asterisk users - May 2005 - Sipura SPA-3000 call progress, and interdigit delays

Hello,

   I've been experimenting with Asterisk 1.0.6 and a Sipura SPA-3000, and
I've run into a couple of questions I haven't yet found clear answers
to:


      It appears that the SPA-3000 has no call progress on it's FXO
interface?  Asterisk considers a dial() as answered when the SPA-3000 has
dialed the number on the PSTN line, not when someone has answered a phone
on the other end.  Similarly I have seen situations where one incoming
ring on the PSTN causes Asterisk to answer and interact with the dial
tone.  I've thought about experimenting with CPC or polarity reversal
settings, but figured I'd see what others' experiences were first too.

   I have read list archives about difficulties in detecting call progress
(ring sound vs. voltage) - I know that sip calls
have better dial progress than what I'm seeing with the SPA-3000 - How do
the TDM cards, the Mediatrix 1204, or other PSTN interfaces do in terms of
dial progress?


   I've also noticed that a dial plan for line 1 (FXS) on the SPA-3000 of
only:
(*5)

   still does not connect the call until after the interdigit short timer
has expired.  Especially as the *5 is the only thing in the SPA-3000's
dial plan, there are no other dial candidates to match.  If I do the
same thing with a dial plan of (0) the call is connected right away.  The
SPA-3000 manual says this about interdigit timeouts:

"The interdigit timer values are used as defaults when dialing. The
Interdigit_Long_Timer is used after any one digit, if all valid matching
sequences in the dial plan are incomplete as dialed. The
Interdigit_Short_Timer is used after any one digit, if at least one
matching sequence is complete as dialed, but more dialed digits would
match other as yet incomplete sequences."

    I've just found that setting interdigit short time out to 0 fixes this
issue (now dialing *5 connects right away), however I'm curious whether I
am interpreting the manual incorrectly, or there is another issue
(SPA-3000 waiting for the short time out for some other reason for *x
numbers)?



Thanks in advance for your thoughts,
Ivan.