Hi, everyone,
I'll admit it. I feel dumb right now. I've been watching a couple of videos on Youtube, where the person uses an AREDN mesh with N2MH's MeshPhone configured. In one video, he links to an updated configuration file, but you have to be able to access the AREDN mesh that it's stored on. At this time, my mesh (three or four units) doesn't have any access to other meshes around the country. So I'm not able to get to the files/instructions.
So, would it be possible to find the step-by-step instructions for setting up the MeshPhone system, along with the configuration files? My plan is to set up a Raspberry PI with either AsteriskPBX or FreePBX (whichever works better with N2MH's MeshPhone), and connecting that to one of the mesh nodes.
Thank you in advance.
Have a great night. :)
Patrick W0PCD (formerly KE0RSX, but I haven't updated my login and profile information yet).
I'll admit it. I feel dumb right now. I've been watching a couple of videos on Youtube, where the person uses an AREDN mesh with N2MH's MeshPhone configured. In one video, he links to an updated configuration file, but you have to be able to access the AREDN mesh that it's stored on. At this time, my mesh (three or four units) doesn't have any access to other meshes around the country. So I'm not able to get to the files/instructions.
So, would it be possible to find the step-by-step instructions for setting up the MeshPhone system, along with the configuration files? My plan is to set up a Raspberry PI with either AsteriskPBX or FreePBX (whichever works better with N2MH's MeshPhone), and connecting that to one of the mesh nodes.
Thank you in advance.
Have a great night. :)
Patrick W0PCD (formerly KE0RSX, but I haven't updated my login and profile information yet).
I also would like step-by-step instructions for setting up the MeshPhone system, along with the configuration files?
Robert
Hi, Patrick
The first thing I noticed about your post is the omission of the number of IP phones on your local mesh network.
Are you asking about hooking up an IP phone to your mesh node (? a mesh phone ?) or
are you asking about configuring your PBX to use the features of N2MH's 'MeshPhone' ?
I got interested in Asterisk (Actually rasPBX, which is FreePBX on a Raspberry Pi) because I
inherited 2 IP phones that could not dial out by IP address.
Thus, to utilize these phones, I needed a PBX. :-|
Locally, we have 6 hams with IP phones; some have multiple phones: home, workshop, ham-shack, Go-kit,...;
we have 2 hams with IP phones that link via tunnel from a non-adjacent county;
we have 3 hams with IP phones that link via tunnel from an adjacent county.
We also have some 'soft' phones registered on our PBXs;
e.g. Linphone or GS-Wave on computers, laptops, tablets, and/or cellphones.
Thus it was apparent to us that a PBX would be helpful.
We have 4 PBXs, some are 'trunked'.
Do you want/need a PBX?
'MeshPhone' was attractive to some of us and on 2 of our 4 PBXs we run the 'MeshPhone' configurations.
I especially like the 'dial by callsign' coupled with the 'SIP:<callsign-phone>' dial by advertised service name.
i.e. I don't need to edit my 'dial-by-callsign' configuration when a neighbor moves his (PBX unregistered) IP phone to another node.
Do you want/need 'MeshPhone'?
Chuck
Hi, Chuck,
At the present time, we don't have any phones on the mesh network. The goal would be to have a PBX on the network managing phones for various agencies, along with our mobile command center. I became interested in this, because of a YouTube video that I saw, where the person had their mesh node set up on a mountain and called their phone inside of their house. They were using the FreePBX (raspbx) and smartphones running Linphone.
So, I guess the short answer is I need both the instructions on how to set up the phones on the node, and how to configure the PBX, using N2MH's configuration file. The YouTube videos that I watched were done by Comsprepper, who appears to be on the same AREDN mesh as N2MH, or at least a node that is connected to N2MH's. Here is a link to his playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fckJpPw_p2A&list=PLfrteFE0V6mUKqoowFbyATp9KTUXBinSh
Hopefully I answered your questions. If not, I'll look back in a couple of days, and try to be more clear.
Have a great day. :)
Patrick.
Hi, Patrick:
"we don't have any phones on the mesh network"
Then you have no use for Asterisk, then you have no use for 'MeshPhone'.
