Has anyone setup SKYPE as their main home line?

[Blood_Lust]

I want to know if anyone here in RFD had setup SKYPE as their main phone line. What's the setup? Did you use any server: PC or Mac? If it's possible, im thinking of using a Mac Mini as a Skype Server.

I googled a diagram.

http://www.linuxjournal.com/article/8592

Anyone used this diagram?

Are you using wireless handsets? what's your experience with the reception, good / bad?

[hades]

That diagram is just complicated.

I have a windows server running 24/7. A few years back I bought a Skype->Phone adapter for 40$ off ebay. Hooked it up to my server, set Skype to use the adapter, and plugged in our cordless phone (a set of 4 phones). It works fine, although the skype quality sometimes is not too good, echoes.

So we use it to skype with family, pick up the phone, dial, and it rings on their skype. Or we can skype-out to a regular phone.

This is all beside our regular phone line, so all our cordless phones are DUAL. We pick up to use our regular line (Shaw), or press * to use skype.

I would suggest you try it out. Buy a skype-phone adapter, hook it up to your PC, and use it for a few months as much as possible. If the quality is good and you are happy, then consider buying another dedicated machine, cancelling your telco and snipping wires around.

hades

[alanbrenton]

I would suggest you try it out. Buy a skype-phone adapter, hook it up to your PC, and use it for a few months as much as possible. If the quality is good and you are happy, then consider buying another dedicated machine, cancelling your telco and snipping wires around.

hades

This is quite an interesting thread, albeit fairly new. I am thinking of dropping my bell landline but am not sure what the repercussions would be as all my banking and credit card information are tied to this one number. I have a rogers prepaid and was wondering if I can port this landline number to a prepaid sim card?

With regards to the skype-phone adapter, is that all I need to hook up to my pc to begin calling people on their skype? What if I needed to make calls to landlines, what arrangement should I be considering? Didn't skype also offer incoming calls where you can record voicemail messages as email or wav files?

[Phils]

How are you going to get a local phone number in Canada?

[SAN66]

Skype doesn't offer canadian numbers yet and this has been the party line for several years.

There are quite a few VOIP companies that do offer Canadian numbers and can be as cheap as Skype, my old roomates used Unlimitel (http://www.unlimitel.ca/temp/).

Theres special phones you can get that you can load an asterix server (or whatever voip server you choose) onto and not need a server box.

[infamouskid]

umm this isnt just for skype. that diagram explains ANY voip provider setup. all your doing it removing the connection from bell in to your house and connecting a phone cord from any voip adapter into ANY phone jack in the house creating a new phone loop through the internet.

[Ebtek]

umm this isnt just for skype. that diagram explains ANY voip provider setup. all your doing it removing the connection from bell in to your house and connecting a phone cord from any voip adapter into ANY phone jack in the house creating a new phone loop through the internet.

+1. i have vonage and thats what i did

i looked at skype awhile ago to replace my vonage.

skype to skype calls are free but to make a call to a non-skype person you have to sign up.

from what i recall theres a forum on the skype site where soooo many people were complaining about being over charged for the service, never getting anything to work properly, and trying to cancel, etc....so i left it for now.


as a side note, ive heard of people installing skype clients on to their phones (blackberry), and using their data plan to make phone calls, not their "minutes"