VOIP SunRocket Internet Phone Service $199 for 15months = $13.27/month

[randomlinh]

hrm.. well, I think I'll give it a whirl then if they give a prorated refund. I just won't switch my home phone for at least a month.


DAMMIT, i missed out on the free phones it seems.

 

[MrNutz]

Free phone offer is still going on! (Check for the promo code on page 9 of the Fat Wall et post.)

I just got my new gizmo in. It came preupgraded with the latest firmware release. Seems to have mostly cleared up the echo problem I was having. I called a couple of friends and they couldn't tell.

Also, I found out some neat info from the SR tech... RossMAN, check out this website for speed tests. And if you are having voice problems, you can check out this tweaking process...

Dynamic Rate Limiting - Check out sunrocketguy's post

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: lnguyen
DAMMIT, i missed out on the free phones it seems.

Not necessarily, contact me via AIM

 

[ImSeeker]

Day 1: Ordered Sunrocket in the evening 8:30pm

Day 2:

Got an email with the info needed to move my phone number. I hesitated, then said, "ok, why not" and faxed it in. We'll see if that's a mistake, but I'd probably just pick another VoIP if this doesn't work.

Fiddled with account settings. Picked two phone numbers (one permanent, one temporary until the landline moves). Called the numbers, left voice mails. Voice mail .wav files show up in my email and sound decent (just slightly scratchy).

Examined the web site - logs all phone calls, quite a few settings, etc. Looks good so far.

And of course, I don't even have the gizmo yet.....! We'll see if that works or not when I get it.

 

[gibster]

Originally posted by: ttown

Originally posted by: gibster
This is too much voodoo for me. I'm not doing anything wrong, b/c I can obviously get things to work in one configuration. Don't tell me it should only work when you stroke it just right, this is baloney. If the gizmo does not get a DHCP address from the modem in 20 minutes, something is wrong. Both my routers get it after doing some resetting, and the gizmo got a DHCP address from 2 different routers within 1 minute without having to do anything special.
Like I said, maybe the firmware flash will cure this.

The gizmo has 2 interfaces -- the inward interface ("the IP accessible by you") and the outward interface (the gateway ("to the internet")).
When you plugged it into your router at the beginning, it did a dhcp request for an IP-- and obtained one from your router. The IP it got from your router's dhcp is on your private network, and is not directly addressable from the internet (called a non-routable ip). From that moment on, your router is responsible for getting traffic to your gizmo (called network address translation, aka "NAT") The WAN side of the gizmo most likely assigned its gateway address to the router.
So, if you quickly (< 45 minutes or whatever) move the gizmo ahead of your router, the gizmo still has your private-network address on the inward interface. When you plug your router into that, your router essentially becomes disabled because its WAN port is now connected to a non-routable IP. It also has the routers IP address on its outward-facing WAN interface -- making IT disabled as well.
That describes your scenario.
The reason the gizmo doesn't magically work as soon as you move it is because when the DHCP request was made (and was responded to by your router), along with it came a "dhcp lease expiration" -- which is likely days or weeks into the future. This prevents needless/constant demand on your (routers) DHCP server.
So, the gizmo needs to be "reset" (powered down long enough for it to "forget" about it's DHCP lease). Someone posted above about specific capacitors and needing to wait ~45 minutes. I'd trust his calculation for time. The reason it doesn't "reset" immediately is because capacitors hold a charge -- sometimes for a long time. (Remeber this if you ever take the case off a TV and go poking around in there... lol... DO NOT DO THIS, "serious injury and/or death may result")

Well, that was a longer reply than what I thought I'd write....
Forgive me if you already knew all that.

Cliff notes: to reset your gizmo, leave it unplgged a long time (~45 minutes)

Heh, sorry, I guess I'm used to electronics that WORKS. Was it so expensive to install a reset switch on these things, or make sure the caps discharge faster?

