telecom@ucbvax.ARPA (02/06/85)
From: Jon Solomon (the Moderator) <Telecom-Request@BBNCCA>
TELECOM Digest Tue, 5 Feb 85 17:11:00 EST Volume 4 : Issue 154
Today's Topics:
multi-line telephones
XMODEM for Tops-10
equal access: data service query
Re: Equal access
Another nifty phone #
NW Bell secure PIN
Re: What's Gerard K. O'Neil doing these days?
RE: AT&T Equipment
re: not paying AT&T rentals
Re: What's Gerard K O'Neil doing these days?
Push-button (not touch-tone) info needed -- Clarification
Re: AT&T equipment rental (TELECOM Digest V4 #150)
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Date: Sun, 3 Feb 85 18:53:46 PST
From: "Theodore N. Vail" <vail@UCLA-LOCUS.ARPA>
To: telecom@bbncca.arpa
Subject: multi-line telephones
There have been a number of comments regarding two-line telephones:
There are a number of manufacturers including AT&T, Panasonic, Uniden,
and the ubiquitous Radio Shack. They provide a variety of features
including "hold" with "remote pick-up", two-line ringing, etc. The
local stero-chain, Federated Electronics, is constantly advertising
them at (alleged) substantial discounts.
However, what do you do if you have THREE lines. You can buy key-sets
(push-button telephones) and the associated equipment. These are
intended for small businesses and I haven't seen any for less than about
$1200 (including three telephone instruments).
I have three lines (one is primarily a modem line), and in desperation
I have installed external ringers (mounted on the wall) and a two-pole,
three position rotary switch at each instrument. (Please no flames
on violating FCC or PUC regulations -- it is at most technical for
individual wiring is permitted, indeed encouraged by my Telco General
Telephone, and a switch serves the same purpose as a plug-jack
combination (permitted) and is passive.) Since my home is wired with
three pair wire (the old Gen-Tel standard) I used 6-wire RJ11 plugs to
connect the instruments to the line.
My installation is at best a "kludge". Can anyone suggest anything
better which can be purchased at a reasonable price and is easy to
install. I would like such features as lights to indicate that a line
is in use and a "hold" with "remote pick-up".
Would there be a market for a modern, inexpensive replacement for
key-sets using reasonable electronics and requiring only 4-wires?
Companies like Panasonic could undoubtedly make such devices for less
than the cost of a large color television set.
vail
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Date: Sun, 3 Feb 85 22:11:30 EST
From: Dave Swindell <dswindel@bbn-labs-b>
Subject: XMODEM for Tops-10
To: ProtocolS@rutgers.arpa
Cc: telecom@bbncca.arpa, tops-20@su-score.arpa
I am interested in locating a version of XMODEM for a DEC 10 running
TOPS 10 version 7.01. Any suggestions as to commercial or public
domain packages would be appreciated.
As I am not on your mailing lists, please respond directly to my computer
mail address.
Thanks!
Dave Swindell
BBN Laboratories
Mailbox: dswindell@bbn-unix
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Date: Sun, 3 Feb 85 22:31:12 EST
From: Ed Frankenberry <ezf@bbnccd.ARPA>
Subject: equal access: data service query
To: TELECOM@bbncca.arpa
Cc: ezf@bbnccd.arpa
Equal access is coming to Cambridge, MA this spring. Which long
distance services can handle modems? Last time I checked (about
two years ago), the circuits from the competing long distance
carriers were so distorted or band-limited as to be unusable with
a 1200 baud modem (at least the 212A). Will this situation change
with equal access? Are the AT&T resellers any better?
Thanks,
Ed Frankenberry
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Date: Sun 3 Feb 85 23:46:32-EST
From: Robert S. Lenoil <LENOIL@MIT-XX.ARPA>
Subject: Re: Equal access
To: jcp@BRL-TGR.ARPA
When equal access came to Boston, I called all the carriers to see
what they had to offer. Of all the companies you mentioned as "best"
choices, I found SBS Skyline to be the most economical. That is
because they have a very flat rate structure, as opposed to the
mileage system all other carriers use. SBS has only two rates (though
I heard someone say three): to bordering states, and to everywhere
else. Of course, there is a reason for this; SBS uses satellites, so
there's not much difference between calling next door and calling
California. Using satellites also has its effect upon transmission
quality, as I've heard from some SBS users. Additionally, SBS has a
$15/month minimum usage, which I found unacceptable.
The dubious quality, coupled with a $15/month minimum usage, led me to
choose ALLNET. They're a reseller of AT&T trunks, so their voice
quality is excellent. They do six second increment billing, which
saves you money, and their rates are among the cheapest. (USTel was
cheaper, but they're not available for equal access in Baltimore. I
also found their customer service people to be unfriendly, and my
request for written information took weeks to arrive, causing me to
avoid signing up with them.) One drawback is what Lauren referred to
in Telecom: they do not have call supervision, and therefore use a
time-limit to decide whether or not to bill a call. I keep a log of
all my calls, however, and have received credit for those 1-minute
phone calls that I know the called party never answered.
*ONE CAVIAT* New England Telephone does ALLNET's billing here in
Boston, so I assume it's their fault, not ALLNET's; but for the past
two months, my ALLNET bill has been subtly screwed up. Last month, I
was billed $4.99 for a 1-minute call from Boston to New York that
should have cost $.21. Those of you who just pay their bills without
reviewing them, BE FOREWARNED - there may be inaccuracies.
