Ekiga

Main Ekiga web site.

Initial configuration. Ekiga version 3.x.x

1. Open "Edit"->"Accounts" menu.

2. In opened dialog box from the menu "Accounts" choose "Add an Ekiga Call Out Account".

3. Enter your Diamondcard Account ID and PIN code into "Account ID" and "Password" fields.

4. Restart Ekiga

Initial configuration. Ekiga version 2.x.x

1. Open "Tools->PC-To-Phone Account" menu.

2. Enter your Diamondcard Account ID and PIN code into "Account number" and "Password" fields.

3. Check "Use PC-To-Phone Settings" page in Ekiga.

Other links listed in this page allows you to signup, recharge, check balance and call history of your account.

4. Restart Ekiga

Common configuration notes

The PIN code is a 12 digit number. Your Account ID and PIN code is located in the upper right hand area of the main page after you login to your Diamondcard administration center. To login to the admin center you need to use your username and password you chose during signup.

Verifying connection

To verify your internet connection and Ekiga setup you can dial our Echo test number "sip:441@sip.diamondcard.us" and check your Account balance dialing "sip:440@sip.diamondcard.us"

This gives you the ability to see if your internet connection will give you good call quality. If the test is not sounding too good then your calls will also not sound good.

Dialing rules

Dial phone numbers you wish to call in international format: country code + area code + number.
E.g. "sip:18002001000@sip.diamondcard.us" for USA +1-800-200-1000 number. No international prefix like 011 or 001 is necessary.

If ekiga.net is your default account, dialing sip:32456555 will be rewritten as sip:32456555@ekiga.net. Which is a call to another ekiga.net user.

You should set Ekiga to use Diamondcard as the default account. This will save you some headaches. If you are dialing a number like sip:32456555@ekiga.net it WILL NOT go through Diamondcard because "ekiga.net" is in the dial string. It must show "sip.diamondcard.us" at the end of the string to send the call through Diamondcard assuming you are registered to sip.diamondcard.us. If you are registered to another Diamondcard server address in Accounts then use that server address in the dial string.

Sending SMS Messages

You can use Ekiga to send SMS messages to mobile phone numbers using the Diamondcard SMS service. It can be done using Ekiga chat window.

To use this service Ekiga should be configured to use an account with sip.diamondcard.us host (instead of eugw.ast.diamondcard.us which was default for previous Ekiga versions). This can be be verified and set in Accounts settings window (Ctrl+E).

If you are registered to sip.diamondcard.us in Accounts dialog box in Ekiga then you MUST send your SMS's to a number that has "sip.diamondcard.us" in the string. Otherwise, you will get a "forbidden" error when trying to send an SMS to "sip:32456555@eugw.ast.diamondcard.us". Because you are not registered to eugw.ast.diamondcard.us, but to sip.diamondcard.us.

Destination number should be specified in international format. E.g. sip:442071234567@sip.diamondcard.us to send an SMS message to a UK number.

SMS message will be sent from the phone number specified in the caller ID section of your admin center. Go to TELEPHONY section, then click options - caller id. Make sure you set it to your cell (mobile) phone number if you expect to receive SMS responses back to you. Number should be specified in international format as explained above.

Rates and details about sending SMS's are available in your Diamondcard admin center by clicking on CALL RATES link which is the first link in the TELEPHONY section.

Receiving calls

To receive calls from regular phones with Ekiga you need to buy a personal number/DID and configure it's forwarding.

To purchase a DID, login to your admin center and click "online shopping" link. You can buy local and toll free numbers from many countries.

In your admin center the "personal #'s" page allows you to configure your purchased DID's. To receive calls with Ekiga, DID should be forwarded to "Your IP phone" choice in the forwarding profile. Using "Default" redirect profile will do it.

Ekiga phone should be configured to use Diamondcard and be registered at Diamondcard servers. To check it, open Accounts Dialog ("Edit -> Accounts" menu).

NAT

If you are behind a NAT it may be required to decrease keep-alive interval to keep your NAT ports open. You can use this shell command:

  gconftool-2 -t int -s /apps/ekiga/general/nat/binding_timeout 30 

and check new value with:

 gconftool-2 -g /apps/ekiga/general/nat/binding_timeout 

Caller ID

With Diamondcard you can specify a phone number for your caller ID. You enter this data in the "Surname" field. Choose: Edit -> Preferences->General->Personal Data and fill Surname (or Full name) field with your phone number.

E.g.:

 First name: John
 Surname: Smith 130312345678 
 Full name: John Smith 130312345678 

130312345678 - will be used as a CallerId. You can find more details about configuring Caller ID here

Audio settings

We recommend to use one of the G.711 codecs PCMU or PCMA. If you have limited bandwidth or a satellite connection you may get better results using iLBC codec. Use our Echo test to evaluate call quality.

One way audio and NAT issues

Ekiga wiki NAT

Ekiga FAQ NAT

Known Ekiga issues

Call interrupted in 20 seconds

Sometimes after making changes in Accounts settings or adding new Account Ekiga doesn't register or you may not able to make calls. To be sure Ekiga is using proper account settings you need to restart Ekiga.

Other issues

If you have any other troubles using Ekiga with Diamondcard service please fill "bug report" form in your administration center.



Tags for this page:   ekiga   sip   sms