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COMCALL.EXE Ver 3.0
(August 1992)
COPYRIGHT(C) 1991/1992
Clive Jones, 111 Deer Park Gdns, Mitcham, Surrey ENGLAND CR4 4DX.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
COMCALL is distributed under the SHAREWARE principles. The
Author reserves all COPYRIGHTS (C) to the program and associated
documentation. In using this program you agree to the terms that
NO LIABILITY OF ANY KIND EITHER THROUGH DIRECT USAGE OR INDIRECT
USAGE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PROGRAM OR FAILURE IN THE PROGRAM
TO OPERATE AS DESCRIBED WILL BE PAYABLE OR DUE BY THE AUTHOR.
You are granted a limited licence to use this program for a
limited period of 30 days for evaluation purposes only. If you
intend to use this program beyond the trial period you are
requested to register your copy. Registered copies will receive
postal support (telephone support provided where possible) and
upgrade options as and when available. Failure to register your
copy may result in further development into this and other
packages not being under taken by the author as a result of
financial restraints. Don't be a contributory factor to the
demise of SHAREWARE. Assist the authors who have spent
considerable time and effort by registering your SHAREWARE
packages.
---------------------
This package comprises of the following files:-
COMCALL.EXE
COMDO.EXE
COMCALL.DOC
COMBOOT.EXE
COMBOOTS.EXE
AUTOEX.BAT
AT_SET.TXT.
They are distributed within a single self extracting archive file
called:- COMV2.EXE
If you did not receive this package in this form then you should
not use the programs.
Once Comcall has been installed and ran at least once on your PC
then three additional files will be automatically created:-
CALLRING.DTL - a log file containing ring/action details
COMCC.DTL - a comcall configuration file.
COMVALS.DTL - holds default values for the comcall session
--------------------
If you have a telephone, a Hayes command set modem and an IBM or
compatible running under DOS or Windows, then COMCALL may be of
use.
COMCALL is a package that is designed to monitor your phone line
in your absence. It will either call you at ANY other phone
location that may be directly dialled to advise you when a
pre-defined trigger is met or execute a command to start some
alternative action. Alternatively Comcall will simply monitor
and log any incoming calls such as when you are using an
answerphone with no call time logger. Comcall is constantly
under further development. For future versions it is intended to
add even greater flexibility in Comcalls usage so as to include
such possibilities as the remote control of physical actions such
as video recorder control, light operations, curtains etc with
the control being performed via a single telephone line that
could be shared with other devices eg voice/answerphone/fax/data.
Comcall will work with many existing telecommunications hardware
devices such as existing phones, extensions, answerphones etc.
No special hardware is required at the recipient end of the
triggered call if a telephone advice action is selected. Any
phone that may be DIRECTLY dialled is sufficient.
This version of Comcall is distributed under the Shareware
principles. Future versions may only be obtainable by users
already registered under the Shareware release of the current
version.
The trigger for COMCALL is a range of counts of incoming rings to
your telephone. You define this upon starting COMCALL and is
totally variable. Such as one (and only one) ring being received
(eg like a RINGBACK set up) or maybe between 2 and 4 rings (your
answer phone would have received a message), or maybe all rings
eg 1 - 999 (999 being the COMCALL limit).
Only consecutive rings from one call are counted. If the trigger
condition is not met then the ring count will be reset and
Comcall will wait for subsequent calls.
All incoming rings are logged to a file called CALLRING.DTL for
later inspection if required. Useful if you've been out and
would like to see how many calls you missed.
Comcall may be individually configured to suit your own
particular needs.
Comcall now incorporates a dual trigger condition, so that two
ranges of trigger options may be defined in order to perform two
separate operations according to which trigger condition was
encountered.
Comcall Version 3 is distributed as a fully functioning version.
In trust of its capabilities and of its users I have decided not
to cripple or disable its functionality in any way.
EXAMPLE USAGES OF COMCALL:
1.
