Loading capacity of 'Digital Voice' ports on Routers

Has anyone any experience of how many phones the phone port on a router (such as the BT Hub, or Zen's Fritzbox) can actually support ?

I'm not expecting 1970s style vintage phones with real bells to work too well, but what about modern desktop phones ?

I ask, because my mother's extension network is equipped with three 'desktop' phones, and a DECT base station.

Will all that lot still ring when hanging off a 'DV' port (or indeed a 'proper' ATA ) ?

I think that your would just have to try to find out.

A Cisco SPA112 supports a max Ren of 5. If you know the REN figures for your mother's phones you could estimate whether they would all work. See SPA Specification. (SLIC Section)

Yes, but they would say that wouldn't they !

It'll be too late to find out it doesn't work once she is converted, hence my question if anyone has any real world actual experience yet ?

for BT's Digital voice offering - you could use the 'digital voice adapter' for corded phones. these look like a powerline plug type thing, but work over wi-fi and you plug your standard PSTN phone into it

In reply to a post by Dean83:

for BT's Digital voice offering - you could use the 'digital voice adapter' for corded phones. these look like a powerline plug type thing, but work over wi-fi and you plug your standard PSTN phone into it

Yes, it's a big house, and Wifi soon gets blocked, so that's not really viable. The house has an extensive wired extension network, which I installed 40 years ago, when I lived there, so I was hoping to carry on using that infrastructure.

A BT line only supports a max REN of 4. Both the Cisco and Grandstream ATAs claim to support a max REN load of 5.

You could find out what load the the BT Hub, or Zen's Fritzbox will support.

In reply to a post by Michael_Chare:

A BT line only supports a max REN of 4. Both the Cisco and Grandstream ATAs claim to support a max REN load of 5.

The regulations didn't allow any device to declare itself as less than 1, but electronic buzzers don't take anywhere near the old style REN designed for 1960s type mechanical ringers. In most cases you'll find connecting 10 or more handsets will all work, until you add 1 more and they stop ringing

I don't know whether this will help, but my Cisco ATA191 can ring 6 phones and similarly my Technicolor DGA0122 VoIP Port can also ring 6 phones.

When going over to VoIP I bought a Ring Booster https://vikingelectronics.com/products/rg-4/ but didn't need it. Although of USA manufacture, it passes UK standard CLI without a problem

Cheers!

In reply to a post by broadbandjockey:

Yes, it's a big house, and Wifi soon gets blocked, so that's not really viable. The house has an extensive wired extension network, which I installed 40 years ago, when I lived there, so I was hoping to carry on using that infrastructure.

40 years ago I had to pay BT an extra amount because there was extension wiring!

In reply to a post by Dean83:

for BT's Digital voice offering - you could use the 'digital voice adapter' for corded phones. these look like a powerline plug type thing, but work over wi-fi

They are DECT not WiFi - using a lower frequency, greater transmit power, plus completely different and more robust protocols so have a better reach.