
From telecom-request@delta.eecs.nwu.edu  Thu Oct 12 18:23:36 1995
by
1995
18:23:36 -0400
telecomlist-outbound; Thu, 12 Oct 1995 14:02:39 -0500
1995
14:02:37 -0500
To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu


TELECOM Digest     Thu, 12 Oct 95 14:02:00 CDT    Volume 15 : Issue 433

Inside This Issue:                           Editor: Patrick A. Townson

    How to Make Dial-up Stay Up as Long as Possible? (M.C. Wong)
    Connecting Modem to Multi-line Phone (Tom Spielman)
    FAX Machine as Page Scanner (Keith Knipschild)
    European Numbering Plans and Telecom Policy (Bill Ciminelli)
    Bell Atlantic Mobile $25 Offer (James B. Langridge)
    Internet Voice Mail (Jack Bryar)
    Mystery - How Do You Interface With European Phones (Sub 
Ramakrishnan)
    A Question About Special Access Surcharge (Jingshong Xie)
    Phone Number to Word Converter (Edward A. Kleinhample)
    Statewide Exchange for South Carolina (Fred Atkinson)
    Payphone Data (Phone Numbers and Address) (Jim Crider)
    Numbering Plan Change in Israel (loeb@netcom.com)
    Legal Slamming (Fred Atkinson)
    Re: Where Do They Get Precise TIME Information? (Michael Shields)

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----------------------------------------------------------------------



Hi,

    I wonder if anyone has any good advices/suggestions of making a
dial-up link stays up as long as possible?

    The reason I asked is that, like many others, I am connected to
the net on a permanent SLIP link, and every now and then the line gets
reset by the telco, sometimes it can go as frequent as few times a day
(which I suspect may also be noise anyway). The cost of redialing is
only a small price to pay, but the interruptions it costs is the
worst.

    Even with auto-redial enabled, the answering modem may get into a
non-functioning state and sometimes it thinks it is still off-hook and
auto-redial can never succeed without having to reset the modem 
manually.

    I wonder has anyone tried increasing the carrier drop time-out
value with their modem and got positive result?

    Please reply/post your experience/advices/suggestions/tips etc ...

    Thanks in advance.

------------------------------



I've had trouble getting a modem to work on a multi-line phone system.
The jack seems to be the same, but the modem doesn't get a dial tone.
I've seen some modems that have multi-line features.  Do I need one of
these?  Can I do it at all?


Thanks,

Tom

------------------------------



In the July, August, September, or October issue of {Popular 
Electronics},
or {Electronics Now}, there was a schematic of a simple circuit that
would allow one to connect a FAX Machine to a Fax Modem.  This would
let you scan a page to the computer.

Does anyone have this schematic or the magazine? I think the circuit 
consisted of two  nine-volt batteries.


Keith@unix.asb.com            SLIP/PPP Internet Address     
Keith.Knipschild@asb.com      BBS Internet Address          
Http://www.asb.com/usr/keith  My WWW Page URL Address       
N2NJS@KC2FD.NY.USA.NA         Ham Radio AX25 Packet Address 
70302,2701                    CompuServe Address            
K.Knipschild                  GENIE Address                 


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: An even easier way of doing this involves
merely a fax machine and a second phone line. Hook your fax machine to
one phone line, and your computer with fax/modem card to the other phone
line. Have the fax machine call the computer and feed it whatever you
want scanned. You will get it in the output from your fax/modem card.
Use whatever software came with your fax/modem card to convert the file
to a way it can be viewed on your computer. Deal with it however you
want at that point, sending the file wherever.  Really quite simple.  
PAT]

------------------------------



Can some one direct me to sources of information on two topics:

1) A description of Europen market telephone numbering plans, both 
current
and planned changes

2) Any general information on European Telecom policy, status of
deregulation etc.

Any help would be appreciated!


Regards,

Bill Ciminelli    bill.ciminelli@nt.com

------------------------------



Bell Atlantic Mobil recently mailed out a certificate offering it's
cell customers involved in the 703/540 area code change $25 to
reprogram their phone with the new 540 area code and advising them
that if the phone is not reprogrammed by 1996 that it will no longer
be able to make or receive calls.  I considered this a great offer
considering I can program my phone myself.

