[opensuse] phoning through the computer with voice modem
Hello: I have a conventinal external serial line data/vioce/fax modem. Is it possible to make phone calls through the computer using this modem? I mean I would plug a headset into the computer's sound card and making the conversation through the headset. What program can do this? I have openSUSE 11.2. Thanks, Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 2010-07-30 12:15, Per Jessen wrote:
Yes, it is possible. I have seen it done years ago. There is some documentation of this in the hylafax project files. There is a setup somewhere to use the modem as answerphone with recorded messages as files in the computer. Some modems have jacks for audio in/out, which can be connected to the audio card in the computer. Others have "voice" capability: you speak into the microphone, the audio card digitizes this, it is sent over the serial port as "numbers", and the modem converts this data back to an analog signal (audio) that is sent electrically over the telephone wires, to be converted back to numbers at the exchange. Nothing magic about this. If the line is ISDN, there is only one conversion. That's the theory. I have never done it personally, nor do I have a voice modem presently. I'd like to... I would use it to make a filter for undesired phone calls via call-id. And... for VoIP, yes, you can use a plain modem. I know because I did it, with skyp - yes, it is voip, after all :-P - -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 11.2 x86_64 "Emerald" GM (Elessar)) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.12 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAkxSqu4ACgkQU92UU+smfQVC7ACcCcVYYIE8FEfLIIvm25tOpd3P 8OUAn1XLZCbzbnDg0q2N606PoWCuhATU =laoJ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Carlos E. R. wrote:
I did have a vague idea of something like that, but I dismissed it as Istvan talked about an external modem, connected over RS232. -- Per Jessen, Zürich (19.1°C) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
James Knott wrote:
I have set up systems with 8 conversations over a 128 Kb/s ISDN line.
VoIP? Otherwise that is just two B-channels, and they can (to my knowledge) carry one conversation each? -- Per Jessen, Zürich (20.5°C) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Per Jessen wrote:
Voice over IP or the same data over a serial link. I used a device from a company that used to be called "MCK" (I don't recall the new name). They have a line of PBX extenders, which could work over serial lines (ISDN, fractional T1 etc.) or IP. They had models that supported 8, 12 and 24 extensions and it was possible to configure for more lines than supported bandwidth, in which case not all extensions could be on a call at the same time (blocking). I often set up the 8 port model over a 128 Kb ISDN line. A 12 port model could be set up for 10 non-blocking extensions or 12 blocking, over 128 Kb, but I haven't done either of those configurations. They also have a single extension model that contained a regular dial up modem and used an ordinary phone line. These devices allow for PBX phones in a remote location and work with various PBX makes such as Nortel, Avaya etc. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
2010. július 30. 12:15 napon Per Jessen <per@opensuse.org> írta:
Well, probably I haven't made it clear. I don't want to use the modem to connect to the internet and make conversation through the net. I want to make conventional telephone call but instead of the handset (speaker and microphone) of the telephone I'd like to use my headset connected to the computer and use the modem to forward/receive the call (ie replace my telephone by modem+computer-headset). My moden have two 3.5 jack type plugins labeled as mic and speaker. I will check hylafax as Carlos suggested. Thanks, and if you have any concrete idea, please let me know. Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Istvan Gabor wrote:
You can do that, but with only 56K (actually, 56K down, 33.6 up) you'll have to use compression. The tightest compression is G.729A at 8 Kb/s, plus overhead. You may be able to get by with less compression and still fit within that modem's bandwidth. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
2010. július 30. 16:22 napon James Knott <james.knott@rogers.com> írta:
I do not understand why I should use compression. The regular phone conversation is not compressed either. Once more, I don't talk about VOIP. The issue is how I can transfer voice from the computer to the phone line with the help of the modem. Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Istvan Gabor wrote:
As I mentioned earlier, most modems won't do that. Those that will are "soft modems" or "Win modems" and require the appropriate software. A standard, hardware modem, which you said you had, connected via a serial ports simply is not capable of what you want. This leaves the alternative of voice over IP, which will require compression to fit within the bandwidth of that modem. There is no magic that we can tell you to perform that can make a modem do something that it wasn't designed for. Perhaps if you were to mention the make & model of your modem, we could provide further info. BTW, "regular" phone conversation is often compressed, if you go through a discount long distance carrier. It also is when you use a digital cell phone. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Monday 02 August 2010 00:07:32 James Knott wrote:
This isn't really true. A "WinModem" is basically a glorified sound card so it can do anything provided you have the software to generate the appropriate sound data for it, but there are hardware modems that can handle voice traffic as well. They are normally labelled "voice modems", and not all of them are winmodems. Way back when I still had a modem, I had it set up as an answering machine for regular analog voice calls. It worked quite well Anders -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 2010-08-02 00:07, James Knott wrote:
BTW, "regular" phone conversation is often compressed, if you go through a discount long distance carrier.
