EDIT newer post with color image and also 568A/B located HERE
Supprised that I did not post this earlier.
For station wiring, you will either have wire that is green/red + yellow/black, or blue/white + orange/white
Line 1
Green = blue white
Red = solid blue
Line 2
Yellow = orange/white
Black = solid orange
Here is a run down of the colors for larger cable
For cables larger than 25 pair the wire is wrapped into binders, where the first 25 are wrapped in white, then the second in red, etc...
If you notice the first colors repeat, blue, orange, green, brown, slate. To make this easy to remember, all you need to do is remember the phrase "Bring Our Guys Back Safe"(Blue, Orange, Green, Brown, Slate) To recall the order of the second color you just need to remember the phrase "Why Run Backwards You'll Vomit" (White, Red, Black, Yellow, Violet)
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
PC based PBX/IVR systems
Anyone interested in setting up a PC based PBX or IVR system should already be familiar with Asterisk, it is a free open sourced PBX software that runs on linux.
However if you are a noob at linux, or find configuring an Asterisk server too complicated or difficult, there are some windows based options available.
I have recently been playing around with Call Butler, which was at one point a commercially available product that was offered for sale for $200. It is now available as open source software, and free of charge. Set up is quick and easy. If you are looking to set up a PC based PBX/IVR then i would recommend downloading this program and testing it out.
NCH also has a simple to use windows based PBX called Axon Virtual VoIP PBX. They also have a host of other telephony software available. This software is commercial software, with a trial period. You can download and toy around with the software to see if it will meet your needs, and then decide if it is worth the purchase price. I like NCH as they seem to have software for just about any business needs that you have. I have used the free version of there Express Invoice software for providing customers with a printed bill, but that software has so much more features. I would compare the Express Invoice software to Quick Books, or other accounting software.
[EDIT 11.23.10]
Phonebooth.com provides free hosted IVR service with 200 included minutes per month, and additional minutes are not too bad. There is also a monthly plan which includes VoIP service.
However if you are a noob at linux, or find configuring an Asterisk server too complicated or difficult, there are some windows based options available.
I have recently been playing around with Call Butler, which was at one point a commercially available product that was offered for sale for $200. It is now available as open source software, and free of charge. Set up is quick and easy. If you are looking to set up a PC based PBX/IVR then i would recommend downloading this program and testing it out.
NCH also has a simple to use windows based PBX called Axon Virtual VoIP PBX. They also have a host of other telephony software available. This software is commercial software, with a trial period. You can download and toy around with the software to see if it will meet your needs, and then decide if it is worth the purchase price. I like NCH as they seem to have software for just about any business needs that you have. I have used the free version of there Express Invoice software for providing customers with a printed bill, but that software has so much more features. I would compare the Express Invoice software to Quick Books, or other accounting software.
[EDIT 11.23.10]
Phonebooth.com provides free hosted IVR service with 200 included minutes per month, and additional minutes are not too bad. There is also a monthly plan which includes VoIP service.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Prepaid Smart Phones
6/30/11 Due to Virgin Mobile closing an account of ours that had funds in it, that should have been active for 365 days we can NOT recommend using Virgin Mobile at this time!
Finally, there are several choices for smart phones for those of us who would prefer to not be tied down by contracts, and go the prepaid route. The downside to this is that the phones are not subsidized and that the whole cost of the phone must be paid in advance, BUT often times the savings had with the monthly bill compared to contract phones will offset the added cost of paying the full purchase price of the phone within the first 2 or 3 months.
Leaving out Metro PCS, because there coverage is not that good I will provide you with some carrier approved smart phone devices that are currently on the market.
The first real prepaid smart phone on the block was the Boost Mobile Blackberry 8330. Its upfront cost is $250, and the monthly unlimited plan is $60 per-month. Compare that with sprint's unlimited simply everything plan at $100 and you save $40 per month, so it would take just over 6 months for the phone to be "free" or for you to start realizing the savings.
The next smart phone that came out also came from one of sprints prepaid companies. Virgin mobile is now offering the Blackberry 8530 for $300, and has plans for $35 for 300 minutes + unlimited text and web, $50 for 1200 minutes + unlimited text and web, and $70 for unlimited everything. Making the $35/month plan one of the cheapest blackberry plans available. Yet even if you decide that you need unlimited everything, comparing the $70/month plan with Sprint's unlimited simply everything plan will still save you $30 per month. This will take 10 months to get the phone for "free" or see the savings potential, or even quicker if you choose one of the lower cost plans.
The latest smart phone to reach the prepaid market is not a Blackberry, but an Android phone, and is available by Boost Mobile. The previous 2 Blackberries mentioned above are on Sprint's CDMA network, this one is on the NEXTEL iDEN network. I am not sure why Boost choose to put a smart phone onto the older iDEN network, instead of putting it onto the Sprint CDMA network. The model number is i1, and pricing for the device is not yet posted on the website. I would assume that they would keep the cost of the device to the $250-300 price point, as they are a prepaid company and cater to people looking to save money compared to contract phones, and people are used to having there phones subsidized by the carrier, and to not like to spend that much for there phones. The Plan pricing is also not posted on the website, but I would assume that you would be able to get this device with the $50 plan, because unlike the Blackberries Boost does not need to pay an outside company for PUSH email, or other features.
Finally, there are several choices for smart phones for those of us who would prefer to not be tied down by contracts, and go the prepaid route. The downside to this is that the phones are not subsidized and that the whole cost of the phone must be paid in advance, BUT often times the savings had with the monthly bill compared to contract phones will offset the added cost of paying the full purchase price of the phone within the first 2 or 3 months.
Leaving out Metro PCS, because there coverage is not that good I will provide you with some carrier approved smart phone devices that are currently on the market.
The first real prepaid smart phone on the block was the Boost Mobile Blackberry 8330. Its upfront cost is $250, and the monthly unlimited plan is $60 per-month. Compare that with sprint's unlimited simply everything plan at $100 and you save $40 per month, so it would take just over 6 months for the phone to be "free" or for you to start realizing the savings.
The next smart phone that came out also came from one of sprints prepaid companies. Virgin mobile is now offering the Blackberry 8530 for $300, and has plans for $35 for 300 minutes + unlimited text and web, $50 for 1200 minutes + unlimited text and web, and $70 for unlimited everything. Making the $35/month plan one of the cheapest blackberry plans available. Yet even if you decide that you need unlimited everything, comparing the $70/month plan with Sprint's unlimited simply everything plan will still save you $30 per month. This will take 10 months to get the phone for "free" or see the savings potential, or even quicker if you choose one of the lower cost plans.
The latest smart phone to reach the prepaid market is not a Blackberry, but an Android phone, and is available by Boost Mobile. The previous 2 Blackberries mentioned above are on Sprint's CDMA network, this one is on the NEXTEL iDEN network. I am not sure why Boost choose to put a smart phone onto the older iDEN network, instead of putting it onto the Sprint CDMA network. The model number is i1, and pricing for the device is not yet posted on the website. I would assume that they would keep the cost of the device to the $250-300 price point, as they are a prepaid company and cater to people looking to save money compared to contract phones, and people are used to having there phones subsidized by the carrier, and to not like to spend that much for there phones. The Plan pricing is also not posted on the website, but I would assume that you would be able to get this device with the $50 plan, because unlike the Blackberries Boost does not need to pay an outside company for PUSH email, or other features.
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