Connecting to a fax line using Modem

So what you want us to do is come up with a way to trick the telephone provider in your country ?

Is that it ?

(Personally I totally agree with Wizbang that bits on a line are bits on a line - not a tiff - not a jpg - not anything until they get deciphered at the other end. No telephone provider is going to intercept a string of bits and then try to decipher what they may be, just so they can allow them through or reject them)

What country is this where the cost of a telephone connection costs thousands of dollars and when you have a line installed it can only be used for one purpose ?

I think somewhere here the facts are not adding up.

Could I suggest you test the theory that a Fax Line is only for faxes by plugging a phone in each end and trying to talk using the fax line (voice is not the same as fax data so by your theory should not be allowed on the line)

Also try plugging a computer into the fax line and try dialing up a dial up internet provider - I am sure one of your collegues can supply you with a dial up number just for testing, since broadband connections in your country must cost a bundle.

At some stage you may have to tell the "management" that their expectations are unrealistic - and your abilities are not the problem (you certainly are tenacious which is a worthy quality for a programmer)

I hope you are not in a country where they chop off your head for failure :)

Maybe the problem is the modem.
You said, "the receiving computer has a fax modem", so it will only connect to another fax modem and that is the problem. Not the line is rejecting the connectiom, but the receiving fax modem does not find there is a fax protocol incoming and rejects the connection.
Simply try to use a normal modem at the receiver's side and no matter what nature the line is, you should be able to connect.

WOF Said

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Simply try to use a normal modem at the receiver's side and no matter what nature the line is, you should be able to connect.

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This is along the lines I suggested previously

Use an AB switch to switch the line from one modem to another, or perhaps you can purchase a modem which allows both data and fax streams to co-exist without problem.

If I understood correctly we are talking about a data/fax modem. It also seems that this is the line that he has to work with at this location. If it truly does not allow a data connection then there is no coding solution that I am aware of.

I've seen fax modem cards which were incompatible with other modems and/or stand-alone fax machines. So it wouldn't surprise me if the problem is the card.

Attempting to connect to a remote server via telnet may be revealing.

In Post #11 he says that he moved the 2 troubled PCs to a different phone jack and they worked. If that is the case then it rules out the modem and the software. Only thing left is line/jack

In a few posts it is mentioned that the phone company does not allow data connections on the phone line in question. If this is also true [surprising but never the less] there is nothing he can do other than use a different phone line or change the service on the existing phone line.

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Originally Posted by DataMiser

In Post #11 he says that he moved the 2 troubled PCs to a different phone jack and they worked. If that is the case then it rules out the modem and the software. Only thing left is line/jack

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Yeah, that's true. Though I've also seen some modems have more trouble establishing a connection on poor quality lines than others. So although it does appear to be the line, that in itself doesn't mean the connection is being purposely cut.

If the company really is detecting the nature of the data, I have to wonder how close that gets to eavesdropping.

Used to be, that some cable TV companies tried to charge people extra if they hooked up multiple TVs. The FCC eventually ruled in favor of the consumer, for obvious reasons. I doubt it is so different with telephone companies, that they'd be allowed to mess with a customer's connection based on the data being sent.

makdu, can you tell us in what country this is happening? How long does the connection last before it is lost? What baud rates have you tried?

send a fax from a computer modem, to the other computer modem. see if that goes thru. otherwise, complain about it

Did you try this ? (as previously suggested)

Could I suggest you test the theory that a Fax Line is only for faxes by plugging a phone in each end and trying to talk using the fax line (voice is not the same as fax data so by your theory should not be allowed on the line)

Also try plugging a computer into the fax line and try dialing up a dial up internet provider - I am sure one of your collegues can supply you with a dial up number just for testing.

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Originally Posted by WizBang

makdu, can you tell us in what country this is happening? How long does the connection last before it is lost? What baud rates have you tried?

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country is Kuwait. Baud rate tried is 9600

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Originally Posted by George1111

Did you try this ? (as previously suggested)

Could I suggest you test the theory that a Fax Line is only for faxes by plugging a phone in each end and trying to talk using the fax line (voice is not the same as fax data so by your theory should not be allowed on the line)
.

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Voice call is going :(

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Country is Kuwait

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Ah ... so you will lose your head if you fail

We better solve your problem quickly then !!!! :)

(Sorry I cannot help any better)

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Originally Posted by makdu

country is Kuwait. Baud rate tried is 9600

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OK, try a baud rate of 1200. Slow, yes, but if it works...

Also try telnet. Maybe try windows messaging too. What about remote desktop or pcAnywhere? That would be interesting to see.

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Originally Posted by WizBang

OK, try a baud rate of 1200. Slow, yes, but if it works...

Also try telnet. Maybe try windows messaging too. What about remote desktop or pcAnywhere? That would be interesting to see.

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Thank you all for the help. I am making another setup to test all your suggestions. I will give you a result for each of the test done by tomorow. Hope this test will give me more data to resolve the problem