"I need [both the] instructions on how to set up the phones on the node,"
First things first. Get phones.
I hope this helps, Chuck
To be honest, I thought that MeshPhone was what would configure our local dialing, and never even considered that it was the equivalent of long distance calling between different subnetworks in the AREDN network.
Thank you again. :)
Patrick.
It seems I have all the same questions as the original poster. I have RasPBX loaded and one Grandstream 1625 and was planning to use LinPhone or a similar app on my iPhone. At this point my local mesh is a couple of Aredn nodes on opposite sides of my garage. No mesh backbone yet here in NW Ohio. So no - I don't NEED a PBX, but I am trying to learn the technology for the day when I might be able to assist putting together a real mesh network in our area.
I consider myself pretty technologically adept (was an MCSE at one time), but I am frustrated with trying to figure out what the best practices are for Aredn implementation of FreePBX. For instance - should I choose PJSIP or Chan_SIP (or something else) for extensions? The videos I find for Aredn PBX on YouTube help, but assume a base level of experience with PBX that I don't have. I can't imagine that it is necessary to be an expert with all the nuances of PBX to be able to configure a very basic system to get started... On the other hand, maybe this MeshPhone would be useful as I would like to be able to tunnel to other mesh networks?
Any help or direction would be GREATLY appreciated! Thanks!
Hi, Mark:
You seem to be 30 miles from the other active mesher in NW Ohio, James, W8ERW.
Since you don't have a connection to an AREDN Mesh, let us hold off on how to
ARDENize a PBX. ;-) I use RasPBX primarily with a Grandstream GXP-1630. So, we
have this much in common already. To 'register' an IP phone I use the default
'extension' protocol 'Chan_SIP' in FreePBX. 1st let us get your 1625 and a
softphone (smartphone, tablet, or desktop) working. I've tried Linphone, Zoiper,
and GS-Wave. Since you have a GS 1625, maybe start with GS-Wave softphone.
'tunnel to other mesh networks?'
Options will exponentially blossom from here:
Meshphone: Worldwide direct dial, local and international conference calls,
date/time/extension/, test tones, Wx radio, dial-by-callsign, ...
Simply, Meshphone is several .conf files added to FreePBX. Easy-peasy to
'cut-n-paste'...once you obtain the .conf files. :-|
I have a very slow (cheap) ISP connection (~2 Mbps), but I can
grant you a temporary tunnel so you can see our local version of
AREDN-ized and Meshphone-ized PBXs. My email addresses at qrz dot com and
callsign at arrl dot net are valid.
Chuck
I have managed to figure out setting up a couple of test extensions on the FreePBX, and tied one of these accounts to my phone. Of course with one phone I can't do much, but I get a busy signal if I dial it's number - so that seems like some progress! Next up will be figuring out how to get GS-Wave or LinPhone talking to my FreePBX. I will take you up on the offer for a temporary tunnel once I work through these issues. Thanks!
I've not gotten into the IP phone aspect although many of us now are using Hamshack Hotline to accomplish much of the same functionality. I'm in Fremont, just East of you. We have quite a few AREDN Meshers in Sandusky and Seneca Counties and several are using Hamshack Hotline on the MESH network. I have 9 tunnel connections to me here from various users in both counties including the EOC's. Let me know if you have further questions. There are also a few AREDN Meshers in the Toledo area.
Thanks,
Jim
W8ERW
Have you gotten any equipment yet? If not, I'd suggest you read as much as you can here on the AREDN website. There is a trove of information and discussion on hardware and application. Personally, I like one of the more recent products, the MikroTik hAP AC Lite. Not the easiest to set up, but it's powerful, compact and works very well. If you wish to just explore and minimal cost, I'd have a look at the GL iNET AR150. This is palm sized little rascal with a lot to offer at a small cost. If you have a look at the Supported Hardware page, clicking on the name in the list (green Items), often that will take you to Amazon.com with some excellent pricing. I'd also tell you to have a look at Hamshack Hotline. These folks are offering a VOIP service to Hams only (4 digit calling, no access to the PSTNwhich is free other than the telephone device you will need. Many of us are using the service and it's another great tool in the ARES bag of tricks. Hamshack Hotline works well behind the AREDN Network too. HamshackHotline.com
73,
Jim W8ERW
Grandstream 1625 phone
Cheap SV3C IP camera
I've got a Netgear GS-105E managed switch coming from Amazon so I can start playing around with VLANs.
