asterisk users - Mar 2005 - Re: Asterisk-Users Digest, Vol 8, Issue 216

>> 
>>
>>Can I program a specific C.O. line directly to a button?
>>    
>>
Adopting the Critchfield style for a moment, no, *you* probably can't. 
But, depending on one's expertise with the hardware and Asterisk, it can 
certainly be done. I am by no means an Asterisk expert but have about 35 
years of random phone experience. I have an ancient Siemens HiNet SIP 
phone here with buttons on it that I can push and get dialtone from any 
of my * trunks. Any SIP phone with programmable buttons should be able 
to do that (hint: an s extension to a context that only accesses one 
trunk, or DISA)
>
>First turn off the HTML email, please.
>
>Next spend a bit of time thinking about phones you have seen that use
>standard analog ports. It isn't a normal option to have more than 1
>line, and unless you are getting into cheap shared signal phone setups.
>you usually don't see more than 2 lines.
>  
>
The term "square key" is from 1A/1A1/1A2 key set terminology,
1950's to
90's more or less.
>If you go the SIP route, you might get a little further down the road,
>but you also take a chance of integrating echo into the system. 
>
>The answers are there for someone with the requisite background
>knowledge of the hardware available. 
>  
>
Yes. This particular answer is dependent on the programming capabilities 
of the instrument in question and of the programmer in question.