Retro analogue fire and burglar alarms after 3CX upgrade

[chrisjako]

How do you do it?

it’s just dawned on me I will need to sort out our burglar and fire alarm telephone lines which require an active analogue connection,

is there some sort of device I can buy which they can plug into that will convert the call to use SIP connection?

 

[Evolute IT]

FXS Gateways & ATAs​

• beroNet Analog FXS
• Grandstream GXW4216, GXW4224, GXW4232, GXW4248 FXS
• Grandstream HT801, HT802, HT812, HT814, HT818 FXS
• Patton SmartNode 200, 4141 FXS
• Patton Smartnode 4112, 4114 FXS

From: https://www.3cx.com/sip-phones/

More exists but those are the supported one. You will need an SBC or a on-prem/VPNed PBX to use those.

 

[chrisjako]

I have an on prem pbx, can it just go on same vlan as that or does it need its own

 

[leejor]

Alarm systems will use a modem, and how well that works over VoIP depends on how slow the data rate of the device (if the device will slow until there is a reliable connection), the slower the better. If it's locked in at 48,000, it may fail, if it will slow to 9600, then it may function.

 

[JohnS_3CX]

While you can use an ATA to achieve this, it is considered more reliable to use either a real analog line or have the alarm company install a GSM module so the alarm will work independently over a mobile network.

Keep in mind that if the ATA loses power or the network in the building goes down goes down, the alarm will not be able to send an alert.

Basically, if they cut the power or the internet then the alarm will not be able to send an alert.

 

[FridayIT]

How do you do it?

it’s just dawned on me I will need to sort out our burglar and fire alarm telephone lines which require an active analogue connection,

is there some sort of device I can buy which they can plug into that will convert the call to use SIP connection?

Going to give you one super huge tip for this, If you are using "Mircom" for this, their system's use a very rarely implemented standard for voip. They send their button presses as "sip info" packets. If you are using mircom, you will need to have a provider that supports this which is more difficult than it sounds (I had to interview 4 different providers before I found one that could.)

 

[Stephen Quam]

We have had success with alarm panels over VoIP with ATAs. However as others have stated it would be better to see if there is an option for them to go over the cell network, and/or directly over the internet. This may even be required by code or in the agreement for the alarm if an analog line cannot be used.

 

[dkirk-ads]

Fought this problem recently for weeks, using two different ATAs, using normal SIP and the FAX T.38, tried everything I knew but alarm company would see the call but never understand any of the communication, always gibberish. Ended up upgrading to GSM phone and ripped out all of the SIP / Alarm installation, which really is a better solution, and it came with Ethernet Internet connectivity as well. Plug-n-Play ease and stable.

 

[cobaltit]

Fought this problem recently for weeks, using two different ATAs, using normal SIP and the FAX T.38, tried everything I knew but alarm company would see the call but never understand any of the communication, always gibberish. Ended up upgrading to GSM phone and ripped out all of the SIP / Alarm installation, which really is a better solution, and it came with Ethernet Internet connectivity as well. Plug-n-Play ease and stable.

If you search the threads you'll see multiple posts about this, and that is ALWAYS my recommended solution. That puts the burden squarely on the alarm company for all aspects of the service, as they love to blame the phone line for issues.