Thanks for the info. I had no idea that was the case with Comwave. Just did a quick look at Comwave's phone adapter manual http://www.comwave.net/setup/guides/dlink.pdf and it looks like it uses a standard AC power brick. No mention of a battery inside the unit, but you can obviously use an external battery backup (UPS.)Its a VOIP service no diff than Vonage or Ooma or Magic Jack or any other brand
But since big3 brands like Bell & Rogers are pushing phone/internet/tv for $99 a month I do not think $89 for ComWave is such a hot deal
@explorerzip the same number will ring your home phone AND your cell phone eliminating the need to call home / away and worry about missing calls
Most adaptors these days also include a battery backup
I suspect that if you install that box at the Bell demarcation jack where their phone wire enters the house, then all the phones downstream from there will work from it. Hafta ask the Comwave folks (or experiment) to be sure though.Thanks for the info. I had no idea that was the case with Comwave. Just did a quick look at Comwave's phone adapter manual http://www.comwave.net/setup/guides/dlink.pdf and it looks like it uses a standard AC power brick. No mention of a battery inside the unit, but you can obviously use an external battery backup (UPS.)
It is still a hassle to need a phone adapter box at each standard phone around the house.
The demarcation point in homes don't usually have a RJ11 phone jack that you can easily a phone or other equipment to. At least that's the case in my house. I suppose Comwave can wire a RJ11 jack for you at the demarcation point. You obviously, can't touch the demarcation point in a condo / apartment.I suspect that if you install that box at the Bell demarcation jack where their phone wire enters the house, then all the phones downstream from there will work from it. Hafta ask the Comwave folks (or experiment) to be sure though.
Mine does, and Bell service techs have used it with RJ11 plugs to determine whether issues were inside the house or upstream. Me too. I understand that's why demarcation points were retro-fitted years ago and made standard. Many other installations I have looked at have RJ11s as well, but they have all been in single family homes, not multiple-unit buildings.The demarcation point in homes don't usually have a RJ11 phone jack that you can easily a phone or other equipment to. At least that's the case in my house. I suppose Comwave can wire a RJ11 jack for you at the demarcation point. You obviously, can't touch the demarcation point in a condo / apartment.
But where's the VOIP adapter being fed from if you've disconnected from the Bell wire at the demarcation?I'd stay away. They lock you in on a 3 year contract! It's nothing more than a VOIP service bundled with Bell DSL.
You don't need to hook up at the demarc. Just plug into any jack and disconnect the demarc. Then your whole home will be
networked through the voip adapter.
The VOIP adapter connects to your home Ethernet network or directly to your modem. Comwave does have cable internet so you wouldn't need a standard phone line anymore. If you're using DSL internet you'd need keep the phone line intact. There's no reason to mess with the wiring at the demarcation point though.But where's the VOIP adapter being fed from if you've disconnected from the Bell wire at the demarcation?
Never did business with Comwave but things to consider:Tie Domi is on TV advertising a phone/Internet/TV bundle for $89 a month.
Does anybody have any experience with Comwave? Are they legit?
One to plug into and interface with the Bell system, and one to plug into and interface with your home-phone net, perhaps? Or are they both outgoing?The VOIP adapter connects to your home Ethernet network or directly to your modem. Comwave does have cable internet so you wouldn't need a standard phone line anymore. If you're using DSL internet you'd need keep the phone line intact. There's no reason to mess with the wiring at the demarcation point though.
Not quite sure how you would go about wiring a whole house using 1 phone adapter. The adapter only has 2 RJ11 ports on it.
Yup, corporations are already buying into VOIP instead. CBC has f'rinstance, and most of the time it works pretty well, although never as rock-solid as the MaBell of fond memory. An unexpected VOIP wrinkle is that your provider can/may let you take your 416 'Toronto' number (remember the olden days when we called them area-codes) with you wherever you move. TekSavvy happily ports your 416 numbers to Hamilton, and keeps the 911 folks and other such up to date. And that makes the old-concept of long-distance calls obsolete.If you want internet based phone...Fongo is less than $10. Landlines are obsolete and too much extra fees to get the extra stuff...voice mail...caller ID...etc etc...the bullshit is about to end on them.
You could still have DSL providing the internet for this and disconnect the demarc from the rest of the house. You don't need an RJ11 jack at the demarc, it's just telephone wire, a pair of copper.
You can take a regular phone cable, strip it down and screw into the posts at the demarc. Run the other end into your DSL modem. The Bell tech will essentially do this when they install a POTS splitter.
When you disconnect at the demarc, the phone jacks inside your house become isolated internally. They can then be fed by the signal from the voip adapter and thus every phone jack in the house
rings off it.
Sounds like a big hassle to do all this setup without much benefit. You can certainly get a friend or Bell tech to "hack" it for you, but you're at their mercy.One to plug into and interface with the Bell system, and one to plug into and interface with your home-phone net, perhaps? Or are they both outgoing?
In any case, you just need all your home phone network wiring to eventually come down to a single point where they connect to the Bell system: the demarcation point. In my house, it's a standard RJ11 jack with a moulded 'Demarcation' label into which the feed line from the bus-bar to which wires to the various rooms are attached. That's where you'd want to put your VOIP adapter. But I'm surmising, that's why I asked my various questions. And I suspect you're describing a TV-cable installation, not DSL — I assume Comwave offers both.
If you bought your Comwave feed via a cableco modem rather than via a telco DSL modem, the wiring might run a bit differently. But going by your description of two RJ11 telephone jacks and an RJ35 ethernet jack, it should still work. Whichever your incoming wire, you'd put your new Comwave modem where your old one was. You'd feed the modem from your Rogers/Cogeco/Shaw cable or Bell wire, distribute via ethernet to your computers and to that VOIP adapter (betcha the interweebs offer wi-fi ones) which would feed as much of your home-phone network as you plugged into it. Two phones, until you find some multi-jack adapters, or go wireless. The entire thing, if you interrupt your incoming Bell wire to install the plug and jack which you say you're missing.
Only works as long as you can keep charging the phone's battery. You may be too young, but I recall when there wasn't a live wall plug, or light bulb with AC power anywhere in Eastern North America. But some POTS (plain old phone systems) still worked because they made their own 'lectricity.Sounds like a big hassle to do all this setup without much benefit. You can certainly get a friend or Bell tech to "hack" it for you, but you're at their mercy.
Like I mentioned earlier, just switch entirely to smartphones. No messing around with jacks, wiring, phone numbers, routers, etc. and works in a power outage. Just buy a spare external battery to keep it charged up.