Best way to keep Zap/Channel from Answering?

FreePBX Tips and Tricks
1

Hi All,

I have a fax machine connected to my Zap/3 channel which I use for outgoing calls. Until I made a change the fax machine and FreePBX both answered at the same time. What I’m wanting to accomplish is to keep that Zap channel from answering incoming calls period. What I did was changed in zaptel.conf context=from-zaptel to from-internal. This seems to work…but is this the BEST way to keep FreePBX from answering a channel? Thanks

2

The Zaptel driver when it see’s a ringing line notifies asterisk there is a line to be answered. There is not a provision built into the driver to check to see if it is still ringing x seconds later (had the exact same issue). This is a good issue to raise with the asterisk development team.

So if you want the fax machine to have first access to the incoming call on the line route the cable to the fax machine then to the phone system. That way it will not see it ringing but you can then use it for out going calls. The only problem with this is that if you use the fax while using that line it will cut off the call.

3

Maybe the development team will read your comment but so far the solution I mentioned is working even though it might not be the best.

4

Like I said it is really a asterisk issue, NOT a FreePBX issue. To get it address proerly it needs to be posted on the asterisk forum instead of here.

If you want the FreePBX development team to see it post a bug report under development site on the left hand side. But they will say the same thing.

5

If I recall correctly, when I did not want Asterisk to answer a call I set the incoming route for that Zap channel to Hangup. Seems illogical, but it works. This allowed me to still use the channel to make outgoing calls and have the fax machine answer for faxes.

HTH

M

6

You mentioned that you set the incoming route for the Zap Channel to Hangup, could you please tell me where you set that at? Thanks

7

I did it by NOT creating an inbound route for that zaptel channel. So that channel is used purely for outgoing calls only.

8

Tadpole, on my system IF you don’t create an inbound route it still answers with the “you have called a non working number” or something like that after the first ring. Does yours do this?

9

Create an inbound route for the Zap channel and set the destination to Core -> Hangup

M