After programming my phone (a couple of days ago) and receiving
several calls since then, I called BAMS to let them know I had
reprogrammed my phone and was calling to get my $25.  Upon hearing
that I had reprogrammed my phone myself the phone droid in a concerned
voice advised me that he wasn't sure that it would work since the cell
number for the new AC is not automatically reserved for the customer.
A cell agent must call to have the new number reserved and activated
for me.  After explaining that I have indeed been able to receive and
make calls since I changed the area code in the NAM programming, he
then tried to call my phone (which is out in the car) and got the
standard recording that the cell customer he had called was not
available.  

Not convinced that everything is working he contacted the orders and
operations department and had my number with the new AC activated.
Then came back on the line to say everything should work now but if
not, please let BAMS know.  Oh yes, Let's not forget the $25.  He
advised me that the $25 offer was intended only for people who take
their phone to a cell agent for reprogramming ... kind of a way to make
up for the inconvenience.  Then offered me $12.50.  Of course, the
certificate said nothing like that.  So I stood firm and was told I
would receive the full $25.  We'll see on my next bill. And I wonder
why a cellular carrier would not automatically reserve active cell
numbers for it existing customers in the new area code.  This guy told
me that I might have had to change my number had it been assigned to
someone else with the 540 area code.

You know, I just can't help but feel like someone just tried to steal 
something from me anytime I have to deal with the phone company.


James B. Langridge
jlangri@relay.nswc.navy.mil (Office)   

------------------------------



I am looking for any information concerning using the 'net as a means 
for
narrowcasting/multicasting voice mail messages via a process of:

        [local voicecall over traditional phone]
                -to-
        [ISP based converter]
                -to-
        [ISP based re-converter]
                -to-
        [local voice call to phone of recipient].

Are there existing developers of such systems?  What is the response
of ISP's to the idea of providing such a service?  Are the regulatory
"gotcha's" that would make this difficult.

Understand that we know about the voice over the net products, but
since the net is essentially packetized, with no ability to reserve
continuous bandwidth, we think that "real-time voice" isn't going to
be satisfactory for many applications. (we do NOT want flames from
Iphone or vocal tec users on this point, please) For the purposes of
our clients, we think that messaging would be a more appropriate use.

Also, we have worked with Wave files as MIME extensions, but again, not
everyone has a multimedia PC, and everyone DOES have a phone.

Given that the successful installation of such systems would require
the active participation of Internet Service Providers, it would be
important to know if there are groups within the CIX that are studying
the provision of such services. What kind of response would the
regulatory community have to such systems, especially if the service
extended outside of the affiliated set of businesses that have asked
us to investigate this technothey extended outside of gy for their
internal use?

Thank you for your kind attention to this inquiry.


J.V. Bryar     Sajual Systems & Consulting, Inc.
"Technical Due Diligence" (sm) Investigations
Project Management and Prototyping 
Cambridge MA and Grafton VT
802-843-6101 Fax: 802-843-2640

Partner - NORTHERN MEDIA SOLUTIONS
Telecommunications Applications Evangelists 
and Strategic Integration Consulting
(802)843-2500 email: info@nmsi.com

------------------------------



I am trying to reach a number in Austria, from US. The number is,
011(43)(xxx)yyy; 43 is Austria, xxx and yy are the area codes, and the
local number. A computer answers this number and asks me to press 1
for service_1, 2 for service2 etc..

I get connected to the computer OK but nothing happens when I press 1. 
My
USA phone is tone. Note that when I tried this Austrian number from
Austria it works without any problem. 

I suspect that the tones transmitted from USA (after you reach the
computer) may not be of the same frequency the Austrian system
expects ... but any solutions or alternate theories? Are there any
boxes one can buy in Radio Shack that I can interface with my (US)
phone to resolve the problem?


Sub Ramakrishnan rama@cs.bgsu.edu

------------------------------



According to FCC Tariff:
 
"The Special Access Surcharge will apply to each interstate Special
Access Service that terminates on an end user's PBX or other device
where, through a function of the device, the Special Access Service
interconnects to the local exchange network.  Interconnection
functions include but are not limited to wiring and software
functions, bridging, switching or patching of calls or stations."

Could gurus out there explain how to read this?  Does "interstate"
mean "between two States (i.e. Maryland, Virginia)"?  And what is
considered as "Special Access Service"?

Thanks a lot.


