Quote:
Originally Posted by affinity
Loads of these units have been sold worldwide, but most people are now going for the replacement unit which is the 3102.
I am not sure the differences b/w the two, but both would be good products to consider.
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I'm not sure if you can even get a new 3000 anymore, as they appear to have been phased out in favor of the 3102 (which can be purchased for under $100 US from
http://store.voxilla.com/voip-produc...s-spa3102.html ).
As to the differences, my understanding is that the main difference is that the 3102 has a built in router (which apparently can be disabled, if you don't want to use it), whereas the 3000 is "just" a VoIP adapter + PSTN "gateway" device. But other than the router, and a few minor differences (different logos on the packaging, slightly different firmware, etc), the two adapters (the 3000 and the 3102) are supposed to be pretty much the same functionally (I have the older 3000, so my knowledge of the newer 3102 come mostly from posts I've read about it).
Back to the OP's question, the 3000 (and presumably also the 3102, as it's functionally very similar) is a very powerful (and reasonably cheap) adapter, but a PITA to configure correctly initially (it was designed more for "telco people" than "end users"). Furthermore, while it will handle multiple VoIP accounts (from the same attached "phone"), it clearly has it's limits. In my experience with my 3000 (and I expect the same limits on the 3102) I can cram the following into my adapter if/when I try hard enough:
1) One main VoIP provider, that allows full "registration" and supports both inbound and outbound. This is the only totally "easy" one to do on the adapter, so choose carefully which VoIP you put here (VoXaLot, perhaps?).
2) The adapter supports four "gateway" VoIP providers, for additional OUTBOUND (you make the call, but they don't call you) VoIP providers. To use them you have to setup your VoIP accounts on the "gateway" slots, and then modify your dial plan properly. Furthermore, while most VoIP providers will work (for outbound calling) on a properly setup "gateway" slot, some (that require "registration" just to call out) will not.
NOTE: In order to effectively use the "Gateway" slots, you need to be using STUN (instead of the "Outbound proxy") as your NAT traversal method (on the "Line 1" provider, above). Not a problem for most people, but a gotcha to watch out for none-the-less.
3) Any number of "open SIP gateways" (providers that don't require a username and password), can be made via modifying the dial plan. For example, SIP Broker can be added to the adapter's dial plan this way. OK, technically there is a limit here, as the dial plan itself is limited to a little over 2000 characters max, and it takes a few characters for each provider you add. But still, the limit is pretty high in practice.
4) Since the adapter can be setup to accept direct inbound VoIP calls, you could (in theory) put any number of inbound lines that let you "forward" them to your adapter. This is often a PITA to setup, but it is a way to often support multiple VoIP providers.
5) And the SPA-3000/3102 also has a "Line" (FXO) jack, to hook up a real telco phone line (or anything that mimics a real line, such as a 2nd VoIP adapter) to. This allows you to use the same "phone" to control/access both your VoIP and your "phone line" (or both the VoIP on this adapter, and also the VoIP on a 2nd VoIP adapter).
NOTE:
In some cases you can combine #2 (outbound "gateway" calling) with #4 (inbound via forwarding to your adapter) to support both inbound and outbound from a provider other than your main one. For example, that's how I have FWD setup on my SPA-3000. For outbound calling, my main FWD account is on one of the adapter's "gateway" slots (with proper dial plan mods to allow me to call out via FWD). And for inbound calls, I used FWD's web site to forward the call to my adapter (or rather to forward the call to my SIP Broker alias which is then forwarded to my adapter).
NOTE:
And the other thing to consider is how many "accounts" does your adapter really have to support directly anyway? After all, VoXaLot already lets you combine multiple VoIP accounts, and then present all those accounts to you as if they were a single account...