On 3/29/2011 4:02 PM, ken wrote: > >>>> Exactly correct. It also works the other way; pick up the phone and >>>> dial a number and asterisk routes it via google chat so you get your >>>> free US calls and cheap international calls. >>> Do you know if asterisk (freeswitch, 2600hz, etc.) can do this over >>> bluetooth? I've seen some base stations with wireless extensions that >>> can connect to a landline and/or pair with a bluetooth phone that would >>> ordinarily be your cell, but it would be kind of neat if it could be >>> asterisk without the ATA intermediate or even a direct hardware connection. >> >> In my mind, it'd be very unlikely that Asterisk would talk bluetooth >> directly; that's not the Linux way. Instead you'd probably want to >> make your BlueTooth phone pair to the Linux server, and create an IP >> connection between the two, and then use any SIP client on the phone. >> >> But I could be wrong :-) I'm an asterisk newbie. > > Les, > > This was one feature I was interested in with the "answering machine" I > spoke of before: I'd want to be able to pick up an incoming call with a > bluetooth phone so I could walk around and not be tethered by a phone > line. A friend of mine got a bluetooth/skype phone which works on PCs > and Macs, a Qpe. I'd think if that phone would connect with skype, why > not with something else like asterisk? Well, the answer depends on the > state of development of the bluetooth drivers. Somebody on > http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/linux-software-2/bluetooth-headset-and-skype-330929/ > said he got his bluetooth headset working with skype using the > bluetooth-alsa driver from http://bluetooth-alsa.sourceforge.net/. That > site says: > > "What we have working now is a scheme with two independent alsa-lib > plugins and two independent daemons to run things. When you switch to > the alsa-lib device that provides SCO (headset in the example > configuration), you can do voice calls and two-way audio. When you > switch to the device for a2dp (a2dpd in the example), you get one-way > stereo to the headset." I haven't kept up with asterisk, partly because they kept changing the apis all the time so it was hard to use it for anything, but I thought that even a long time ago someone had it connecting the 'other' way through a cell phone - that is to use the cell connection as one of its lines. I'm not sure about about using the dialer and audio side, though. > What tames my enthusiasm about bluetooth though is its maximum range is > said to be 20'. Gimme a wifi phone. That was the point of the base station with wireless handsets. I've seen those with 3 or 4 handsets for well under $100. They are intended to be used as house extensions while your cell phone is charging near the base. And at least some take a landline too. -- Les Mikesell lesmikesell at gmail.com