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Introduction
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If you've got a question, simple or complicated, strange or common, send it to us. We'll try to answer as many questions as we have time for. And who knows, maybe your question will be the basis of a future article? Send your questions to any of the electronic addresses listed elsewhere in this issue.
Operator Assistance
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Q: I do a lot of traveling and stay in hotel rooms with my PowerBook. I want to initiate modem calls but I must go through the switchboard. How can I tell my modem to connect with a call initiated by an operator?
- D. Jones
Torrance, CA
A: First, initiate the call to the operator and have them dial the number for you. Tell them it is a data call and to expect modem noise from the other side. Once they initiate the call and you hear the dialing sound, in MicroPhone, type ATX1D and hit return. The X1 tells your modem not to wait for a dial tone, and the D instructs your modem to dial without a number. After doing this, hang up the handset. Your modem should communicate with the modem on the other side.
Speed Dialer
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Q: My modem is agonizingly slow when it dials a phone number. I can probably dial a number faster by hand than it does. It seems like the touch tones are going out much too slow. Is there any way to speed this action up?
- C. Hernandez
Sparks, NV
A: Touch tone speed is handled by the S11 register in most modems. S11 can be any value from 1 to 255, the number corresponding to the duration of the touch tone in milliseconds. The usual setting for S11 is somewhere between 70 and 100. Try reducing this number to 50 or less. Keep reducing it until your local telephone company's equipment can no longer distinguish the numbers your modem is dialing. I keep my S11 register at 45 and that works well for me.
Running on Empty
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Q: I am writing a fairly complicated set of scripts and am finding myself running against the limit of variables. Is there any way to extend the number of variables I can use in MicroPhone?
A: No. However, there is a strategy you can use to limit the number of variables you do use. Whenever possible, try to group similar information in a list instead of using separate variables. You can have a list of as many elements as you like, and it only takes up one entry in MicroPhone's variable list. For example, if you are asking for three pieces of profile information (username, password, phone number), put them in one variable called profile, like this:
Set Variable profile[1] from Expression "'Francis Smith' {username}"
Set Variable profile[2] from Expression "'loosegoose' {password}"
Set Variable profile[3] from Expression "'555-1212' {phone number}"
If you do this, you will only be using one variable (profile) instead of three (username, password, and phone).
