Sipura SPA-1000 Review
I've been using a Sipura SPA1000 Analog Telephone Adapter for about 10 months now, and am pleased with the functionality. To give a quick sumary first, I'd spend the extra money to get the SPA2000 series device in order to get a second port, but to stay as cheap as possible starting out, this device works great.
I tested with both Broadvoice (USA VoIP provider) directly and through my own Asterisk server located on my home network. Through Asterisk, I've used Broadvoice, Free World Dialup, Simpletelecom, Nufone, and several other providers. No issues noted in either configuration
Configuration and Features
I have 5 phones with electronic ringers attached to my SPA, and all ring perfectly. I haven't calculated the REN to determine what it is. I also have my digital satellite reciever attached to it soley for on-screen CallerID. My receiver's modem can't dial out, but that is a limitation of VoIP in general, not the SPA.
I normally use G711 and have used GSM direcly on the SPA. All other codecs I use are transcoded on my Asterisk server for simplicity. I've noticed no difference in call quality compared to other VoIP devices using the same codecs.
DTMF mode - I use inband due to the requirements of one of my VoIP providers, but I have also tested the out of band modes supported and they worked fine.
I have the Voice Mail Waiting Indicator enabled, which causes the phones in the house to "splash" ring every so often, which basically means it rings the phones for a half second every 5 minuts when a new voice mail message is available. Periodically the phones will get one more splash ring immediately after hanging up from retrieving the messages. This is generally enough to startle you, but I don't consider it much of an issue
That pretty much sums up my configuration and the main features I use. The SPA is configured either via a config file from your provider, or via its web interface. To configure it via a file, you simply enter in the address provided to you by your provider into the correct field on the configuration page. It will reset, connect to your provider, install the configuration, and reset. You will be up and running in under a minute.
The web interface itself is very easy to use, although there is some disconnection between the terminology used compared to other VoIP documentation sources. I blame the lack of standard terms for this rather than Sipura. The interface is broken up into several simplified sections, or you can go to full mode and fine tune many other functions if you know what you are doing. You can even adjust the send and receive audio gain for the port if you need to.
Firmware upgrades can be done by downloading a utility from the vendor if you manually configure your device, or can be automatically initiated by a provider if you are using their configuration file.
In Use
The only drawback to the SPA1000 that I have noticed is the delay from loss of network connectivity to recovery time. If the network connection between the SPA and the server goes down, I've seen it take as long as 5 minutes before re-establishing the connection. This may be better for large service providers, but I wish it were a configuration option I can change. Generally I know when the network fails between the SPA and my Asterisk server, so I just power cycle the SPA as soon as connectivity is again available.
Sipura has released the SPA1001 model since I bought my 1000. This adds some features such as being able to be registered with more than one provider simultaneously. This would allow one to connect both to a PSTN provider such as Broadvoice, as well as a free provider such as Free World Dialup. Personally I wouldn't make much use of this feature since I use Asterisk.
Conclusion
In the end, the SPA1000 works, and it works well. I have seen them go for around $50 in some places, and they are well worth it. If I were to buy another though, I'd probably go ahead and get the SPA2000 in order to have a second phone port. This way I could have calls for me go to a separate phone from the rest of the house.
Feel free to contact me via Free World Dialup 43506 if you would like to ask me any questions about my review or configuration. I am in Mountain Time Zone, and have a 3 month old baby, so please follow the same courtesy as you would on a land line call.
I hope this helps you make an informed decision!
Jeremy
Added: Thursday, April 28, 2005
Reviewer: Jeremy Hall
Score:
Related web link: Vendor Product Specifications
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