3600s) seemed to match sipgate's needs, so I hit "Save settings", get a "please wait page - bit of red and blue flickering from the power LED and, lo, the Line 1 blue LED is lit :-) and the Info page shows Registration: Online under Line 1 Status. Flip the DECT phone open, punch the green button and YES ! we have a dial tone.
The sipgate account page shows me online, so I dial up from the BT landline and the X-ten softphone on my PC leaps into action. Oh pooh. Two things registered on the same account.
Shut down X-lite, redial, "the service cannot be connected" message from BT. Let's try outbound - dial the sipgate 10000 test number and yes, a German guy talks back at me. So I have an outbound phone service but not incoming - sounds like a job for "Router Man".
The only port forwarding to the desktop is port 4569 which is IAX2 protocol, but I do know the X-lite was setup to use STUN in some way.
After hacking around I can get silence from BT when I try to call myself, but nothing else happens. Try again in the morning.
# posted by PhilT @ 11:16 AM 
