Asterisk / Skype integration

["mark_harrison_uk2" <mph@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

I have an existing Asterisk set up that works well - mix of
conventional phones and ethernet phones.

My problem, however, is that a few people with whom I deal have gone
the Skype route. I don't want to have a religious argument about
whether Skype is the "wrong way", but I am left with an
integration
problem because it's such a closed system, and I _need_ to use it.

The problem for me is, of course, that when I receive an analogue
call, or a SIP call, the phones throughout the house ring... but when
I receive a Skype call, the PC on my desk beeps... so unless I happen
to be in my study, I don't realise that the call's coming in, let
alone be able to answer it elsewhere in the house.

It was suggested last night that various people on eBay sell a "USB
->
RJ11" connector intended for use with Skype.

It struck me that I could leave a PC running Skype, plug in this
connector, and wire it straight through, not to a handset, but to a
spare port on Asterisk.

I could then configure Asterisk to handle incoming calls on that port
by ringing throughout out the house, etc., etc.

Has anyone tried this?

My key questions - does the USB -> RJ11 adaptor signal properly? and
does the Skype software auto-answer when the handset attached to it is
picked up? (The last thing I want is to have to run to the office to
click on a mouse button in order to answer a call on a physical handset.)

Mark