56k Modem with Raspberry Pi

[billli]

Hello all:

Not sure if this is the right forum for this topic. Please move this if needed

This is rather a general technology question. I live in an apartment, and we have a buzzer that connect to each unit, it operates on the telephone line. So when you dial a buzzer number, the unit's telephone rings, and you hold onto 0 or some other number and the door will open down stairs.

My goal is to have a Raspberry Pi connected to a 56k USB modem and connected to the telephone jack.

I am trying to achieve the following:

- User dials the buzzer code
- The Raspberry Pi picks up the telephone (with the use of the modem)
- User enters a "secret code" eg) 1234
- Raspberry Pi decodes the "secret code"
- If the code matches, the Raspberry Pi presses and holds the open door button for 5 seconds.

I basically need for the RPi to be able to answer the phone, decode analogue signals to pick apart the numbers and reply by pressing buttons. I've been looking at PBX systems, and am wondering if there are any specific pointers out there for projects like this.

[johndough]

Hello all:

Not sure if this is the right forum for this topic. Please move this if needed

This is rather a general technology question. I live in an apartment, and we have a buzzer that connect to each unit, it operates on the telephone line. So when you dial a buzzer number, the unit's telephone rings, and you hold onto 0 or some other number and the door will open down stairs.

My goal is to have a Raspberry Pi connected to a 56k USB modem and connected to the telephone jack.

I am trying to achieve the following:

- User dials the buzzer code
- The Raspberry Pi picks up the telephone (with the use of the modem)
- User enters a "secret code" eg) 1234
- Raspberry Pi decodes the "secret code"
- If the code matches, the Raspberry Pi presses and holds the open door button for 5 seconds.

I basically need for the RPi to be able to answer the phone, decode analogue signals to pick apart the numbers and reply by pressing buttons. I've been looking at PBX systems, and am wondering if there are any specific pointers out there for projects like this.

OR

what if the pi could be accessed by another means like a mobile phone, and then was connected across the door release button?

[morphy_richards]

I vaguely remember causing all sorts of trouble on campus phone lines using a modem, Win NT and "hyperterminal"... Perhaps something like that could do what you need.
I think Linux equivalents are gkterm or minicom

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install gtkterm

or

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get install minicom

(Try, that, I'm not sure if it will work but give it a go)
Good luck!

[java]

Might I ask what you are using as a serial port on the RPi to connect the modem to?

[fruitoftheloom]

Might I ask what you are using as a serial port on the RPi to connect the modem to?

The OP wrote:

""My goal is to have a Raspberry Pi connected to a 56k USB modem and connected to the telephone jack.""

[DougieLawson]

With an appropriate USB to RS232 adapter and a (non-winmodem) 56K modem you should be good to go.

The biggest problem is that most 56K modems are Winmodems (which relied on some of the code running on the windows side of the interface). You'd get 300/300 or 1200/75 modems running easily. Even with the Linmodem project you're going to struggle.

You may be lucky and find a USB modem that works with Linux
https://www.thinkpenguin.com/gnu-linux/ ... dial-modem
would be the one I looked at first.

[topguy]

decode analogue signals to pick apart the numbers and reply by pressing buttons.

I think that technologically your plan is going to have its biggest hurdle on "decode analoge signales" part.
I've used a fair share of modems in the 80's and 90's but can't remember any that did DTMF decoding, most of them didn't have any analog audio output, and the Pi doesn't have an audio input.

But it looks like good ol' USRobotics has something that might work: http://www.usr.com/en/products/56k-dial ... m/usr5637/

[TigerClawTV]

Try AOL Keyword "RaspberryPi"

(Sorry I couldn't resist.)

[marked]

Firstly, are you sure that the circuit from the door to the apartment is actually a telephone line, and not a closed circuit with a doorphone. A doorphone may look like a phone, but may only actuate relays on pressing a specific button, and therefore run at different electrical specification.

If it is a phone circuit, then you can use a USB modem, along with asterisk (or one of the many pbx distributions) and one of any number of scripts. Further info can be found at voip-info

It might be worth actually finding out what the door interface is, as there may be other options.

[riataman]

Forget about the modem. Get a FXS ATA. This is the first google hit I got: http://www.voipsupply.com/cisco-spa122 but there are a lot of brands.

This is a device that connects to the phone and then to an ethernet work. This can convert the analog phone line signal to a SIP signal.

Then forward the SIP connecting to the RBI, there install Asterisk (http://www.asterisk.org/) you can then program a dial plan to do whatever you want with the DTMF tones.

BTW Once you have your phone line connected with the FXS and into Asterisk running in the RBP you can do all sort of things with it. Like have it call you for notifications and allow tones commands or a full phone menu that can do all sort of things.

