VOIP, Discussion, questions and answers

A question about : VOIP, Discussion, questions and answers

The main article on the site about Voip is Martin's completely free calls from PC to PC article, which is the start point.

Below you will find links to existing threads in the Telephone Board regarding VOIP in one form or another.

1899 offer voice over IP (VoIP) calls

Have NTL blocked access to voipbuster?

VoIPBuster - Many destinations free.

18866 now offers free VOIP and free phone no.

CALL1899 offers free PC-to-Telephone International calls

Cheapest/Best Headset for use with 1899/Skype VOIP

VOIP - Options

VoIP via mobile!! - help needed

Internet Telephony Article Discussion Area

MoneySavingExpert.com Discussion VOIP

www.voipcheap.co.uk

Phone number for your pc - FREE incoming calls!

Free international phone calls (VOIP to landline)

VOIP

Skype

Voip Phone box for Ј17

Tesco VOIP

Another new Voip company from Finarea.With free calls.

VoipCheap Credit expiry problem

Thread on Freebies

Phone number for your pc - FREE incoming calls!

Another in the Student Board

Free phone calls! Contact family/friends, let them contact you!

The above links can still be posted on or you can reply to this thread.

Best answers:

• For anyone looking for a relatively low cost VOIP adapter - so you don't have to keep your computer switched on to make and receive calls - broadbandbuyer are selling the 2 port Linksys PAP2 for Ј29.99 + postage + VAT (about Ј42 all in).
  Got mine today and it works fine with both sipphone.com and sipgate.co.uk
  I was not successfull using it with voipbuster.com (audio only travels in one direction - I have the same problem with the softphone on voipbuster.com so I don't think it is a Linksys problem).
  Unlike the version of this adapter sold in the U.S.A. which is tied to the vonage service, the U.K version is the PAP2-NA which is not tied to any particular VOIP provider.
  The only negatives are: (1) they don't provide any adapter for using BT connector style phones, the box just has RJ-11 sockets and I found a RJ-11 to RJ-11 cable I already had didn't work, I had to make up a cable with the correct wiring, and (2) the documentation is very basic and doesn't describe all the options present in the software configuration.
  However, for the price, for a 2 port model I think it is difficult to beat.
  Edit update - I have now got it working with voipbuster.com
• I've just bought a HandyTone 486 adapter to use with voipbuster.
  I had seen lots of configuration information on the voipbuster forum so was going to refer to that but now when I need it the forum seems to have been deleted from the site!
  Does anyone have one of these gadgets and if so could they advise me how to configure mine please?
• I downloaded Skype a few months ago and had great success using it just pc to pc for free and able to track the internet at the same time, however recently it has slowed up my use of the internet to dead slow, stop!
  Any ideas as to what the problem might be? using it on a laptop if that helps.
• Hi I have also been trying to get 18866.co.uk and 1899.com working with third party softphones Firefly and X-Lite. I have been using sipgate.co.uk for sending and receiving calls, but I am unable to get either 18866 or 1899 to work despite two days effort and caffine.
  I have also trawled the forums and their is evidence, that it does (did?) work, dated at the beginning of the year. I have tried different software and router configurations, but I am coming to the conclusion that only their own software works
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• If your AV isn't up-to-date, try going here https://housecall.antivirus.com/house...tart_frame.asp or https://www3.ca.com/securityadvisor/virusinfo/scan.aspx. They are online scanners from reputable AV companies that are free and run over the Internet. The only problem may be that they download around 3Mb of data (the virus definition files), and so if your Internet is slow, it may take ages to download.
  Still worth it IMO, and worth doing from time to time anyway even if you already have AV software installed, just as a "second opinion".
  If you open Skype, click Tools|Options|Advanced and untick "Start Skype when I start Windows", click Save, then reboot your laptop, does the Internet speed up?
  Are you on dialup or broadband? Even dialup should cope with Skype, but if you're on an active call, it will make the bandwidth "available" to surf with very small. As an example, 56Kbps dialup produces around 4.3K per sec under average conditions. You may get slightly more or less depending on line quality and other variances, but 5K is about your max... Skype streams around 3.5K average during a call, and closer to 5K during the actual talking. As you can see, there's not much left in the pipe for surfing! Of course if you're on broadband, there shouldn't be a problem at all!
  Cheers
  Dave
• You are all very kind for posting all these suggestions, just to let you know I haven't tried anything yet
  Have wireless linked 512 broadband on both pc and laptop.
  The slowness of internet when using Skype is on the laptop, the dropping of calls on Skype is on the pc. I did just recently run housecall on the laptop but will do it on the pc.
• Have you got the latest sound card drivers for your machines? Also, are you downloading large files on your laptop whilst trying to make the calls on your PC? That could account for the dropouts. Remember your 512K ADSL line is shared between all connected PCs in the house.
