583. Very, very briefly: using a USB graphics card with a headless box

This is an 'It Works' post. No tips or tricks, simply a report of something that works out of the box.

I've got a tiny server which has the following ports:
2 x USB type A, 4 x RJ45/8P8C (eth), 1x DE-9 (RS-232). There's no VGA out.

While this isn't a real problem -- I normally install linux on it either via a chroot or via a virtual machine by hooking up the HDD via a HDD-> USB cable to another computer -- it would be nice to be able to hook up a monitor to the server, in particular as I'm thinking about turning it into a lab computer to use for measurements. That it's so portable (21 x 15 x 4 cm) is an added bonus as it allows us to move it between labs.

Anyway, I bought an FY-1650  USB-to-VGA card (see e.g. here and here) for ca AUD 37 on ebay:

lsusb gives 

Bus 001 Device 003: ID 17e9:019e DisplayLink

I currently run debian wheezy (i386) on the server. Plugging in the card and a monitor and booting up everything worked without needing to do anything.

NOTE: by working I mean that I get the terminal -- I haven't tried this with a full desktop environment such as gnome, xfce etc.

Very happy...

582. Briefly: freecall.com using linphone

I've covered how to set up linphone in the past: http://verahill.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/linphone-with-iinet-iitalk-voip-service.html

This is thus going to be a very brief post with just the settings for freecall.com, which offers a SIP service.

The specific settings that you need to make are (this is from my ~/.linphonerc

[auth_info_0]
username=myUserId
userid=myUserId
passwd=PasswordInPlainText
realm="sip.freecall.com"

[proxy_0]
reg_proxy=sip:sip.freecall.com
reg_identity=sip:myUserID@sip.freecall.com
reg_expires=3600
reg_sendregister=1
publish=0
dial_escape_plus=0

Yes, that's it. So, there you go - you now have a reasonably priced alternative to Skype for international calling.

I've charged my account with 10 Euro, and I've made a few test phone calls. So far so good.

See http://verahill.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/581-obi200-and-debian-and-iinet.html for how to use the obihai 200 ATA with freecall.

581. Obihai Obi200 ATA and iinet Australia (and freecall)

I've had iitalk sip service as part of my naked DSL via iinet for years, but haven't really done much with it (apart from writing a post: http://verahill.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/linphone-with-iinet-iitalk-voip-service.html). I decided that it might be time to get something akin to a landline, and if it involves buying a new toy, so much better. The toy in question is an ATA device, which allows you to connect your regular old landline phone to your fancy internet router.

I ordered an Obihai OBI200 from Amazon US and had it delivered to Australia.

Getting started was pretty straightforward:
I unpacked the device, plugged in the power cable, and hooked it up to my router via an ethernet cable. I then gave it a static IP address, 192.168.2.131

Next I registered on the obitalk.com website, confirmed my email address, and logged in. You're then offered to set up your device. Note that you'll need to have a phone plugged into your obi device at this point. I bought a $32 Panasonic KX-TG1611 from JB HiFi.

Anyway, go to http://www.obitalk.com

go to dashboard

click on SP1

click on Next in the bottom right

select Generic Service Provider

The settings are as follows:
(state=vic, nsw etc. i.e. three-letter code)
Service Provider Proxy Server: sip.state.iinet.net.au
Service Provider Proxy Server port: 5060
Outbound Proxy Server: sip.state.iinet.net.au
Outbound Provider Proxy Server port: 5060
User Name: your phone number (e.g. 03 xxxx xxxx; look it up on your iinet toolbox)
Password: your VOIP password which you set up at some point
URI: yourphonenumber@sip.state.iinet.net.au

Hit submit

If all went well you'll show up as being registered.

---

freecall.com
I'm thinking about replacing skype with sip, and one provider is freecall.com. I originally signed up with them many years ago because I got a free number, but my account has expired, and they won't let me reactivate it. Either way,  you can still call pretty cheaply using their service.

The settings for the OBI200 and freecall are:
Service Provider Proxy Server: sip.freecall.com
Outbound Proxy Server: sip.freecall.com
User Name: your user name
Password: your password
URI: yourusername@freecall.com

I will work on setting it up for international calls at a later stage.

To select a specific service when making a call, type **1 for SP1, **2 for SP2 etc. See http://www.obihai.com/faq/About-the-OBi/How-do-I-make-calls-with-OBi