You have an answerphone but it does not have a time/date stamp
option. You go away for the weekend only to return to a number
of messages. When were these messages taken? Providing you had
invoked Comcall then you will be able to see exactly when the
messages were left (day and time). You will even be able to see
how many calls resulted in messages not being left.
2.
A family member may be ill in hospital or your wife may have been
taken into maternity as her babies due date nears. You have an
answer phone and you have to go out on some urgent business.
You are fearful that you may receive that all important call
whilst you are out. The answer phone will take the message but
you won't know of this until you next return home or until you
phone up and interrogate your answer phone next (assuming you
have a remote access answer phone). Provided you either have a
radio pager or know the telephone number of the person whom you
are visiting worry no further. Simply invoke COMCALL to monitor
your line, giving it the number of the person whom you are
visiting (or the radio pager number). Go on out about your
business and if a message comes in, then you will be
automatically advised.
3.
You are in the office late on a Friday evening. You still
haven't met that all important deadline for your project and you
really should come in over the weekend to finish of that draft
overview. But your office is over 30 miles away. You are not
permitted to take disks out of the office and no inward external
network access exist into your PC system for security reasons.
Your office PC does however have a modem for outgoing data
transfer and you have a PC, Modem and Communications Software at
home. Simply invoke your copy of COMCALL to trigger after say
just one (and only one) ring of your office telephone. When this
trigger is met you want it to start your comms package that has
been set to autodial your home phone number. You can then go
home in the knowledge that you do not have to drive all the way
in tomorrow and can work from home. All that is required the
next day is for you to call your office phone, hang up after just
one ring, set your PC, Modem and Comms package to autoanswer data
mode and then wait for the return call from your office PC. You
should be confident that no one else will ring your office phone
just once and then hang up. Even if then did it would be of
little consequence as you would get an a simple call from your
works PC which you could then just hang up on. Provided you have
set up the triggering system correctly, your works PC would then
resume waiting for another single ring. (See USING below).
My set up :- I use Comcall for a threefold purpose. Firstly I am
on occasions telephoned in the middle of the night with messages
that have to be dealt with promptly. My answerphone will take
these messages, but, being a sound sleeper, I am seldom awoken by
the few rings prior to the answerphone starting. I set Comcall
to a ring range count of 1 - 10 (eg any calls) and an action of E
REM. Additonally I set the delay time to 360 and delay tone on
so as to raise an alarm that continues beyond teh telephone
ringing period. Any calls that come in during the night
therefore raise a PC alarm tone. Secondly, as my office is over
15 miles away, I set comcall to call me with advise of any
pending messages that may be left on my answerphone throughout
the day. I utilise my answerphones remote interogation option to
then respond to any important matters. Finally, I use Comcall to
allow me to call into my home PC from my office. I only have the
one telephone line sharing both the answerphone and modem. To
use my home PC I simply set a trigger range of 1-2 rings and an
action of X with an error level of 2. This error level is then
picked up from within my modified autoexec.bat file in order to
start my comms package in host mode and await my return data
call. I utilise the re-boot option for this to ensure that I
re-call within 5 minutes, otherwise the PC reboots and reloads
Comcall via the autoexec.bat file.
SET UP/ INSTALLATION.
COMCALLs file should be ideally placed in the same single
directory.
Comcall consists of a number of files, these are described
below:-
COMCALL.EXE the executable file, COMDO.COM which is used to
execute the desired commands/files and COMCALL.DOC - this manual.
Once Comcall has been run once further new files will be
automatically created called CALLRING.DTL - This file is
used to hold details of COMCALLs actions (rings received,
actions taken etc. It is an append mode file so you should
therefore periodically monitor and delete it as necessary).
COMCC.DTL - This file holds the configuration details that you
may select for your comcall sessions. COMVALS.DTL - this file
is used to hold initialisation values each time that comcall is
invoked.
