I wanted to connect a courtesy phone in the lobby to my Business Central. 
The Polycom phones have more features, but I didn’t want to give customers access to the full company directory, call parking abilities, or other features of a desk IP phone. Sutus makes it simple to do, and I’m not really a power user.
First things first. I bought a Grandstream HandyTone-286 VoIP-Analog phone adapter. I needed a length of Ethernet cable, another of telephone cable, and an available power outlet. I put the phone in the lobby and connected it with the telephone cable to the HandyTone. I then connected the HandyTone to the Business Central with Ethernet cable, and the power adapter to the wall outlet.
Connecting a HandyTone 286 to Business Central
I went to my computer and opened Sutus Business Central Manager. Systems Administrator access is needed for the setup, so make sure you have your password handy. Business Central will recognise that there’s a new phone on the network and assign it to the default workspace – usually Reception. Business Central won’t know the manufacturer or model of this phone, though; it will come up as ‘Grandstream HandyTone-286.’ I created a new shared workspace called Lobby, assigned the phone, disabled voicemail, enabled Call Restrictions and clicked on ‘Save Changes.’
You have to reboot the HandyTone after setting it up with the Business Central 200. Just unplug it from the power, count to 5, and plug it back in again. When the green light on the Ethernet port is glowing steadily, it’s ready.
I picked up the phone to see if there was a dial tone. There was, so I knew that it could call out. I tested the setup by clicking on the ‘Ring Phone’ button in Business Central Manager. After adjusting the ringer volume on my phone, it was ready to go. I celebrated by calling home to say that I was done early.
The whole project took 10 minutes, and cost me just under $55. The Grandstream HandyTone-286 is about $35, $20 for a phone from the department store, the Ethernet cable came from my parts bin, and the telephone cable came free with the phone.
-Dave.
#1 by Andy - August 12th, 2009 at 15:57
Hi, would this work ok with a cordless phone? I want a cordless phone in the workshop for convenience, but I want to keep the the desk phones in the admin area too.
#2 by sutusgabe - August 13th, 2009 at 19:20
Hi Andy, thanks for the question.
Yes, it definitely would. The HandyTone can connect any kind of phone to the BC200 – corded, cordless, DECT, modern, or old. Additionally, the BC200 can use any combination of HandyTones and IP phones at the same time. That’s an excellent idea for your workshop, too.
Thanks for your feedback.
#3 by Clinton Rice - September 19th, 2009 at 16:46
What about the Grandstream HandyTone HT-486. Will it work too? Or would the DHCP built into it cause problems? The reason I ask, is that I am planning on placeing the HandyTone at a remote office. If the internet goes out, I want them to be able to use some phones. With the PSTN pass trough built into the HT-4896, I belive that this would be an optimal solution. Giving them use of their phones during an ocassional internet outage.
Any feed back would be appreciated.
#4 by sutusgabe - September 21st, 2009 at 17:44
Hi Clinton,
I’ve never used the handytone 486, but fundamentally it should work since it’s a SIP device. Business Central knows how to auto-detect and provision the HT 286, so I’m not sure what will happen when you plug the 486 into the LAN.
My recommendation would be to:
– Log onto the Business Central UI, create a softphone and assign it to your remote worker’s workspace.
– Take the HT 486 to the remote side and manually configure it with the softphone’s credentials. Since it’s on the remote network, the BC200 will not try to auto config it.
Good luck. Let us know how it works.