Plenty of new shiny things to play with!
I just finished my first version of a Go-Box with the MikroTik AP, a raspberry pi pbx, a POE, and the necessary power supply and converters so I can directly connect the camera, phone, and dtd one of the Ubiquiti nodes. For now it is really just a test bed for me to learn about all this without having wall warts and cables strewn all over my desk.
Eventually I envision setting up the MikroTik-AP here at home (with the necessary VLANs, etc) as a permanent home Aredn node, connected for the foreseeable future to the wider Aredn Mesh world by internet tunnel. If and when a mesh backbone is assembled in the Toledo area, then I would add some kind of node with a directional antenna to connect. For now the Nanostation nodes, phone, camera, etc will be (hopefully) put to use for temporary mesh configurations like the Toledo Air Show or other special events.
I will definitely check out Hamshack Hotline.com - sounds very interesting.
Thanks! Mark
I have the MikroTic hAP Lite and it's already on the AREDN Mesh net. I'm tunneled to one other station "W2TTT" at the moment and will be adding more. Right now I'm working on getting my 5 Ghz dish and setting it up on my tower or an some other antenna for that frequency. I have a cordless phone already standing by and a Grandstream single line that I used for PBX Phone Patch when I was active. I can now devote them to AREDN Mesh along with my video feeds. At the moment I'm access the MikroTic with my RasPi 4 8 GB Ram via WiFi. Now I'd like to move forward and get it up, running and get a phone number. Assistence is very much needed and welcome.
73
Wolfgang KV4ATV
ATN-FL State President.
To get N2MH's dial plan set up, download the configuration files from his site and make the necessary changes to suit your setup. I would suggest using your actual area code for the three-digit "prefix" and then your extension. In order to get onto the MeshPhone network, you have to configure a trunk connection to a neighbor that's on the network. You'll have to ask around for someone to connect to (I'm not at that point yet, so I can't do it).
One other recommendation is to set up a trunk on Hamshack Hotline. That way, until you get your MeshPhone set up, you can still use it to make contacts and check in on nets.
Have a great day. :)
Patrick.
Hi, Wolfgang:
First; +1 with all of Patrick's comments.
Second; this likely should have been a new post rather than a reply to a 4 year old post.
" I have a cordless phone"
You will need an 'ATA'.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_telephone_adapter
...
An analog telephone adapter (ATA) is a device for connecting
traditional analog telephones, fax machines, and similar customer-premises devices
to a digital telephone system or a voice over IP telephony network.
"a Grandstream single line"
It would be nice to know the model.
"and get a phone number"
As Patrick mentioned, you will need a PBX to get a 'number'.
In PBX language a phone 'number' is called an 'extension'. ;-)
So, does W2TTT's network have a PBX or were you going to build/buy?
Patrick also mentioned Mark Herson N2MH's 'MeshPhone' configuration of a PBX.
That information is available over certain existing AREDN networks.
It does not seem that Gordon W2TTT is active in the 'N2MH MeshPhone' 'system'.
If you are interested in another tunnel while you are 'starting up' your AREDN or VoIP activity, let me know.
73, Chuck
I got the necessary cable to connect it to my Iphone5.
The Iphone does not recognize it using Safari.
Has anyone made this work?
Thanks!
Bob W8ERD
'meshphone' may be an IP phone on a mesh network.
If you are referring to N2MH's amalgamation of 'Asterisk' skeleton configuration files...
"does it auto provision phones?" No but I assume that Asterisk supports this.
"Does it 'autotrunk' (my term) across the AREDN mesh?"
- No, does anything 'autotrunk'?
- What is "the AREDN mesh"?