Jingshong Xie

------------------------------



John Mayson's shell program from the 3-Oct Digest sparked my interest.
I dug up a pair of little C programs that I presented to my students
in a C class last spring.

   ---------- cut here-----------
/*
    Program     TelNum.c
    Find Mnemonic name from telephone number.

    Adapted from pascal code by Tom Swan (Dr. Dobbs - June 93)
*/

#include <stdio.h>

char    *TelDial[10];
char    *inString;
char    *outString;
long    nCount;


int     ValueOfChar( char c )
{
 return ( (char) ( c - '0' ) );
}



void    Permute( int n )
{
    int i, digit;

 digit = ValueOfChar( inString[n] );

    for( i=0 ; i < 3 ; i++ )    {
        outString[n] = TelDial[ digit ][ i ];
        if( n == strlen( inString )-1 )     {
            nCount++;
            printf( "%s\t", outString );
        }
        else
            Permute( n + 1 );
    }
}



void    main()
{
    TelDial[0] = "   ";     TelDial[1] = "   ";


                                                                                             

    TelDial[2] = "ABC";     TelDial[3] = "DEF";
    TelDial[4] = "GHI";     TelDial[5] = "JKL";
    TelDial[6] = "MNO";     TelDial[7] = "PRS";
    TelDial[8] = "TUV";     TelDial[9] = "WXY";

    inString = (char *) calloc( 1, 32 );
    nCount = 0;

    printf( "Telephone number: " );
    scanf( "%15s", inString );
    if( strlen( inString ) > 0 )    {
        outString = (char *) calloc( 1, 32 );
  strcpy( outString, inString );
        printf( "\n\n" );
  Permute( 0 );
        printf( "\n %ld combinations\n\n", nCount );
    }
}


  ---------- cut here----------
/*
 Program         TelName.C
 Display Phone number from a mnemonic phone name

 adapted from pascal code by Tom Swan (Dr. Dobbs - June 93)
*/
#include <stdio.h>


int     i;
char    TelNumber[15];
char    *TelDial[10];
char    LetterSet[] = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPRSTUVWXY";     /* note Q/Z 
ommitted */

char    DigitToLetter( char c )
{
    int i,j;

    c = toupper( c );       /* make upper-case */
    for( i=0 ; i<=9 ; i++ )   {
        for( j=0 ; j<3 ; j++ )   {
            if( c == TelDial[i][j] )    {
                return ( (char) ( i + '0' ) );
            }
        }
    }
    return ( c );       /* default */
}




void    main()
{
    TelDial[0] = "   ";     TelDial[1] = "   ";
    TelDial[2] = "ABC";     TelDial[3] = "DEF";
    TelDial[4] = "GHI";     TelDial[5] = "JKL";
    TelDial[6] = "MNO";     TelDial[7] = "PRS";
    TelDial[8] = "TUV";     TelDial[9] = "WXY";

    printf( "Enter Telephone Name: " );
    scanf( "%15s", TelNumber );
    printf( "\n\n" );

    for( i=0; i < strlen( TelNumber ); i++ )    {
        printf( "%c", DigitToLetter( TelNumber[i] ) );
    }
    printf( "\n\n" );
}

    ---------- cut here---------------


Ed Kleinhample - Land O' Lakes, FL - 70574.3514@cis.com

------------------------------



   Does anyone know anything about a 'statewide' 440 exchange that I 
have been told is springing up in South Carolina?  
     
   The reason I ask is that I am trying to get a friend of mine (he
lives in a little rural town that is long distance to all major
cities) on a local Internet service provider.  I spoke to one provider
who says that a new 'statewide' exchange (440) was springing up and
they were going to offer an access number on it.  She was not sure
whether non-BellSouth telephone subscribers would be able to access
it, though.
     
   I called BellSouth to find that no one in the business office knows 
anything about it.  That doesn't mean anything, though, based upon my 
past experience with telephone company business offices.  Often times 
those who sell the service are the last to be told.  
  
   The 803 directory assistance says they show 440 as a Columbia 
exchange but couldn't see that any numbers were assigned to it at 
least as yet.  
     
   If anyone has ANY information about it, I would be very grateful if
you'd reply.  My friend is a highly technical type and has been
wanting Internet access for some time.  He'd be grateful, too.  I
don't want to get his hopes up and find out that this is just bad
information (no, I haven't told him as yet).
     
