Use Broadband Talk on a Slave Home Hub..

If this article does not print properly, it is also available as a pdf document.
You might also like to copy the blue Telnet Summary instructions at the end of the page into a .txt document saved onto your computer so you can run the commands without typing them all in when you are offline!

Until recently I thought BBTalk on a slave was not possible, but it is! This is a process pulled together from postings on theScream.co.ukand from Moog (L D Ablow), Bunny and Ned Ludd (Geoff) on the Home Hub Forum
My style is to take process ideas worked out by people cleverer than I, test them out, then present them in a relatively easy to follow way

I have re-written this article assuming you are someone who wants to use a BT Home Hub on the ADSL but still want access to Broadband Talk from a slave home hub connected to the master hub.

This will NOT work on landline calls! It will ONLY work on BT lines using Broadband Talk.

Suitable slave hubs.

The process has been tested on different Version 1 and Version 1.5 slave hubs (see the caveats for V 1.5 hubs in the 6.2.2.6 web page) but will NOT work on a Version 2 hub. That hub cannot be accessed by Telnet.

The aim

is to get access to Broadband Talk telephony on the slave hub by changing the configuration of the slave hub settings, and then configure the slave for BBT using a copy of the "configuration text" (my phrase) normally used on a master hub and obtained from www.bt.com/bbt.

Sequence of operations

1. Capture the "configure to Broadband Talk" configuration text
2. Convert slave to 6.2.2.6 and create Root user with full Telnet access.
3. Disconnect and convert to wired slave operation.
4. Reconfigure telephony to work on local network.
5. Configure the slave hub BBT phone connection.
6. Backup the configuration file

Many of these steps use TELNET - you may have to add Telnet Client in your Add Windows Features options (Method varies with Windows versions)

1. Capture the Configure BBT text

To do this you need FIREFOX browser because of the advanced properties management.

You can do this next operation with a master hub of whatever make, but remember not to actually click on the configure, stop at the right click as described below.

Enter www.bt.com/bbt in your browser.
Input your BB Talk number and BB Talk password.

Click "Next"
bbt config

Click on Configure hub/router
bbt config

This is where Firefox comes into its own because of the enhanced Right-click functionality

Right-click on the red Configure button - do notleft click on it.

Click "Copy Link Location"
Open NOTEPAD and paste the link location with Ctrl-v.
The text will begin
"http://api.home/voipsetup.api? SIPTransportProtocol=UDP&SIPTransportPort=5060&"

Save this as a text file, eg VOIP.txt and close out of the browser windows using the X in the corner.

2. Convert slave to 6.2.2.6

www.jarviser.co.uk/jarviser/lock6226.htmlshows how to do that. It is the trickiest part but I have done it many times and you may have to keep trying if it does not succeed at first.

You will need the Root user( jarvis3rin my example) for the telnet session below.

3. Convert hub to wired slave operation

At this point you will have a PC with a fixed IP (192.168.1.100 etc) connected to the home hub by ethernet cable. Now go to www.jarviser.co.uk/jarviser/repeaterhubswired.htmlwhich shows you how to turn off the DHCP and firewall, and how to change the IP address of the home hub, however in this case you change it to 192.168.1.175.

I strongly advise either turning off the slave's Wireless interface or alternatively increasing the wireless security to WPA-PSK. Version 1 hubs default to WEP security which is weak encryption.

4. Configure telephony to work on local network

The idea is to change VOIP functions to default to LocalNetwork instead of Internet. You also need create and to point to the internet Gateway address of the master hub which is 192.168.1.254

This process uses Telnet like the previous steps 2 and 3.

In your start menu get a DOS window
(XP do start/run/cmd, in Vista or Windows 7 do Start then type "cmd" in the search box and click on the underlined "cmd" at the top of the pane.

