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Analog Phone Line to SIP (lemmy.world)
submitted 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) by TCB13@lemmy.world to c/linux@lemmy.ml
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Hello,

So I have a Motorola SM56 USB Data Fax Modem (aka Apple USB Modem for some people) and according to information online this modem supports V.92, Caller ID, wake-on-ring and most importantly telephone answering (V.253).

At a place I happen to have an old telephone analog line that gets calls and unfortunately I can't get rid of. Any ideias / links / software on how can I use the modem + a low end box / ARM SBC to "digitize" the phone line into a generic SIP / VOIP that I can then connect to using MicroSIP on another computer?

Thank you.

Update on this:

I just tried the modem under Windows with a few programs such as Phone Dialer Pro and the built in dialer.exe and while the modem can detect incoming phone calls and place calls I can't pass the audio back to the operating system / phone software.

I did some research about the SM65 and it seems like it was designed to have an headset directly attached to it like on those PCI cards that also use it:

The built in COM port of the modems seems to be only usable to control the modem via AT commands and can't be used to pass audio form and to the system.

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[-] socphoenix@midwest.social 8 points 7 months ago

If it’s capable of acting like an fxo card then probably yes, with something like asterisk, without knowing more about the modem I would guess no however. You can see here for a forum discussion on the topic.

[-] aodhsishaj@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

Plus one for asterisk, very easy to set up in a secure fashion.

[-] TCB13@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

Motorola SM56

This is what the documentation says:

[-] wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works 3 points 7 months ago

FWIW, Linux has very poor support, if at all, for softmodems. I think the apple modem is one. But if not and it shows up fine in the devices, then what the other person said!

[-] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 7 months ago

There used to be quite a few softmodems that could be made to work in Linux. The problem is that most of the drivers have been unmaintained for 15-20 years.

[-] wildbus8979@sh.itjust.works 2 points 7 months ago

While that's true, that doesn't change what I said. The current state of softmodems in Linux is basically non existent. That's fine, soft modems kind suck anyway ;)

[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 3 points 7 months ago

Why can't you have your phone provider convert your service to digital? If they provide cell service too, you might even get them to port the number to cell service.

[-] TCB13@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago

Close to no cell service in the location, let alone optic fiber or any other means. Stuck with an analog landline that does ADSL at around 3.5 Mbps.

[-] catloaf@lemm.ee 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I'd still start by calling your provider and see what they think. They might jump at the chance to get rid of an old analog line.

Though I will warn you that IP telephony, while generally reliable, is still not as reliable as POTS. If this is critical to life safety, I'd just not mess with it.

I'm not aware of any software to do that, but I'm sure it exists. If you want to buy a device, you can get an FXO gateway or hybrid ATA. Those will let you use a VoIP phone over a POTS line, I think.

Also, if you already have Internet access, perhaps you might get a femtocell to provide local cell service over that ADSL connection.

[-] TCB13@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago

I’d still start by calling your provider and see what they think. They might jump at the chance to get rid of an old analog line.

Tried that route, they offered us a free cellphone line for a month and the thing was working around 2-3 hours a day around the middle of the day. They simply gave up and told me that they didn't have other options on that location.

this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2024
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