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU MODIFY THESE .DTL FILES USING A
TEXT EDITOR. Comcall relies upon these for its correct
functioning. If they become corrupted with invalid data then
Comcall may perform in an un-predictable fashion.
COMBOOT.EXE is a Terminate stay resident program (TSR) that can
be used to invoke a cold re-boot. COMBOOTS.EXE will stop an
impending reboot requested started using COMBOOT.
In addition to these files, a file called AT_SET.TXT is provided.
This provides a basic list of Hayes Commands for those of you who
might have mis-laid their modem manuals. This should not be
taken as a definative list for your particular modem and is
provided purely for the purpse of guidance. Finally the file
called AUTOEX.BAT is provided as a basis upon which you could
build your own file that utilised Comcalls X conditions (see
usage).
Prior to using COMCALL you must have a MODEM (Hayes Command Set)
connected to the specified COM port. The modem must be powered
on prior to the invoking of COMCALL.
To install comcall for the first time simply type COMCALL and
read the notice. Thereafter type COMCALL C and follow the
guidance given. A new configuration file will be created
automatically. You may modify this configuration now or at
any other later time by re-using the Comcall C command.
After this you can use Comcall as required using any of the
available commands. The options that you may configure are
described below:-
COMCALL C COMMAND - CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
To configure the Comcall options - enter <comcall c> at the dos
prompt.
You will then be presented with a number of options that may be
modified. To select one of the options to modify, simply use the
up and down arrow keys until that option is selected and then
press the <ENTER> key to enter into the modify mode. In the
modify option you will see the original value and be prompted for
a new value. You may exit from this by pressing the escape key
or by pressing the enter key without having entered a value for
the new option. Entry of a new values do not come into effect
until after the save option has been selected. Use of the escape
key will therefore result in the previous values being maintained
for the various options.
The options that may be modified are:-
1. Modem Initialisation String. (Consult your modem manual).
It is not recommended that you change this unless you are sure of
what you are doing. The initial value that is supplied with
comcall is ATE1V1H0S0=0 this will ensure that your modem is set
into the required verbrose message mode and to never auto answer.
These are standard Hayes command set commands. In some cases you
may wish to add further Hayes modem control commands in order to
suit you own particular needs. This is where you would add these
as desired.
2. Delay Time
This is the delay time (in seconds) between a trigger
condition being met and the time that the action
specified executes. For telecommunications actions it is
recommended that this figure be set high enough to allow for any
time that another person may be using your phone locally in order
to complete an incomming call. The minimum delay period is 5
seconds, max = 999999. Any values entered outside of this range
will have a default of 120 seconds applied. You will notice
that delays are incorporated into a number of the
functions of COMCALL. This delay is defined here. These delays
are present to ensure that sufficient delay periods exists
when modem functions are performed. For example the delay
count prior to initiating the execution or advisory message
is in place so as to ensure that any incoming messages
should have completed (eg an answerphone) prior to COMCALL
making the outgoing advisory call (after all you would be
sharing the same telephone line).
3. Delay tone.
Prior to Comcall starting an action following a trigger
condition, the delay period (as of 2 above) may or may
not have a warning tone sound. This is useful if you
wish to advise local personnel of such an impending action
so that it may be aborted if required.
4. Colour/Black White.
If you have a black and white monitor then you should set this
option to 'B'. Otherwise set it to 'C' for colour.
5. Tone/Pulse Dialling.
If your local exchanges and modem can issue MF tone dialling then
set this option to 'T' (tone). Otherwise set it to 'P' (Pulse).
If you are not sure as to which type of dialling is local to you
then it is recommended that the 'P' option is used as this
usually works on both.
6. Com Port
You should enter the number (1-4) of the com port that your modem
is connect to.
7. Busy Tone Retries.
COMCALL will re-issue a call if the BUSY tone is detected
upon executing an advisory call. Define the number of re-tries
here (max 10). Note that some modems come with a 'Blacklist'
test for where a number may be dialled unsuccessfully on multiple
occurences. If you have such a modem, then the number of actual
retries performed will be the lower of the value set for busy
re-tries and the blacklist limit.
