[Asterisk-Users] FXO/FXS card

[Benjamin on Asterisk Mailing Lists]

On Fri, 1 Oct 2004 13:22:03 -0500, Nichols, Andrew <anichols at itiusa.com> wrote:
> Benjamin, Luis, and other Voicetronix users,
> 
> So far on this list I've seen one bad review about the Voicetronix
> (posted 10/01/04 @1311 GMT -6 by Luis) and one good review of it (posted
> 10/01/04 @0015 GMT -6 by Benjamin).

Well, I don;t know what you mean by "good review". I am not saying
that there are no issues with the VT solutions, there are. However,
what I gather from reading the list and talking to people is that
there are issues with the TDM400 as well.

What I was saying is that VT are a) committed to Asterisk and b)
supportive if you make the effort talking to them.

> Would you - and any other users of
> this card - let us know what kind of server, OS, etc. you are running

IBM with a PIII based Intel motherboards running SUSE 8.2 or SS9/ES9.

> with the card and what specific problems you have had, if any?

We have had false hangups, which seems to be a matter of fine tuning
the card to the Japanese PSTN and FXS ports of ISDN TAs and ADSL
modems in use in Japan.

The reason why some of our customers are choosing VT is simple: VT
have a presence here in Japan with a Japanese website and they have
applied for Japanese type approval.

We will continue to work with both Digium and VT to support and
encourage them to work on whatever adjustments may be needed to make
their cards work better on the Japanese PSTN.

What I suggest is you do the same thing. If you buy Digium and you
have issues with the cards, be prepared on spending some time to
report the issues in detail and do tests for them, then talk to them
and work with them to resoolve the issues. If you buy VT and you have
issues with their cards, then be prepared to do the same for them.

> We are considering purchasing this and using it in a production environment,
> but are hesitant now.

Talk to Malcom Davenport at Digium and to John Kostogiannis at
Voicetronix. Tell them about your plans and what concerns you have. I
am sure they are happy to answer your questions and you will be able
to make an informed decision.

Alternatively, look at some FXO gateways. I am currently talking to
Mediatrix to see how their products might stack up against PCI board
based solutions. Mediatrix have a 4port and a 24port FXO gateway. I
know from some people on this list that they are using those with
Asterisk. My first impression with Mediatrix is positive in that they
responded promptly to our request and the information provided was
spot on and not just marketing blah blah.

Of course there are many other companies which make FXO gateways.

rgds
benjk

-- 
Sunrise Telephone Systems, 9F Shibuya Daikyo Bldg., 1-13-5 Shibuya,
Tokyo, Japan.

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