OOMA, and Magic Jack

[Dan/Panther]

I would like to see a section of updates to our phonw system Problem. Bwanna would be a great source of information, to keep us up to date.
D/P

[Phonesrfun]

Wireless TV?  What will they think of next?

[bwanna]

granted i don't know a whole lot about satellite transmissions & digital signals flying around in the air. but i think the whole conversion to digital tv signals is the forerunner to wireless tv service. once the phone companies can provide larger capacity in the cell towers, maybe they can be used to pump the tv signals farther.  IMHO

d/p  i'd be happy to be the information pipline. you know how i like to ramble on about the phone company

[Phonesrfun]

My comment was totally tongue in cheek, because I grew up on broadcast television.  a.k.a. wireless TV.



Granted, the city I grew up in had all of four TV channels.  The funny thing is that now I have cable, and there are still times when there seems to be nothing on worth watching, and all the channels still seem to all do the ads at the same time so channel surfing is frustrating when all I see are ads.

[bwanna]

ya, bill.... i figured that. most of us here grew up with "wireless" tv. you know, 3 channels, that you had to get up to change

[Phonesrfun]

Back in the horse and buggy days of TV, everyone I knew watched the same shows as I did.  It was just that way.  So, I could go to school and everyone would be talking about the same thing they had seen on TV the night before.

Now, if I catch something interesting and then go to work the next day and ask if anyone else had seen it, nobody had.  So, things all change.

BTW changing the channel usually involved more than going over to the TV and just doing it.  Our family TV was so old that the contacts in the tuner were so worn that we had to jiggle it just right.  Then, after getting it tuned in, we had to go through these gyrations with the rabbit ears to get the signal just right.  That is until you go sit back down and either that changed the reception or the vibration caused the tuner to go out again.

My dad was real cheap when it came to the TV.  It wasn't until I got married that I finally got a color set.

[Dan/Panther]

I didn't see a color set until I was 11 years old.
Didn't own my own until I was 23, after I got married.
D/P

[stromcarl1212]

Hi Rotary Phone Folks,
   This is my first post.

    To keep this entry to the subject of Magic Jack and rotary phones, I'm considering getting a WiFi Hot Spot from Verizon, or another carrier. Along with that I hope to use the new Magic Jack Plus WiFi device. This device will get you connected to the net via WiFi broadcast pick up. The Hot Spot provides the WiFi signal.
My question is:  Will a rotary dial phone, with NO touch tone switch, work with the above mentioned set up WITHOUT using a panasonic PBX?

     5-18-13 Verizon Jet Pack Update:

      I have had the Verizon Jet Pack for several months. It works well, even though I only get a 2/5 bars reception. The thing is I am still waiting for a Wifi phone or phone service to come out which will support rotary dial phones. I have not had time or money to test Ooma or any other Wifi phone service. Once in a while I try a search for something of the sort, but have not had time for that either.
      Presently I'm paying around $89.00 /mo. for 4G Wifi Net service AND good ole' landline phone service through Verizon. I'm tired of waiting for Wifi phone service which will support rotary phones and paying too much for net and phone services.
     Any suggestions for running rotary dial up phones on something other than landline service?

Thank you for your helpful info.!

Karl

[Phonesrfun]

the original Magic Jack product would not support rotary pulse dialing, and it did not have enough output to ring a standard ringer.

I don't know about the MJ item you describe, but if the philosophy at MJ has been to ignore the rotary dials in the past, they probably won't support rotary in the future.

Your question might be more accurately answered by them.

If you do get the device, let us know your experience.

[poplar1]

Magic Jack Plus does not support rotary dials. It will ring a 2500 or Princess.

However, my experience is that used on DSL, it will distort Touch-tone signals to the point that you can't enter a password or other commands when callling central-office based voice mail.

Long live 5ESS and DMS-100 central offices!

[AE_Collector]

Long live 5ESS and DMS-100 central offices!

And GTD5 too!

[Dixon Hall]

I've read something recently about work on wireless electrical power. 

Tesla's Quixotic dream.

[19and41]

I thought I would chime in about OOMA.  I have used the system for about 4 months now.  I bought the TELO device at auction on Ebay for around $86 with shipping.  It is not powered from the computer connection.  It has an external power supply.  I use mine with CLEAR wireless internet and have no landline service.  It does not support pulse dialing, but my rotary phone rings in and the handset audio is good as my cordless phone set.  I will be setting up an external pulse/tone converter for it, so I will be able to use whatever other rotary sets that might show up.  The OOMA service has other functions that made it worth my while to get it and it has worked quite well.

[Fabius]

Is Ooma service better then Magic Jack? Are they both based on the same VOIP technology?

[GusHerb]

Is Ooma service better then Magic Jack? Are they both based on the same VOIP technology?

Ooma is a lot better then Magic Jack, Ooma is SIP based but connects to the Ooma servers over a VPN which supposedly helps quality. Have had one of our lines with them over 3 years now and dont have anything to complain about, except if you want features it costs $9.99 a month on top of the "taxes and fees" you already pay them. If you are ok with BYOD there's other providers that are cheaper and just as reliable.