telecom@ucbvax.ARPA (09/21/84)
From: Jon Solomon (the Moderator) <Telecom-Request@MIT-MC>
TELECOM Digest Friday, 21 Sep 1984 Volume 4 : Issue 90
Today's Topics:
Re: New phones at UMass prove to be lemons
Re: Using a phone next to a noisy fan.
AT & T packet network
AT&T long distance
touch tone service question
long-distance pay phones in Japan...and, who's bugging me?
Flipped Tip and Ring, Modem/line test patterns
ESSex
finding your own number in NJ
Re: TELECOM Digest V4 #87 (re: 1+)
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Date: Wed, 19 Sep 84 20:57:12 EDT
From: Chuck Kennedy <kermit@BRL-VGR.ARPA>
Subject: Re: New phones at UMass prove to be lemons
The government (U.S., at least) is not required to accept minimum bid
if the proposed equipment does not meet specifications.
I have to agree that the problem with UMass seems to have been a lack
of specifications. Seems like they didn't put too much effort into
the buying process and now they're paying for it.
-Chuck Kennedy
U.S. Army Ballistic Research Lab
Arpanet: Kermit @ BRL
UUCP: ...!{decvax,cbosgd}!brl-bmd!kermit
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Date: Wed, 19 Sep 84 11:09:28 EDT
From: GMM Labs <eed_wgmm%jhu.csnet@csnet-relay.arpa>
Subject: Re: Using a phone next to a noisy fan.
I am currently evaluating a few different headphone models. They
range in price from $50 to $300. The best in terms of vocal and aural
quality seems to be the Plantronics (~$200). The $49 model is cheap
and even sounds pretty good. It has a more adjustable volume control
than the Plantronics (the Plantronics having only three settings) but
both work well even with a 10K BTU air condition- er running behind my
head, a Spinwriter CLACKING away, and over three muffins running
constantly.
Of course, if I go deaf from the noise, neither will do me much
good...
I will post to the net when I am done with the eval. -r
RICK at MIT-MC eed_wgmm.jhu at csnet-relay
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From: <bang!todd@Nosc>
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 84 18:40:15 pdt
Subject: AT & T packet network
AT&T announced FCC approval of their new 56kb Packet Data Network. The
system will be available for aprx. $1000 a month, plus aprx. $0.80 for
each packet sent. Off hours have a special $0.60 charge. The system
requires that each customer place his own 'packetizing' equipment at
each termination, and also showed several units that were compatible
with the system.
bang!todd
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From: <bang!todd@Nosc>
Date: Wed, 19 Sep 84 18:40:20 pdt
Subject: AT&T long distance
It says in the August 27 issue of Communications Week that AT&T
wants to change the type of connections it has to Southwestern Bell's
COs. Instead of the "equal access" direct connection it has always
had with CO's, AT&T wants to get the cheaper Enfia B service. This
would give them a 950 number to give them the same kind of
"trunk-side" switching that SBS Skyline has now (950-1088). AT&T
would slash rates by 15% in states where this change is made, because
of their savings.
Southwestern Bell is going to federal court to prevent AT&T from
getting the cheaper service, since they would lose about $310 million
annually (AT&T says it's more in the area of a $50 million loss).
They'll probly try the same thing in California eventually. So
much for 1+ dialing ...
bang!todd
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From: hplabs!sdcrdcf!sdcc3!sdcc6!ix21@hao.UUCP
Date: Mon, 17 Sep 84 02:32:56 pdt
From: Strokebusters <hao!hplabs!sdcrdcf!sdcc3!sdcc6!ix21@hao.UUCP>
Subject: touch tone service question
I recently bought with a switch to change from pulse dialing to touch
tone dialing. My intention was to save money from touch tone service
by using pulse mode when making local calls and flipping the switch
when using my alternate long distance carrier service. Now I received
a letter from my phone company saying that I have to pay for touch
tone service; even though I use the slower rotary dialing mode when
placing a local call or when calling the local number to reach my long
distance service. Does anyone know how the local phone companies can
justify charging for touchtone service for a non touchtone phone?
David Whiteman sdcsvax!sdcc6!ix21 sdcsvax!sdcc6!ix21@nosc.ARPA
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Date: Thursday, 20 Sep 1984 04:51:17-PDT
From: ofsevit%spags.DEC@decwrl.ARPA (David
From: Ofsevit..229-6743..LTN2-2/C08)
Subject: long-distance pay phones in Japan...and, who's bugging me?
