Analog modem, Digital switchboard

[Mutley]

I have a laptop with a inbuilt 56k modem. I'd like to use it to dial-up from where I work. The problem is the modem wont connect via any phone line in the building because we use a digital switchboard (the modem is fine on my home phone line and others). I'm led to that believe that it should actually be possible to dial-up if an adaptor of some kind is used However I have no idea where to get one from. Tried searching the internet but with joy. It doesnt help that i'm not quite sure what i'm looking for exactly. Any ideas?

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[muckshifter]

A dial-up modem can only handle one Analogue to Digital conversion ... the only modem I know that could possibly do it was a 3Com/USR 56k modem.

However, if you did have the 3com the set-up was very messy ... not worth the bother to get it to occasionally work, and then at only 28.8 or if you were lucky 33.6.

Softmodems based on Conexant chipset do not support A/D conversion detection.

Workarounds include getting a separate phone line for the modem, or plugging the modem into the same phone jack as the fax machine, which is probably plugged into a direct outside line, because fax machines also have problems with PBX systems.

If you find an "adapter" let me know ... we could make a killing on the sales.

 

[Techy]

A stab in the dark, would an ISDN adapter work?

surely you can modify what speed it connects at, change the settings to that of a 56k modem?

at the end of the day all a modem does is dials a number and modulates and de-modulates data (convert's digital to analogue and vice versa), an ISDN card dials it just doesn't convert the data.

Why not???

J

 

[andy j]

Hi Mutley

Was just wondering, in the dial out settings I think there is a option to put a " Dial a outside line" number in
Or I could be barking up the wrong tree here
Its worth a try?

 

[Mutley]

Thanks for all the replies. I don't have any idea if an ISDN adaptor would work. I have selected the correct external prefix but no joy. I have found that there are some widgets that can let the modem running on a digital line (such as http://www.laptoptravel.com/Product.aspx?ID=1565). They do an extra digital to analog conversion so you can't connect at 56k. Worse than that even though they quote 33.6k as the maximum speed apparently its not unusual to only get 18-25k or so out of them. So I think I will give it a miss.