Do normal modems work with asterisk?
James Moran wrote:>Do normal modems work with asterisk? > >Taken from the FAQ: Can I use my modem to connect to the PSTN? The answer is short: No you cannot. You'll need special telephony hardware. Further info under: http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+FAQ HTH, Martin
Actually, the short answer any more is yes, you can use a modem. I know it is better for several reasons to use an actual Digium X100P. The main reason being that supporting them is a very good thing. They are the reason Asterisk exists. However, I see lots of messages in various forums wanting something cheap to start out with, and for many of us, $100 for a card, or $180 for a dev kit just doesn't fit the budget for a test or hobby system. Personally I would like to see them sell a cheaper version, without the support option. If they sold one per customer for $50 without the hour of support, I think people would be more likely to buy one. I would have, that is for sure. That being said, you need a specific firmware on the modem, Intel 537 or MD3200. I purchased a cheap one on eBay ($3 plus shipping) and it works fine. It specifically said in the auction that it had the MD3200 firmware. I put it in the system and let Kudzu detect and setup the card on startup. I then followed the instructions for setting up an X100P card, with no source modifications needed. I am seeing a periodic Caller ID error, but the information still comes into * fine. See the Wiki for more info. http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+Hardware Please note that I do not sell any of these cards on eBay, and am not trying to support any specific seller. I simply found one the works, and wanted to help others in low-budget situations out. I will be happy to help anyone out that needs it with these cards, but keep in mind that mine installed with no issues at all, so I don't have any troubleshooting experience with this card. My feelings on the hardware issue is that support can go to Digium in different ways. Just because someone isn't supporting them by buying hardware, doesn't mean they can't submit bug fixes and feature enhancements. I know many people who can't afford those prices for hardware, but now that I have a working setup, I an going to try to get them to do the same. I know that once they are hooked, they will be exploring the system with a fine toothed comb. The more people that work on the software side the better, regardless of whether or not they bought the hardware or not. If you get one of these cards, please let me know if you need any help, and update the Wiki if you have any other issues or information. Jeremy -----Original Message----- From: Martin Mielke [mailto:martin.mielke@thales-is.com] Sent: Tuesday, March 30, 2004 8:19 AM To: asterisk-users@lists.digium.com Subject: Re: [Asterisk-Users] Modems James Moran wrote:>Do normal modems work with asterisk? > >Taken from the FAQ: Can I use my modem to connect to the PSTN? The answer is short: No you cannot. You'll need special telephony hardware. Further info under: http://www.voip-info.org/wiki-Asterisk+FAQ HTH, Martin _______________________________________________ Asterisk-Users mailing list Asterisk-Users@lists.digium.com http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users To UNSUBSCRIBE or update options visit: http://lists.digium.com/mailman/listinfo/asterisk-users
-----Original Message----->Hi Jeremy,>Jeremy Hall wrote:>>Actually, the short answer any more is yes, you can use a modem.>Cool! that could make my life easier when setting up a demo system to >"sell" Asterisk to my bosses... :-)<<SNIP>>> Glad I could help, that is why I posted the message to the list when I saw the latest "no modems" reply.>By now I only need a working VoIP<->PSTN demo on Asterisk. Buying such >dedicated telephony cards is the next step.That was the same situation I was in. I had my system working with a couple of different SIP and IAX providers, and wanted to make that next step. Now I am just waiting for the IAXY to become available to connect standard phones into the mix as extensions and maybe get a SIP or IAX phone or two as well.>>That being said, you need a specific firmware on the modem, Intel 537or>>MD3200.>How to find out? For both the built-in modem in my laptop and for the >external US-Robotics I can't find it on the provided docs...I can tell you right now that the external USR modem will not work. It will have a 3Com chipset on it. And unless it is USB, it is a serial modem and doesn't support voice anyway. Ironically, what you need is a WinModem that most of us have tried to avoid for so long. The modem on your laptop probably won't work either. But if Linux recognizes it, you won't break anything by trying. Just follow the directions as if you are using an X100P and see if it works. What I did was do a search on eBay for Intel MD3200 modem and it returned several auctions where the seller specifically listed the firmware. If you have a bunch of modems you want to look at, mine came with a white Intel sticker on the main chip. When I removed that label, it had MD3200 etched on the chip along with some other numbers.>[ snip ]>Could you please provide some help on how to configure Asterisk to usea>modem for outgoing calls? For outgoing SIP-calls it works fine...Your first step is finding a compatible modem and installing it. In my case, I physically installed it in my system, and let Kudzu set it up on the first boot in. I then followed the instructions for installing an X100P, and it worked like a charm. Contrary to popular belief, I did not need to modify any source code or any odd settings. Zttools recognized it as a Generic or Clone (don't remember which) telephony card. When I first went in to zttools, it showed the card in a RED alarm state. I plugged in the phone line and it happily went to GREEN. Once you have a working card, there are several examples out there, some off of the Unofficial Links page on the Asterisk web page, and others on the Wiki.>Thanks and regards, >MartinYou're very welcome Martin. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask. Jeremy
Does anyone know if I use a Digium boards (1 PRI, 4FXO ports and 2FXS ports and attach a modem to the FXS ports if I can make outbound calls on the FXO port or a PRI channel with the modem? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.digium.com/pipermail/asterisk-users/attachments/20040920/cf0b8227/attachment.htm