Tag Archives: telephony

Tech Flashback: Anchor Automation Volksmodem 12

Posted on March 24, 2019 by lui_gough

This weekend is turning out to be a bit of a telephony weekend, as I unpack more items from the stack of items donated by readers of the blog. This one is something I’m particularly fond of – the Anchor … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Computing, Tech Flashback, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

After the Beep: DSE F-8011 & ion by Telstra Digital Answering Machines

Posted on March 23, 2019 by lui_gough

The humble voice call by telephone has been with us for many years, but with the popularity of land-lines fading, it seems that the traditional voice call may be headed towards obscurity. As a synchronous communication, it requires both caller … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Electronics, Salvage, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teardown, Test: WebExcel 56k Voice/Fax/Data External Modem

Posted on February 23, 2019 by lui_gough

A few weeks back, I was fortunate enough to receive a donation of various technology items from a reader of the blog. The donor had quite a lot of equipment, so I picked a few items I thought I could … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tech Flashback: Diamond SM56LE-PCT V.92 56k Internal PCI Modem (I56PSP-F40)

Posted on January 7, 2019 by lui_gough

A while back, I posted an article with what I termed the “definitive” collection of V.90 modem sounds. If you’re not familiar with it already, the characteristic sound that V.90 modems emit when they are attempting a “high speed” connection … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Tech Flashback, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tech Flashback: Landline Sounds & Telephone Teardowns

Posted on August 30, 2018 by lui_gough

I’ve always been interesting in telephones and networks, but I’ve never really thought of becoming a telephone collector. Rather unexpectedly, through a process of not-throwing-things-out (it’s not hoarding, I swear!), I now have a few phones but not much to … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Tech Flashback, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Project: RasPBX (FreePBX/Asterisk) for the Home

Posted on August 25, 2018 by lui_gough

In the early days of VoIP, most users were still using analog phones through ATAs and early softphones with services like Free World Dialup (later, FWD) which offered users free SIP accounts that could call within the FWD network for … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Radio, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Project: Record a K56flex Dial-Up Modem Connection

Posted on June 10, 2018 by lui_gough

Inspired by my previous post made merely an hour ago, I set to work seeing if I could acquire a recording of a K56flex dial-up modem connection before it is too late. After all, both X2 and K56flex are more … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Tech Flashback, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Project: Record a US Robotics “X2” Dial-Up Modem Connection

Posted on June 10, 2018 by lui_gough

Throughout the long history of dial-up modems, higher connection speeds were always desired, but limitations in signal processing techniques and the phone lines themselves meant that achievable rates were always going to be limited. At various stages in time, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Tech Flashback, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tech Flashback: Telecom Australia 600-series Adapters & Extensions

Posted on December 22, 2017 by lui_gough

In the present day where landlines are a dying breed and mobile telecommunications has become ubiquitous, the beige-cream coloured Telecom Australia 600-series socket remains a common sight in Australian households. While I have no idea when the 600-series socket came … Continue reading →

Posted in Tech Flashback, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Teardown: Generic CX-FU02+ USB SoftV92 Data Fax HSF Modem

Posted on November 13, 2017 by lui_gough

My tech shopping in Hong Kong continues with more goodies. One of the things I was on the lookout for was the last of the dial-up modem. Rather unsurprisingly, for such an advanced country, it’s almost impossible to find any … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Teardown: Motorola CableComm Series II Cable Access Unit (MM1012A)

Posted on June 24, 2017 by lui_gough

I remember when I was very young, peering outside the window and seeing a bunch of workmen and trucks pull up in front of the house. In a short time, they rigged a steel wire between the power poles, then … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Radio, Salvage | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Teardown, Review: Grandstream HT802 VoIP Analog Telephone Adapter

Posted on November 20, 2016 by lui_gough

As a VoIP, modem and telephone enthusiast, I’ve reviewed a number of different Analog Telephone Adapters (ATAs) in the past including the Linksys PAP2T, Zyxel Prestige 2302R, Cisco SPA112 and Grandstream HT702. These are standalone devices which let you connect … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Telstra FaxStream TestFax Professional (aka FOLDS-B) Test

Posted on November 7, 2016 by lui_gough

A while back, I did a number of experiments involving VoIP and faxing, which made use of Telstra’s FOLDS test. Because of a number of intricacies, voice-band data and VoIP generally do not (reliably) work together unless configured very carefully … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Retired, Teardown: Uniden XSA660 Analog Cordless Phone

Posted on April 1, 2016 by lui_gough

On the whole, the rapid pace of technology means that, inevitably, there will come a time when you will need to upgrade to newer devices. But some systems have stayed the same for so long, that sometimes they escape being … Continue reading →

Posted in Audio, Tech Flashback, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Quick Review, Teardown: Uniden DECT 1015 Cordless Phone

Posted on February 27, 2016 by lui_gough

Since I’ve been playing around recently with running my own Asterisk server at home and having many ATAs to create internal extensions to create virtual POTS lines to play with modems and other telephony devices, I desperately needed some nice … Continue reading →

Posted in Electronics, Radio, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Teardown, Review: Grandstream HT702 VoIP Analog Telephone Adapter

Posted on February 20, 2016 by lui_gough

Seeing as I’ve been playing with my internal PBX and modems, and I recently just had an ATA power supply fail on me, I thought it would be a good time to order a few ATAs before they disappear entirely. … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Telecommunications | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Project: Make a Netcomm RoadsterII USB Modem work in Windows 7 x64

Posted on February 7, 2016 by lui_gough

Over the weekend, I had some hankering to get some voice-band dial-up modem action happening just for curiosity sake. I stumbled across my pair of old-reliable Netcomm Roadster II USB V.90 56k modems which seemed like good candidates for an … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Tech Flashback | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tech Flashback: Internal Modems

Posted on November 29, 2012 by lui_gough

So earlier on, I made a few posts showing my external modem collection. First it started off with the Banksias, then the rest of them. Now it’s time for my Internal modems. I think after this post is done, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Tech Flashback | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Tech Flashback: A dead Netcomm NC-35C Modem

Posted on November 27, 2012 by lui_gough

It’s not often I start a post with a picture, but this is exactly what I’ll do. This is the first of a series of posts, which could have only come about due to good fortune, and the generosity of … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Obituary, Tech Flashback | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Tech Flashback: Other external modems in my collection

Posted on November 27, 2012 by lui_gough

[First of all, I’ve been very busy as of late, hence why the steady stream of blog posts came to a halt. Today, I’m trying to crank out a few for you all to enjoy (or otherwise ignore) – so … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Tech Flashback | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Tech Flashback: Banskia Technology Modems

Posted on November 18, 2012 by lui_gough

I’m a bit of a tech-person, and the high pace of change in the Technology sector sees many companies become acquired, or collapse. Today, we examine some of my modem collection – those of the two Banksia modems. Banksia Technology … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Tech Flashback | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Tech Flashback: Pocketmail

Posted on November 18, 2012 by lui_gough

So you’re out in the bush, or in unfamiliar territory. Wireless mobile data is extremely expensive or entirely unavailable, high speed broadband just a dream. Say you’re a corporate exec, and you needed to read and reply to e-mails, maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in Computing, Tech Flashback | Tagged , | 1 Comment