Must have logged on with 8-N-1 for ALL binary transfers! Options: C(rc xmodem), X(modem), B(atch ymodem), Y(modem), K(ermit), A(scii), T(ype) Commands: C,X,B,Y,K,A,T ===> Illegal option Time left = 43 minutes and 57 seconds Current download area = pcp Current upload area = upload Allowable daily download limit = 5416843 bytes A(rea change) D(ownload) F(ile list) M(ain menu) G(oodbye) T(oggle page) ?( help ) Commands: A,D,F,M,G,T,? ===> d Input file name to download: rvprimer.txt Must have logged on with 8-N-1 for ALL binary transfers! Options: C(rc xmodem), X(modem), B(atch ymodem), Y(modem), K(ermit), A(scii), T(ype) Commands: C,X,B,Y,K,A,T ===> a Once the transfer starts, you may terminate it by typing a Control-K Type a character to start the transfer when you are ready ===> 08/13/87 The Racal-Vadic Primer v1.0 or What's this blasted MANUAL ANSWER anyway? ----------------------------------------------------- DISCLAIMER ------------ Please be aware that since this mode is unsupported, there is the possibility that Telenet could start using a different brand of modem which would render this feature invalid. You are strictly on your own and therefore can not hold Telenet responsible for not making this mode available. Furthermore, this text was prepared ad hoc and is in no way a definitive guide to the operation and/or use of either PC Pursuit or the Racal-Vadic mode described herein. Any errors or ommisions are my own and I am sorry for any inconvience this may cause you. Please understand that by using this method of dialing you are totaly responsible for your actions and any consequences as a result of said use. OVERVIEW ---------- The Racal-Vadic mode is an unsupported and to date, poorly documented feature of the outdial modems that are currently in use with PC Pursuit. It enables you to better understand what is happening at the other end of your connection by telling you what is happening. This type of operation is known as "call progression" because it gives you a response as the modem progresses through the phone call. ACITVATING AND DEACTIVATING THE MODE -------------------------------------- The first thing we will cover is how to activate and de-activate the Racal-Vadic mode. Some of you may have already experienced the rather unexpected "MANUAL ANSWER" response after entering the Hayes command "ATZ". What has happened is that you have connected with a modem that is already in the Racal-Vadic mode of operation. When you entered "ATZ", the 'A' was sensed by the modem as the command to manualy answer the phone line. If this happens, just press your return key. This will make the modem return to command mode signified by the '*' prompt. While at this prompt you could enter an 'I' and then press return. This will make the modem dle the Racal-Vadic mode and return you to the Hayes mode of operation. If, on the other hand, you were to receive the normal "OK" response from the modem after entering the "ATZ" command. You can activate the Racal-Vadic mode by entering -E and pressing the return key. The modem will now respond with "HELLO, I'M READY" and the '*' prompt. To summarize activation and de-activation: From the Hayes mode - -E and - to activate. From the '*' prompt - and - to de-activate. I suggest getting into the habit of sending the de-activation sequence when you first connect to a city node so that you know exactly what mode the modem is in. You should also send an "ATZ" to make sure that the modem is operational by seeing if the modem sends you back an "OK" response. You can then send the activation command to enter Racal-Vadic mode. There are two cases where the modem will return by itself to the Hayes mode. The first is after you connect to a BBS. The other is while you're at the command prompt and haven't entered anything for a short period of time. DIALING --------- Now your ready to dial a phone number using the Racal-Vadic mode. To do this, just enter a 'D' followed by the number you wish to dial. For example, "D1234567", (pressing return of course!) will dial 123-4567. Well, we've dialed a phone number, what now? After all, any modem can dial a number, right? But not every modem can tell you what follows... RESPONSE MESSAGES ------------------- The following is a short description of each response the Racal-Vadic mode can give you while dialing. They are, for the most part, self- explanatory. But there are a few things you should consider with some of them and I'll point those out just in case. DIALING... - The modem has detected a dial tone and is now dialing the phone number. NO DIAL TONE - Just what it means, no dial tone was detected. Try again, if you keep getting this then there is something wrong with either the modem or the telephone line on that end. Contact Customer Support and tell them you experienced this, tell them the city node you were connected to also. BUSY! - A busy signal has been detected. This is not the same kind of BUSY as you'd get in the Hayes mode. There is circuitry in the modem that can sense a busy signal, so it will return to the command mode quicker to allow you to decide what to do next. (Please see my note about the BUSY response below also) RINGING... - Self-explanatory. ANSWER TONE - Self-explanatory. ON LINE - Self-explanatory. FAILED CALL - The phone rang for ten times with no answer. Either the the BBS you called is down or no longer in existence, or you reached someone's