- Is 'the AREDN mesh' a every AREDN device in the world, or those devices linked in your local AREDN IP network?
"Or is it simply another PBX?". It is configuration files edited/added into a PBX.
N2MH-MeshPhone:
"MeshPhone is a network of approximately 40 PBX's that are connected primarily by Mesh.
It features a 7-digit network dialing plan and operates similar in some respects to Autovon.
There is also a feature called "Dial by Callsign" where on any pbx, a person in that area can be called by his callsign using the corresponding keys on a telephone. MeshPhone also has connectivity into HamShack Hotline"
N2MH-MESHPHONE has dial by extension. This is a simple PBX.
- Voice mail - This is, kinda, simple PBX.
- dial by callsign - This is cool, no need to have a whitepages handy, if you know the local callsign.
- dial 'long distance' via coordinated and standardized trunks
- Conference Bridge. - This is, kinda, simple PBX.
- Test numbers: DTMF, Date/Time, Echo, milliwatt, 3 tone slope, PBX ID, Extension ID.
"I an trying to figure out if this is somehow better than running FlexPBX for management of the node phone system?"
Sorry, I have no knowledge of FlexPBX.
"Also what is the Topology of PBX phones in the AREDN system?" It does not alter the topology of a network. It can/does add trunks to other PBXs.
" is there a standard calling plan / naming convention? " Yes, the North America Numbering Plan
"Is this "meshphone" a thing, or was this project abandoned?" Lemmee check.....Yep, I just dialed N2MH's Conference Bridge. It is still a thing
I hope this helps,
Chuck
Hi, Mike:
"Did I type FlexPBX?" Yep.
"I meant FreePBX a GUI frontend for Asterisk." Oh, okay.
"..so it is asterisk that is easier to modify and monitor."
Huh? FreePBX (and rasPBX, which I use) is a GUI frontend to Asterisk.
I did set up a PC with FreePBX and was able to trunk a PBX on the internet to my rasPBX on my AREDN LAN.
"If I google the term 'meshphone' it points to N2MH website, that assumes you understand what they are talking about."
Sorry, I do not 'google'. I 'DuckDuckGo'. I just "googled" 'meshphone and a page of advertisements was displayed.
Okay, so this thread is about:
N2MH MeshPhone℠ is my contribution to providing a service over the Amateur radio mesh network.
N2MH MeshPhone℠ has two parts:
A local PBX supplying sip dialtone to a number of users in the area.
A network service that links together a number of other pbx's out on the Mesh with a common dial plan amongst everyone.
- This allows anyone on the network to call anyone else on the network by dialing 7 digits.
- This 7-digit number is called a "MeshPhone Number" and is the same number anywhere on the network.
"Right now I am assuming we are talking about open AREDN nodes...those nodes when powered up automatically populate themselves and create a redundant mesh for intercommunication using digital means (you know this website is called arednmesh right?)...do to standard settings."
Automatic adaptive discovery and network routing...capable of surviving in a mesh/redundant group of nodes.
"If i plug a non provisioned SIP phone into a AREDN node then it is just a lump of plastic."
Not necessarily.
My Nortel 1535 will obtain an IP address from my host node, will permit a dial-in, but has no IP-to-IP dial-out.
My GrandStream GXP-1630 will obtain an IP address and can dial-in/out by IP address.
"If I put a PBX on a node, and provision my SIP phone to it...then it is at least a working SIP phone but can't talk to anyone. "
My rasPBX MeshPhone(sm) can be configured to SIP: dial another IP phone by IP address.
The other phone does not need to be registered to a PBX. There only needs to be a 2nd phone on the (AREDN) LAN.
"If I put a second SIP phone on, or trunk to another PBX, then I can talk to someone else." Yep.
"So to rephrase the question...what does the software associated with N2MH and associated with the google search term 'meshphone' and also associated with AREDN meshed networks, bring to the table outside what every other PBX software does?"
MeshPhone(sm) is a group of skeleton .conf files that can be locally edited.
Some of those configuration files are styled to be enhancements for Amateur Radio operators.
"I asked these questions to the email address on the N2MH website, but have not yet received an answer.
