Vonage vs. Skype

I'm pretty sure that the linksys phone adapters are US-Centric.  When my UK hardware arrived, it had a generic power adapter with a UK-specific receptacle fitting.  There was also a small adapter included for the phone cord itself, with an RJ11 to British adapter.  Can't get much more technical than that or my head may start smoking...

Correct me if I am wrong here.......


If you MAKE more calls to the US, it would be best to go with the setup Carson described, and if you RECEIVE more calls from the US, the setup DS6540 described? Because the extra line is for incoming calls only?

<trying to keep this all straight>

Latest Update -

My parents email me stating this box from Circuit City arrived and shipped it back out same day. (It's on the way to the UK - Woo Hoo!)

According to Paul_1966 I can buy a cheap but new BT phone and it will work with the Vonage Phone Adapter. I priced them at Comet and found a good one for 14.00GBP not too bad for a cordless phone.

US vs. UK Calling Plans
- Since I plan on only calling the United States with my Vonage, I'm buying it in the US as to register the billing account there and be able to use a "US Service Rate Plan".
With a US Calling Plan, I can call home for what is included in my calling package and that is virtually FREE.

- UK: Since this Vonage Account will be tied to a US Address and paid for in USD, it would cost me long distance to call the UK even though I'm in it.

Linksys vs Motorola
I searched both the Linksys website in the US and the UK looking for a Linksys Approved power adapter, I even called the Linksys Technical Support group in India.
The UK Support group has no information on the US Linksys model number phone adapter. So I called the US Linksys Tech Support and asked them if they had a part number for a UK or 110/220 power adapter for their unit. Again, no information on foreign power adaptors. Linksys highly recommends only using their power adaptors as they had a huge problem with them not too long ago.

Now I could purchase a power down adapter, but then I have to worry about it burning out or possibly ruining the Vonage Phone Adapter.

Motorola: Verified on their website the voltages and it has 110/220 - problem solved.

If this works and I really hope it does as all my research says it should, I can't wait to report the good news to everyone.

Till then - Take Care

Correct me if I am wrong here.......

If you MAKE more calls to the US, it would be best to go with the setup Carson described, and if you RECEIVE more calls from the US, the setup DS6540 described? Because the extra line is for incoming calls only?

I'm not sure if the extra "Virtual Number" is just for incoming or whether having that (with a main UK number) would also give outgoing calls to the NANP included in the package as well.    Technically, it could be either, so it would depend on how the company sets it up.

According to Paul_1966 I can buy a cheap but new BT phone and it will work with the Vonage Phone Adapter. I priced them at Comet and found a good one for 14.00GBP not too bad for a cordless phone.

Just watch the connections.  If the modular cord going into the back has just the two center connections, then all you'll need is to replace the cord or use a straight RJ11-BT adapter.  If it has more, then you might need an adapter with a built in capacitor for the ringing function. 

So I called the US Linksys Tech Support and asked them if they had a part number for a UK or 110/220 power adapter for their unit. Again, no information on foreign power adaptors. Linksys highly recommends only using their power adaptors

They usually do, but most of these units are only generic power packs badged for use with the appropriate equipment anyway.   If they happen to use a regulated supply with two or more different outputs then it's harder to find a suitable replacement, but if it's just the usual straight unregulated AC or DC in the normal sort of 6 to 20V range, a generic replacement designed for 240V input will work just fine.

Now I could purchase a power down adapter, but then I have to worry about it burning out or possibly ruining the Vonage Phone Adapter.

You could easily run a 240-to-120V step-down transformer to feed the original 120V power unit supplied with the unit.   The power consumption will be negligible, so a small unit would be all that's needed.  Get one with a double-wound transformer (not one of those horrible switching types) and there's nothing to worry about.

According to the Vongage site, "Virtual numbers" ( $4.99/mo) are for incoming only. You can add an "extra line", (at least $14.99/mo) which seems to be for both incoming and outgoing.  I am just trying to work out which way would be more beneficial for my phone habits.

According to the Vongage site, "Virtual numbers" ( $4.99/mo) are for incoming only

Ah, O.K.  I hadn't seen that.

What you need to keep in mind is that as far as the calls are concerned, they will be treated and billed based on the primary number.  Where you are physically located with your Vonage box is immaterial.

