[App_rpt] Asterisk Amateur Radio Conference Bridge

[Steven Henke]

Hello Fellow Amateur Radio Over IP Enthusiasts,

To help us communicate off-the-air, I've created a telephone
conference bridge for us to use to discuss the project and use while
troubleshooting installations. I will have this conference bridge
activated for scheduled activities that will be posted via this list
and whenever I am available to talk about amateur radio projects.

There is no Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) access to this
conference bridge. You must use VoIP to connect and here are a few
ways you can do it.

The first method is to use an Asterisk server by configuring routes in
the dialplan. For example, the following entry in the
/etc/asterisk/extensions_custom.conf file and its context
[from-internal-custom] (or the equivalent file and context for your
Asterisk system) routes calls dialed to extension 8501 to the XIPAR
Conference Bridge via a SIP connection over the Internet.

exten => 8501,1,Set(CALLERID(all)=YourCall<6785551234>)
exten => 8501,n,Dial(SIP/8501 at callin.xelatec.com)

The second method also uses an Asterisk server and dialplan entries in
/etc/asterisk/extensions_custom.conf and context
[from-internal-custom] but makes the connection using the IAX2
protocol.

exten => 8502,1,Set(CALLERID(all)=YourCall<6785551234>)
exten => 8502,n,Dial(IAX2/guest at pbx.aretta.net/8502)

As a third method you can also use the free Zoiper
(http://www.zoiper.com) softphone client on a computer to connect
directly to the Conference Bridge without going through an Asterisk
server. Of course you must first have Zoiper installed and then add a
new Zoiper IAX account with Account name 'callin',  Server Hostname
'callin.xelatec.com', Username 'callin', and no password or other
information. Select Show Advanced Options for that account and uncheck
"Register on startup'. Apply the new account and click OK. Then from
the main user interface, select the new account, go off hook and dial
'8502'. That should connect you to the conference.

And finally, you can use the iaxRpt
(http://www.xelatec.com/xipar/iaxrpt) PTT Radio Dispatch Client to
connect. From the iaxRpt menubar select Options, Accounts and Add.
Then enter Account Name '8502', Description 'XIPAR Conference', Host
'callin.xelatec.com', Username 'callin' and you can leave 'Password
and Confirm' blank. You can then select 8502 from the 'Dial Site/Node'
drop down box and press 'Connect' to join the conference. Remember
that you need to press the iaxRpt PTT switch when you want to talk!

Whatever your method, when you successfully connect you will hear a
greeting message that will tell you the status of the conference
bridge.

So that you can be ready for a conference, feel free to test your
connection anytime you want.

I hope to hear you soon!

73,

Steven Henke, W9SH
w9sh at xelatec.com