Can't use Fax (analog) in system 1

[MakeItSo]

Hello there!

I'm now tech director for a brand new company (just imagine you can do it all from scratch - your way!), but when it comes to phone systems, I'm pretty much of a noob.

Yet, I managed to acquire a telephone system (Siemens HiPath 3750) for the internal communication of our company. It functions well, so no problem there.
The problem however is the fax, which just won't do it. :-(

It is an scan/print/fax all-in-one HP OfficeJet5780 (don't worry: we use a real printer for the real print jobs), and it very obviously needs an analog port - which we don't have. All phone connections inhouse are CAT6.
So I got a terminal adapter which was supposed to function in a HiPath environment. Yet, after connecting it and connecting the HP to the adapter, I still get the same error message, the HP ALWAYS gives: "no dial tone recognized".


Sending and receiving faxes naturally fails. The extensions including that for the fax place have been set up via remote service, by the Siemens seller himself. All phone extensions function nicely, but incoming faxes end up at the central drop point - my boss - who is naturally all tickles about these funny calls (and retries!) that just beep...


Too bad we really do still need a fax for some customers in this digital age, else I'd be in a fantastic mood to just let this thing die for good...


Any of you have some idea on how I can get this darn thing to work?

Thanks a lot!
Andy

[navy]"We had to turn off that service to comply with the CDA Bill."[/navy]
- The Bastard Operator From Hell

 

[donb01]

Well, to start off with, if you bought this thing from a vendor I would expect them to stand behind their work and fix the problem.

That being said, you would need to determine if your 3750 has any analog port cards installed. I don't think there is a vendor worth their salt that would not still equip a switch with at least a few analog ports for the leftover modems still in use, faxes, credit card terminals, etc.

If the ports are there, and the vendor has programmed them, then someone needs to check the wiring from that port address out to the jack and make sure it's OK.

Someone should hook a plain old analog telephone up to that jack and see if they get dial tone and can make calls. If they can, then make sure the cable coming from your phone jack to your HP is plugged in to the jack labeled {LINE, WALL, TELCO one of those}. If its plugged into the one that says EXT that jack is automatically disconnected when the machine goes off hook to dial (to prevent any accidental interruption of the fax due to a phone or credit card terminal sharing the fax line) so switch the cable to the correct jack.

If your relying on the vendor for everything the only thing you can do otherwise is to call them in to make it right.

Hope this helps.

 

[MakeItSo]

First of all: thanks for the feedback, Don, greatly appreciated!

We did buy this thing from a certified reseller, however that price does not include FULL installation service. Anything software-related can be done by him and has been done. Anything other than technical failure is extra-cost.
He has configured the system and all extensions dial through nicely, except the fax. Its extension number is correctly configured, the fax just won't react, as it does not understand the signal provided by the system.
The wiring, i.e. connecting to the patch bar, has been done by a vendor, and we can have him come and do the wiring. However, this will also not be for free. He is not a Siemens specialist, and what I've learnt so far is that Siemens is sort of a very special case. You can't blame that guy for not knowing everything.
I can't.

Actually, it's more or less a LUSER problem on my behalf: I simply did not anticipate such issues.
The entire office was pre-wired, i.e. all wiring was already present with enough power sockets and phone/computer jacks at each workspace. Alas: no analog sockets, just CAT5/6 patches. Of course, the phone system has been wired digitally consistently throughout the entire office...

The system does provide the possibility for a few analog connections. These however have not been wired to an analog output yet. Since I did not intend to spend another hundreds for the IT guy to come by and do me one wire just for that bleeding fax, I was hoping to get around this somehow.

Said Terminal Adapter was supposed to provide an analog connection in a digital environment, hence this was my approach. I had called the TA manufacturer's tech hotline, and they confirmed that the TA would work in a HiPath environment. It even DOES give me the confirmation beeps as described in the manual. Yet that darn thing won't do what it's supposed to!


Well, enough rant. Guess I'll return the TA with a "thanks, but no thanks" and get the IT guy to plant me an analog connection.
[sigh]

[navy]"We had to turn off that service to comply with the CDA Bill."[/navy]
- The Bastard Operator From Hell

 

[Bas1234]

What provider/lines are you using?

___________________________________________
It works! Now if only I could remember what I did...
___________________________________________

 

[donb01]

Oh, I think I'm getting more of an understanding now. When you said you wired with CAT6 I assumed you did the same as me and wired your place for future capabilities.

What I did not get from your original message, and am now presuming from the second one is that you are running your 3750 purely IP and you are trying to hook a lan/ip port to an analog fax machine. I'll be honest, I don't have a clue. It sounds like you need some kind of PSTN Gateway to convert the telco signal required by the fax to the IP signal required by the phone system, but what I read looks like that is designed to send/receive traffic to the local CO and not to individual devices.

I think you may be cheaper off to just have the analog port programmed and wired out. You can still use your CAT6 cable, just take a piece of cable and crimp an RJ11 connector on one end and punch the first pair of wires down to the analog terminal on the other - then simply plug the RJ11 into your chosen jack in the patch panel and you are set to go... theoretically!

 

[MakeItSo]

Oh, I think I'm getting more of an understanding now. When you said you wired with CAT6 I assumed you did the same as me and wired your place for future capabilities.

What I did not get from your original message, and am now presuming from the second one is that you are running your 3750 purely IP and you are trying to hook a lan/ip port to an analog fax machine.

Exactemundo!
Interestingly, the fax machine's self-test gave everything a pass, including the phone line. All that failed was the dial tone recognition - and establishing a true connection.

You can still use your CAT6 cable, just take a piece of cable and crimp an RJ11 connector on one end and punch the first pair of wires down to the analog terminal on the other - then simply plug the RJ11 into your chosen jack in the patch panel and you are set to go... theoretically!

Sounds interesting...

I think I'll give that a try!


[navy]"We had to turn off that service to comply with the CDA Bill."[/navy]
- The Bastard Operator From Hell

 

[HiPathos]

Not sure what you were provided with... a HiPath 3750 with a HG1500 card running gatekeeper/ gateway services?
If so, the AP1120 unit provides analog connectivity to the lan and it does work if configured correctly.

 

[MakeItSo]

Hi, HiPathos.

Yes, it has a HG1500 card, but Network/IP Access is set inactive.

AP1120?
You mean I have to buy a TA for frigging 420 Euros to make a bloody fax work?! You gotta be kidding!

[navy]"We had to turn off that service to comply with the CDA Bill."[/navy]
- The Bastard Operator From Hell

 

[HiPathos]

Yes, if you want to connect ip to analog port, that's what the AP1120 does.
If not, just use an analog port off an SLA card or use an analog adapter in the bottom of a compatible Optipoint phone.

 

[donb01]

Oh yeah - I forgot about the Analog adapter that snaps into the bottom of the phone. I use those all over the place so I don't have to buy another SLA card.....