So if you want to make a lot of calls to the NANP, then get an American-based account and phone number.    If you call the U.K. on that arrangement though, you will be billed for an international call, even if you are physically in the U.K. at the time, and in fact you would dial a U.K. number just as if you were Stateside, i.e. 011 44....   (if you are on an American number/account, calls to another U.S. number are dialed just as if you were there, i.e. 1 + Area code + Number,  not 00 1.....)

With a U.K. based account and number, you'll get your calls within the U.K. covered by the basic package and calling back to the U.S. will then be billed at international rates.  The "Virtual Number" will then just allow friends and relatives to reach you in the U.K. at what to them are domestic (or even local) rates.

Almost There - We will know by Thursday.

I feel like I should be writing a book about this, I got the Americanized Motorola Vonage phone adapter in the mail, opened it and come to find out Motorola had recently outsourced their power adaptors to a company named "LiteOn". So now I have a 120v DC 1000mA power supply. (Back to square one)

At this point I once again contacted Vonage Tech Support and asked them a hypothetical question, "If I bought a UK Vonage Unit, could I register and use it completely in the US?" as if I lived there.

No - The Vonage Units are "Serial Number Registered to their markets" and "Must be paid for in funds from the market in which they are registered".

I knew about the payment part, but confirmed the fact I had to "Buy it in the US" to get the Unlimited US Dialing package.

Part Two - Purchasing a Step Down power converter.
Since I am yet to own a Step Down power converter, I wasn't quite sure which one to order as to what voltage, watts, etc.. or the formulas in which to convert electricity.

After further research, I found this very helpful website for voltage conversions:
http://www.electronics2000.co.uk/calc/calcpow.htm 
- Very helpful for figuring out exactly what a step down power converter will hold without overload.

Next, following the recommendations of a previous listing I ordered a Step Down unit from: http://www.newmarket-transformers.co.uk/

Spoke to them, very nice people - they explained how they build the units to order and for 30.32GBP I ordered an 80 Watt boxed power unit, (The little black plastic one shown in the photo) it will ship tomorrow and arrive Thursday.

So this entire project so far has only cost:
Motorola Phone Adapter: $86.59
Mail In Rebate:                -$86.59
FedEx Shipping:                $28.00 = 14.00GBP
Step Down Power Converter:           30.32GBP
------------------------->   Total Spent: 44.32GBP

Not too bad for Unlimited calling to the US.

Until Thursday - To be continued....

I wasn't quite sure which one to order as to what voltage, watts, etc.. or the formulas in which to convert electricity.

After further research, I found this very helpful website for voltage conversions:

Conversion is just basic arithmetic.  In the simplest form, as that webpage shows, power is equal to the product of voltage and current, i.e.:

Watts = Volts x Amps

By simple rearrangement of the formula:

Volts = Watts / Amps

and

Amps = Watts / Volts


It does get more complex than that though, so beware.  Those basic relationships hold true for DC power, and for AC when the circuit is non-inductive.  As soon as inductance is introduced into an AC circuit, the relationship changes and the current is higher than you would otherwise expect for the amount of power (watts) involved. 

That's not a problem for your application, but becomes significant where motors are involved or when an appliance has its own particularly large transformer.  There are also switch-on surges with such equipment, and any step-down converter needs to be able to cope with that.   

(Just mentioning that in case anyone else tries to use that basic formula for some big appliance.)

All I can say is: "It Works Great!"

The first Vonage phone adapter had a technical problem, so I couldn't use it.
No Problem! - With the mail in rebate, it was free so I trashed it.
The second one - Works Great! & Still Free with mail in rebate.

A few words of wisdom regarding this, During installation, I can't stress this enough - Follow The Instructions to the Letter! - If you have any questions, call Tech Support.
I had an IP conflict with BT that caused several small snags during installation, other than that it works fine and was quite simple to correct.

Why Vonage over Skype?
1. I can power off my pc, use my British cordless phone connected to the phone adapter and the calls sound as clear as when on my Vodafone.
2. $24.99 a month for unlimited calls to the US = 12.00 GBP (Does it get any cheaper?)
3. Just as Skype, I can optionally install software to my notebook and make calls while traveling as long as I have a WiFi connection.