Not on the copper pair. It's analog.
It also is when you use a digital cell phone.
True. - -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 11.2 x86_64 "Emerald" GM (Elessar)) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.12 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAkxYgcwACgkQU92UU+smfQXjRQCeJp/s2DcpVImryKdADIdbZYwE DbwAnj0qRfFWBN7q/1yqtdJbRCiS381F =IMTN -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 2010-08-01 23:58, Istvan Gabor wrote:
No VoIP is involved here.
Cristal clear :-)
I will check hylafax as Carlos suggested.
Thanks, and if you have any concrete idea, please let me know.
You have two possible methods. If the modem (not a soft-modem) is labeled as voice-modem{-fax} then the voice can be sent, both directions, over the rs232 cables, as a stream of digits from/to the computer to/from the modem, where it is converted to/from voice. What goes over the phone lines is plain voice (the electrical analog of voice, 3Khz bandwidth), not a 56 encoded digital signal. What software can be used for this in linux I do not know, but I remember it was mentioned in the hylafax documentation. Search for answerphone, perhaps. I repeat, to make it clear, that this is not related at all to VoIP, nor does it need a high speed modem. It is plain voice over POTS. It needs a modem that is labeled "voice" capable. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_modem> It says there that the method is very limited. I did not know that. Now, the other method that you have available, is connecting an output of the sound card directly to the "mic" input of the modem, provided the signal levels is compatible. And the "out" of the modem goes to an input of the soundcard in the computer (or the other way round, check the manual). The you just adjust the mixer in the computer. This should be documented in the modem manual. Years ago, it was quite common in Windows, when you bought a modem, to get software that would handle this atumatically, combined with a big address book. You clicked on the address, the modem dialled, and on reply, the voice was routed via the aux telephone connector in the modem to a real phone (that the modem had disconnected while dialing), or via the computer soundcard if the modem had mic/out jacks, which is the case here. Again, I have not seen this in Linux, but it is plain old technology that predates Voice Over IP. Hey, no, there was a program in KDE 2 or 3 that did this. Years ago, yes. kaddressbook, perhaps? I don't remember.
You haven't understood the OP. This is plain voice, not Voice over IP.
Correct. Yes, you can. The issue is just finding the correct software in linux to do it. - -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 11.2 x86_64 "Emerald" GM (Elessar)) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.12 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAkxYgdEACgkQU92UU+smfQVh3ACcCF0GVOEZK6yioaGVkFYb+Bra jnMAoJM9j25eY7uZZIoVTV35JiUAPChV =CjsX -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Per Jessen wrote:
Actually, it is possible to use a 56K modem, if you use sufficient compression. For example, G.729 compression will fit in that with plenty of room to spare. I have set up PBX extenders, with 8 extensions, over a 128Kb/s ISDN line using G.729. In fact, I could have probably squeezed in 10 extensions. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
James Knott wrote:
I stand corrected - it's been so long since I've dealt with 56K modems that I forgot they weren't really that bad :-) -- Per Jessen, Zürich (20.8°C) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 12:09, Istvan Gabor wrote:
Ouch... a conventional modem? Your data rate even for low quality codecs will be right on the limit, or over, for a 56k modem. Most VoIP seems to be 55 to 100kbps depending on codec (up in the ISDN modem ranges basically). Skype has been known to work in the past on 56k modems as long as you're not doing anything else over the connection, not trying to send/receive video, and you accept that the audio quality will be quite poor. I don't know if it will work with the current version though... you could always give it a try. You would probably be able to chat using something like TeamSpeak which uses roughly 15kpbs up and 25 kbps down. The problem is you'd have to use an externally hosted TS Server and know others on TS... on that server... on that channel. You could not call conventional phones this way. C. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 07/30/2010 10:07 AM, James Knott wrote:
Two caveats: I've been on broadband for about 5 years, now, and I don't know what the current phone modems can do and have; and I never had an external modem, so don't know whether James is right or not. BUT... I used hardware modems and Winmodems ("soft" modems) from the late 80's until I went broadband, and for several years I used them as answering machines for my home personal and business use. Every one of them had a phone jack on the back panel that you could connect a handheld to, and every one came with software that you could use to connect to a mike through a sound card. I used both, both professionally and for home use on my single phone line with two accounts and two different numbers -- one for personal use and one for business use. On the other hand, linux back then was too primitive to use that way; I connected my linux box through Ethernet to my wife's Windows box, which held the modem and the Windows communication software. My points are that: --1. he may already have what he needs if he'll look at the back panel of his modem. --2. even if he doesn't, suse or someone may have the software he needs to connect to his modem through his sound card. John Perry -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