OK, and thanks for taking the time to write this, I knew this perfectly well already, but like I said, the devices I have dealt with so far (i.e. routers) do not exhibit this kind of, for the lack of a better word, flakey behavior. I am half way to the 45 minutes already, we'll see.

 

[MrNutz]

Everything is still working great. No complaints from the ppl I've called.

Oh, And I'm glad I locked in a flat rate with SunRocket

Non-SunRocket Users No Happy...
Net Telephone Fees Have Users Fuming

 

[doan]

I ordered my kit from sunrocket on Monday and got it yesterday. If you call in your order you can request the free uniden phones. I have a mail server so I had to put my gizmo on the lan side of my router. Under normal conditions it sounds great. With my connection fully loaded (uploading and downloading) the sound is still OK.

I still have to check out the 911 stuff but it looks good so far.

 

[Ctown]

I just got my equipment today. Hooked up as the instructions said with the gizmo before the router. With the setup, the VOICE light never came on the gizmo and my internet connection was not working. Called tech support and he recommended I put the gizmo after the router. I tried this. My network connection works fine now, and so does the VoIP. The tech support guy said he would have to put in a ticket to get my gizmo working correctly before the router. Router is Belkin.

A few questions though. I am not able to get to the gizmo config page. It looks like I should be going to 192.168.251.1, but that's not getting me anywhere. Any help?

Also, on incoming calls, the caller ID displays the phone number, but "Anonymous" as the name. On outgoing calls, the correct number is displayed on the receiever's caller ID, but the name shows "OHIO CALL" (I live in Ohio). Any idea what's up with caller ID?

Thanks,
K

 

[Robor]

Okay, I just installed my device. I've got it behind my router and was able to make outbound calls immediately. I called my cell phone and CallerID is working on incoming and outbound calls. Also called a few friends and they said there is a *slight* hint of that tunnel sound and every few minutes a very short dropout in my outgoing voice - by that I mean a blip of a word. Also tried 3-way calling and it worked. I guess all that's left is getting my main number ported over.

Gotta say right now my opinion is very positive. The only drawback I can see is this thing *hammers* my 'net connection. When I'm talking to someone my cablemodem receive is solid and my outgoing is intermittently solid. Just for kicks I did a bandwidth test while on the phone and the person on the other end said I was inaudible. I could hear him fine but he said he could only hear about 50% of what I was saying. I don't see this being a big deal unless you're downloading a huge file while talking or attempting to game and talk on the phone.

EDIT: I just tried with the gizmo between my cablemodem and router. In that setup my friends said I sounded horrible - bad enough that they would hangup. I guess this thing works okay as long as I'm not using a lot of my bandwidth. Think I need a firmware upgrade?

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: ImSeeker
Day 1: Ordered Sunrocket in the evening 8:30pm

Day 2:

Got an email with the info needed to move my phone number. I hesitated, then said, "ok, why not" and faxed it in.

Im,
You're the guy they talk about when they are looking for someone who sees the "Glass is half full."

 

[seanws]

think im going to jump on this in a week or so once the taxes are done. hope the promotion is still going by then.

 

[mtranovi]

Question.
I currently have two POTS lines going to my house. Can I safely hook the gizmo (as line1) and my second line (as line 2) to a two line phone? Also, after the phone company completely removes one of my phone lines, can I hook the gizmo to that circut to activate all my wall jacks. In otherwords, can I have a POTS as line 2 and gizmo as line 1 active in my wall jacks without frying the gizmo?

 

[MrNutz]

Originally posted by: Ctown
A few questions though. I am not able to get to the gizmo config page. It looks like I should be going to 192.168.251.1, but that's not getting me anywhere. Any help?

You can access the gizmo's admin settings when it is hooked up btwn your modem and pc (no router). Read my previous posts for more info.