8. Reverse Dialling Command.
To enable some form of indication at the recipient end of the
named telephone number this program issues a reverse ringback
command signal to your modem when making an advisory call.
If you are unsure about reverse dialling, do not worry too much,
it basically means that the person answering the advisory call
will hear DATA TONES. Thus implying that an advisory call is in
progress. Without the reverse dialling mode, the person
answering the call would hear nothing and may assume that a
telecommunications error had occurred. Not all modems may
support the ringback option, but the ones that do usually have a
command sequence of R to invoke this option (consult your modem
manual for further reference. In some cases this reverse
ringback string is an '/R' eg with a forward slash). The
reverse dialling command option should therefore be set to your
particular modems command (consult your modem manual). The Hayes
command set defines the Ringback command as a single R, so you
will probably have to change the Comcalls default of /R. The
default will probably be changed in future releases if so
requested by popular demand - but as my modem expects a /R I have
left the default to match this.
COMCALL B COMMAND - BROWSE LOG FILE.
This is a command that may be issued from the dos prompt in order
to browse the comcall log file CALLRING.DTL. Callring.dtl is a
text file and may also be browsed using other text editors. In
the browse log mode you can use the up and down arrow keys to
move about the display. To exit the browse mode simply press the
<ESC> key.
COMCALL M COMMAND - BROWSE MANUAL FILE.
This command is issued at the dos prompt in order to browse
through this file (COMCALL.DOC). It operates in a similar
fashion to that of the COMCALL B option with the exception that
the page up and down keys will scroll the text in page lengths.
COMBOOT x COMMAND - REBOOT
As some applications of Comcall can result in memory contention
(eg where Comcall is used to invoke other packages) it is
sometimes desirable to have an automated re-boot option so that
Comcall may be re-initialised via your autoexec.bat file.
Comcall now provides such an option by use of the COMBOOT x
option that may be executed from the dos prompt or from within
bat files. x is a value between 0 and 59 (minutes). Issuing
such a command will result in a cold re-boot of your system after
the time period of x minutes has elapsed. eg
comboot 2
would result in a system reboot in (Approx) 2 minutes from now.
In the mean time any other command or action could be performed
without affecting this request (unless you execute a comboots
request that is (see below)). Similarily comboot 0 would result
in an immediate re-boot occuring.
The reboot option results in a Terminate Stay Resident (TSR)
being installed. Under some circumstances other applications may
contend with this TSR. Always check your set ups thoroughly
before relying upon them. For example, I have found that if I
invoke windows (Win) following the setting of a reboot request,
then at the reboot time the only action that is performed is that
windowns is stopped (returns to the dos prompt). The way around
this is to create a batch file (.bat) that will call another boot
request eg
.
.
cd \comcall
comboot 1 { reboot after 1 min within windows}
cd \windows
win { start windows }
comboot 0 { reboot immediate request }
WARNING: COMBOOT will invoke a cold reboot no matter what!. This
is usually described as a bad practice as the state of the
machine at the time of the reboot request is unknown (resembles a
power failure). Any files that may be open, or any I/O that may
be occuring at the time of the reboot will thus be affected by
the reboot. If you treat the reboot command as a similar effect
to that of powering off/on your PC then you won't go to far
wrong. If you decide to use the reboot option then treat the
command with respect.
COMBOOTS COMMAND - STOP REBOOT REQUEST.
If the Reboot (COMBOOT) is invoked either in a bat file or from
the dos prompt and you wish to abort this auto reboot then use
the Comboots command, again from the dos prompt or within a bat
file. This is useful where Comcall may be driven by a .bat file
that invokes a Comms package awaiting for your return call in
data mode. If a reboot request were contained within this bat
file in order to reset your system back to Comcall if you did not
recall within a time period of x minutes, then if you did call
back in data mode then you would execute this Comboots command
upon establishing your data link to stop such a reboot.
