Telecom-Request%usc-eclc@brl-bmd.UUCP (Telecom-Request@usc-eclc) (10/16/83)
TELECOM Digest Sunday, 16 Oct 1983 Volume 3 : Issue 76
Today's Topics:
Re: Phone Wiring General Information
Getting their facts straight...
MCI Mail
FX Lines
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Date: Friday, 14 Oct 1983 17:40-PDT
Subject: Re: Phone Wiring General Information
From: nomdenet@Rand-Unix
Try You & Your Telephone
by Tom Rogers
Howard W. Sams & Co., Inc.
Indianapolis, Indiana
46268
99 pp.
I stumbled upon this book while glancing at the book rack in a
radio parts & components store. The book concerns itself with (home)
telephone basics -- dialling (pulse & DTMF), ringing, the handset, the
network, loading (how many phones can be put on one line),
do-it-yourself wiring -- and con tains nothing on telephone services
like automatic diallers, MCI, Sprint, etc.
Its explanation of home wiring is very good, covering the station
protec- tor, station wire, color coding, receptacles, and specialized
tools. The book also describes a wiring and modular cord test set, a
schematic, and instructions for its use.
Chapters
1 Should You Buy or Rent?
2 The Telephone System
3 Old Telephones
4 Dialing
5 The Handset
6 The Network (including a schematic diagram)
7 Ringing (explains Ringer Equivalence Numbers)
8 Talking
9 Home Wiring
10 Receptacls and Connecting Points (Blocks)
11 Station Equipment
12 Specialized Tools
Appendices
A Troubleshooting
B Numerical List of Area Codes
C Federal Communications Commission Rules
D Index of Manufacturers and Suppliers
A. R. White
nomdenet @
Rand-UNIX
(213)
393-0411, x7997
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Date: 15 Oct 1983 0828-EDT
From: John R. Covert <RSX-DEV at DEC-MARLBORO>
Subject: Getting their facts straight...
An article by Brian Flanigan and Colin Covert (no relation) of the
Knight Ridder Service reports on the group of Detroit teenagers headed
by "The Wizard of ARPANET" who, the article states, "claims to have
penetrated ARPAnet, a highly secure Defense Department telephone
network that serves military computers."
The article goes on to say, "The network carries sensitive information
on phone lines reserved for military use."
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Date: Sat 15 Oct 83 10:16:04-PDT
From: Jim Celoni S.J. <Celoni@SU-SCORE.ARPA>
Subject: MCI Mail
When I couldn't register for MCI mail on 800-323-7751 (is there a "new
user" name and password?), I called local MCI sales; they referred me
to 800-MCI-MAIL. They didn't know anything but referred me to
800-MCI-CALL, where I found out the service offers four kinds of
messages:
Instant letter: direct from sender's terminal to another
subscriber's; $1/"ounce" (7500 chars) to send, free to read. (Like
ARPAgrams but more expensive)
Overnight letter: from you to one of their laser printing centers to
destination by noon the next day via Purolator Courier. (System will
tell you whether PC serves the area.) $6.
4-hr letter: to printer to destination within 4 hr via PC (only 15
areas now). $25.
Letter: to printer to destination via U. S. mail, usually arrives
within 24 hr. $2.
Sender (and instant mail receiver) can use any access numbers (all in
"welcome kit"). Bill comes each month with nonzero charges.
+j [The way to register is to use username REGISTER, password
REGISTER.
--JSol]
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Date: 15 October 1983 13:51 EDT
From: Richard P. Wilkes <RICK @ MIT-MC>
Subject: FX Lines
Well, the mess continues...
>From the friendly folks at C&P of Maryland:
"In accordance with the Decree, the C&P Telephone Company of MD will
be prohibited from providing your foreign exchange service after Dec.
31, 1983."
I have a FX from Baltimore to Laurel MD which puts me in the DC
calling area. They tell me that as early as Dec. 1, they will be
disconnecting my line (that is if they can't get an exclusion from the
courts).
Interestingly, they suggest that I contact AT&T, MCI, Western Union,
SPCC, or USTS after Dec. 31 for this type of service. Hmmm... what a
hassle.
I think that "good ol' days" will be remembered as the time you could
walk into a phone center store, place your order, get your phone and
books, and have the whole thing installed within days for $20. Now,
you have to place the order by phone, go to the Central Office and
wait for 2 hours (!!) behind people who haven't paid their bills in
years for a "phone representative" to give you your new phone number
and tell you that it will be two weeks before the line is connected.
Ug...
Almost makes one want to be an anti-antitrust lawyer. -r
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End of TELECOM Digest
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