MSSQL 2005 database has collation \"German_Phonebook_BIN\" (but that\'s not important). Connection to db is done via PDO and FreeTDS (using PHP under Debian Squeeze). When I try
check the setting in /etc/freetds/locales.conf or wherever FREETDSCONF points to - for an example see https://www.centos.org/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=29646.
Another option could be to use convert in your SQL statement...