In Japan they also have the system where you can call anywhere
in the country from properly marked pay phones (there are several
different colors with different levels of service) and keep feeding
coins to keep the connection alive. A short local call is 10 Yen
(about 2.4 cents) and the few long-distance calls I made seemed very
reasonable. There didn't seem to be the big premium for coin phones
that exists in the U.S. All in all a better way to have pay phones.
On a completely different topic: Every so often (sometimes
several times a day) my home phone rings once and stops. If I pick it
up during the ring, there is an immediate click and hangup. I never
get threats, heavy breathing, or any other signs of prank callers. My
theory is that TPC is trolling the lines looking for modems. How do I
get them to stop?
David
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Date: 20 Sep 84 02:30:50 PDT
From: Murray.pa@XEROX.ARPA
Subject: Flipped Tip and Ring, Modem/line test patterns
I wanted to make sure my software was going to work with a pair of
Codex 224 modems, so we had 2 new phone lines added to my office. The
lines worked fine from a phone, but when I connected the phone via the
modem, dialing didn't work. You guessed it. After flipping things,
everything worked OK.
Is it normal for modems to flip Tip and Ring? Actually, I think they
are failing to flip them since the normal cords flip them. In any
case, the obvious setup didn't work. Codex isn't exactly a tiny
outfit. Are phones without diodes really rare enought so they could
have missed something like this?
None of our phones around here have diodes. Is that uncommon?
unreasonable? I assume it's a chicken and egg problem. If you started
out without them, you had to get your Tip and Rings sorted out, and if
you had them sorted out, why bother with the diodes... Do they charge
extra for them? Is there any reason not to get them?
Once it was working, I sent several hundred packets back and forth to
determine the error rate. I never saw a CRC error. Are there any bit
patterns that are known to provoke errors? (I remember getting several
for a disk years ago.) Or better, has anybody published a table of
patterns for each modem?
------------------------------
Date: 20 Sep 84 13:07:29 EDT
From: *Hobbit* <AWalker@RUTGERS.ARPA>
Subject: ESSex
The word is out: Rutgers will sometime soon be converted from Centrex
to something wild and wonderful called ESSex. This is still a
CO-based system but with lots more features. Right now, we have this
crazy kludge that first of all is split across two central offices.
The 932 exchange is half New Brunswick and half Piscataway, with tie
lines between the two. If you're on the Piscataway side of the river,
and dial 2-7nnn or some other extension located on the other side of
the river, you hear the delay typical of two ESS offices talking to
each other. Now they want to change that and give us full
programmability - imagine what fun we're going to have finding the
bugs!! One *major* problem is that Rutgers is almost 100% old black
*rotary* dial phones [eccch], and quite a few of the ESSex features
require touchtone. Rather than a global upgrade, they are going to
arrange something like that if your department will pay for it, you
can upgrade your phones. Naturally, everyone will start bringing in
their $10 one-piece cheapferns so they can have touchtone...
Well, this is about all I know right now. Now, does anyone out there
have or have messed with ESSex, and can tell us something about how it
works so we're prepared for the change? What are its good
points/lossages/just plain war stories?
Can't wait till December...
_H*
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Date: 20 Sep 84 13:07:43 EDT
From: *Hobbit* <AWalker@RUTGERS.ARPA>
Subject: finding your own number in NJ
As far as I know NJ [201] has never had any ''funny'' ANI numbers.
The best way is to dial 0 and say ''This is an installer, what line am
I on?'' -- works every time, even at odd hours of the night. NJ TSPS
ops are trained to give out the number when they hear the magic words
''installer'' or ''repairman'', no questions asked. This will
probably work everywhere else, too.
_H*
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From: Christopher A Kent <cak@Purdue.ARPA>
Date: 20 Sep 1984 1620-EST (Thursday)
Subject: Re: TELECOM Digest V4 #87 (re: 1+)
Boy, I don't know what all the furor is about -- where I grew up
(Cincinnati, NPA 513) you've had to dial 1+ for toll calls for at
least 15 years. If you dial a toll call without the 1+, you get told
to dial again with 1+. I wonder why it's just now showing up in other
parts of the country?
chris
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End of TELECOM Digest
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