COMCALL COMMAND - EXECUTE COMCALL
By entering <comcall> alone at the dos prompt, you will be
automatically taken into the main comcall process.
Initially you will see a couple of time delayed introductory
screens. Thereafter, you will be presented with the session
configuration screen. Each time that you modify and save any of
these then they will be applied to all future usages of Comcall
until such times that they may be modified again. This entry
configuration screen has a auto-entry delay count of 10 seconds.
Pressing the <esc> key will by-pass this delay. If no other keys
are pressed within this time then the main comcall process will
be entered. This delayed auto entry enables comcall to be used
in batch file processing (eg .BAT files) where it is known that
the default session options have already been set to a suitable
value. For each Comcall session, two trigger options are
available. You may therefore define separate actions to be taken
for each of two separate trigger conditions (ring ranges). The
options that may be modified are :-
COMCALL ENTRY OPTIONS
LOWER AND UPPER RING COUNTS
The ring counts (lower/upper) should be set to the range of FULL
RINGS that you wish COMCALL to trigger an action upon receipt of.
These values may be identical so as to stipulate an exact number
of RINGS to trigger. The minimum number of rings that may be
specified is 1. The maximum upper level is 999 RINGS. For
ranges of RING COUNTS the values are considered to be inclusive.
There should be no over lap between the ranges for OPTION 1
trigger action and OPTION 2. FULL RINGS varies from country to
country. For example in the UK with the Brrr-brrrr ring
Comcall will take all or any part of this to be a full
ring. It is worth noting that in some countries that the
ring heard by the caller and the ring heard by the called person
may not be in phase. Comcall responds to the actual rings
received locally. Comcalls ring counter will only increment
when your modem detects such a ring. This can lead to cases of
where say a caller hears only one ring cycle, whereas at
the receiving end a two ring cycle could have occurred.
For critical operations it is therefore recommended that you
select a ring trigger range over a number of ring cycles.
When you wish to trigger this remotely, then select a mid ring
count between these two values when making the trigger call.
EXECUTE/TELEPHONE/EXIT E/T/X OPTIONS
These parameter should be set according to what the required
trigger action should be eg 'T' a telephone advisory call should
be made to the number defined in the command/telephone option
(see later). The 'E' option enables the command as defined in
the command/telephone option to be performed if the trigger
condition is satisfied. Any dos command or program filename may
be called (even a call to a .BAT file if required), together
with any parameters required by that called program (there is a
upper limit of 4 parameters that may be passed). The X option
is used where it is desired to use comcall in .BAT files. In
some cases using the E option will prevent the successful reload
of comcall (eg if a trigger condition is met and another program
is executed that takes all of the memory available for its own
use). In using the X option, you can define an errorlevel at
which comcall should halt with following the receipt of the
desired trigger condition. This errorlevel should be defined in
the command/telephone option (see later). A bat file can then
pick up on this errorlevel in order to perform the desired
operation using the bat file 'errorlevel' operand.
COMMAND/TELEPHONE
This is the action command itself. If a T options is selected
for the action option (see previous) then this should contain the
target phone number. If a E option is selected for the command
action then this should be a dos command or program filename
(filenames should be full filenames etc comcall.exe). Up to four
parameters may be included with the command eg echo hello there.
If an X command action is selected then this should be a numeric
value (greater than one, less than 100) to which the desired exit
errorlevel is to be set. For more information on BAT file
processing and errorlevel values - consult your operating systems
manual.