home and they weren't there. REDIALING A NUMBER -------------------- After you have received a BUSY! response you can re-dial the same phone number up to 9 times with the 'R' command. To use this command, enter an "R" and press the return key. DISCONNECTING WHILE ONLINE ---------------------------- In a manner similar to the "+++" "ATH" Hayes command sequence, there is a two control code sequence that will dis-connect you from the BBS you are connected to. To activate it press -C then -D. Prior to disconnecting from the city node, make sure the modem is not in Racal-Vadic mode by issuing the dle command. Be nice to others that may not be aware of this mode of operation yet! OTHER COMMANDS ---------------- The command 'P' or '?' will print the following list of commands that the modem is designed to use. Since these are not needed in order to use the Racal-Vadic mode effectively they will not be discusssed. This list is here purely for your information. A MANUAL ANSWER D DIAL NUMBER G MANUAL ORGINATE I IDLE K PAUSE O OPTIONS P,? PRINT MENU R REDIAL T TABLE OF OPTIONS CONTROL A ALB TEST CONTROL (CD) DISCONNECT CONTROL D REQUEST DLB TEST CONTROL H BACKSPACE BEWARE THE BUSY ----------------- The BUSY! response primarily indicates that the phone number you dialed was busy, common sense tell you that. What I want to point out to you in this section is that there are other possibilities that could mean that something else is actually occuring. a. CONTINUOUS BUSIES ---------------------- The first thing to be aware of is Telenet's exchange lock-out feature. This prevents you from making a long-distance call or any local calls to exchanges that Telenet would be charged more than is profitable. All you will know is that you constantly get BUSY! responses when you dial a certain phone number. The response tends to be returned from the modem much quicker then a legitimate BUSY! for a valid phone number. This is not a hard and fast rule though. Two methods that are available to you for determining if this is the cause of the continuous busies are: 1. - Check the exchange lists provided by Telenet, if the exchange is not listed for the number your calling, you may as well stop wasting anymore time calling that number. It is a victim of the exchange lock-out. 2. - If the exchange is listed but you've always received a BUSY! response, try this. Hang-up from Telenet and dial the number direct. If you hear a busy signal you can continue trying some more, you may have latched onto a very, very busy system. But if the phone rings, hang-up immediately. This way you won't be charged for the call. You should then leave word with Customer Support or on the Net-Exchange that this happened. Telenet may have a typo concerning that exchange. b. RINGING... BUSY! --------------------- There are a few things that can cause this. Although I'm not talking about the RING BUSY RING BUSY... loop that can occure when you first connect to a city node. You can get out of that by rapidly and repeatedly sending an "ATZ" to the modem in an effort to break out of the loop. There is a narrow window where this will succeed, but it can be done. The main cause of this is by dialing a person's phone instead of a BBS. This will usually be followed by a variable number of rings prior to getting the BUSY!. Make certain that the phone number you have is really a BBS. If you've never called that BBS before, you may have a case where the BBS folded and someone else received the phone number after the sysop canceled that phone line. A BBS less than 6 months old or with less than 24 hour access can be highly suspect. New and odd-hour BBS's tend to come and go rather often. If you want to continue to dial this number, first call direct to make sure that it isn't a person's phone. Constantly getting a carrier signal in your ear is not a pleasurable experience. You would also be doing them a favor by letting them know that their new phone number used to be a BBS. If that's the case they've probably been getting a ton of bizzare calls, especially late at night, and could benefit from your call so that they can get their number changed. If, on the other hand, you receive a carrier signal, try the other Baud rate. if that doesn't work you could have reached a private system that is looking for a logon sequence immediately or will dis-connect you. Another possibility is that the BBS you've called has bombed and the modem is dutifully answering calls but there is no computer program operating to give you feed-back. CAVEAT -------- What I've tried to cover here are the most common things that you may run into. But, by no means have I covered every base. There are points that I may have passed over completely because they have become second nature to me. Others may have not been explained to your satisfaction for the very same reason. And still other aspects may have been ignored because I'm simply not aware of them. In each and every case I ask you to leave word on the Net-Exchange as to what subjects are deficient or missing. That way I can expand this text to include your suggestions for the benefit of others. Thank you and good luck! Jack Radigan Time left = 42 minutes and 38 seconds Current download area = pcp Current upload area = upload Allowable daily download limit = 5405772 bytes A(rea change) D(ownload) F(ile list) M(ain menu) G(oodbye) T(oggle page) ?( help ) Commands: A,D,F,M,G,T,? ===>