     
Fred Atkinson

------------------------------



I'm looking to obtain a data source for all payphone (public and
private) phone numbers with address information within the U.S.  Does
anyone have this information or know who I could contact to obtain it?
                 
I'm willing to pay for it.


Jim Crider              Internet: jcrider@mci.com
Arlington, VA USA       Voice: 703 415 2506  Fax: 703 415 6402

------------------------------



I've heard rumors that Israel is going to switch from the current
numbering scheme (one-digit area code + six or seven digits local
number) to flat seven-digit numbers with no area code. Is that true
and if yes, when the permissive dialing starts?


Thanks,

Leo

------------------------------



I got home last night and found a three dollar check in my mailbox.
It said that this long distance company (one I've never even heard of
with rates that could save as much as fifty-five percent over AT&T)
was giving me a calling card (gratis) and for three dollars per month
they could have the charges added to my local phone bill.
     
Well, the calling card I won't use.  The print on the back of the three 
dollar check (where you endorse it) says that you are authorizing them 
to 
switch your long distance carrier to their service.  It always pays to 
read 
the fine print.
     
Another fresh approach to slamming.  Since they would have a signed
document (the check) authorizing them to switch you, they would've
gotten away with it scott free.
     
They claim their rates are so much lower than AT&T yet they provided
no documentation as to what their rates are.  That makes me more leary
than I already was.
     
     
Fred


[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: Three dollars?  Three dollars??? I would
never let anyone do it to me for three dollars. What a bunch of 
cheapskates
they are. This is not a 'fresh approach to slamming' by any means. It
has been around for years, but the checks are usually a lot more. 
Fifteen,
twenty or thirty dollars are much more common offers. They must not 
think
much of your business relationship with them Fred; otherwise they would
have offered you more also. AT&T offered me twenty-five dollars to come
back to them after I signed up with Sprint to get the fax card a few 
years
ago, and heck, I don't even pay my phone bill at all until I can't avoid
it any longer and am about to get cut. Three dollars?  Geeze.   PAT]

------------------------------



In article <telecom15.425.1@eecs.nwu.edu>, Atri Indiresan 
<atri@eecs.umich.
edu> wrote:

> To get time service at this (and any other Unix computer), you need to
> specify socket 13.

Port 13.

> [question: what is MJD?]

Modified Julian Day.  I've appended <URL:http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/
mjd.html>.

Loose ends:

* Yes, both tick and tock will work.  tock is probably less busy.

* The advantage of the 900 number over the 202 number is that it is
  guaranteed not to travel over a satellite.  Is this true of all 900
  numbers?

* NTP is still the best way to get time, because a great deal of 
research
  has gone into it.  See if your ISP offers NTP service.  Better NTP
  clients will run continuously, computing drift and adjusting for leap
  seconds; for Unix, get xntpd from <URL:ftp://louie.udel.edu/pub/ntp/>.
  On a LAN, it can get your clocks within < 1 ms on some platforms.

Here's more than you ever wanted to know about MJD.

  -- cut here --

                             MODIFIED JULIAN DATE
                                       
   The Modified Julian Day (MJD) is an abbreviated version of the old
   Julian Day (JD) dating method which has been in use for centuries by
   astronomers, geophysicists, chronologers and others who needed to 
have
   an unambiguous dating system based on continuing day counts.
   
   The JD counts have very little to do with the Julian calendar which
   was introduced by Julius Caesar (44 BC) and in force until 1682 when
   Pope Gregory directed the use of an improved calendar, now known as
   the Gregorian Calendar. In the case of the Julian day count, the name
   was given because at the time, the Julian calendar was in use and,
   therefore, the epoch of the day count was fixed in respect to it. The
   JD counts days within one Julian Period of exactly 7980 Julian years
   of 365.25 days.
   
   Start of the JD count is 12 NOON 1 JAN -4713 (4712 BC, Julian
   Proleptic Calendar). Note that this day count conforms with the
   astronomical convention starting the day at noon, in contrast with 
the
   civil practice where the day starts with midnight (in popular use the
   belief is widespread that the day ends with midnight but this is not
   the proper scientific use).
   