I am trying to understand if this is something worth looking into and adding, but I can't even get a straight answer on what it is or what it brings to the table. "
Please reread the portion of
https://www.arednmesh.org/comment/16501#comment-16501
From "N2MH-MeshPhone:" through
"- Test numbers: DTMF, Date/Time, Echo, milliwatt, 3 tone slope, PBX ID, Extension ID."
"If someone could point me to a document somewhere that explained what the point of N2MH's software package addition to asterisk and associated with the name meshphone, so I could do some self guided research on the subject, it would be appreciated."
Sorry. I think N2MH has not put his MeshPhone(sm) configuration files on the 'web'.
You may think of MeshPhone(sm) as enhancements to standard Asterisk(c) configuration files that might benefit an Amateur Radio operator on an AREDN network.
1st things 1st...are you considering adding a PBX to your AREDN network?
2nd, are the enhancements I previously mentioned of interest to you?
Thanks, Mike
I hope this helps,
Chuck
Hi, Mike:
"some kind of pre-populated framework?"
The 'framework' is (Asterisk(c)) configuration files. (*.conf).
The 'configuration files' is how the PBX is purposed for the services you want.
"To make it easier for someone to set up a PBX?"
To make it easier to add those services previously mentioned to Asterisk (the PBX, the backend)
using FreePBX (the GUI, the frontend) to add the MeshPhone(sm) skeleton configuration files.
You will need an Asterisk PBX.
The FreePBX (frontend) releases install Asterisk (backend).
I hope this helps,
Chuck
I followed up off line with Mike, KF5DEY, and for what he wants to do, MeshPhone is probably overkill. However, to follow up on MeshPhone, what it is, and how to install it, there is good info in another post about all of this
https://www.arednmesh.org/content/meshphone
As I mentioned to IZ5FSA, contact me off line for more info or if you have a problem accessing this information.
73, Mark, N2MH
Putting the cart ahead of the horse for one second, if I understand things correctly, my MeshPhone dialing number would be 563xxyy (where 563 is my area code or NPA number) and xx would be the prefix, so to speak, and the yy would be the number for the individual phone. The idea is that if I were to set my extensions up as 9700 to 9799, my "MeshPhone number" would be 5639700 to 5639799.
Assuming that I'm correct in this, then I want to set my local numbers up to be the xxyy from above, correct? (in my example 9700 to 9799 for local numbers).
So now the silly question for why I'm posting again. How do I decide what set of numbers to use? Do I just pick a set of two numbers and go from xx00 to xx99, or is there some roadmap for who should use what numbers in an area code? We're the first mesh to be set up in my area code, so the options are wide open. A second question is this... Our ARES team is basically three counties in two districts that are working together. So, would we want to put all three under one local number system, or would we need to divide them up by county (or district). what I mean by this is Muscatine and Louisa Counties are in District 5 and Cedar County is in District 4. But our core members are members of all three teams.
I'm sure it will be futher down the road before we try to join the larger mesh network. But, I want to get everything set up right now, so that we don't have to change things then.
Have a great night, and Happy New Year. :)
Patrick.
Hello Patrick,
You are quite correct in your assumptions. And, by deciding on your local number plan in advance, you are definitely not putting the cart before the horse, but quite the opposite.
Since you are the first to set up shop in 563, you are free to choose any local 4-digit plan that suits you. The only caution would be to steer clear of any numbers that begin with "7". The digit 7 is used in MeshPhone as the first digit of two-digit access codes that bring you into various features of MeshPhone. For example, 73 gets you into the Dial by Callsign feature where you can call someone by their callsign, or even by some alpha-numeric string such as "EOC", etc. 78 gets you into the MeshPhone dial plan where you dial the 7-digit network number for someone out on the network. When choosing a local number range, you should give some thought as to how many extensions you will need. Extensions are used for both people (who may need more than one extension) and for locations such as repeater sites, EOC's, hospitals, etc. Maybe even services such as your local NOAA Weather Radio broadcast. Your local environment will drive this number.