For T options (telephone) you may be able to define delay periods
by including an additional character in this string (consult yur
modem manual). For example, when an advisory call is to be made
out through an automatic switchboard eg requiring a prefix
digit(s) to be dialled, followed by a short delay, then you can
use this delay character to cater for this. Lets say that the
delay charater is a comma (,), and your number for gaining an
external line is 9. If you wish to call the number 123-4567 then
your telephone command line value would be := 9,12345678. (Do
not include any dashes in telephone number command actions.) On
receiving a trigger condition, Comcall will then instruct your
modem to dial the digit 9, followed by a short delay, followed by
the number 1234567. This delay character can vary from modem to
modem, so consult your modems manual for further advise. In some
cases you may wish to concatenate a number of delays, usually
this can be achieved by using two or more of the delay characters
consecutively eg 9,,,1234567.
USING COMCALL
For COMCALL to work your PC and Modem must be left on. Any power
loss to your system will result in the loss of the COMCALL
monitoring. To ensure against power glitches you could copy the
COMCALL command to the last line of your autoexec.bat file so
that should the power fail and then be restored then the PC would
reboot and re-execute the COMCALL command automatically.
COMCALL liaises with your modem. You should use a HAYES
compatible MODEM and command set. COMCALL requires that verbose
commands are returned from your modem (not digit values) and that
the modem is set to never answer. These can usually be set using
the AT(tention) commands as defined for your modem once COMCALL
has been invoked. The most commonly used AT commands within
COMCALL is to set your modem to never answer (S0=0) and verbose
listing (word messages). This is automatically sent within the
initialisation process of COMCALL when invoked (providing you
have not modified it using the Comcall C option). Once you have
invoked COMCALL you will be in a terminal session with your
modem. Type AT (attention) followed by the enter key directly
at the terminal screen. You should then see the modems
response of OK. If this does not occur then you should
check your modem and COM port.
Comcall now incorporates dual trigger definition. That is you
can define two separate actions to be taken upon the receipt of
two different ring ranges. If you do not want any actions to be
taken, eg using Comcall purely as a logging device, then we
suggest that you use trigger actions of 998/998 E(xecute) REM
for option 1 and 999/999 E(xecute) REM for option 2. Comcall
will thereafter only log any details of incomming calls to the
log file (CALLRING.DTL) which may be browsed later using the
Comcall B option from the dos prompt. Note that in this case
then if a ring count in the range 998-999 rings is detected
(extremely unlikely) then the only action performed would be that
Comcall would log a remark (REM) statement in the log file.
Once you enter Comcall then try typing in a Capitalised RING at
the terminal screen. You should see the response of the time
of the ring and the ring count. If further rings are entered
in quick succession you should see the ring count increment.
(Beware not to enter the same number of rings as defined for
your trigger otherwise the trigger will occur at this test
stage - unless you wish to test your set up that is.) If there
are delays of over 10 seconds between the last and the next
ring then the ring count will be seen to revert back to one
(assumes a new call).
If you utilise the program file execution option, then COMCALL
may or may not be resumed upon completion of this depending upon
the utilities called (memory space etc). Test your set ups
prior to depending upon them. If COMCALL does not resume then
try setting up the BAT file using the X command option and a
suitable errorlevel (see below).
Lets say that you have a comms package that you wish to invoke
upon a selected ring count condition being met. We'll call your
comms package compac for this example. Your compac program
allows for the creation of script files. You have created a
script file that will result in a comms link being automatically
set up when the script is invoked. The compac package is
assumed to allow you to invoke compac and the script directly
from the dos command line eg if the script is called
ringoff.scr - compac allows you to invoke it and the ringoff.scr
by using the command
compac ringoff.scr
You want this comms package to be run every time that comcall
detects only one ring (one and only one rings). We will also
assume that your modem is connected to your COM port 2.
Additionally, lets also assume that your comms package compac is
in a directory called c:\comms and that your COMCALL package is
in a directory called c:\comcall. Lets say that you want to make
Comcall exit with an errorlevel of 2 when the trigger is met and
invoke your comms package (await your return call in data mode).
Finally lets also assume that if you do not call back within 5
minutes in such a data mode then you wish Comcall to restart
again.
