[asterisk-users] Asterisk t38modem Fax gateway evaluation

[DLeese at LStelcom.com]

Hi,

I am trying to fix a Asterisk setup with buggy (POTS) Fax machines. The
setup consists of the following components:

- A Digium TE121 for connectiong to E1 ISDN
- Debian box with Asterisk 1.4
- Grandstream GXW-4008 SIP ATA to which the Fax machines connect

I am aware of the problems with this type of ISDN <-> Asterisk <-> SIP
ATA <-> Fax machine installations, e.G. different "clock source" of ISDN
and the ATA, ethernet timing issues, etc. So it's no suprise that i
encounter the usual problems: No reliable transmission of faxes, errors
and aborts with multiple page faxes, ...

Unfortunately the installtion is allready completed and purchasing new
hardware is not an option. Thus i have come up with the following idea
und need some small pointer if this is even possible:

remote <=whatever=> PSTN <=ISDN=> Digium <--> Asterisk <--> t38modem
<=Ethernet=> Grandstream <=POTS=> local
 FAX                        E1     TE121        1.4
SIP       GXW-4008            FAX
machine
t38

Is it possible to decouple the internal Fax communication from ISDN
using t38modem or as an alternative "Fax For Asterisk", perhaps in
conjunction with HylaFAX? 

I was unable to find any current information about theese subjects on
the www. Most postings/articles are 4-6 years old and state that it's
impossible, but this was way before t38modem and "Fax for Asterisk". I
would be really grateful if anybody could come up with some current
information, howtows, etc.

Many thanks in advance

Daniel Leese