Thanks for your response. You’re spot on, but what I’m wondering is if its possible to use the hardware I already have as an ATA by configuring FreePBX somehow.
Can my raspberry pi with its FXO port module (Switchpi OAKR2 module) perform the same function as an SPA3102 ATA by configuring FreePBX? I would have thought it could, but I might be mistaken.
Only problem is with buying the SPA3102 is (besides having to purchase more hardware) that I’ll need to plug in directly into my router with an ethernet cable. My apartment has the FXS port and the internet (cable) connection on opposite sides of the apartment, through two doorways. I’d like to avoid passing an ethernet cable through the house and doorways (can’t drill holes either, not allowed) so I wanted the VOIP part to be passed over WiFi (I know, not the most optimal connection but its just for the buzzer so I don’t mind).
Kind of - there’s the catch. The buzzer to your phone rings your phone and then goes dead. When the phone is picked up, it always connects to the buzzer panel downstairs. You don’t need to dial a number to get connected, it just works. Now, the buzzer system is configured to respond to certain touch tone signals on a connected line, so if you are on the phone (you or anyone) and they press the magic sequence, the buzzer trips and the door can be opened.
So, how to do that?
The hardware part is dead simple. Plug it in and you’re done.
The software part is where it gets sketchy.
The buzzer phone rings. This causes a “ringing” event. Do you want to pick up the phone with the PBX? Then what? You’ve got dead air on the remote end and no one can press another button until you’re off the line.
So, the phone rings once and you seize the line. At that point, you have to do something. Maybe you ring the VOIP phone. Maybe you play an announcement that shouts “Wha’dya want?” and rings your VOIP phone. Do you hang up the Intercom while the VOIP phone rings?
The scenario goes on like this for quite a while, and there’s no set of “standard” answers. You really need to map out what you want the system to do and then figure out the steps to make each of those actions work. Can it be done? Yeah - it’s just like the rest of the “door phone” questions we get here all the time. If you go back and look at those, though, you’ll find that there are several scenarios that people have to decide what they want to do after the interface on the PBX rings.
Once you know what steps you want the thing to do, solve step by step.