A Short Checklist on How To Get Vonage.
1. You must order it from the US, if going on vacation bring it back, if not have a relative or friend buy and ship it over for you.
2. Gotta pay for it with a US Credit Card & Need a US address. No one verifies the address, but it's required while signing up and the mail in rebate.
3. Don't Call BT for Assistance! - They have no clue how to work their own equipment, all in all it is very easy to install.
4. If you have to call Vonage? Don't disclose the fact you are a new install outside the US. They won't help and you have to start all over again.
-and-
5. Follow the instructions - Connect the phone adapter directly to the modem, then the pc or wireless router behind the phone adapter. Bandwith is still the same, no differences detected.

If anyone has any questions, please ask - I feel like an expert on this.

In my opinion, Skype is easy to install - but I prefer to power off my pc when not in use and the Vonage works just like my home phone did.

Best of Luck ! 

I'm planning on doing exactly the same thing when I move to the UK in June.  I have had Vonage in the US for about a year and I love it.  But I do have one question.  You said that you can power the phone off your pc?  So you don't have to plug it into the wall socket?  Didn't realize you could do that.  I have a Uniden cordless phone set that I've been using here but I figured I would have to get an adapter for it when I move.  You've definitely peaked my curiosity

I'm very happy you got things working though... nice to see that it can work! 

Carson,

It's good to actually hear directly from someone who is using the arrangement.  How have the people you've called reported your outgoing audio quality?    (Given that the data link from your home back to the C.O. is slower than that in the reverse direction, that would be the direction I would expect to see any problems in quality first -- if any).   What speed is your ADSL connection by the way?

You said that you can power the phone off your pc?  So you don't have to plug it into the wall socket?  Didn't realize you could do that.  I have a Uniden cordless phone set that I've been using here but I figured I would have to get an adapter for it when I move. 

What Carson meant was that he can still use the service with his PC switched off, since the separate router unit privdes the interface between the ADSL line and the phone (as opposed to Skype-like connection where you are using the PC to link from the ADSL line to the PC's audio card). 

If you are using a cordless phone, answering machine, or similar on Vonage, you would still need to provide it with suitable power.

Ahhh ok gotcha.  Was a little confused there.  Thanks.

How have the people you've called reported your outgoing audio quality? (Given that the data link from your home back to the C.O. is slower than that in the reverse direction, that would be the direction I would expect to see any problems in quality first -- if any). What speed is your ADSL connection by the way?

My ISP is BT Broadband with a upload speed of: 250k and a download speed of: 2 Mb.
When I originally called BT, their tech support stated my ADSL Modem/Router wouldn't work with Voip. (They were wrong) - As long as the modem/router doesn't have the internal firewall activated, Voip works just fine.

My latest speed test at Vonage was: Upload 242k / Download 1.90 Mb,
"Vonage recommends an upload speed of 90kbps or greater. An upload speed less than 90kbps could affect the quality of your calls."

When I ordered my second Motorola Vonage phone adapter, I also ordered a Uniden cordless phone both from Circuit City on-line. Since this project included the purchase of an: Step Down Converter, and the Step Down Converter has two American power outlets, I have both the American Uniden Cordless and Vonage adapter plugged into it with plenty of voltage to spare. 

Audio Quality - I compare it to my BT Landline and it sounds the same if not better, I get all incoming calls, with caller id and all the extras.

I'm planning on doing exactly the same thing when I move to the UK in June.  I have had Vonage in the US for about a year and I love it. 

My advice is to bring it with you and if you need a Step Down power converter, contact these people: http://www.newmarket-transformers.co.uk/   -  Highly Recommended!
The units are built to order and shipped overnight the next day.

With the quality of my calls as good as they are, I may completely drop my UK Landline?

If anyone else has any questions, please ask.

Take care

So, Carson, would you be willing to make a detailed, itemized list of what to buy, where to buy it, detailed instructions on how to set it up, and then come over and maybe install it?!  Come to think of it, you could start yourself a nice little business doing this...there's a built-in client base right her on this forum! 

Seriously, thanks for all of the instructions and tech info. I am definitely going to look into this.

Carson, I just wanted to thank you for sharing all of this great information.  I will be looking into doing this, as well, when I move late summer since my family are all in the US and will need an inexpensive way to contact me!

Really great, thanks!