ASM, ATA-2 over digital T1

[bwtc]

Two months ago, we removed all of our POTS lines in favor of a digital T1 (non-PRI).

We are running a MICS 5.0 at corporate.

Ever since the changeover, we have been receiving complaints from some customers about not being able to fax to us. Likewise, we have some internal complaints that we cannot fax to certain numbers. This problem did not exist prior to switching to the digital T1.

I have had telco test the line for errors, reset the circuit, etc., but the problem persists.

We have one ASM (NTBB51CA-93 rel 03), and 3 ATA-2's. From what I can tell, the problem seems to be more obvious on the ATA-2.

Has anyone else experienced similar problems with fax or data lines going over a digital T1 ?

I got the ok from my boss to order an additional ASM, but before I do so, I was wondering what the general consensus is of the ASM vs ATA-2.

Additionally, will I need a 50-pin amphenol connector for the second ASM, of will it work off of the ampenol from the first ASM, via the fiber cable?

Thanks

 

[bwtc]

All,

Here are my findings.

We received a refurbished ASM, which we have since hooked up, and swapped out the extensions that were on ATA-2's. This was accomplihsed by changing the DN's, then doing any necessary re-programming (target line, fwd on busy, etc).

We are experiencing the same problem... :-(

However, after playing around with the fax machines a little more, I discovered that when putting the fax on "manual" mode (rather than dialing the number, having the fax store & dial from memory), and physically having to press the "Start" button to start the transmission results in the fax going through without errors.

When dialing from memory mode, I can hear the fax number being dialed & when the answering fax starts to "squelch" (after the initial tone), the speaker goes silent & the fax machine attempts to connect.

So, this is telling me that there is a problem with the fax negotiation. Perhaps it takes a second or two for the line to "settle down" or "fine-tune itself" to the signal.

In the end, this does sound like a telco problem (most likely with compression).

Thank you for all your suggestions, and sorry for not trying this test first.