Telephone Help Needed

I am a FCH work at home missionary. I need help with my phone.

What I need is the ability of hooking my mike and earphones to the telephone. My mike and earphone are connected using a USB port.

Is there some cheap (free) program that will allow me to use my old modem connected to the phone line as a regular phone? All I need the ability to do is to answer calls, dial out and mute calls. With this ability I can then write and work at the computer without the problem of trying to balance a phone on my ear. Most of the programs that I found doing an internet search seemed to do too much and cost a lot.

I have considered getting a new phone with a connection for a mike and earphone but that just adds more equipment and it would be much better using the USB connected headset that I have.

Thanks for any help.
Roger

If they still make them, and if they would be within your budget, there are headsets that plug in between the phone base unit and receiver (RJ08 connector, if I remember correctly). I have one by Labtec that can connect to the phone, and with the flip of a switch, connect to the computer's sound card's line-in and line-out.

Hope that helps.

Assuming you are using your actual phone line and not your computer as a phone, there are any number of headsets out there that can be attached.

Attempting to adapt your existing computer headset is not cost effective.

Well after much looking I have about decided to get Skype Pro and Skypein. This appears to be the best deal I can find and it would work on my PC.

Anyone had any experience with this combination that could offer comments or maybe other services that are competitive with Skype?

Thanks
Roger

Roger wrote:Well after much looking I have about decided to get Skype Pro and Skypein. This appears to be the best deal I can find and it would work on my PC.

Anyone had any experience with this combination that could offer comments or maybe other services that are competitive with Skype?

Thanks
Roger

I think it's a great service. My parents use it and have very little problems with it.

I recomend Gizmo and Grandcentral. Both are free. This combination lets me make and recieve calls using my computer for free. Outgoing long distance might cost some day, but is free for now.

http://gizmoproject.com/
http://www.grandcentral.com/

I can send you a grandcentral invite if you need it.

Eric P

Thanks for the links. I looked at both and am somewhat concerned about using a free service.

Gizmo had a charge of 35 dollars for a phone number. Grandcentral did not have a charge but I suspect they may have. I applied to reserve a phone number so we will see.

Would you suggest either one over Skype?

I will receive several calls each session (25-50) based on how busy we are. Would I have a problem with either of these services receiving this many calls each day?

Thanks for your suggestions
Roger

Roger wrote:Thanks for the links. I looked at both and am somewhat concerned about using a free service.

Gizmo had a charge of 35 dollars for a phone number. Grandcentral did not have a charge but I suspect they may have. I applied to reserve a phone number so we will see.

Would you suggest either one over Skype?

I will receive several calls each session (25-50) based on how busy we are. Would I have a problem with either of these services receiving this many calls each day?

Thanks for your suggestions
Roger

Gizmo has a $35/yr charge for the actual call-in number if you want one in a specific area. You can get a "free" number that is in a unique area code. Any incoming calls are free using either option.

Not sure about Grancentral.

With any SIP provider (most of the internet providers are plain SIP besides Skype and Vonage which are proprietary) it is possible to use either the computer and/or a traditional telephone connected to a SIP adapter (internet to phone line using your SIP account) for making and getting calls. The cheapest adapters that will do the job are right around $50, but you have the flexibility of using the computer anytime you are not where your phone is, or taking your phone (with its number) anywhere you go that has a high-speed internet line that you can plug into.

Now, admittedly it is not free, but ~$50 + $35 = ~$85 for the first year with the phone # renewal averaging to about $3/month afterward. If you get the free number, much cheaper. If you don't want the adapter, but instead just use the computer, you can avoid the cost completely with Gizmo. (Not trying to sell you on it, just trying to be accurate.) But even with that, a basic phone line usually costs $25/month with no features. A low-use line from the incumbent phone company was quoted once to me as $9/month with a 3c/minute charge. Either way, that is more money over the course of the year than what is above.

Any other input on other providers?