In the DOS window type in telnet 192.168.1.175(or whatever the slave IP is)
Log in with the Root user and passwordthat you created in the "lock into 6.2.2.6" process (e.g. jarvis3r and jarvis3r)

You will then have a telnet session with full privileges.

Highlight the text below with your mouse, and then copy with Ctrl+C.

:ip rtadd dst=0.0.0.0 gateway=192.168.1.254 intf=LocalNetwork
:dns client dnsadd addr=192.168.1.254
:dns server config WANDownSpoofing=disabled
:dns server route add dns=192.168.1.254 intf=LocalNetwork
:voice config intf=LocalNetwork
:system config defaultconnection=LocalNetwork
:config save filename=user

(The colons allow the telnet commands to be pasted in as a "script")

Right click on the header of the telnet window and select

Edit>Paste

You will find all the commands entered as a batch script with the save filename command outstanding.
Hit ENTER and after a few moments the prompt will return and you can enter EXIT to leave telnet.

5. Configure the slave hub BBT phone connection

Open your previously saved VOIP.txt file in Notepad
Change
"http:// api.home/voipsetup.api? " to
"http:// 192.168.1.175/voipsetup.api?" (or whatever the IP of your slave)

Highlight the entire text and Ctrl+C to copy it, then in your Browser paste the text into the address bar (where you normally put a website address) with Ctrl-V, and then hit enter.

You should get "Configuration Successful"
I suggest you save this configuration page as a Bookmark or Favorite or create one as in the Troubleshooting below.

Connect and reboot

Connect the slave hub and the master hub together using an ethernet cable between ETH1 on the slave and any ethernet on the master.

Boot sequence is important:
First Reboot the Master Hub and wait for the lights to settle.
Next Reboot the Slave Hub.
You should get a phone light on the slave hub and a BBT dial tone on the hub phone.

HUB TIME:
You do need to set the time manually in the hub's Advanced Settings System menu.

Troubleshooting

You know what home hubs are like - mind of their own, well sometimes mine loses the phone light, perhaps more often than the main hub does. To make it easier to reconfigure you might like to create a Bookmark (Firefox - see pic) or a Link (Internet explorer) on the browser menu bar and paste the config text into the properties so that you can reconfigure the phone with a click.
If you lose connection try rebooting the slave, especially if the master has been rebooted .

6. Backup Configuration

The beauty of 6.2.2.6 with root access is that you can now save all this configuration

In your browser type the address of your slaved hub (e.g. http://192.168.1.175)select Advanced then Continue to Advanced, (log in with the root account jarvis3rnot admin) then in System select Backup Configuration.

Hit the backup text and save your user.ini somewhere safe where you can restore it in case of having to do a reset.

Citations

"Have followed your excellent guides Jarviser and am happy to report that my V1 Hub works a treat as slave to my Draytek router. BT Talk works fine through the slave, and I eventually got the v2.1 Hub phone to register with the slave Hub. "(Peter A, BT Beta Forum)

"Is there any way in which to stop the HubPhone from falling back to the landline, via the Hub config or the handset itself. The handset instructions don't appear to give any instructions on such a setup....
...Okay, have sourced another home hub and tried out the slavehub, and have successfully connected all hub phones to the slave. No landline connection at all! Well done Jarviser!" (Stan, BT Beta Forum)

"I've followed the instructions at jarviser and i'm using a 2.1 phone connecting to a slave 1.0 hub. Everything works fine, however if i'm on the phone and someone tries to call me then i get disconnected from the person i was talking with and the phone starts ringing, if i answer it its the new person.
Did some more testing, during that testing my homehub completely hung, after a reboot everything works fine! Now when a second call comes through the phone bleeps but i can still continue my conversation with the first caller." (alawil, Home Hub Forum)

BRILLIANT! Seems to have been a success. My "office" phone now has a local Base (#2) to which it is registered but it will also register with the original (Base #1) at the press of a few buttons. MAGIC! And people can hear what I am saying at last. (Zygo, Home Hub Forum March 09)