A local ham friend shared a link with me for Hamshack Hotline, which is a free dedicated VOIP service for the ham radio community. In order to get on this network, I purchased a used Cisco SPA504G IP phone from eBay for $29. There are several other IP phones that will work with the service, but the SPA504G works great, and the price was right! It is important when purchasing a used phone to ensure that it is unlocked. The Hamshack Hotline website has all the information necessary to get started.
Once I received the phone, and connected it to my home network, I followed the instructions on the web page, and submitted a ticket for a new line using the HHOPS Help Desk. The Help Desk web page also includes a knowledge base and downloadable documents that are a great help for installing an IP phone on their network.
Within a couple of days, I had a response from the Help Desk team with my new HH phone number, and a link to a provisioning document for my phone. The instructions were easy to follow, and the team has created a process for provisioning that is nearly foolproof. I say nearly because I did have a slight issue with my home network, but the Help Desk team came through again and got me up and running very quickly!
My Hamshack Hotline phone number is 11642.
