home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
BBS Toolkit
/
BBS Toolkit.iso
/
rbbs_pc
/
rbbsdocs.zip
/
RBBSDOCS.APE
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1990-11-05
|
4KB
|
60 lines
APPENDIX E -- RBBS-PC and the Hearing-Impaired E-1
APPENDIX E -- RBBS-PC and the Hearing-Impaired
----------------------------------------------
Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDDs) use the Baudot character set
(i.e. 5-bit) and utilize modems that transmit at 45 baud and do not
generate a carrier signal. This is because such devices were initially
adaptations of surplus Western Union TTY machines for telephone
communications. The widespread use of Baudot devices by the hearing-
impaired, the previous high cost of computers and modems, and the lack of
software designed for electronic communications, has impeded the change to
ASCII communications by the hearing-impaired community.
Equipment manufacturers have also made it difficult for the deaf to change.
When TDD's with ASCII code transmission capability began to be offered, the
majority of manufacturers limited them to only 110 baud and put disclaimers
in their manuals that said ASCII was available for use but that "computer
language" was "less reliable" and hard to use. Their limiting of the TDD's
output screen to 12 to 20 characters further compounded the problem because
the screen would overwrite several times to display one line of text from a
host system. The manufacturers' "solution" to this problem was to
recommend printers for communication with such "host" systems as RBBS-PC.
Some units now offer both 110 and 300 baud ASCII transmission in addition
to the 45 baud Baudot. Unfortunately, these typically have only 20
character screens.
In December of 1984, Ted Janossy of Rochester, Minnesota, sent a three-page
letter to Tom Mack describing the above situation. Ted's letter motivated
Tom to test and verify the "ring-back" feature of RBBS-PC in 12.4A. It
had not been tested in earlier versions because Tom assumed (presumptuously
and insensitively) that "real SysOps don't use ring-back RBBS-PC's." Ted's
letter awakened Tom to the potential of RBBS-PC to facilitate
communications among the hearing-impaired. In the awakening, Tom also had
a chance to look down at his own feet of clay.
RBBS-PC can be configured to answer calls only after a specified number of
rings (i.e. 15). The telephone companies wire the homes of the
hearing-impaired such that when the phone rings, the lights within the
house flash on and off.
With RBBS-PC a SysOp can specify the number of rings RBBS-PC is to wait
before answering the phone automatically. Setting this number high enough
allows someone with a hearing impairment time enough to get to the PC
running RBBS-PC. Pressing the PC's function key 5 (F5) causes RBBS-PC to
answer the phone immediately. The caller would know that someone was at
the keyboard because RBBS-PC answered the phone in less than the agreed-
upon number of rings. The caller would log onto RBBS-PC normally and the
person at the PC keyboard would be able to see who it was. If the person
who was called wanted to "chat" with the caller, all they would have to do
would be to press function key 10 (F10).
If RBBS-PC didn't answer the telephone within the agreed-upon number of
rings, the caller would know that whomever was being called couldn't come
to the keyboard. The caller would then log on and leave a message.