malcolm@spar.UUCP (09/04/87)
Can any body recommend an easy way to get a phone interface. I have an A/D and D/A box connected to my Sun and I would like to hook it to the phones. This is a company project (for a change) so I can easily justify up to a hundred dollars or so to guarantee that we don't burn out a phone line. At the very least I would like analog input/output, a ringing indication and maybe touch tone recognition. Does anybody have any recomendations? Thanks. Malcolm
mgrant@MIMSY.UMD.EDU (Michael Grant) (09/15/87)
Well, we just bought this thing that answers the phone and lets you page people throughout the building. It basically answers the phone and connects the line to an amplifier. Maybe this device is what you want. It cost us $247.00. It's called a Page Adaptor by Valcom. Model V-9940. We got it from "The Telephone Man" in Springfield Virgina. They might have other things that solve your problem as well. By the way, this thing took almost 3 months to order from these people, so I hope you don't need it soon!
romain@pyrnj.UUCP (09/16/87)
This question recently came up on Pyramid's internal network. The most attractive box was made by SpeechPlus in Mountain View, CA. They call it a voice response system. In brief, it can answer the phone, transmit DTMF codes to a computer via an RS-232 port as ASCII digits, receive ASCII text via the same port and send it back down the phone line as high quality synthesized speech. It includes such features as: XON/XOFF flow control or DTR/CTS flow control DTR supervision for incoming calls (raise DTR when a call comes in) Notification of an incoming call by sending digits to the RS-232 port (DTR is strapped) Flash-hook the phone line to transfer a call to a human being DTMF generation to make outgoing calls List price is $3,900.
brian@casemo.UUCP (Brian Cuthie) (09/24/87)
In article <8709152213.AA03885@pyrnj.uucp>, pyrnj!romain@RUTGERS.EDU (Romain Kang) writes: ... > They call it a voice response system. In brief, it can answer the > phone, transmit DTMF codes to a computer via an RS-232 port as ASCII > digits, receive ASCII text via the same port and send it back down the > phone line as high quality synthesized speech. > > List price is $3,900. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING !!!!!!! You have just described about $25 worth of hardware and a few days software. You would have to be out of your mind or *very* desperate to buy something like this for $3900!! I'll make you a deal. I'll sell you the same thing for $250. Seriously ! -Brian ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brian Cuthie CASE Communications Columbia, MD 21046 (301) 290 - 7443
jrd@mit-amt.UUCP (Jim Davis) (09/28/87)
In article <228@casemo.UUCP> brian@casemo.UUCP (Brian Cuthie) writes: > >In article <8709152213.AA03885@pyrnj.uucp>, pyrnj!romain@RUTGERS.EDU (Romain Kang) writes: >... >> They call it a voice response system. In brief, it can answer the >> phone, transmit DTMF codes to a computer via an RS-232 port as ASCII >> digits, receive ASCII text via the same port and send it back down the >> phone line as high quality synthesized speech.... > > ...>You have just described about $25 worth of hardware and a > few days software. Perhaps Brian did not notice the mention of synthetic speech. Synthesizing speech of high quality is a demanding task for both software and hardware, and there are no cheap solutions. Notice also that the input is ASCII text. This machine reads aloud. The current (Sept) issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America (JASA) contains a fine survey of the state of this art, written by Dennis Klatt, the researcher most responsible for the synthesizer from which both both the Prose product mentioned above and the Digital Equipment Corp DecTalk derive. appears in To be sure, there are cheaper synthesizers -- ARPA:jrd@media-lab.media.mit.edu Phone: (617)-253-0360