   The Julian Period is given by the time it takes from one coincidence
   to the next of a solar cycle (28), a lunar cycle (19), and the Roman
   Indiction (a tax cycle of 15 years). At any rate, this period is of
   interest only in regard to the adoption of the start, at which time
   all periods counted backwards were in coincidence.
   
   The Modified Julian Day, on the other hand, was introduced by space
   scientists in the late 50's of this century. It is defined as
   
   MJD = JD - 2400000.5
   
   The half day is subtracted so that the day starts at midnight in
   conformance with civil time reckoning. This MJD has been sanctioned 
by
   various international commissions such as IAU, CCIR, and others who
   recommend it as a decimal day count which is independent of the civil
   calendar in use. To give dates in this system is convenient in all
   cases where data are collected over long periods of time. Examples 
are
   double star and variable star observations, the computation of time
   differences over long periods of time such as in the computation of
   small rate differences of atomic clocks, etc.
   
   The MJD is a convenient dating system with only 5 digits, sufficient
   for most modern purposes. The days of the week can easily be computed
   because the same weekday is obtained for the same remainder of the 
MJD
   after division by 7.
   
   EXAMPLE: MJD 49987 = MON., 27 SEPT, 1995
   
   Division of the MJD by 7 gives a remainder of 0. All Mondays in 1995
   have this same remainder of 0.
   

Note that for 1993 the MJD = 48987 + DOY
          For 1994 the MJD = 49352 + DOY
          For 1995 the MJD = 49717 + DOY
          For 1996 the MJD = 50082 + DOY

where DOY is the Day of the respective Year.


   The MJD (and even more so the JD) has to be well distinguished from
   this day of the year (DOY). This is also often but erroneously called
   Julian Date, when in fact it is a Gregorian Date expressed as number
   of days in the year. This is a grossly misleading practice that was
   introduced by some who were simply ignorant and too careless to learn
   the proper terminology. It creates a confusion which should not be
   taken lightly. Moreover, a continuation of the use of expressions
   "Julian" or "J" day in the sense of a Gregorian Date will make 
matters
   even worse. It will inevitably lead to dangerous mistakes, increased
   confusion, and it will eventually destroy whatever standard practices
   exist.
   
   The MJD has been officially recognized by the International
   Astronomical Union (IAU), and by the Consultative Committe for Radio
   (CCIR), the advisory committee to the International 
Telecommunications
   Union (ITU). The pertinent document is
   
   CCIR RECOMMENDATION 457-1, USE OF THE MODIFIED JULIAN DATE BY THE
   STANDARD FREQUENCY AND TIME-SIGNAL SERVICES.
   
   This document is contained in the CCIR "Green Book" Volume VII.
   Additional, extensive documentation regarding the JD is contained in
   the Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Ephemeris and Nautical
   Almanac, and in the yearbooks themselves, now called The Astronomical
   Almanac. The Almanac for Computers also provides information on such
   matters.
   
   NOTE: The MJD is always referred to as a time reckoned in Universal
   Time (UT). The same is not true for the DOY. This is usually meant in
   a local time sense, but in all data which are given here at the
   observatory, we refer the DOY to UT also, except where specifically
   noted. One could call it then something like Universal Day of the 
Year
   to emphasize the point. However, this would introduce a completely 
new
   term, not authorized by any convention. Moreover, it is not really
   necessary to use a different term because we simply follow logically
   the same practice of extending a time and date measure to the UT
   reference as we do when we give any date or hour.
   
   NASA sometimes uses what they call the Truncated MJD or TJD. It is
   simply the MJD less the first digit. The above used date would be 
6324
   Note, however, that in this case the remainder for the days of the
   week comes out differently (3 for Mondays).
   

LITERATURE:

Gordon Moyer, "The Origin of the Julian Day System", Sky and Telescope,
vol. 61, pp. 311-313 (April 1981).   See also a subsequent letter
by R.H. van Gent, Sky and Telescope, vol.62, p.16 (July 1981).

Last but not least, see also the Explanatory Supplement to the 
Astronomical
Almanac pp. 600 etc.  This is the current, revised issue published by
University Science Books, FAX 415-383-3167, ISBN 0-935702-68-7.

Gernot M. R. Winkler
formerly with
U.S. NAVAL OBSERVATORY
3450 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE NW
WASHINGTON DC  20392-5420


Shields.

------------------------------

End of TELECOM Digest V15 #433
******************************

                                                                                                        