With regard to your area consisting of 3 counties and 2 districts - you could give each county/district their own unique 2-digit extension range and arrange your local network for 4-digit dialing. So, county A could be 91xxx, county B could be 92xxx, county C could be 93xxx, or something similar. For the actual hardware PBX, you could do it all with one PBX (if you have good Mesh connectivity) or with a PBX in each county with trunks between all 3 switches, or something else in between. If you go the separate PBX route, you will have some measure of survivablilty in case one PBX fails or you lose Mesh connectivity. With MeshPhone trunks, some simple digit manipulation on each end will support both 4-digit and 7-digit dialing. This means that you will not need separate trunks for each dialing method.
I proposed this idea for the whole state of Tennessee on their Mesh network and they adopted it and are using it today. They have a 4-digit dial plan for local calling within the state, regardless of county. Groups of counties have 90 or 190 available extensions, depending on their population (which also drives the number of hams in that county). For the greater wide area MeshPhone network, each county uses their local Area Code plus their 4-digit local number. In addition, several hams have developed their own Go-Kit pbx's that tie into the greater MeshPhone network.
Note that each PBX reserves 10 extension numbers for network purposes and testing. You should take that into account when developing your extension needs.
Hope this answers your questions.
73, Mark, N2MH
I started to implement your plan this weekend. I chose 92xx for our group. Iowa has either 6 Districts (ARES) or 93 counties, depending on how you look at things. The only thing I did in the setup that conflicts with what you have is I used 9299 for a paging group. Ironically enough, it sends a page out to everyone announcing that we have a severe weather warning and spotters are needed. So, it's somewhat in line with your weather line. So, our calling area would be 56392xx once we get into the meshphone network.
Once we get everything up and running, I'll reach out for an IAX2 trunk to get on the regular mesh phone network. And if you can think of any changes that I should implement, let me know.
Partick,
Understand PBX is "Private Branch Exchange", normally, you will be setting up 4 digit station numbers. 7 or 10 digits would begin to conflict with the "North American Numbering Plan" and is not necessary. Using only 4 digit station numbers, you could call and connect with any other station on your system. To go outside your system you would add truck level access, dial 9 for instance and receive dial tone from a trunk provided by a SIP provider or in our case perhaps a trunk from Hamshack Hotline. With this you would then proceed to dial what ever station or phone number you desired on the remote system. Multiple level access arrangements would also be possible with trunks provided by more than one entity and each having it's own level access digit followed by station number on that system which could be either 4 or 7 digits. With the proper set up, these other systems could then also dial into yours in a similar manner. Trunk level access would normally allow multiple calls to be made. You could also use local POTS, "Plain Old Telephone Service" for outside access locally. This would would in the same manner although allowing for only a single connection or call at a time. Once you have all this set up the MESH becomes the transport vehicle and acts as any other IP network to provision VOIP service. You could also set up your own trunking arrangements between one or more additional PBX's configured on Raspberry Pi's for instance. Think of all this within a modular concept, configuring each island or local PBX and then adding what other connections desired. Each one then operating within it's own environment or also having the additional capability of connecting to the others. I trust this all makes some sense. Jim
Hi, Jim,
Yes, that makes sense. We're going with 4-digit extensions, and for the MeshPhone network, adding our area code 563 to it. To call out of our area, we'll use 7x, as that's what the MeshPhone network uses if I understood Mark's comment correctly. Plus, we've already got **1 set up for calling out using a Google Voice number. But I do have to say you gave me something to consider. In the NAP, our area code is 563, but one of our counties is in the 319 area code. In the short-term, they'll just be added to our trunk and plan for MeshPhone, but eventually we'll have to break them out into their own area code. So, I need to take that into consideration as we build this.
Our plan is dynamic and we're still small. So, if I need to make changes before we set up a trunk to the main MeshPhone network, I'm good with that.
Have a great day. :)
Patrick.
MeshPhone, default, uses 78 for an 'outside' call and 73 for 'dial-by-callsign'.
As long as the 'Office Codes' are different/unique, you can 'direct dial' a 4 digit call between trunks.
I use 79 to dial out to PSTN.
I hope this helps,
Chuck