Received: by bu-cs.BU.EDU (5.58/4.7) id AA20866; Sun, 11 Dec 88 04:14:57 EST Message-Id: <8812110914.AA20866@bu-cs.BU.EDU> Date: Sun, 11 Dec 88 4:01:54 EST From: The Moderator Reply-To: TELECOM@bu-cs.BU.EDU Subject: TELECOM Digest V8 #198 To: TELECOM@bu-cs.bu.edu TELECOM Digest Sun, 11 Dec 88 4:01:54 EST Volume 8 : Issue 198 Today's Topics: Ring Equivalent Numbers (UK) Alternative Operator Services Modem noise Re: 800 service from abroad Re: Touchtone(tm) and Touchtone(sm) Re: Calling card silliness re: Trimline Lightbulbs ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 10 Dec 88 21:54:43 GMT From: Drew To: TELECOM Subject: Ring Equivalent Numbers (UK) Here in the UK every phone, and in fact every piece of equipment connected to the phone network (modems etc), has a Ring Equivalent Number (REN) assigned to it. Most touchtone phones have a REN of 1.0. We are told that we must not use devices that exceed a total of x RENs on a line, where x is a number I don't know. I guess there may be an equivalent notation (if not exactly the same) in the US. What I want to know is, what exactly is REN, how is it measured and what happens if you exceed it? What is the maximium REN total allowed on a residential line? Is this the same all over the country? Are phones listed as 1.0 REN really that, or are they, say, 0.8 REN? Yours quizzingly, Drew Radtke. ------------------------------ To: ames!comp-dcom-telecom@ames.arc.nasa.gov From: claris!edg%bridge2.3Com.Com@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Ed Greenberg) Subject: Alternative Operator Services Date: 10 Dec 88 00:14:54 GMT Just a reminder to all of us when staying in hotels or using (Shudder!) COCOT's. If you don't hear "Thank you for using AT&T" or "Thank you for calling, on Pacific Bell" (or your local equivalent), the chances are that it ain't. Also, it an Operator answers with "Operator", be sure to ask "Which one?" I was recently burned on an intra-LATA credit card call that showed up on my bill as from "ELCATEL." The call was $1.68 and should have been $.86 on Pacific Bell. I shoulda known. -- {decwrl|sun|oliveb}!CSO.3com.com!Edward_Greenberg Ed Greenberg -or- 3Com Corporation {sun|hplabs}!bridge2!edg Mountain View, CA 415-694-2952 ------------------------------ To: comp-dcom-telecom@rutgers.edu From: chen@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu (Bill Chen) Subject: Modem noise Date: 11 Dec 88 00:28:10 GMT We've been having progressively worsening noise problems on our dial up modem pool for our PBX. It seems to occur mainly at nights and consists mostly of "{" characters. These { comes periodically, about 1 every 30 secs to 2 minutes. Sometimes we get bursts of noise too. We have checked the modems, Racal Vadic VA4492Es and the PBX, IBM/ROLM 9751 and neither seem to be the cause. We don't run error correction such as MNP although our modems are equipped to do it. The noise seems to be generally one way, from the host side to the terminal side. Although recently, noise does seem to get to the host too. Telco people haven't been too helpful. Calling 611 is useless. Trying to talk to someone technical within the telephone company is next to impossible. Are there any people out there that may have seen this problem? I have been told by some people that there might be some notch filters that can cause this kind of noise. I don't know much about telephony things, but maybe someone out there in netland can shed some light. Thanks in advance. Bill Chen -- _____________________________________________________________________ William Chen chen@cunixc.cc.columbia.edu Network Planning 854-7593, 854-2455, 280-2455 Columbia University ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Dec 88 21:24:48 EST From: westmark!dave@rutgers.edu To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Re: 800 service from abroad The service that provides a gateway for calls from beyond the USA to reach domestic 800 numbers depends upon the caller being able to send touch tone signaling. While this may be helpful to Canadians (where touch tone is almost as popular as it is in the USA) I'm not sure how much use this is to callers from the U.K. or from Europe. As I recall, tone-dialing is not widely available there. Also, does anybody know if the tone-dial equipment there uses the same tone-pairs as we do here? Dave Levenson westmark!dave ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 10 Dec 88 21:29:12 EST From: westmark!dave@rutgers.edu To: telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Subject: Re: Touchtone(tm) and Touchtone(sm) Before the divestiture of the telephone companies by AT&T, Touchtone was both a registered trade mark, and a registered service mark. As a trade mark, it covered the telephone sets which send DTMF signaling. As a service mark, it covered the service offered by the telephone companies who received and processed DTMF signaling. As a result of divestiture, the trade mark covered AT&T products, while the service mark covered services offered by seven telco holding companies. Today, no one owns touch tone... as a trade or service mark. It has been dedicated -- which I think is legal jargon for its having been put in the public domain. Dave Levenson westmark!dave ------------------------------ To: vector!telecom From: daisy!bob@stl.olivetti.com (Bob Weissman) Subject: Re: Calling card silliness Date: 7 Dec 88 23:48:58 GMT Organization: Olivetti Software Technology Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA In article , kent@wsl.dec.com writes: - Three weeks ago, we moved. We moved a total of about 10 blocks; we're - in the same service area (415-641, Pacific Bell), and kept the same - number. - - What I didn't expect was that my calling card would stop working. Seems - that any change in service causes them to cancel the current card. If - you're lucky, they'll automagically order you a new one (with a - different PIN) -- but usually you have to notice that your card is not - working and request a new one. This is interesting. I also recently moved within my service area (415-967) and kept the same number, and my Pacific Bell calling card still works fine, as does my AT&T card with the same number. Sounds like someone simply screwed up. Of course, I only moved about six blocks... -- Bob Weissman bob@stl.olivetti.com Routed UUCP: bob@oli-stl.uucp UUCP: ...!{ ames | decwrl | oliveb | pyramid }!oli-stl!bob Arpanet: bob%oli-stl.uucp@ames.arc.nasa.gov ------------------------------ Date: 11-DEC-1988 03:15:59.93 From: "DOUGLAS SCOTT REUBEN)" Subject: re: Trimline Lightbulbs To: MKL@SRI-NIC.ARPA, Telecom@bu-cs.bu.edu Mark- I believe that the standard bulb for a Bell Trimline phone is a 51A bulb, which is also what they use in 5 line key phone systems with the red hold button. (IE, if you have any old ones you can use the lights from there.) From what I recall, the full designation for the bulbs was II-72/TS-51-A, although I'm sure AT&T and better phone stores will know what a "51A" is. If you have any problem finding them, I can give you the and address or two where you can order them from. -Doug Dreuben@eagle.weslyn Dreuben@eagle.wesleyan.edu Dreuben%eagle.weslyn@wesleyan.bitnet ------------------------------ End of TELECOM Digest *********************