Originally posted by: mtranovi
Question.
I currently have two POTS lines going to my house. Can I safely hook the gizmo (as line1) and my second line (as line 2) to a two line phone? Also, after the phone company completely removes one of my phone lines, can I hook the gizmo to that circut to activate all my wall jacks. In otherwords, can I have a POTS as line 2 and gizmo as line 1 active in my wall jacks without frying the gizmo?

Ok, I think I understand what you're asking, and the answer is yes. But you have to be very careful!

I think you want to use the VoIP phone line from the gizmo as line 1 in your house and the POTS line from your POTS provider as line two. So here's what you need to do: First, look at the end of a phone line. It may have only two conductors in the middle or all four conductors. Since most ppl only have one phone line in their house, most phone cords only have the two center conductors for just line one. The exterior conductors are for line 2. (NOTE: The phone wiring throughout your house has 4 conductors regardless if you need them or not.)

Now that we have that out of the way, how did the phone company give you your second line? Are there certain jacks in your house for just line 2, or do you have both lines coming out of one jack? I'll explain from here on for the single jack with two phone lines case...

The gizmo can only output a single line. (I know that we have two phone numbers, but we only have ONE actual phone line.) So the phone cord that you use with the gizmo should only have the two center conductors. Now, get your POTS provider to disconnect line one. (Or whichever line uses the two center conductors - normally line one.) (You can check this by hooking up a single line phone cord to a two line phone and see what line still works - that's line one.) (To check the phone # of a line, dial 998877665544332211.)

Now that line one is disconnected, you need to make sure that it is completely dead/disconnected from the external switchbox. (Read my posts here and here.) Now you only have line two which is on the exterior phone cord conductors. So if you hook up your gizmo to a phone jack with a phone cord that only has the center two conductors, then you will have line one (VoIP) and line two (POTS).

I hope that made sense. You should also verify that all your phone jacks were wired properly by making sure line one is dead throughout your house before hooking up the gizmo.

 

[jono8]

man, I'm jealous of all you people who had incoming calls work immediately. It's been one week, and mine still don't work (although it apparently works for sunrocket to sunrocket calls because a csr was able to get my phone to ring using a sunrocket phone, but it didn't work using his cell). Looks like i'm in for the full 10 buisness days by the way things are going...

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: mtranovi
Question.
I currently have two POTS lines going to my house. Can I safely hook the gizmo (as line1) and my second line (as line 2) to a two line phone? Also, after the phone company completely removes one of my phone lines, can I hook the gizmo to that circut to activate all my wall jacks. In otherwords, can I have a POTS as line 2 and gizmo as line 1 active in my wall jacks without frying the gizmo?

The manual clearly states not hooking POTS lines up to either line... "Warning: DO NOT connect a telephone cable between Phone 1 or Phone 2 and a live telephone wall jack. Doing so will result in damage to the gizmo".

EDIT: Just read MrNutz post and he seems *far* more experienced so ignore me. Seems you'd have to be certain your regular phone service is dead before trying this though.

 

[ImSeeker]

Originally posted by: RideFree

Originally posted by: ImSeeker
Day 1: Ordered Sunrocket in the evening 8:30pm

Day 2:

Got an email with the info needed to move my phone number. I hesitated, then said, "ok, why not" and faxed it in.

Im,
You're the guy they talk about when they are looking for someone who sees the "Glass is half full."

Day 3: Waiting for Gizmo.

We'll see how much water is in that glass later....

 

[ImSeeker]

re one POTS and one sunrocket: I'd say NO.

It's all about the voltage that the phone company sends into the system (which is why you don't need electricity with manual phones). If you have a POTS at all, you'll have the "fry the gizmo" potential.

edit: ok, someone shows a way to do it, but it does sound tricky.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: MrNutz
Everything is still working great. No complaints from the ppl I've called.

Oh, And I'm glad I locked in a flat rate with SunRocket

Non-SunRocket Users No Happy...
Net Telephone Fees Have Users Fuming

That's one of the things which drawed me to this.