Robert
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Date: Sun 3 Feb 85 23:54:35-EST
From: Robert S. Lenoil <LENOIL@MIT-XX.ARPA>
Subject: Another nifty phone #
To: telecom@BBNCCA.ARPA
Last year in telecom, people were writing about the various ways to make
one's phone ring in. While trying one of these methods I came upon a
neat new special phone number. Dialing 980 in Back Bay, Boston causes
your phone line to go completely dead for approximately three minutes.
My guess is that this feature was designed so that one could ensure that
the phone wouldn't ring while he/she was working on it. It's not a bad
feature, but it should require a full seven-digit phone number to
activate. I wonder how many people have started to dial a phone number,
misdialed, and had their phones go dead before their disbelieving eyes?
Robert
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Date: Sat, 2 Feb 85 22:57:21 cst
To: telecom@Berkeley
Subject: NW Bell secure PIN
From: roy%isucs1@csnet-relay.ARPA
In a recent TELECOM Digest there was a description of some of the methods
Pacific Bell suggests for hiding one's telephone card PIN.
Well, I just got a new card from Northwestern Bell which they are
calling "secure" since the PIN (which they call the personal security number)
is not imprinted on the plastic card. They do, however, suggest that the
card holder "pencil in" the security number, and they even show a diagram of
where space is provided to do this. Real smart, right?
Roy Rubinstein
csnet: roy@iowa-state
usenet: ...umn-cs!isucs1!roy
"Anything before Wednesday noon is still Monday morning." - RSR
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Date: Monday, 4 Feb 1985 05:27:04-PST
From: mccrudden%cipher.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (Steve McCrudden BSE-AD 264-7635 )
To: telecom@bbncca.ARPA
Subject: Re: What's Gerard K. O'Neil doing these days?
One of O'Neil's current ventures is GEOSTAR, as satellite based
navigation system. O'Neil's company is located in Princeton, NJ.
An article describing the proposed system was published in the
September 1983 AOPA Pilot. If you want a copy, please send me your
address (I have only hardcopy).
/Steve McCrudden
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Date: Mon, 4 Feb 85 09:44 EST
From: William M. York <York@SCRC-QUABBIN.ARPA>
Subject: RE: AT&T Equipment
To: rich@udel-eecis2, TELECOM@BBNCCA.ARPA
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 85 18:00:20 EST
From: Anne Rich <rich@udel-eecis2>
. . .
I started to get bills from AT&T for two desk telephones they
said I was renting. . . . Then in November I got
another bill, and a letter from AT&T stating that I was overdue
on my previous bill. . . .
The moral: Use MCI.
Your story is pretty horrifying, but I don't see how using MCI is going
to stop AA&T from sending you spurious bills! You simply double your
chances of involvement in a "billing error" war.
------------------------------
Date: 4 Feb 1985 1052-PST
From: Richard M. King <DKING@KESTREL.ARPA>
Subject: re: not paying AT&T rentals
To: telecom@MIT-MC.ARPA
Companies are learning to use small claims court even for small
bills. It can pay to do this even if it loses money in each case if you think
that suing one person at a cost of (say) $100 to recover $10 will induce 20
people to pay the ten dollars. In the case of AT&T phone rentals I suspect
they don't fear the loss of good will, because to my knowledge there is no
other company offering to rent phones to individuals.
What moral justification can a reader of this list, or anyone else
sophisticated enough to have worked out that this bill can go unpaid, come
up with? Strikes me as being in the same class as walking into a restaurant,
having mad a congitive decision not to cook, and walking out without paying.
I can't come up with an exact reference to the small claims court
remark, but it was in the Times about two years ago. They were in turn
quoting some Law Review article.
Dick
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Date: 3 Feb 85 23:52:45 PST (Sunday)
Subject: Re: What's Gerard K O'Neil doing these days?
To: , Ralph W. Hyre Jr. <RALPHW@MIT-XX.ARPA>, telecom@BBNCCA.ARPA
From: Bruce Hamilton <Hamilton.ES@XEROX.ARPA>
You can write to Gerard K. O' Neil c/o
Space Studies Institue
285 Rosedale road, P.O. Box 82
Princeton, NJ 08540
The "worldwide communications system" you're probably thinking of is
really a navigation system called Geostar, which would consist of three
geosynchronous satellites (as opposed to the dozen or so satellites in
the DOD's Navstar program) and would let commercial users locate
themselves to within about 10 meters. O' Neil has a company, but I
think he's still trying to round up clients before building the
satellites. I think a recent "Electronics Week" mentions Geostar in
passing, in connection with how it ISN'T part of the FAA's rather
antiquated National Airspace Plan, or whatever it's called.
--Bruce
------------------------------
Date: 4 Feb 85 10:36:39 EDT (Mon)
From: Nathaniel Mishkin <apollo!mishkin@uw-beaver.arpa>
Subject: Push-button (not touch-tone) info needed -- Clarification
To: apollo!telecom@bbncca.arpa
I just saw my original message and realized that I perhaps did not make
one thing clear: the HOLD feature has to work in a way that lets you
HOLD at one phone and un-HOLD at another. Many phones have a HOLD
feature which is really just a PAUSE feature -- i.e. you can't pick
up the phone somewhere else. I'm interested only in equipment that
supports a real HOLD feature.
-------
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 85 07:19:17 pst
From: unisoft!pertec!rootcsh@Berkeley
To: Telecom@BBNCCA
Subject: Re: AT&T equipment rental (TELECOM Digest V4 #150)
> if people just
> generally waste-canned these AT&T bills, just what would (or could) AT&T
> DO about it?
They would probably send the special ring signal down your line which will
self-destruct your phone. :-)
--
roger long
pertec computer corp
{ucbvax!unisoft | scgvaxd | trwrb | felix}!pertec!bytebug
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End of TELECOM Digest
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