Fire the Phone Company: A Handy Guide to Voice Over IP
| If you throw your telephone adapter (TA) into your suitcase and go, you will probably not have a good experience with Internet phone service while on the road. Having a travel kit prepared can help you get connected and ensure that your system is ready to use wherever you are. What to bring
In addition to your TA, you'll want to have a variety of cables and connectors, power supplies, and reference resources with you. I have taken the liberty of preparing a list that you can check off as you assemble your travel kit:
If you are traveling to another country, you may need power adapters for your gear (Figure 9.1). Ask your travel agent about power in the country to which you are traveling, and obtain the correct power adapters to allow you to use your devices there. Figure 9.1. The Targus Travel Power World Pack connects your equipment to power in more than 100 countries.
If your travel destination uses 220/240 volt power systems, you may need to purchase a different power supply for your TA that can handle this voltage (Figure 9.2). Consult your TA's documentation to determine whether it can use 220/240 volt power. If it cannot, vendors like Targus manufacture adaptable power supplies that operate over a wide voltage range. These power supplies are typically supplied with connectors to connect with a wide range of devices. Figure 9.2. The Targus Mobile 70 Universal AC/DC Adapter operates at 100 to 230 volts and can supply power to a wide range of devices.
Protecting your gear
Travel subjects your belongings to a lot of bumps and bruises. Electronic devices are especially sensitive to being dropped on the ground, kicked, and piled under a mountain of luggage. Consider buying a travel case for your phone equipment. A padded case designed for camera equipment should be fine (Figure 9.3). Figure 9.3. The CaseLogic VBS-1 camcorder bag has plenty of room (and padding) for your phone equipment.
Tip If you plan to carry your telephone equipment on a plane, make sure the bag you buy meets the airline's size limitations for carry-on luggage. Avoiding an inquisition
Airline security being what it is, you might expect a few questions about the contents of your telephone kit. Answer the security agent's questions politely and as completely as you can. Offer to plug in your TA to demonstrate that it is a piece of working electronic equipment. Show the manual or this book to the agent to explain what this kit is intended to accomplish. It is helpful if the bag doesn't contain anything that will raise additional concerns. Whatever you do, don't pack the children's modeling clay in the same bag! If you don't want to deal with the likely interview at the security checkpoint, you might consider checking your kit as baggage. Your TA is in Phoenix?!
Okay, you took my advice and checked your kit as baggage. If you are in Phoenix, you are all set. If not, you might think your chances of using your phone on this trip are pretty low. Don't despair. Call your VoIP provider's customer-service folks, and ask if you can use a softphone while your TA is out of the state. You might have to pay a small fee to activate a softphone, but it will probably be less than what you would pay for a few minutes of calls from a hotel phone. If you are not traveling with a laptop, you might be out of luck unless you have done some careful planning. Some users of softphone applications have been able to run them on Internet café computers. Some softphones, like Skype's, will run from a single program file that can be stored on a keychain storage drive (Figure 9.4). Be sure to test this solution before leaving home to make sure you know how to locate and run your softphone from your drive. Figure 9.4. These USB flash drives from Haimei Electronics attach to your keychain and have plenty of room for your softphone.
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