0002293637@mcimail.com (Krislyn Companies) (03/10/91)
David Dodell <ddodell@stjhmc.fidonet.org> writes ... > My local paging company has started to offer Alphanumeric paging > using the newer style Motorola pagers (similiar in size to a large > Bravo digital pager) ... they want to rent me a Motorola terminal for > $10/month, but they did disclose the access number locally. > I find this hard to believe, any one know the format so I could write some > scripts. I have an alpha pager with Metromedia Paging in the Boston area, and they willingly gave me the technical instructions to create messages via their system. (I've gotten all the way to the end but am still having a problem figuring out how to format their checksum ...) They also told me there are several commercial programs (around $25) which can be run on a PC to dial in and send an alpha message. Problem is, I don't know that the broadcast system the Metromedia has here is the same as the one you have there. So there's no guarantee that my three to five pages of instructions would work on your vendor's system. Put some pressure on them to get the spec or try another vendor. Paul Wilczynski
lairdb@crash.cts.com (Laird P. Broadfield) (03/15/91)
In <telecom11.194.2@eecs.nwu.edu> 0002293637@mcimail.com (Krislyn Companies) writes: > David Dodell <ddodell@stjhmc.fidonet.org> writes ... >> My local paging company has started to offer Alphanumeric paging >> using the newer style Motorola pagers (similiar in size to a large >> Bravo digital pager) ... they want to rent me a Motorola terminal for >> $10/month, but they did disclose the access number locally. > I have an alpha pager with Metromedia Paging in the Boston area, and > they willingly gave me the technical instructions to create messages > via their system. (I've gotten all the way to the end but am still > having a problem figuring out how to format their checksum ...) > They also told me there are several commercial programs (around $25) > which can be run on a PC to dial in and send an alpha message. > Problem is, I don't know that the broadcast system the Metromedia has > here is the same as the one you have there. So there's no guarantee > that my three to five pages of instructions would work on your > vendor's system. There *is* a semi-standard for this, usually referred to as the "iXO" protocol. It apparently originated at, or in conjunction with, a company called iXO Inc. in Manhattan Beach, CA. The document I have is a faded copy, dated 1986, purporting to be from Motorola's Paging Division to iXO, discussing final changes to the "Automatic Paging Protocol". I got my copy from one paging vendor (now defunct) and have had at least two others (including Pathetic*Bell Paging) tell me that they support it. Unfortunately, both of the above outfits only support the protocol for loading messages for ALPHAnumeric pagers (due apparently solely to a mental block) so you can't computer-send even numeric-only messages to numeric-only pagers. (I saw another message go by in which the writer mentioned typing "M" and entering an interactive mode. This is explained in the iXO document as the way to enter "manual operation", so it appears he was seeing an iXO protocol as well.) Also worth noting is that SkyPager *does* have computer entry of pages, but *not* anything that would be easy to write an automated-entry program for. Also, you have to ask about 30 different people at SkyPager before any of them will admit to this capability. Laird P. Broadfield INET: lairdb@crash.cts.com UUCP: {akgua, sdcsvax, nosc}!crash!lairdb