[fruitoftheloom]

Hello all:

Not sure if this is the right forum for this topic. Please move this if needed

This is rather a general technology question. I live in an apartment, and we have a buzzer that connect to each unit, it operates on the telephone line. So when you dial a buzzer number, the unit's telephone rings, and you hold onto 0 or some other number and the door will open down stairs.

My goal is to have a Raspberry Pi connected to a 56k USB modem and connected to the telephone jack.

I am trying to achieve the following:

- User dials the buzzer code
- The Raspberry Pi picks up the telephone (with the use of the modem)
- User enters a "secret code" eg) 1234
- Raspberry Pi decodes the "secret code"
- If the code matches, the Raspberry Pi presses and holds the open door button for 5 seconds.

I basically need for the RPi to be able to answer the phone, decode analogue signals to pick apart the numbers and reply by pressing buttons. I've been looking at PBX systems, and am wondering if there are any specific pointers out there for projects like this.

You State it works on the phone line but are you sure it is not a Standalone Phone Entry System if so does it have amanufacturers name

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_door-phone

[BluTs]

I have the exact same issue.
The door system is phone line based, visitor dial app. number at the door, it rings my phone line. I answer then press a specific button (ex: number zero) to unlock the door.
I would like my Raspberry to answer the phone via USB 56k modem, listen for a specific DTMF, then send DTMF to unlock the door.

Has anyone found an answer for that?
I know these posts are from 2015 but it still an issue for me.

[hippy]

I would like my Raspberry to answer the phone via USB 56k modem, listen for a specific DTMF, then send DTMF to unlock the door.

If it were a standard serial port modem it would be easy. Just send the right AT commands to have it report the ring and decoded DTMF tones. All you need to do then is wait for the the ring, pick up the line, wait for the DTMF reports, check those, activate the door release or don't, hang-up and repeat.

If you can find a way for the Pi to see the modem as a serial interface through which to send AT commands it should be the same.

Read all the caveats in the above posts though.

[crofter]

possible suggestion a dtmf decoder and encoder this will give the af side of the question

crofter

[BluTs]

possible suggestion a dtmf decoder and encoder this will give the af side of the question

crofter

DTMF decoder/encoder.... like this?: http://store.extremeelectronics.co.in/DTMF-Decoder.html
That looks neat but would make my setup require more devices.
I would still need something to watch the phone line for incoming calls plus something to attach the DTMF decoder.

That's why I was opting for a 56k modem, all in one solution and widely available.

[andrum99]

You definitely don't have to use a modem, but it does make things easier. You need a modem with "voice" capability. This allows you to capture sound from the phone line, and play sound out to the phone line. The advantage of using a modem is that modems are designed to be able to monitor the line for calls and answer them. The modem does not need to be 56k - any modem which has "voice" capability will do. You can do the DTMF coding / encoding in software on the Pi itself.

[mahjongg]

Winmodems are all plug-in cards (PC-bus cards), not external (boxed) modems.

All (hayes compatible) external modems with a serial connector are modems that have a built in signal-processor, mostly with a Rockwell chip or something similar.

Winmodems are crap, and use most of the CPU power just to do the audio processing, its just that they were cheap and customers didn't know better, they were barely good enough to access bulletin board systems.

[BluTs]

Hmmm , intriguing!
Guess I'll be looking closely at the modems I have at home, hope they do voice .

[stanzheng]

I was able to solve this problem using this guide form here https://iotbytes.wordpress.com/send-dtm ... pberry-pi/

here also my implementation for this problem

https://github.com/stanzheng/home-rotary-doorbot

[mahjongg]

I was able to solve this problem using this guide form here https://iotbytes.wordpress.com/send-dtm ... pberry-pi/

here also my implementation for this problem

https://github.com/stanzheng/home-rotary-doorbot

yes, Us-Robotics were a quality brand, AFAIK they never succumbed to selling win modems.

[hippy]

US Robotics made internal winmodem cards but I don't know about external, probably not.

I was never a fan of US Robotics, never found their products came anywhere close to the quality of Hayes when I was building BBS's. I also thought their "soft plastic stylophone case styling" looked appalling sat alongside a genuine Hayes in it's sleek aluminium casing and wasn't half as robust or long-lasting. Maybe their decent kit wasn't available in the UK at the time.

[mahjongg]

I knew that U.S. robotics also had a consumer line, but the Modem design company MTD I worked for, (I designed modems at the time) used U.S. Robotics courier modems modems to connect the accespoints we had in several large cities in the Netherlands together for our "ComNet" prestel (videotex) based service, so our modem buyers had something to call into, except bulletin boards. The internet wasn't launched to the public yet, it took several years for the first internet provider (XS4ALL) to start in the Netherlands

U.S. Robotics was chosen because at the time they were the only manufacturer that could manage 56K modem speeds, years before the official V.90 modems came on the market.