Options?

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pgstier
Posts:2
Joined:Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:49 am
Options?

Post by pgstier » Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:58 am

Hey folks - new ooma user here.

My set-up
>cable>modem>router>hub (in different room), connected to a cordless base station
>scout connected to corded phone

Still have a landline, but in the process of porting over. Land line forwarded to ooma number. Second ooma # received as part of premium trial.

Everything is working, but I'm not satisifed with my setup...

Originally, I connected the hub's wall & phone ports back into the wall jack to power the entire house phones. This worked fine and all corded and cordless phones had the ooma dial tone.

When I went to install the Scout upstairs to give my daughter the second phone line, I got all red lights on the bottom scout buttons. I fixed this by reverting back to a "standard" set up at the hub.

My question is - Is there any work around to power the entire houses phones while still being able to utilize one scout on one of the lines? My daughter likes the idea of a her own phone # (imagine that?), but I don't want to have to go and purchase two more scouts...

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scottlindner
Posts:1003
Joined:Sun May 17, 2009 4:47 am
Location:Colorado Springs, CO

Re: Options?

Post by scottlindner » Fri Jul 03, 2009 10:05 am

Do not connect the Phone and Wall jacks to the same lines. Those are for different purposes.

If your home has both lines wired (Red & Green = L1, Yellow & Black = L2) then you have an ideal situation. Put the Phone port on Line 1 and put the Wall port on Line 2. Only the Hub and Scout will be on Line 2, your phones will be on Line 1. The purpose for this is your Hub and Scout communicate with each other over the Wall port using HPNA. It is similar to DSL in a way and it can cause problems for phones.

Another thing you may need to do is to go to the telco demarc and disconnect your home's phone wires.

If you want both your Hub and Scout next to each other, or don't care if they are next to each other, another solution is to connect the Wall ports on both with a short phone line. Then you can put the Hub's Phone out into your home's Line 1, and the Scout's Phone out into your home's Line 2. This really is only advantageous if you have two line phones so it may not be useful for your situation.

There are many ways to go about this and lots of people around here have their own styles of addressing the same situation. Keep posting what you like and don't like and the folks around here should help you zero in on the ideal configuration for your situation and needs.

Scott

pgstier
Posts:2
Joined:Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:49 am

Re: Options?

Post by pgstier » Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:21 pm

"If your home has both lines wired (Red & Green = L1, Yellow & Black = L2) then you have an ideal situation. Put the Phone port on Line 1 and put the Wall port on Line 2. Only the Hub and Scout will be on Line 2, your phones will be on Line 1. The purpose for this is your Hub and Scout communicate with each other over the Wall port using HPNA."

scottlindner:

My house is pre-wired with two phone lines per wallplate, but I only have a current on Line 1 (in the process of porting). Line 2 is not active. I do not want to have the hub and located together. I have the hub in my kitchen and the scout in an upstairs bedroom.

I tried to hook up as you described above, but the scout still has all four bottom buttons lit up. The phone next to the scout works. I have the hub and scout on line 2 but only the hub works.

Any suggestions?

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scottlindner
Posts:1003
Joined:Sun May 17, 2009 4:47 am
Location:Colorado Springs, CO

Re: Options?

Post by scottlindner » Fri Jul 03, 2009 3:18 pm

Just for now, can you take the Scout to where the Hub is and directly connect the Wall ports. That will verify they are working correctly.

To be clear, you put the Wall port of the Hub and the Wall port of the Scout on Line 2 of your home's wiring?

An option I just thought of, until your port goes through you can put the Wall port of the Hub and Scout on Line 1 since that is for HPNA only, and put the Phone out of either the Hub or the Scout on Line 2 of your home's wiring. You'll need a splitter to plug a regular phone into Line 2 to get the Ooma dial tone, but it'll work until your landline is ported and shut down. Then you'll be able to swap since you won't have anything on either line. You may need to disconnect in the demarcation point.

Am I making sense? It is very clear in my mind how the Hub and Scout work, but I am not positive I am painting a clear image. Here's a thought to try to clear things up:

Hub Wall port
= for integrating your existing landline, and for communicating with the Scout using HPNA

Hub Phone port = provides dial tone only, this is how you make your calls

Scout Wall port = for communicating with the Hub using HPNA

Scout Phone port
= provides dial tone only, this is how you make your calls. Also useful for your instant second line.

HPNA does not conflict with the dial tone and the telephone conversation. However, HPNA does conflict with DSL. So you can put the Wall ports on any line that has only a dial tone.

Scott

stevepow
Posts:16
Joined:Wed Jul 01, 2009 8:18 pm

Re: Options?

Post by stevepow » Sun Jul 05, 2009 12:50 pm

pgstier wrote:Hey folks - new ooma user here.