$199/yr fixed, no extra fees/surcharges/taxes/crap/padding.

I'm just crossing my fingers that:
1) It works
2) SunRocket lasts at least 6 months
3) Service doesn't go downhill
4) In 1 year prices are reasonable or we can renew at the same rate of $199/yr

 

[mtranovi]

thanks to MrNutz your right on target...
I intend to try the POTS line VoIP line mix as soon as my old phone number is transfered and it's POTS line is disconneted. I will post any frying that occurs.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: mtranovi
thanks to MrNutz your right on target...
I intend to try the POTS line VoIP line mix as soon as my old phone number is transfered and it's POTS line is disconneted. I will post any frying that occurs.

You can always test it for voltage by sticking the line in your mouth. I (stupidly) did that when I was younger. Had to crawl on my hands and knees under a desk and put the end of the phone line in my mouth so my hands were free. In case you're wondering it gives your tongue quite a shock! :Q

 

[Ctown]

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: jono8
Has anyone else experienced a dramatic drop in bandwidth when putting the gizmo in front of your router? i'd really like to take advantage of the gizmo's automatic bandwith managment features when I'm on the phone, but don't want to give up the speed when I'm not using the phone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I've been doing quite a bit of reading up on this deal -- and the chat over at dslreports.com indicate that this is common. Some people have played around with the settings under the web-management tool with some success.
Most people are opting to put the gizmo behind the router -- where they say it works fine.

Yes, I have definitely noticed this problem with the gizmo before the router. I would consistently get around 3000/256 before setting the gizmo up. With it now before the router, I get around 1000/150 when not using the phone. Even less when using the phone.

When I put the gizmo after the router, I'm back up to around 3000/256 most of the time.

Are others having this problem? I'd like to take advantage of the automatic bandwidth management too...

Thanks,
K

 

[Robor]

FYI - Since putting in these Uniden phones they are playing havoc with my 802.11 b and g network.

 

[Robor]

Also found this page ( http://support.batm.com/products.php?id=40&pid=18 ) on the Gizmo itself. Unfortunately you have to register with them to download the manual or firmware. I did and am waiting on a reply.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: Robor
FYI - Since putting in these Uniden phones they are playing havoc with my 802.11 b and g network.

Guess you'll just have to go with cat-5.
Seriously, these two should be compatible. It'd probably be a lot easier moving the WiFi to a different channel. Doesn't .11g have 11 channels here in US & CN?

 

[jono8]

Originally posted by: Ctown

quote:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: jono8
Has anyone else experienced a dramatic drop in bandwidth when putting the gizmo in front of your router? i'd really like to take advantage of the gizmo's automatic bandwith managment features when I'm on the phone, but don't want to give up the speed when I'm not using the phone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I've been doing quite a bit of reading up on this deal -- and the chat over at dslreports.com indicate that this is common. Some people have played around with the settings under the web-management tool with some success.
Most people are opting to put the gizmo behind the router -- where they say it works fine.

Yes, I have definitely noticed this problem with the gizmo before the router. I would consistently get around 3000/256 before setting the gizmo up. With it now before the router, I get around 1000/150 when not using the phone. Even less when using the phone.

When I put the gizmo after the router, I'm back up to around 3000/256 most of the time.

Are others having this problem? I'd like to take advantage of the automatic bandwidth management too...

Thanks,
K

I was poking around on dslreports' forums, and found a post to this site for speed testing (you have to restigster, which is painless). I tried it, and got normal results with the gizmo in front of the router. Went back to dslreports.com's speed tests, and got bad results. I think the two tests use different methods/file sizes to test the connection, and for some reason the gizmo is causing the dslreports test to not perform as well as the other test.


Edit: Just ran 2 tests with the gizmo in front:

With myspeed.visualware.com, I got 4.93Mbps down and 366 kbps up

With dslreports.com speed test, I got 222 kbps down and 353 kbps up