Indigo needs to make a call!

So I've searched and poked and prodded and I have found several Asterisk related threads, but nothing exactly like what I want.

Basically, my plan is to hook my doorbell switch to a sensor that will trigger Indigo (I have an idea of how to do this, but if you know a cheap and easy way to have a switch trigger an Indigo server VIA the network, I'm all ears...my plan is an Arduino with an Ethernet shield). And when Indigo gets that trigger, I need it to make a telephone call via my Asterisk server.

The key here is I don't actually need any audio. I just want to setup a link where Indigo will trigger Asterisk to dial a particular extension and should use a SIP gateway that will have a specific caller-id. Basically we've got wireless phones all over the house, but no other good audio output that's everywhere, so I figure the phone ringing with a caller-id of "DOORBELL" will do the trick.

But it's that Indigo->Asterisk link that's perplexing me a bit. Anyone done anything like this?


--Donnie

create a script that makes a call file.

http://www.voip-info.org/wiki/view/Aste ... o-dial+out

if your initiating a call to go out to cellphone network, you wont get the caller id to say Doorbell.


sensing the doorbell to ethernet

http://www.globalcache.com/products/itach/ip2irspecs/

Thats about a 100 bucks, 3 ports that can sense or send IR.

...my plan is to hook my doorbell switch to a sensor that will trigger Indigo (I have an idea of how to do this, but if you know a cheap and easy way to have a switch trigger an Indigo server VIA the network, I'm all ears...

You might give this a try... Assuming your doorbell circuit is A/C (probably 12 or 24 volts), you should be able to wire the primary coil of a relay in series with the doorbell button. The relay should be of the appropriate voltage and of as low impedance as possible. Then, whenever the doorbell button is pressed, the relay should close. You can then use that closure as an input to a myriad of plugin supported devices: Insteon I/O-Link, a Phidgets digital input, EasyDAQ, etc. You could also use the Arduino setup you described in your post -- but, that seems overly complex for this task.

So the link to the voip-info page on how to initiate calls in Asterisk is a good one. That'll probably be enough to fix that part.

As for the doorbell, I should have explained better. It's just a momentary switch mounted on the wall and it's wires run to the basement where they currently dangle. I used to have a mammoth Crestron system that did something totally different with it, but that's gone (and I'm happy about that) and I need to find another solution. The wire does dangle near a network switch, so that's good. And while it's a flat network, my Indigo server lives in an entirely different building (and I'm not moving it).

I'm not sure how an IR sensor helps me, though I do have experience with Global Cache devices (and have a ton of them). My Arduino solution is something I consider both fun *and* cheaper than a Global Cache box (less than $60 to do it my way now, so I'm really only interested in network solutions that can be had for that or less).

I agree the Arduino is overkill, but at the price I don't know of another solution that I can put directly on the network. Even Insteon doesn't help me because I have no other Insteon in the house and thus no PLM of any kind to get the signal on the network.


--Donnie

?..I agree the Arduino is overkill, but at the price I don't know of another solution that I can put directly on the network. Even Insteon doesn't help me because I have no other Insteon in the house and thus no PLM of any kind to get the signal on the network.

Given the full description of your situation, I'd have to agree, the [pushbutton to] Arduino makes the most sense and is probably also the least expensive way to go.

EDIT: BTW, if you think you might ever need additional inputs in the same basement location, you might consider a Rasberry-Pi or Phidgets SBC instead of the Arduino.

So after I posted that, I started looking into XBee modules for a different project. Looks like an XBee wifi module at $35 is probably the true easy button for this. And those things have a TON of inputs and outputs. Hmm...

And I'm an old school Linux geek, so I do know about the Pi and it's ilk...overkill for this, but something I'm sure I'll use at some point!


--Donnie

So after I posted that, I started looking into XBee modules for a different project. Looks like an XBee wifi module at $35 is probably the true easy button for this. And those things have a TON of inputs and outputs. Hmm...

Funny. I was going to suggest an XBee. By the way , the SBC from Phidgets is basically the same as an R-pi but with inputs and outputs attached.

the global cache ports are i/o ports. not only IR.

get a cheap $20 voip phone and hack it into a door box. set doorbell to close a speedial switch.

get a cheap $20 voip phone and hack it into a door box. set doorbell to close a speedial switch.

NOW we're talking! Hadn't thought of that, but I do have some cheap VOIP phones laying around collecting dust. That could be the best idea of them all, honestly. Thanks!


--Donnie

get a cheap $20 voip phone and hack it into a door box. set doorbell to close a speedial switch.

NOW we're talking! Hadn't thought of that, but I do have some cheap VOIP phones laying around collecting dust. That could be the best idea of them all, honestly. Thanks!


--Donnie

I did this long ago with a grand stream.
made a batphone extension, set the phone to answer on speaker. ran lines for the speaker and mic, hacked together a box for the door. the asterisk box would ring the internal and cell phones and send a speak command to certain macs in the house.

Getting asterisk and indigo to talk to each other should be very simple.

are you using a packaged version of asterisk?

Yeah, an older trixbox.

But if I do it this way I don't need them to talk. I'll just create an extension called doorbell and let the doorbell button speed dial my dial group for the phones I want to ring. I don't need it to say anything because we will just answer and hang up to cancel it. I will need to make sure it only rings X times and quits somehow for the case of someone ringing it when we aren't home, but pretty sure I can figure that out.


--Donnie

Yeah, an older trixbox.

But if I do it this way I don't need them to talk. I'll just create an extension called doorbell and let the doorbell button speed dial my dial group for the phones I want to ring. I don't need it to say anything because we will just answer and hang up to cancel it. I will need to make sure it only rings X times and quits somehow for the case of someone ringing it when we aren't home, but pretty sure I can figure that out.


--Donnie

Trixbox... arrrrghh.... hated that distro after it got bought out. Used it from when it was called Asterisk @ Home.
I use this http://pbxinaflash.com.

Make an extension for the door switch that calls a dedicated line on your phones and play an announcement on speaker and hangs up. If you want to send a command to indigo use the system command in the extension.

If you have motion detection in your setup, tell asterisk to make a call to you with the phones on mute so you could hear whats going on.

That's on my todo list. The old asterisk host is on it's last legs and I intend to get a Pi to run asterisk on.

Yeah, I don't love trixbox, but it was the "best" when we first started with it. And we needed it on a server then because we had T1's and used cards for them. Now, though, we do VOIP over our fiber connection, so that Pi idea is a good one when it's time to move it. Hmm, it might be past time to move it, but I'm not ready.

The speaker thing just isn't something that works in our house. Too big. But we have phones everywhere, so a ring group and callerID will work perfectly.


--Donnie