[K12OSN] IP based PA system?

[Tim Frichtel]

How about using a basic Asterisk setup, then putting softphones on the 
classroom machines, each configured to auto-answer?

That has the downside of assuming the clients are always on, working 
properly and the softphone is up. Depending on your budget, you might go 
with something basic like a Budgettone phone, then hack it a bit to run 
its speaker wire to a small amplified speaker.  We've done that for 
several months for central paging from Asterisk.

Tim

Jim Kronebusch wrote:

>I am forced to do some fairly creative thinking here.  In an effort to save
>some money the main school I work for is moving the Jr. high into our Sr. high
>campus.  We will now have Jr. high classrooms among Sr. high classrooms.  Now
>the fun part.  The sr high runs a 7 period day, the jr high an 8 period day. 
>And to even get more fun, they both want separate announcements throughout the
>day.
>
>So one of my many thoughts here is to build some sort of IP based system for
>announcements.  Does anyone know of a way to say take voice from a microphone
>hooked to one computer and broadcast it to any computer withing IP range
>x.x.x.1-.100?  Or on the other hand broadcast audio events from one central
>computer out to a range of others?
>
>Thinking that all classroom machines already have external amplifiers and
>speakers hooked up to them, and I already will know the schedule of what
>classes will be in each room for the day.  Can I script the IP's of machines
>to change to fall into range a or b at certain periods of the day to accept
>these broadcast events and play them locally on the speakers.
>
>I know, I am really grasping at straws here :-)  This whole setup is crazy. 
>But nobody will listen to me when I say dual schedules and mixed rooms is a
>nightmare.
>
>  
>