[fa.telecom] TELECOM Digest V5 #35

Telecom-REQUEST@MIT-XX.ARPA (Moderator) (09/11/85)

TELECOM Digest                      Tuesday, September 10, 1985 5:13PM
Volume 5, Issue 35

Today's Topics:

                            Merlin system
                       error in French tel. no.
                      Re: TELECOM Digest V5 #21

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Sun,  8 Sep 85 14:39:11 EDT
From: Keith F. Lynch <KFL@MIT-MC.ARPA>
Subject: Merlin system

    Date: Fri 6 Sep 85 12:20:23-EDT
    From: Paul R. Johnson <PRJohnson@MIT-XX.ARPA>

    ... Radio Shack cost is about ... $300.  ... AT&T ... Merlin
    system: $2499!  What accounts for the > 800% difference?

  Probably their high advertising budget.  They seem to have radio
ads for the Merlin system every ten minutes around the clock.
  The ads consist of a potential customer talking with the rather shady
representative of a brand x phone system.  The customer asks "But what
if I need to add <random feature> (for instance more phones, more lines,
call waiting, call forwarding, etc) and the salesman says "Dat's easy.
You trow de whole system out, you call me, I come back, give you a whole
new system".  After several iterations of that, the customer calls AT&T
and his conversation fades out into the AT&T "right choice" theme music.

								...Keith

------------------------------

Date:     Mon, 9 Sep 85 7:49:33 EDT
From:     Carl Moore (VLD/VMB) <cmoore@BRL.ARPA>
Subject:  error in French tel. no.

In the examples given for old <--> new French phone #'s,
there was an error in one of the digits for outside-Paris-area
phone #.

------------------------------

Subject: Re: TELECOM Digest V5 #21

We are using the Teltone DCS-2B system and are very happy
with it. The Law Society occupies Osgoode Hall, a 150-year-old
building set on several floors and half-floors, and wiring is
extremely difficult. We installed an 8-line Teltone system
several months ago and are in the process of putting in a
second 8-line system. As to the stated "Weaknesses" (bad line
quality, more likelihood of errors when the phone rings), we
haven't noticed any at our site. All our Teltone lines run
at 9600 baud to a Perkin-Elmer 3220 running UNIX v7.

Dave Sherman
The Law Society of Upper Canada
Toronto
{  ihnp4!utzoo  pesnta  utcs  hcr  decvax!utcsri  }  !lsuc!dave

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest
*********************