Fax modem dialling out number not recognised

tbernstein · Joined: May 16, 2003 Posts: 1502 Location: London

I have a fax modem on my new PC.
I just connected it and wanted to use it.
It dials out fine. But then my phone supplier's recoded message comes on saying "number not recognised" with accompanying sound effects.
I've tried a range of numbers and two Fax programmes.
Same problem.
I've contacted the software maker and he is trying to find a solution, but nothing yet.
I've contacted the phone people. ( I connect through a cable system, but my house phones work fine) They can't find any problem and don't see why it shouldn't work.
I've run any tests I can find on the modem, and it seems OK.
I can't think of anything else to try.

xavierx · Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 3361

What OS are you using?

Also, have you tried dialing the number that you're trying to reach from you regular phone? You won't be able to talk to the fax on the other end, but it should pick up and beep and hiss at you. If you can do that, at least you can rule out the phone, and focus on the new modem.

tbernstein · Joined: May 16, 2003 Posts: 1502 Location: London

Yes, I've hand dialled through my phone. That's fine.
It's Vista Home Premium.

BudDurland · Joined: Dec 05, 2002 Posts: 414

Make sure the dialing properties of the modem aren't set to dial "9" before the number. This is a Windows thing, not in the settings for your fax software. I'm not sure where it's at in Vista.

xavierx · Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 3361

Vista Dialing Rules, Modems, and Advanced settings

Since the number works through the regular phone, and the error you're getting is from the phone company, I agree, it sounds like a dialing rules issue.

goretsky

Hello,

Out of curiosity, are you using a VoIP phone line?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

tbernstein · Joined: May 16, 2003 Posts: 1502 Location: London

Since my ignorance about telephone systems is close to total I don't know how the system works.
The house phones are just regular phones, wired to a standard telephone point, that connects to the telephone system via cable. From that point on it rejoins the main phone system and works in the usual way. Except that my fax signal doesn't seem to get there. Sad

xavierx · Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 3361

Have you tried making a voice call through the modem? I don't recall if Vista has a phone dialer built in, but win xp did: C:\Windows\dialer.exe

goretsky

Hello,

With a VoIP phone system, your voice telephone line is sent over a broadband Internet connection, which would typically be provided via a cable or ADSL modem at home, or via T1/E1 at work.

The reason I ask is that sending a fax (or using a modem) over a VoIP phone line can be problematic because the signal gets distorted during transmission due to data compression and echo cancellation. This can be resolved if the VoIP line supports the T.38 standard for sending faxes over a network, but VoIP providers typically charge a premium for enabling this as it increases their costs.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

Bearly1227 · Joined: Feb 21, 2003 Posts: 18

Hi,

Today may be your lucky day. <smile>

Apparently, at least a portion of the number is being dialed, as you are getting a "incorrect dialed" error message. That is good news. There is (or was) a problem with news houses (built last 25 years in developments with built in telephone wiring), but it doesn't 'sound like THAT problem!!

This "problem" used to occur regularly, if not often, even with just plain modems on plain old dialup (POTS).

How do I know? For many years, across four major computer companies (now all 1 . . heh pooh), we designed, tested and supported WAN products. Enough drivel.

Sometimes, there is a very small time interval between the time the modem accesses the phone line and the start of dialing. Actually, between line access and dial tone. If this IS the problem, then we need a string of 2 second delays (commas, 1 comma = 2 seconds delay in dialing).

The error pattern is that the modem begins it's dialing before the dial tone is actually present, causing an erroronei .. faulty ... number to be dialed.

If just dialing 7 or 10 digits, put a couple of commas (2 second delays) at the beginning of the dial string. Example: ,,AAA-ppp-ssss

If you have call waiting on your phone line, then try ,,*70, AAA-ppp-ssss
which shuts off call waiting.

If calling Long distance, and if you have to dial the "1" or "011" first, then put the commas ahead of it.

Also, since not all modems are built to the same "command line" standards, make sure you have the "sound enabled" so you can hear the dialing process, and those squeaks, squawks, shhhhhhhhhhhh, dong dong, rhiiiiittttt done sounds.

(Yeah, I know the descriptions sound sexy, but I only supported modems, I had no say in the International Standards for Serial Line Interfaces).

As a side note, although there were many brand names of modems, there were only like 5 manufactures. The better modems use the MNP Error correcting codes (Microcom Networking Protocol), now a part of HP.

Try the suggestions. If they don't work or if the errors changes, let us know and we'll take another stab.

If you can, determine the company that "made" the modem by model number (it is probably just a chip on the MB and uses downloadable software to drive it. But, in general, still has to have software, and interface to the phone cord, and on that end must correspond to the International Standards.

