Things We Learned When Faxing Over an IP-Based Telephone System

Here are some of the things we learned when setting up fax machines over an Asterisk-based system.

1. If using Sangoma cards and T1/PRI make sure you have the synchronization cable.
2. The cable that come with the Sangoma A200 analog cards are smaller than most RJ11 I have ever seen. We cut the fat plug off of one side and punch down the wires to a 110. The smaller plug than goes directly into the analog card.
3. If it is an all-in-one fax, you may want to enable Error Correction mode. We found this in the "Settings" mode than go to "Advanced Settings".
4. If there is a problem with fax quality it is probably NOT the cable no matter what anyone tells you.
5. The biggest surprise was that our Kernel was too old. Our Kernel is version is 2.6.9. Sangoma has told us there is "noise" on the line and you need to upgrade to at least .18 to make a difference. Our vendor has said they do not support upgrading our Kernel to anything above.9.

In conclusion, if running a few fax machines keep them on dedicated lines and do not attempt to run through an Asterisk-based system. If you have several fax machines, use a fax server or subscribe to an efax service.

Contact Rich at rich@lmeconsulting.net or 916-601-1961.