Re: [hylafax-users] Enabling call identification

[Andrew <andrew@xxxxxxxx>]

Ricardo Albuquerque wrote:
> I'm about to give up. Any magical trick?

Lee has asked you if you have ordered a Caller ID service from your Telecom.
This means, that you need to activate this service before it works.
Even if you enable the Caller ID in modem, it wont work before a telephone line sends you the actual ID. The telephone company doesn't send the Caller ID unless you order it or enable the feature otherwise.

For example, our Telecom offers Caller ID service in a package separate from other digital telephone line service packages.
So, I have to pay for "Call Waiting" feature (along with a few others). And I have to pay extra, if I want to get "Caller ID" (in another package together with a few other services).

A "Call Waiting" signal occurs when another call comes during an existing conversation.

A "Caller ID" is perhaps transmitted digitally before modem goes on-line. It should be provided by your telephone line after the first RING. So you need to answer no sooner than the second RING.
You should enable answering after the 2 RING or later by setting a memory S-register.
Mine is set as follows:
ATS0=2
In order to learn the appropriate command, you should consult the "AT" command set for your modem.

My Telecom told me that for "Caller ID" to work my modem has to be capable of an "FSK" mode. The manufacturer said:
"... Caller ID has nothing to do with the local certification.
FSK is a Fax protocol and is supported by our card..."
Make of it whatever you can.

Again, in order to enable the "Caller ID", you must consult the "AT" command set for your modem.

For example my modem (Multitech) has this command:
AT+VCID=1

This is located among a V92 command set. Perhaps this suggests that "Caller ID" was not available in V90 protocol. (I am not sure.)
As you see this is not "AT#CID=1", as you suggest.
Are you sure about the commands you use with your particular modem?

Another thing is that a modem has to have reporting of certain events enabled.
This is the most complex part.
I have not figured out how event masking is working. Things get even more complicated as certain masking works only with certain data compression modes, and only with certain "service modes" (whatever that means).
It is stupid for manufacturers to make things so complex. But that's the way it is.
In my case Event Masking is done by:
AT+VEM=FFFFFFFF
This allows as many events as possible.
AT+VEM=? - reports the maximum event masks for my model. So FFFFFFF will be converted to that maximum. (Using bitwise AND).
You need to convert the mask from Hex to binary to make any sense of it. Each bit represents an event. Now go and figure out which bit represents which event (Multitech documentation is lacking in this respect).

Events also are affected by AT+VLS command. I have not figured out how it works. The "AT" command set specifies it as "Select Analog Source/Destination".
I have to use:
AT+VLS? - to learn current source/destination and event masking.
At+VLS=? - to learn possible options, and their masks.

You have to hope that your modem doesn't have that stupid event masking. Or at least the masking is done in a comprehensible way.
I still haven't managed to make my modem report "Call Waiting". I didn't try "Caller ID".

It is possible, that event masking has actually nothing to do with those event reports. Perhaps in my case simply the "Call Waiting" beep has the wrong frequency, which modem doesn't recognize.
Maybe in your case the line simply provides the "Caller ID" data in a wrong format.

Another possibility is that, in order to do event masking, I have to enter a voice mode:
AT+FCLASS=8
Otherwise AT+VLS and AT+VEM do not work. But I don't know if AT+VEM/VLS entered in Voice mode still affect the events in Data, or in Fax mode.
But beware, that autoanswering in Voice mode might be disallowed in your modem (it is so in my modem). So after reading "Caller ID" you may want to switch to Fax or another mode of your choice.

I just gave up for the time being. I don't have the time to bother with manufacturer's technical support.

One final hint.
The list of commands for "Caller ID" has one useful command.
AT+VRID
- (with no parameters)
it should report the "Caller ID" information of the last call received.
It should work regardless of any event masking or handling.
On my modem it works even outside Voice mode (e.g. in data mode).
Your modem might have a similar command. And it might not.
You could use it to exclude the possibility of any problem with events. After you receive a call, if this command returns nothing, then the problem is with "Caller ID" not being provided or read at all.

Regards,

Andrew


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