Oh, I am assuming this is in the North America?

(Or an USA Military base in any other country.)

Good Luck,

Feedback please with the results. I only get paid in "attaboys" now. <smile>

Bob

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 991 Location: Central FL, USA

It used to really amaze me, how one modem will dial like it's Turbo Charged and the next one (different mfgr) will be so slow that you think it will NEVER finish.

On those really fast dialing modems.....we used to regularly use the commas to separate the different sections of the number. That was especially important if you were in a building where you had to dial 9 to get an outside line. Sometimes you had to have three commas in the dialing string, after the 9, to get past the in-house phone equipment.

Phone equipment, at least here in the US, has gotten better over the years and we don't normally have to do too many acrobatics to get our modems to work well. The biggest problem we have here in FL. is corroded connections in the phone line system. The constant heat and humidity really does a number on those connections. The closer you get to the ocean, the worse it gets. Crying or Very sad

Cheers Mates!
The Doctor Cool

Bearly1227 · Joined: Feb 21, 2003 Posts: 18

Oh yeah!

For "most" of North America, most of the countries (USA & Canada) this is true. Somewhere around 1975, a very small town up in Maine decided to "modernize" their "ringer boxes" and patch panels. Yes, you heard right! They still had the old wooden cased phones with the DC ringers.

I began civilian technical life with a tiny company that made Telephone Test Equipment (in 1970), and it soon became abundently clear that not all phone companies were as modern as one would hope.

After my transition to Modem Support in 1984, it eventually became clear that not only did all companies have equal equipment, but many homeowners had wiring (like mine) that dated back to the early 1900's.

(My own phone wires collapsed, cloth covered things the copper wire crystallized and then failed as the Cu disintegrated under finger pressure.)

Initially some our customers thought I was nutz when I asked the age of their house when troubleshooting!! Shocked

You are very correct about adding commas (as did my incomplete suggestions), as sometimes you could pick up the phone receiver (go off hook) and hear the long pause. Confused

The thing about new houses, is that prewired phone service often used the inner pair for one phone number and the outer pair for the second phone number. Didn't matter much to the "cheaper" modems, as they could only use one pair anyway. On the high end modems, the inner pair was for POTS lines, and the inner and outer pairs were used for Leased Line, but were shorted together for homes. Embarassed

Bob

goretsky

Hello,

If you unplug your fax modem and plug a telephone into the line and dial the fax number, do you hear a handshake tone from the fax at the other end?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 991 Location: Central FL, USA

I've been at some customer's homes where you can pick up a phone and it will be two or three seconds before you get a Dial Tone.
Most people know enough to wait for the dial tone, but many modems won't. They start to dial as soon as the connection to the phone line is complete....dial tone or NO dial tone.
In some modem settings, you can tell it to wait for a dial tone.

Commas! solves the delayed dial tone problem.

Doc Cool

xavierx · Joined: Nov 06, 2004 Posts: 3361

Wow, it's been so long since I used dial up that I had completely forgotten about commas! I had to add commas before my dial-up ISP phone number about 12 years ago for just that reason, Doc.

tbernstein · Joined: May 16, 2003 Posts: 1502 Location: London

hamhox · Joined: Oct 21, 2006 Posts: 41

Remember the phrase 'Hayes-compatible'? Yeah WAY back........
One of the registers accessible by S/W sets the DTMF tone duration.
I think the fastest setting available is 250mSec.

Ham

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 991 Location: Central FL, USA

I set up a home PC for dial up service, one day a few years back.
Nothing I could do including polishing up the connections all the way back to the outside phone box would make that PC complete a connection to the ISP.

I told the customer to call the phone company, and I left.
Two days later I got a call from that customer and they told me that the phone man got it working, after repairing a bad connection in a switch box two blocks down the street. Voice was getting thru, but NOT data.
That comes under the heading, "Same old crap...different day".

T....I'm glad you got on the right track.

An afterthought:
If the phone line to a PC is run thru a Surge Protector, and it does its job, it will open the line between the wall and the PC if hit by a large power surge, like what can happen during a thunder storm.

I have one customer that gets hit at least once a year and I have to go out and replace the surge protector. I just did it again last week, and sure nuff, the little 1/2A, fuse in the phone line protector was blown out. The modem and the PC were OK. Just replacing the surge protector solved the problem of not being able to get on-line.
I now carry 1/2A fuses in stock so I can recycle those surge protectors.
I also carry a new surge protector in my parts kit.
APC makes a great little "Surge Protector" that sells for less than $10.

Cheers mate!
The Doctor Cool