Enter Comcall and selected the required options at the action
screen. Your Upper and lower ring counts should be set to 1 and
1 (eg one and only one ring). Additionally your E/T/X option
should be set to X and the Command/Telephone Option set to 2 (2
is the minimum 99 is the maximum errorlevel that may be set for
this X option. Any other value outside of this 2-99 range will
result in a default of 2 being applied). As you only want one
ring range to be the trigger condition then set the Option 2
values to say 999/999 rings, E(xecute) REM command. Now save
these using the Save/Exit option. Once at the terminal screen -
exit Comcall using the ALT X option. Now each time that Comcall
starts in future then these options will be automatically
installed. Thus you can now include the command Comcall in a bat
file (such as your autoexec.bat) at will. Once the bat file is
run and the comcall command issued, then following a short
delay Comcall will be automatically initialised and entered.
You bat file (consult your dos manual for help regarding batch
files) - may contain something like the following :-
cd c:\comcall - your comcall directory
comcall - start comcall
if errorlevel 2 goto trig - if comcall exits with
- errorlevel of 2 then goto
- trig
goto reboot - otherwise goto reboot
:trig
comboot 5 - reboot system in 5 minutes
cd c:\comms - your comms directory
compac ringoff.scr - start your comms package
:reboot
comboot 0 - reboot imdediately
A similar bat file to that of the example above is included
within the COMCALL package.
(Note the description on the right is for descriptive purposes -
do NOT include this in your bat file.)
Saving such a command sequence to your Autoexec.bat file
followed by a reboot (CNTL-ALT-DEL) would result in the
continuous sequence of comcall being invoked and waiting for
one and only one rings. Then once this trigger was met Comcall
would stop with an errorlevel of 2 which would start a reboot
request after 5 minutes followed by the Compac comms package
being started using the ringoff.scr script file in order to
wait for your return data call. Normal exiting from compac
will result in your system rebooting as a result of the cold
reboot Comboot 0 command. Once the system starts up again
the whole process could be repeated. If you call into your
comms package from a remote site you should immediately execute a
dos shell command of COMBOOT in order to stop the re-boot
countdown. If you didn't log into your computer then, after the
5 minutes delay stated in the COMBOOT 5 option your system would
reboot and start the .bat file all over again. Thus preventing
your system being possibly left in data mode for the rest of the
day.
The benefit of such a set up is that should your mains power
supply fail for a brief period, then the set up would be
re-entered once again after the power had been re-established.
It also ensures that your system should not hang as a result of
memory contention preventing Comcall from correctly working upon
re-entry.
(Note that Compac is a name chosen purely in an arbitary manner
in order to provide a demonstration.)
-----------
Occasionally you should browse the CALLRING.DTL file that is
created automatically by COMCALL. This file contains all of the
rings and the times that they were logged whilst COMCALL was
active. This file will continue to grow until such times that
you delete it. Once deleted a new copy will be started the next
time you re-enter COMCALL.
COMCALL has primarily be developed and tested in the UK. Some
increase in the RINGING tone received whilst COMCALL and the
Modem were active have been reported. This should not be a cause
for concern. In theory the package should work as equally well
on a multitude of telecommunications networks. We have (as of
the current date) not received any reports of COMCALL failing to
work on any given network.
Some difficulty in the anticipated functioning of COMCALL may
occur if another incoming ring is made at the same instant in
time when COMCALL issues an advisory call command. However, the
instances when this occurs should be extremely few in view of the
small timeslot window when such conditions may occur.
When COMCALL initiates an advisory call, the response messages
from that call are monitored. If a BUSY message is received then
the call will be retried after a short delay (providing the busy
re-tries or modems Blacklist limit has not been reached).
In all of the EXECUTE, X and ADVISORY CALL (T) modes, a delay
from the time when the trigger ring receipt was received
and the trigger function operates exists. This is via a counter
level being decremented and displayed upon the terminal screen.
