Asterisk PBX System Install - 10 Conference And Parked Calls

Issue: Asterisk configuration for call parking and conference rooms.

Quick: features.conf file and meetme.conf file

Visual/Learning:
Lesson learned here was that if you do not have zaptel ztdummy configured correctly then conference rooms are not going to work.

Call Parking - Allows you to send a call to a holding area and then pick that call up from another phone. We use this feature a lot in our company. We sometimes park calls when an urgent call comes in and the person is not at their desk. We just park the call and page the person using our intercom system. They can then take the call from the nearest available phone.

Setup for this feature happens in the features.conf file.
[general] section

parkext => 700 (This is the number where you transfer the call to park it, the system tell you what position the call is in)

parkpos => 701-720 (this provides 20 parking positions 701 to 722)

context => parkedcalls (sets the context for parked calls)

parkingtime => 45 (Set seconds to park, if the call is not picked up before the time limit it is transferred back to the extension that sent the call to parking)

In my extensions.conf file I need to include the parkedcalls context
[internal]
include => parkedcalls

To get this to work you need to restart Asterisk. A simple reload will not get the changes in the features.conf file.

After restarting Asterisk this is how it works.
You get a call and answer it.
Now I use the 'more' softkey to get to the 'trnsfer' softkey and press it.
I dial 700 and I hear the system speaks the numbers 7 0 1 and I press the 'trnsfer' softkey again.

Now using any phone I can dial 701 and I am connected back to the caller.


MeetMe Conferencing
Allows callers to conference by calling a meeting conference number. Conference calls can be protected by passwords as well.

edit meetme.conf
[rooms]
conf => 350,54321

Save this file
350 is the conference room extension, and 54321 is the password for the conference room. You can leave this off if you want like this:
conf => 350

Edit the extensions.conf file.
Under our internal context:
[internal]
exten => 350,1,MeetMe(350)


You can add so function by adding some line before connecting to the conference call. I learned the hard way not to add these lines after connecting the conference all. It did not work and I got an error message in the console that:
" No Zap channel available for conference, user introduction disabled"
So please put the call to the MeetMe conference room last.

exten => 350,1,Playback(conf-thereare)
exten => 350,n,MeetMeCount(350)
exten => 350,n,Playback(conf-peopleinconf)
exten => 350,n,MeetMe(350)

Line one plays a message that "There are currently..."
Line two plays the number of people in the conference call
Line three plays a message "...people in this conference"
Line for connects the call to the conference.

So the first caller dials 35o and hears:
"There are currently zero people in this conference"

The next person to call will here that there is one person, and so on.

Next time connecting to our intercom system.
Asterisk PBX System Install - 11 Overhead Paging
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