QICBoy - brctc tag

BRTC PBX with 7960

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 18:00:00 GMT

Once I had the soft phone working it was time to connect the Cisco 7960's to the PBX. The 7960's are wired (CAT5) to the Netgear router.

SSH to the machine 192.168.1.5 to install "P0S3-06-3-00.bin", "P0S3-06-3-00.sbn" and "brctc.bmp". The first two files contain the phone firmware. When the phone boots it will connect to the PBX system and download the latest firmware. The phones I have are running a really old version of the firmware so loading these files on the PBX will allow them to update themselves when they come online.

# cd /tftpboot
# wget http://www.qicboy.com/files/2007/10/14/P0S3-06-3-00.zip
# unzip P0S3-08-6-00.zip
# mv OS79XX.TXT OS79XX.TXT.rel
# cp OS79XX.TXT.rel OS79XX.TXT
# vi OS79XX.TXT
P0S3-06-3-00
# setup-cisco
# mv SIPDefault.cnf SIPDefault.cnf.rel
# cp SIPDefault.cnf.rel SIPDefault.cnf
# vi SIPDefault.cnf
image_version: "P0S3-06-3-00"
logo_url: "http://192.168.1.5/cisco/bmp/brctc.bmp" 
# cd /var/www/html/cisco/bmp/
# wget http://www.qicboy.com/files/2007/10/14/brctc.bmp

Follow the instructions in step 4 above and add the following options to the extension.

FreePBX
Ext	: 2001
Display	: Cisco
Secret	: 2001
Nat	: no

Configure the phone to point at the PBX.
1. Press "Settings" then 9 (Unlock Config). Ignore this step if option 9 reads Lock instead of Unlock. Enter the password (cisco). Press "Accept".
2. Press 3 to enter the Network Configuration menu.
3. Press 27 (Alternate TFTP: NO). Ignore this step if option 27 reads YES instead of NO. Press "Yes".
4. Press 7 (TFTP Server) then "Edit". Enter the IP address of the PBX (192.168.1.5).
5. Press "Back" to exit the "Network Configuration" menu.
6. Press 4 to enter the "SIP Configuration" menu.
7. Press 1 to enter the "Line 1 Settings" menu. Enter the following values.
8. Press "Save".
9. Press the three keys 6 + * + settings at the same time to reboot the phone.
```
Name	                : 2001
Shortname               : 2001
Authentication Name     : 2001
Authentication Password : 2001
Display Name            : 2001
Proxy Address           : 192.168.1.5
Proxy Port              : 5060
```

BRCTC PBX with soft phone

Sat, 13 Oct 2007 18:00:00 GMT

I have the basics of the BRCTC system working at home. The server I purchased to host the software came in on Friday. I borrowed a CD ROM from a friend, inserted the trixbox-2.2 CD and let it do its thing. It took less than 15 minutes to get the system installed and running. The PBX is presently wired (CAT5) to my Netgear router. I also have a laptop connected to the router using WIFI.

Purchase TK System from Ewayco ($342).
Remove cover from TK System, connect CDROM, insert CD, reboot, respond to a few brief questions, let the software install itself.
Log into the console as root. It will tell you the URL to access to administer the machine (e.g. http://192.168.1.5).
Configure an extension. Before you can connect to the asterisk server from an IP phone, you need to configure the extension on the server. Here are the steps to configure a basic extension.
1. Point your web browser at that URL (e.g. http://192.168.1.5). Click the link labeled "switch" in the upper right hand corner and use maint:password as the login:password combination.
2. Navigate to "Asterisk | FreePBX | Setup | extensions".
3. Add a generic SIP device and click submit.
4. Add the following options to the extension.
```
Ext	: 2000
Display	: SysOp
Secret	: 2000
```
Configure the IP phone. I prefer to use X-Lite because once it's installed, you can copy the folder onto a thumb drive and take it with you. Here are the steps needed to configure X-Lite to connect to the asterisk server.
1. Start X-Lite.
2. Right click on the application window and select "SIP Account Settings...".
3. Click on the "Add..." button and
4. Provide the following options.
```
Display Name 	: 2000
User name	: Sysop
Password	: 2000
Authorization..	: 2000
Domain		: 192.168.1.5
Proxy		: 192.168.1.5
```

That's all there is to it. Using the soft phone is a realy nice way to troubleshoot problems. Once soft phone is connected properly I can add any number of other extensions and place an inter PBX call.

Power on the playa

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:00:00 GMT

For the past six years I've managed without electricity on the playa. This year I've decided to take my camera with me. Originally I considered buying a fist full of spare batteries. When I thought about it further, I realized I was going to need a power source for the BRCTC anyway, so I might as well tackle a solution to both.

