Analog Postage Meter Dial Out through 3CX

[tony28]

Has anyone successfully connected a postage meter to dial out via ATA adapter through 3CX?
What ATA adapter did you use and what are the settings?

 

[cobaltit]

Get a new postage meter my man. They've been making them with wifi or ethernet for years now. Otherwise I'd do the USB with PC software which is what I did last time I got fed up trying to do it via ATA. Postage meters are a PITA.

 

[tony28]

I am exploring the possibilities and limitations with 3CX, if analog devices can be made to work.
I tested fax and it works. So I wanted to know if postage meter can be made to work as well.
I want to understand why fax worked and the meter did not.

 

[cobaltit]

Anything can be made to work. It's a question of whether it can be made to work reliably. Postage meters are more picky than fax, it's as simple as that.

 

[FS_Mathieu]

On 3CX guide they say :

Case 2: SIP Incompatible Devices

If you are using modes or postage meters this configuration is a must as those protocols (modem) can not be transported via SIP. The device must be connected to the beroNet gateway and from there routed in and out to the public PSTN network in order to work.

https://www.3cx.com/voip-gateways/beronet-fax-machine/

You could do the same trick as with a fax : pointing FXS on the postage meter and then point the DID on it in 3CX. Then your device should use that way to communicate

 

[tony28]

Unfortunately no PSTN. It has to go through SIP. I just wanted to check because I read somewhere that he "disabled echo cancellation for fax through the "Fax Disable ECAN" setting on the adapter. Since this isn't a fax, it was remaining enabled. I disabled it globally and Voila... it worked like a charm."
He used an SPA2102

 

[FS_Mathieu]

Oh okay I see, and that's not working for you right ?

 

[JohnS_3CX]

This isn't a fax but generally speaking, when using anything utilizing a voice modem (fax machines, meters, dial-up modems etc) you must always start with echo cancellation off.

Those devices were designed for an analog phone line and they had their own echo cancellation considerations in their design. You must emulate the original line conditions as close as possible. This usually means things like

• smallest buffer to reduce delays
• no echo cancellation
• PCMA/PCMU as a minimum to avoid signal degradation
• no VAD or comfort noise
• generally anything that changes the signal quality or introduces attenuation and delays in propagation