  Another thing to consider (although unlikely) is that someone else is using your wireless router illegally (called wardriving). Do you have security on your router... MAC address access list, WEP/WPA security etc? If not, you're effectively broadcasting to anyone in range that they can use your bandwidth. PM me know if you need any more help with this and I can talk you through the steps required.
  You could try installing DUMeter, which shows you graphically what bandwidth is in use on your machine... https://www.dumeter.com/?LangID=EN. They have a 30-day eval copy you can use. Certainly this will help understanding the laptop problem, as you will be able to see what bandwidth is actually in use whilst using Skype.
  Firstly, try downloading a file, anything at all as long as it's more than 1/2 Meg or so. That will show you what the maximum downloading bandwidth should look like (I'd expect around 59K to 62K of red graph). [NOTE - If it's significantly less that those figures, you either have a problem with your line or PC, someone else is using your bandwidth (see above) or another PC on your network is accessing the Internet at the same time.]
  Start Skype and place a call... you should see 4-5K of yellow graph (yellow means upload and download bandwidth in use simultaneously). Now try downloading another file whilst Skype is still on a call. You should see a combined graph showing both yellow AND red, and the D/L speed should go to 59-62K again. Just to check everything, try sending and email with attachment whilst Skype is running... you should see a combined yellow and green graph, peaking at around 29-32K or so. BTW, all this assumes that nothing else is using your ADSL line at the same time.
  Post back any differences to this thread and I'll see If there's anything else I can suggest.
  Cheers
  Dave
• [NOTE - If it's significantly less that those figures, you either have a problem with your line or PC, someone else is using your bandwidth (see above) or another PC on your network is accessing the Internet at the same time.]
  Funny you should mention this Dave as just this morning as I sallied out the house, terraced straight on to large pavement, there was a BT guy pulling cables and ropes from the opened manhole. Apparently there had been a blockage which is now fixed.
  We constantly have problems with the telephone lines as the telephone pole is condemmned which means to BT engineers that they shouldn't go up it, not so terribly long along it was all party lines which still tends to mean that in one person in the street has a problem, so does the neighbour.
  I am at work so will print out this thread and have a look at your helpful advice when I get home, thanks again to you both.
• Click Here
  To go to link in Freebies
• The company behind JustDialSaver Lite (apart of the OneTel group) also do their own VoIP. I've never used them so can't comment on them or even if they are cheap, etc (I did notice they do charge a monthly fee though).
  Further information here.
• Hi
  I have VOIPBuster and Skype installed on both PCs. We have ADSL (500kb connection) and a wireless network.
  There seems lots of questions around but not any answers regarding using a voip phone with VOIPBuster. Ideally I'd like to use VOIPBuster even when my pcs are off. Even more ideally I'd like to plug a normal phone into the router to do this. I know there are adapters out there. The great thing about this would be that I could use a cordless phone to do the talking. Special wireless voip phones cost like Ј200 which is stupid. Has anyone got any answers?
  Thanks.
• BaritoneUK
  VOIPBuster, Skype and all the others like that are software applications. That means that they need a PC/Mac or other operating system to be present before they will work, so you wouldn't be able to use them if the PC was switched off.
  You don't mention what router you have... presumably we are talking home use here, so you are most likely talking about sub Ј100 ADSL routers and the like. Only the very newest routers out there are likely to have the capability to have VOIP directly from the router; the Vigor2900VG Voice-over-IP Router, and the new NetGear TA612V VoIP Router being prime examples. If you have an older router it almost certainly wont have VOIP built in, and the manufacturers aren't likely to provide updated firmware for this as it means fewer sales of their new products.
  If you do have to change your router, be very careful to check exactly how the VOIP features work. The Netgear router mentioned above has limited configuration capabilities, and requires the sipgate service to work. This may not be what you want or already have. Also check that you can route normal calls as well as VOIP calls through the router as well because not all allow this.
• For anyone using voipbuster for calls to Canada - be aware that these now cost Ђ0.01 per minute - when they used to be completely free.
  I also see that China, Russia, Taiwan, Israel, Italy, Hungary, Poland are also no longer free when they were before.
  They are still free (at the moment) to 19 other countries.
• Somebody mentioned in another thread that Australia has now been dropped from the free countries list. So also have Belgium and France.
  So now free (at the moment) to 16 other countries.
• I've just signed up with www.vonage.com
  Its great and very easy to install.
  For Ј9.99 a month, I get unlimited calls to everything except 07,0845,09 and so on.
  Check it out at www.vonage.com