fwiw, I have in storage a Compaq computer with a Pentium processor (99Mhz?) and about 32 Mb of RAM that has a Windows 95 application which came with the machine that answers the phone, records voice messages, outputs announcements, and so on, all the bells-mit-whistles that one could expect: circa 1996. -- I have seen the future and I'm not in it! -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
2010. július 30. 16:07 napon James Knott <james.knott@rogers.com> írta:
I have searched the net a little bit and found that this feature is called "speakerphone" or "full duplex speakerphone" feature.This is different from the voice capability. The voice capability is for acting as answering machine, the speakerphone feature is for making phone calls (not VOIP). Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 06:09, Istvan Gabor <suseuser04@lajt.hu> wrote:
What you might want to look at is Asterisk. There are packages in openSUSE. While sadly your 56k hardware modem will not work three is one specific PCI 56k WinModem that works with Asterisk and there are very many other cards for that purpose.... just search on ebay PCI FXO. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
2010. július 31. 2:55 napon Andrew Joakimsen <joakimsen@gmail.com> írta:
Thanks. I had a look at asterisk's home page. I will check it in details later, but it seems you were right, it supports only a few types of phone cards. Thanks again, Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
2010/7/30 Istvan Gabor <suseuser04@lajt.hu>:
Check http://qtphone.sourceforge.net/, it seems to be what you're looking for, but don't know if it's finished. Regards, -- Ciro Iriarte http://cyruspy.wordpress.com -- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
2010. július 31. 5:00 napon Ciro Iriarte <cyruspy@gmail.com> írta:
Thanks, it looks like that is something what I need. I will check if I can make it work on my system as soon as I will have time for it. Thanks for the link, Istvan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 2010-07-30 12:15, Per Jessen wrote:
Yes, it is possible. I have seen it done years ago. There is some documentation of this in the hylafax project files. There is a setup somewhere to use the modem as answerphone with recorded messages as files in the computer. Some modems have jacks for audio in/out, which can be connected to the audio card in the computer. Others have "voice" capability: you speak into the microphone, the audio card digitizes this, it is sent over the serial port as "numbers", and the modem converts this data back to an analog signal (audio) that is sent electrically over the telephone wires, to be converted back to numbers at the exchange. Nothing magic about this. If the line is ISDN, there is only one conversion. That's the theory. I have never done it personally, nor do I have a voice modem presently. I'd like to... I would use it to make a filter for undesired phone calls via call-id. And... for VoIP, yes, you can use a plain modem. I know because I did it, with skyp - yes, it is voip, after all :-P - -- Cheers / Saludos, Carlos E. R. (from 11.2 x86_64 "Emerald" GM (Elessar)) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v2.0.12 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with SUSE - http://enigmail.mozdev.org/ iEYEARECAAYFAkxSqu4ACgkQU92UU+smfQVC7ACcCcVYYIE8FEfLIIvm25tOpd3P 8OUAn1XLZCbzbnDg0q2N606PoWCuhATU =laoJ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Carlos E. R. wrote:
I did have a vague idea of something like that, but I dismissed it as Istvan talked about an external modem, connected over RS232. -- Per Jessen, Zürich (19.1°C) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
James Knott wrote:
I have set up systems with 8 conversations over a 128 Kb/s ISDN line.
VoIP? Otherwise that is just two B-channels, and they can (to my knowledge) carry one conversation each? -- Per Jessen, Zürich (20.5°C) -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Per Jessen wrote:
Voice over IP or the same data over a serial link. I used a device from a company that used to be called "MCK" (I don't recall the new name). They have a line of PBX extenders, which could work over serial lines (ISDN, fractional T1 etc.) or IP. They had models that supported 8, 12 and 24 extensions and it was possible to configure for more lines than supported bandwidth, in which case not all extensions could be on a call at the same time (blocking). I often set up the 8 port model over a 128 Kb ISDN line. A 12 port model could be set up for 10 non-blocking extensions or 12 blocking, over 128 Kb, but I haven't done either of those configurations. They also have a single extension model that contained a regular dial up modem and used an ordinary phone line. These devices allow for PBX phones in a remote location and work with various PBX makes such as Nortel, Avaya etc. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
participants (10)
-
Anders Johansson -
Andrew Joakimsen -
C -
Carlos E. R. -
Ciro Iriarte -
Dog Walker -
Istvan Gabor -
James Knott -
John E. Perry -
Per Jessen