My set-up
>cable>modem>router>hub (in different room), connected to a cordless base station
>scout connected to corded phone

Still have a landline, but in the process of porting over. Land line forwarded to ooma number. Second ooma # received as part of premium trial.

Everything is working, but I'm not satisifed with my setup...

Originally, I connected the hub's wall & phone ports back into the wall jack to power the entire house phones. This worked fine and all corded and cordless phones had the ooma dial tone.

When I went to install the Scout upstairs to give my daughter the second phone line, I got all red lights on the bottom scout buttons. I fixed this by reverting back to a "standard" set up at the hub.

My question is - Is there any work around to power the entire houses phones while still being able to utilize one scout on one of the lines? My daughter likes the idea of a her own phone # (imagine that?), but I don't want to have to go and purchase two more scouts...
Try what I did - I got some line splitters at radio shack L1/L2/L1&2 - plug them in at your phone outlets to separate the Hub/Scout HPNA onto L2. You could also get some two-jack outlet plates and wire each to L1 and L2 independently to clean up the look. But the splitters are a quick and easy way to try it out.
steve
comcast<->linksys router<->ooma hub<->ooma scout

rfang
Posts:2
Joined:Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:45 pm

Re: Options?

Post by rfang » Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:58 pm

I am new to ooma and had little knowledge about phone wiring. I have the similar problem. Reading this post gave me some idea to "solve" my problem. My solution is to use two splitters, one of which came with ooma hub. Take both phone and wall lines from the hub and join them using a splitter. Then use a female connector to connect the single line to another splitter. At the other end of the second splitter, I connect one to my fax and then to a main phone system. I connect the other line to the wall. Now all my house phone plug is wired and I can use the scout anywhere with a house phone plug. It works for me so far. Richard

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scottlindner
Posts:1003
Joined:Sun May 17, 2009 4:47 am
Location:Colorado Springs, CO

Re: Options?

Post by scottlindner » Sat Jul 25, 2009 12:04 am

rfang wrote:I am new to ooma and had little knowledge about phone wiring. I have the similar problem. Reading this post gave me some idea to "solve" my problem. My solution is to use two splitters, one of which came with ooma hub. Take both phone and wall lines from the hub and join them using a splitter. Then use a female connector to connect the single line to another splitter. At the other end of the second splitter, I connect one to my fax and then to a main phone system. I connect the other line to the wall. Now all my house phone plug is wired and I can use the scout anywhere with a house phone plug. It works for me so far. Richard
Are you saying Wall port to Line 1 and Phone port to Line 2, or Wall port and Phone port both to Line 1? If so, make sure you don't already have phone service, and you may need to disconnect your home's phone wires from the telco demarcation point (the phone box you can open outside your house). Also, due to the HPNA over the wall port so the Hub and Scout communicate your phones and faxes mayhave issues unless you use DSL filters, but I haven't confirmed with anyone yet if they've had problems with the HPNA if they didn't use a filter.

Scott

rfang
Posts:2
Joined:Fri Jul 24, 2009 8:45 pm

Re: Options?

Post by rfang » Sat Jul 25, 2009 4:05 am

Scott, I have disconnected the outside phone service box. both wall port and phone port goes to a single line. I don't know if my house has 1 or 2 lines but I have only one phone plug on each wall plate. how do I test if there is any issues that you mentioned?

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scottlindner
Posts:1003
Joined:Sun May 17, 2009 4:47 am
Location:Colorado Springs, CO

Re: Options?

Post by scottlindner » Sat Jul 25, 2009 4:27 am

rfang wrote:Scott, I have disconnected the outside phone service box. both wall port and phone port goes to a single line. I don't know if my house has 1 or 2 lines but I have only one phone plug on each wall plate. how do I test if there is any issues that you mentioned?
If you don't mind opening up your wall plates, do so and see if you have Red, Green, Black and Yellow wires. Red and Green are line 1, Black and Yellow are line 2. Most jacks and connectors can support two lines, even though it is only one plug. If both wall plates have the four colors and are connected you have two lines in your home. Most homes do, but sometimes the wires aren't connected for line 2. If you have a newer home you may have Cat5 (or greater) and your wires will be Blue, Blue w/ stripe, Orange, Orange w/ stripe, Green, Green w/ stripe, Brown, and Brown w/ stripe.

I have never verified if you can run both the Wall port and Phone port on the same line without problem. In theory you should be able to since a line of voice should not conflict with HPNA.

After having explained all of that, if you can use your phones and FAX to your satisfaction with the configuration you have, then you know it isn't going to be a problem. :)

In my situation I put the Hub Phone port on line 1, Scout Phone port on line 2, and Hub and Scout Wall ports on line 3. This way I have regular two line service throughout the house, and my Hub/Scout HPNA communication is on another line that nothing else uses. I have four line wiring in my home so I can get away doing it that way.

I'm not sure I answered your question. Ask if I didn't.

Scott

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