If you wish to cancel the trigger function and resume RING
monitoring, then the ENTER key may be pressed during this delay
period (eg you may have answered your phone locally and you do
not wish for the advisory call to progress to completion).
To quit out of COMCALL use the combined keystrokes of ALT X.
(Some limited help may be obtained by using the combined
keystrokes of ALT H).
REGISTRATION
ENQUIRIES MAY BE MADE DIRECT TO THE AUTHOR AT THE ADDRESS BELOW
OR VIA COMPUSERVE TO ID 100014,3141.
If you found this package to be of some use and would like to
continue to use it beyond the evaluation period of 30 days then
remit your payment and details to the address below.
Clive Jones
111 Deer Park Gardens
Mitcham
Surrey
CR4 4DX
Registration entitles you to support of the package
(postal/electronic mail plus telephone where possible). As a
registered user you will also be advised of upgrades as and when
they become available.
The suggested minimum registrational contribution is 10 UK Pounds
Sterling or 20.00 US Dollars. This entitles you to a continuation
in a single licence beyond the 30 day trial period and
package support together with automatic upgrade to
the next available version as and when this becomes
available (don't forget to state your disk
size/format). Currently registered users (prior to July
1992) need only send a stamped self addressed envelope and disk
for return of a personal copy of the latest release.
Alternatively you may register on a one-off basis for the
current version for only 5 UK pounds (8 US Dollars).
COMCALL.EXE source code and rights are available for sale.
Contact the author for further details.
ENHANCEMENTS. Upon proof of sufficient interest in the
program (eg registrations/enquiries) then the author pledges to
provide further releases of Comcall. Your registration
contributions will ensure that such improvements see the light
of day. Such later releases may only be available to
currently registered users.
HISTORY
Dec 1991. Version 1 Released.
April 1992. Version 2 Released.
Modem Initialisation Modification.
Pulse Dialing bug fix - thanks to Kevin Black
Log file format modification - thanks to Dave Woolcock
User definable delays/modem initialisation added.
Key entry screen modified to delayed entry for auto recall
Thanks to Dave Hickman (CA, USA).
General minor changes.
Configuration options added.
Browse log option added.
Delay tone toggle added.
Delay time from real time and not machine specific.
August 1992. Version 3.
Moved from command line to prompted initialisation.
Dual Trigger Conditions Added.
Time display.
Colour Options
Warning Tone on/off Options
Ringback string definition.
Auto Delay Entry modification.
Batch file option added.
Browse manual option added.
Busy tone retries level option added.
Reboot option (TSR)
----------------------
CURRENT VERSION
----------------------
Comcall is continuously under further development. We appreciate
comments and views with regard to possibly improving the package.
If you do find any errors or have any constructive ideas then
drop us a line. The author has put in considerable effort and
time in creating Comcall. Its nice to know whether his
endeavours are being appreciated.
------------------------------------
U N D E R D E V E L O P M E N T
------------------------------------
Unless you register for the current version of COMCALL, you may
miss out on future developments. Currently Comcall is entering
an exciting phase. Soon we hope to be bringing you a package
that will be unique in its field. A package that will offer new
meaning to the term 'remote control'. Operating over a single
telephone line that may be shared with normal voice and answer
phone set ups, you will be able to remotely control your video,
stereo, tv, curtains, lights, garage doors etc. If you are
registered with Comcall, then you will be automatically advised
of when this becomes available. All in addition to Comcalls
existing functionality. The next release of Comcall, may be
released via Commercial methods or may still be via Shareware
distribution. However, for all users registered under this
current version, the next release will be offered as per the
current terms.
-----------------------
Do you use shareware software on a regular basis. If you do and
you would like to be paid to receive and evaluate some of the
latest and golden oldies programs then contact the author at the
above address. This is a genuine offer where considerable
payments can be received for less than ten minutes of your time
each month. Could just be the best enquiry you make in your life.
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