Hardware to convert pots to voip and back using asterisk

Asterisk Asterisk SIP
#1

Can anyone help me here. What physical hardware, make and model can I buy, prefferably not too expensive, that will convert a standard POTS system to VOIP and then back again. Basically I need to send pots over a VPN, in order to do this I first need to take the handset, connect it to a box that converts it to VOIP (IP) connect it to my hardware VPN (dont worry about the VPN side, I have that covered) then at the other end, out of the VPN into the ASterisk system which will also have another VOIP box converting the receiving end POTS.

I purchased 2 Linksys PAP2T but neither will communicate with asterisk, irrespective of how asterisk is configured, and Linksys nor this forum are willing to assist in getting it working, apparenlty its not supported.

So what hardware is supported, that is easy to purchase and not expensive?

#2

Assuming that your ATA device has FXS ports, you need to configure the ATA device to communicate with Asterisk. It’s pretty much like hooking up a VoIP phone.

#3

Ive tried every possible permutation to get them to work and they just dont link to the asterisk, though the server can see them (PING) so I know its not a nework, gateway or IP related issue. I have spend several hours trying things, and nothing works suggesting they simply arent compatible

#4

In order to provide any help, you need to supply a more technical description.

#5

im not sure how much more or what description is needed.

I have 2 of the Linksys PAP2T-AT devices, I have 2 POTS telephones, and one Linux build laptop. Fresh clean untouched default installation of ASterisk.

But my actual question was, what VOIP hardware is going to work, Im pretty sure, if I look, I received a message saying these 2 Linksys units are not supported, yet the forum is awash with people that have got them working, it is their info that I tried using.

Today I will be wiping the asterisk and starting over from scratch with the units again, but there is not one single step by step guide on how to get these working with asterisk, all I can find is a step by step on getting them working with a cloud service which is not what I am after.

#6

You could pay someone to do this. Otherwise you’d have to study how to setup a SIP account. This is usually a good starting point: http://www.asteriskdocs.org/

I use ether Grandstream or Patton ATA devices, so I don’t know what’s on a Linksys configuration page, but, if you are familiar with the basic terms, there should be no problem.

#7

That’s your issue right there. PAP2T’s are FXS devices, meaning they replacing the wall jacks in your house (for example). The SIP part of the device is what replaces the POTS lines. This is a device to convert SIP to an analog phone.

You need the opposite, you’re going to need an FXO device. So the POTS lines plug into that and then use SIP to talk to Asterisk.

So you’ll need to look around for a device that suits your needs and budget. There are plenty of two port ATAs that are FXS/FXO (one of each) so you would need to either get two of those or a multi-port FXO device and those are generally 4-ports or more.