I considered making one myself but decided I wanted to start off with something simple and reliable. I found a couple kits; CostCo sells one from Coleman and one by Sunforce but both of them seemed too flimsy for Burning Man. Then I came across the SLC300, a really solid looking system by EarthTechProducts. The solar panel looks like it will mount nicely on the dome. It looks like they've come up with a very nice design for the battery, with a handle to make it easier to carry around.

I considered a fuel cell system but the prices really turned me off. The ABC100 for example, a 100W fuel cell by Voller Energy is prices at 8,240.00 USDM.

"The ABC is a 100W portable fuel cell system packaged so that it is easy to carry and use anywhere, even underground."

BRCTC Server

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 23:20:00 GMT

I think I've found the hardware for the BRCTC server. It draws about 20 watts. For $414.00 I can outsource the install process and Dean from Laptop4Hire do it for me. It's clear though that I'm not going to have enough time to get this running for this year. I'm going to find a power source for this year, work out any technical difficulties and push the BRCTC into next year.

Update: I've placed the order. Here were the total costs.

$199 - TK thick Tiny 800MHz system 256 Mb
$ 73 - 60GB 2.5" disk (installed)
$ 40 - shipping
---- 
$312 - subtotal
$ 30 - wire transfer fee (Citibank)
----
$342 - total

Black Rock City Telephone Company

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 14:00:00 GMT

Through the course of visiting Black Rock City and experiencing Burning Man and all its marvels one inevitably comes up with ideas for contribution ideas. I've had plenty; and although very few of them ever come into fruition, they're nice to share because the ideas get people thinking. Around early August last year I starting piecing together, in my mind, what it would take to get a telephone system around black rock: The Black Rock City Telephone Company (BRCTC).

The infrastructure would provide the following features.

Playa-wide telephone coverage
On-playa and off-Playa digital directory
Voice mail
Operator services (dial 0)
Access to playa info (dial 411)
VOIP services to people with their own phone

The real value of the BRCTC is the ability for people to connect directly to telephone infrastructure. They could bring their own IP phone and be granted access to all the BRCTC services. We could have documentation available online so that they would know exactly what they'd need to bring and when they got there we could help them get set up.

Equipment for each of the locations would include the following.

Weatherproof enclosures
Replenishing power supply
IP Phone
Wireless access point

Ideally, each of the kiosk locations would need to have an autonomous energy source maybe with a solar panel and a marine battery. I considered using swappable power sources, allowing one battery to charge while the other was consumed but I think the real strength of this project is the infrastructure itself. Resources initially would focus on supporting the WAP locations but would later be focused on weaned to focus on the Central Office. If that is in place, somehow, power for the phones (and even the WAPs) themselves will come.

The first phase of the project would include covering a reasonable amount of the playa with as little equipment as possible. There's a minimum coverage that needs to occur. This would be a public network so we'd want the customers to actually be able to talk to other parts of the playa. An infrastructure with one phone would be much less attractive than an infrastructure that could span the playa. On the other hand, covering too much of the playa on the first phase could make the project unmanageable.

The locations I've chosen would each location was chosen to be 1000' father than the previous location.

Location 0 (1000') [Central office]
The central office would be wherever my camp was located. This is where the server handling the VOIP services would be located.

Location 1 (2000') [4:00@Esplanade]
I chose locations on the esplanade for access points locations because they're reasonable points to radiate radio signals for people with IP phones to connect to the network. A location a few streets back would probably provide optimum coverage area but locations on the esplanade is the ideal place for positioning stationary phones. The locations is the same distance from center camp as from 2:00.

Location 2 (3000') [Center camp]
Playa info is already an invaluable resource. Connecting it with the phone system is critical to getting the phone system accepted.

Location 3 (4000') [The man]
Originally I considered locating a phone behind the man. I realize now that this is probably a terrible idea.

Location 4 (5000') [8:00@Esplanade]
This location is positioned where it is for the same reason location 2 is where it is.

The CO would consist of the following items.

A very cheap, very low power server running asterisk.
Replenishing power supply
Wireless Router

The server I mention isn't easy to find. I've found a couple resources who specialize in computers with low power but one isn't cheap and the other doesn't sell to consumers. The power source would be different from the other locations because the server would drain considerably more power. This would probably require more solar cells, more batteries, etc.

I've gone back and forth about whether this should use VOIP or use a technology that would allow them to use their existing cell phones. The more I think about it the more I realize that VOIP phones are the answer. Cell phones are a mess. I have no idea how to set up something that would work like a cell tower. Even if I could find the hardware the documentation would probably be as obscure as that for the phones themselves. Using VOIP allows us to set up an infrastructure that could be used for other things. Or, better yet, make use of other networks that could help span the playa. Phone prices are dropping and the functionality of an infrastructure to support them is relatively transparent.

If this were to happen I'd want to field test it at least a couple times before I brought it on the playa. Toast and Decom SF would be likely test sites.

Phew, that was a mouth full. I have ideas for the directory but that probably deserves another post.

The Burning Man sites have a plethora of resources, here are some that are particularly useful for this project.