[ale] OT help ENDING unsolicited phone calls

Sun Jun 10 23:14:13 EDT 2012

What's about using a pc with a fax modem as a pbx? Is this possible? I
remember faxworks and related computer telephony integration/software
answer machines being touted around 2000.

On 6/5/12, Ron Frazier (ALE) <atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com> wrote:
> Using a pc as a home pbx is an interesting idea. I don't know if i can
> afford that right now, but will certainly keep it in mind. You bring up a
> good point about important but unforseen calls. That's one reason I want to
> see the caller id of even rejected calls. I may need to be able to pick up
> calls that otherwise would just go to the answering machine, and I need to
> have access to the caller id and recorded messages without going to the
> basement.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Ron
>
>
> --
>
> Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9 Mail.
> Please excuse my potential brevity.
>
> (To whom it may concern. My email address has changed. Replying to former
> messages prior to 03/31/12 with my personal address will go to the wrong
> address. Please send all personal correspondence to the new address.)
>
> (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
> call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
> mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email messages very
> quickly.)
>
> Ron Frazier
> 770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message.
> linuxdude AT techstarship.com
>
>
> Scott Plante <splante at insightsys.com> wrote:
>
> Yeah, this year I've gotten a lot of so-called political surveys that are
> just covers for the old timeshare scams. They say something like "To
> increase survey response, a donor has offered a free (weekend stay, cruise,
> etc) for anyone who completes the survey." I thought I saw an article about
> the FCC beginning to go after those guys, but they can make a
> letter-of-the-law defense.
>
>
> You could certainly do the kinds of things you're trying to do with Asterisk
> (or Freeswitch). You might look at a distro like IncrediblePBX -- they have
> something close to what you're after built in, I believe. You'll need an old
> computer and a TDM card, so it might be more expensive than what you're
> interested in. If you've already got a Linux box running at home, though,
> you might be able to make it work. You can also drop the cable phone line
> for VoIP and save some money.
>
>
> Another technique is for those not on your whitelist, make them press a
> button or answer a question. That way, you eliminate the robo-dialers but,
> say, a family member calling from an unknown phone because their cell is
> dead can still get through.
>
> _____________________________________________
>
> From: "Ron Frazier (ALE)" <atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com>
> To: "Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts" <ale at ale.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 5, 2012 2:00:27 AM
> Subject: Re: [ale] OT help ENDING unsolicited phone calls
>
> Good point. I'm already on the list. Doesn't do the trick. Political,
> survey, and charity callers are excluded from the rules. Not only that, many
> entities that should be subject to the rules ignore them. I don't have time
> to worry about getting them prosecuted. The FCC already knows about most of
> the abusers. I just don't want their calls to ring through at all. If you
> google nuisance calls, etc., you'll find that many people think the do not
> call list is a joke and that the fcc isn't doing it's job going after the
> abusers.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Ron
>
>
> --
>
> Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9 Mail.
> Please excuse my potential brevity.
>
> (To whom it may concern. My email address has changed. Replying to former
> messages prior to 03/31/12 with my personal address will go to the wrong
> address. Please send all personal correspondence to the new address.)
>
> (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
> call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
> mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email messages very
> quickly.)
>
> Ron Frazier
> 770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message.
> linuxdude AT techstarship.com
>
>
> simontek at gmail.com wrote:
>
> https://www.donotcall.gov/
>
> Place number on that, anytime you get a call, get info, and have them fined
> $16,000, each time.
>
> On , "Ron Frazier (ALE)" <atllinuxenthinfo at techstarship.com> wrote:
>> Hi Guys,
>>
>>
>>
>> You all are always a good source of geeky info, even if something doesn't
>> relate just to Linux. This year, for whatever reason, I've been getting
>> more and more unsolicited phone calls, from politicians, charities,
>> surveys, telemarketers, etc. They're amounting to several per day, and I'm
>> sick of it. I've exceeded the 12 # limit on the block list for comcast
>> phone service, and I'm about to get some bigger weapons. I'm thinking of
>> moving from a black list concept, where I block what I don't want, to a
>> white list concept, where I allow what I do want. Everything else goes to
>> an answering machine.
>>
>>
>>
>> I've found this device:
>> http://www.jfteck.com/caller-id-with-ring-controller.php and a few similar
>> ones which can do what I want. However, there are a couple of problems I
>> need to solve. For this device to work the way I described, you would wire
>> it from the telephone source, in my case the cable modem, to an answering
>> machine, then to the ring controller, then to the rest of the house. In my
>> case, the original bellsouth phone lines coming to the outside of the
>> house are disconnected. Under normal conditions, the cable modem phone
>> output drives all phones in the house. In this case, the ring controller
>> output drives the whole house. I'm not totally sure it can drive the whole
>> house, but assuming it can, there is still a problem.
>>
>>
>>
>> In this scenario, if someone on my white list calls, the phones ring as
>> normal. The device I mentioned has two white lists, so I can restrict my
>> vendors I deal with to business hours, etc. If someone not on my white
>> list calls, they get sent to the answering machine, and if they have a
>> legit reason to call me, they can leave a message. But, what's cool is
>> that my phones never ring except for people on the white lists.
>>
>>
>>
>> Now, assuming the device can drive all my phones, one problem remains.
>> Because my phones never ring for non approved calls, their caller id never
>> activates. Since the cable modem is in the basement, that's where the ring
>> controller will be. So, there is no way to easily check the caller id list
>> to see what calls came in that weren't on the white list, in case I missed
>> some that I actually want to ring. I'm not even sure my phones will get
>> caller id if they do ring, because the ring controller has to detect the
>> first ring and the caller id, before deciding to ring my other phones.
>>
>>
>>
>> So, what I'd like to do is put remote, preferably wireless, caller id
>> displays in certain rooms and have their base down in the basement, before
>> the ring controller. That way, those devices will have a record of all the
>> calls, and I can review the list. That way, if "cousin joe" calls and I
>> want to let his calls ring through, I can add him to the white lists.
>> Also, I wouldn't mind if the caller id devices have an OPTIONAL ring
>> indicator. So, I'm OK if there is a minimal beep or something when a
>> restricted call comes in. Then, I can just glance at the caller id device
>> and either ignore it, or make a note to add it to the white list. I don't
>> know for sure what would happen if I pick up the phone when a restricted
>> call is coming in, whether it would work, or whether I get nothing. Since
>> the phones never ring, it may be nothing.
>>
>>
>>
>> I'd like suggestions as to how to solve the caller id problem, or, how to
>> tackle this problem in general.
>>
>>
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>>
>>
>> Ron
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my Android Acer A500 tablet with bluetooth keyboard and K-9
>> Mail.
>>
>> Please excuse my potential brevity.
>>
>>
>>
>> (To whom it may concern. My email address has changed. Replying to former
>>
>> messages prior to 03/31/12 with my personal address will go to the wrong
>>
>> address. Please send all personal correspondence to the new address.)
>>
>>
>>
>> (PS - If you email me and don't get a quick response, you might want to
>>
>> call on the phone. I get about 300 emails per day from alternate energy
>>
>> mailing lists and such. I don't always see new email messages very
>> quickly.)
>>
>>
>>
>> Ron Frazier
>>
>> 770-205-9422 (O) Leave a message.
>>
>> linuxdude AT techstarship.com
>>
>>
>
>
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