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ATA186: FAX Modem does not answer

oinojosa12
Level 1
Level 1

I have FAX Modem "HCF 56K PCI Modem". It off-hook on third ring and receive fax OK when connected to PSTN analog lines.

But when connected to ATA186 it does not off-hook and calling party hears ringback tone indefinitely. I tested ATA186 with a physical fax an it works fine.

1 Accepted Solution

Accepted Solutions

Yes, this should work better. In addition to modem passthrough you also will have the option of Cisco modem relay for analog ports in 12.4(4)T and above. Getting modems to work over IP can be tricky no matter what products are being used but I have had good luck with getting modems to work over the ISR gateways. Granted, I rarely see a speed above 30 kbps but at least I get a pretty reliable connection.

Regards,

David

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8 Replies 8

ryhicks
Level 1
Level 1

I am pretty sure the ATA does not support modem passthrough or relay and it will support fax passthrough.

ATA issues

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/gatecont/ps514/products_qanda_item09186a00800946e1.shtml

I would purchase a new fax-modem adaptor, PCI or USB, someone could recommend a manufacturer that is known to work with the ATA186?

Hi oinojosa12,

Your 56k Modem will not operate on a ATA, the only way I "could" see it working is if you set the baudrate to 14400.

I would suggest installing a FXS card in your voice gateway to connect to the modem.

Regards,

Justin

But I have tested laptops that have integrated modemfax with the ATA and it works.

I have purchased a new DELL USB Modem Fax (OEM from Conexant RD02-D400 Rev A03) but also fails.

I also noticed that the modem fax appears to answer (Fax console on Windows say it is answering a call) but ATA continues ringing (appears to be ATA does not detect that the modem fax answered the call).

Cisco officially does not support modems over the ATA. Only G3 faxes (14.4 kbps and below) are officially supported. So, if you get modems to work over an ATA then that is great but if you cannot get it to work then from Cisco's perspective you are on your own.

With that being said, I have seen some customers get modems working over ATAs and they have not had a problem. Personally, I have not had much luck.

The lower the speed the more success these customers tended to have so as others have mentioned, setting your modem to a slower speed should increase your success rate. Also, other factors come into play as well. Some modem endpoints are more robust than others and tend to handle connections through an ATA much better than others. The customers that tended to have the most success usually used standalone USR modems. Additionally, every connection can be different, with varying amounts of delay, echo reflection points, and so on that can further complicate the scenario.

So, getting modems to work with an ATA can be difficult and even though laptop modem cards may have worked for you in the past with the ATA, there is no guarantee that they will always work. The ATA was simply not designed to work with modems or Cisco would support this type of connection. I know that this is probably not what you wanted to hear but maybe it will explain some of the problems that you are encountering.

Regards,

David

Thanks David,

As I have to recommend my customer a solution, could you please tell me if modem-fax cards would work well when connected to a FXS port on a Cisco 3845?

Yes, this should work better. In addition to modem passthrough you also will have the option of Cisco modem relay for analog ports in 12.4(4)T and above. Getting modems to work over IP can be tricky no matter what products are being used but I have had good luck with getting modems to work over the ISR gateways. Granted, I rarely see a speed above 30 kbps but at least I get a pretty reliable connection.

Regards,

David

Hi David

i wish you have time to give me an answer that will help us

we have a customer that we configured to them cisco VOIP solusion IPTEL and now the issue is: they have branch offeces all connected to the HQ thorugh WAN and the HQ has the PSTN link

the problem is the pranch offces using Efpots for payments and FAXs over the WAN the analog devices connect to ATAs !!

but it work once and not many times !!

and faxes as well

when they put VG for test it work better but not 100% as well

could you help in this as your are on of cisco expert in this field and i had a look at your book very helpful as well :)

for example can guide where we have to look to see the issue and what are your suggestions

Thank you

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