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1991-01-12
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Qdial 1.0
PC-Pursuit Dialer for Qmodem 4.2x
Qmodem has evolved into a topnotch shareware communications program packed
full of features. If you are reading this file, you are probably a user of
Qmodem or are considering it. If you use Qmodem, please register it and
support John Friel, Qmodem's author and shareware in general.
PC Pursuit, Sprint/Telenet's long-distance outdial service is an inexpensive
way to connect with 35 U.S. cities and the bulletin boards (BBS) within each
Pursuit area code. Unfortunately, the commands needed to get from your local
access number to an outdial city are arcane, and it's easy to make a typing
error each time you want to connect with a city or change cities. Thus,
dialer programs were born, most of which are written for specific commun-
ications programs. Two programs, ICEX and ADIAL were designed to be usable
with any comm program, and they are fine programs. For me, however, they are
overkill. I don't have time to browse 20 or 30 bulletin boards in as many
cities and don't need anything with that kind of power, and I like to
conserve disk space. Another approach (used by an anonymous author on whose
scripts I modeled Qdial--thanks, whoever you are!) is to have a main menu
script which branches to scripts for each city. A good idea, but it means
you have at least 35-40 scripts in your scripts directory, PLUS a logon
script for each BBS. It also means that each time you add or delete a BBS
you have to modify the script for that city. Workable, but bulky.
My approach in Qdial was to use the great features of Qmodem's phonebook as
much as possible, which means you can use the quicklearn feature, print the
phonebook, find text, attach notes to entries, link scripts, tag entries--the
whole bit. After a minimum of setup, after you dial your local PC Pursuit
access number Qdial will:
1. Automatically load a dialing directory of PC Pursuitable BBSs
(PCP.FON) which you can easily modify and maintain.
2. Present a menu to connect you with the outdial city of your choice.
3. After connecting you with the outdial city, prompt you to pop up the
dialer with Alt-D.
4. After hanging up from the BBS, you can either dial another BBS in
that area code, or easily disconnect from the outdial city and
connect with a new outdial city, log onto the PC Pursuit BBS, or
hangup and restore Qmodem to the original setup.
The archived file should contain the following:
READ.ME -- This file.
PCP.FON -- Phonebook for PC Pursuit cities in Qmodem 4.2x format
PCP.SCR -- Linked script for your local Telenet access number.
GETCITY.SCR -- Script which connects you with the outdial city of
your choice.
QUITCITY.SCR -- Script which disconnects you from the outdial and
calls GETCITY.SCR. Used as an Fkey macro.
PCP.KEY -- An Fkey macro file which assigns QUITCITY.SCR to F2.
SETUP
These instructions assume that you have a basic working knowledge of Qmodem
and that you have set it up with Qinstall (Alt-N). For specific questions
concerning paths, please consult the Qmodem manual.
1. Using an ASCII editor (I highly recommend Qedit) or QModem's internal
editor, examine and modify if necessary the file PCP.SCR. Two ASSIGNment
statements at the beginning of the script define the paths of PCP.KEY and
PCP.FON. Modify the pathnames to reflect your Qmodem files setup. As you
can see, I use C:\QMODEM to store PCP.KEY and a subdirectory C:\QMODEM\PCPFON
in which to store PCP.FON. Now, in your Qmodem phonebook place the name of
this script, PCP.SCR in the SCRIPT entry of your local Telenet access number.
This links the script, so that when you connect with Telenet PCP.SCR will
automatically run.
2. Using an ASCII editor, examine the file GETCITY.SCR. The first few lines
contain the ASSIGNment statements for your PCP userid and password, the baud
rate you will be using, and the paths for your default Qmodem Fkey and phone-
book files. Type in the required information as explained in the script
file. Be sure to surround entries with quotes. NOTE: If you pass these
files onto others, please be sure you do not pass your userid and password as
well!!
3. Using Qmodem or QFONEDIT, modify PCP.FON to reflect the BBSs you intend to
call, using the (I)nsert command. Note that the dialer is sorted numerically
so that area code 202 (NJNEW) is at the top and the last available PC Pursuit
area code (919, NCRTP) is at the bottom. Add the BBS names under their
appropriate area codes and enter the correct baud rates for each entry. If
you use a linked script for an entry, enter that as well. I do not recommend
SORTing the phonebook, as it is already sorted. Use the Insert and Delete
commands to keep the phonebook sorted.
Using Qdial
1. Dial your local PC Pursuit access number. When you connect, the linked
script PCP.SCR will load PCP.KEY and PCP.FON and then will transfer control
to GETCITY.SCR.
2. GETCITY.SCR will display a menu of the available PC Pursuit outdial
cities. Enter the area code (not the city name) of the outdial city you want
and hit <ENTER>. Qdial will attempt to connect you with that city. If you
type an illegal area code (a code for which there is no PC Pursuit outdial)
you will hear a beep and the menu will immediately reappear. Try again.
3. After you connect with the outdial city, a message will appear to remind
you to type Alt-D to bring up the dialer. (Presently, the Qmodem script
language cannot simulate the Alt-D command.) To find the BBS you want to
dial, use the (F)ind command. For example, to FIND Exec PC BBS, type "F
exec" <ENTER> and the dialer will take you directly to that entry (assuming
you've placed it in the phonebook!). Then hit <ENTER> a second time and
Qmodem will dial the number. If you want to set up a dialing queue of BBSs
in that city, tag them and hit <ENTER>.
4. After you quit the BBS with which you've connected, a NO CARRIER message
will appear on the screen. If you want to dial another BBS in that outdial
city, Alt-D brings up the phonebook. Cursor to the entry you want and hit
<ENTER>. Alternatively, if you want to connect to another outdial city or
the PC Pursuit BBS or quit PC Pursuit altogether, hit F2 and (if you've set
everything up correctly) you will be disconnected and the city menu will
reappear. You can connect to another city, the PC Pursuit BBS, or by typing
"g" or "G" (case doesn't matter) quit PC Pursuit. Quitting restores
QMODEM.KEY and QMODEM.FON defaults.
Notes
Sometimes the script GETCITY appears to "hang" after the ATZ command has been
issued. This seems to have something to do with the outdial modem timing.
I've noticed that it almost always happens at some outdial cities, and never
on others. If "ATZ" appears and nothing happens after a few seconds, hit
ESCape and Abort the script, go ahead and hit Alt-D to bring up the phone
book. Dial as usual, and you should connect as usual. If you have
suggestions for a fix for this, drop me a line.
If you use the PCP.FON phonebook as it's currently set up, you should have
space for 150 or more BBS entries. If you need more space than that, you
have more time for BBSing than I do, and certainly enough time to make a
simple modification to GETCITY. I suggest you have two phonebooks, one for
area codes 201-414, and another for area codes 415-919, or something similar.
Use a simple filter statement to load the correct phonebook after entering
the area code.
DISCLAIMER
These scripts are hereby released to the public domain. There is no fee for
using them, neither does the author assume any liability in the event that
their use results in monetary loss, famine, pestilence, disease or the
election of Dan Quayle to the presidency.
Users are encouraged to modify the scripts as they desire. The author would
appreciate suggestions for improvements and any bug fixes, and can be reached
at:
Mario Dennis Interlink Qmodem Conference
311 Grace Street Exec PC BBS: (414) 789-4210
Harrisonburg, VA 22801