[comp.dcom.telecom] Clicks on Line After Hangup

Ken Levitt <levitt@zorro9.fidonet.org> (06/06/91)

I have a Watson voicemail board that answers my phone when I'm not at
home.  If someone leaves a message for me, the Watson system is
programmed to call out to my beeper number to let me know that I
should pick up a message.  If no message is left, the system is not
supposed to call the beeper.

I'm having a problem when someone hangs up without leaving a message.
When the caller hangs up, there is some sort of clicking on the line.
The Watson is listening for silence or a dial tone and thinks that the
clicking is an actual message.  When a dial tome finally comes on,
Watson disconnects and then calls my beeper.

I called New England Telephone and was told that the clicking is
normal and that there is nothing they can do about this.  Is this
true?  Should I give up and do my best to work around the problem, or
is there something I can do to get them to get rid of the clicking?


Ken Levitt - On FidoNet gateway node 1:16/390
UUCP: zorro9!levitt
INTERNET: levitt%zorro9.uucp@talcott.harvard.edu 

John Higdon <john@zygot.ati.com> (06/10/91)

Ken Levitt <levitt@zorro9.fidonet.org> writes:

> I called New England Telephone and was told that the clicking is
> normal and that there is nothing they can do about this.  Is this
> true?  Should I give up and do my best to work around the problem, or
> is there something I can do to get them to get rid of the clicking?

If this is a 1/1AESS you are stuck with the clicking. However, I use a
technique with my Watson that eliminates this. My script requires a
person to enter a DTMF digit to leave a message. This means that when
a person hangs up after realizing he has reached a wrong number, etc.,
the Watson is not left in a recording mode.

Also, for those callers who actually intend to leave a message, I ask
them to "press any key" when they are through. This terminates the
recording and causes the script to move on. In my case, this is not a
real problem. The moment a caller hangs up, the KX-T1232 sees the CPC
and immediately sends reorder to the Watson. Within about two or three
cycles of reorder, the Watson hangs up.


        John Higdon         |   P. O. Box 7648   |   +1 408 723 1395
    john@zygot.ati.com      | San Jose, CA 95150 |       M o o !