[Dark Star]

Guys really this issue of having dialup service and wanting to answer your telephone and talk while you surf away is fantasy land ...

Comes down to the call waiting feature and just how many seconds your ISP/ Dial Tone Provider allows the split of one line to carry two signals for .... 10 seconds is a loooooong time.

Chances are that your telephone company ie: your Dial Tone Provider also offers you multiple lines at an additional monthly fee plus the install of the line so that you can have a phone on one line and your puter on the other... this is not the way to go but they do offer it and will gladly do that for you at a price.

They really would prefer that you just sign up for DSL service ... this is good revenue for them and in most cases better for you, however DSL service is not available in all areas.

All of these "gadgets" that claim you can have the best of both worlds ... advertising these things and selling them because even if they have to eat 1/2 of what they sell they're still making money.

I looked at a few of these things and they seem to be selling the "lights bells and whistles" look but most fall short of doing much to deliver what they claim they can do ... at any rate here is one that I know of ... It's small, simple, does not require a power supply or a plug in transformer, and it will allow you to get the call and then you choose to loose the online connect and stay on the phone.

http://www.cpscom.com/gprod/cwa.htm

I dont have one, since I have DSL service, however it was recomended by a close friend who tells me it works just great... There you go one more choice that you have now.

[Dark Star]

CATCH 22


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

In Pre-Internet times, when 14.4 and 28.8 bps modems roamed the earth, using modems on telephone lines equipped with Call Waiting Service was an aggravation because the Call Waiting tone would disconnect the modem. As a result, most of today's software includes a *70 dialing prefix option that disables call waiting for the current modem session. Hence, the caller gets a busy signal when placing a call.

However in modern Post-Internet times, this aggravation has evolved into a feature. Many net surfers, who may spend hours on-line came to rely on it to inform them that a call was waiting.

Unfortunately, to operate the newer 33.6 and 56 kb modems at increased speeds, the error correction was improved to the point where the modems now also error correct the Call Waiting tone, making it invisible to the user. Now the caller gets a frustrating continuous ring when placing a call.

To address this dilemma, some modems and WEB-TV, provide software that simply adjusts the S-10 register in the modem, making it more sensitive to noise caused disconnects... noise of all types. This is a marginal approach at best and another Catch 22.

CPS was the first company in the world to provide an external box that actually monitors the line and isolates the call waiting tone from the overlapping modem signals to let you know that a call is waiting. As the boxes add more sophistication and features, they are evolving into personalized call managers for the PC user.

CPS makes a full line of call waiting alert products from the basic Alert box to a full-featured Internet Call Manager.



Computer Peripheral Systems, Inc.
5125 South Royal Atlanta Drive
Tucker, GA 30084
Sales
1-800-888-0051
Technical Support
(770) 908-1107
Fax
(770) 908-1208
E-Mail
cpsinc@randomc.com

[august10021]

personally speaking, it doesn't work. it's a piece a garbage. on top of that, there's no way to get customer service/technical help via phone or email. i'm going to try to return it and i say "try". 'cause with the poor or non-existent custoemr service/technical help, i'm afraid i won' get my money back. on the other hand, it's not true that it works with "ALL" types of phone. not true at all. so beware.

[brendandonhu]

I havent heard of anyone complaining about CallWave yet.

[august10021]

just went to callwave page. this service requires the call forward busy on feature and here is over $6 p/month. i already have call waiting. the reason for me to try the emerson crap is because i didn't want to add another annoying montlhy expense to the already high fee service of our local phone company. anyways, thanks for the info, and like they say, you get what you pay for.

[valya7]

I just signed up with Verizon for something they call Internet Call Manager.
You pay $6/mo. and it's supposed to notify you when you have a call with a little message pop up which gives you the option of a)letting you get off line to answer a call, b)giving the caller a message or c) ignoring the call. I think the caller just hears it ringing when you ignore it. This service also saves the record of up to 25 calls on its log.
I haven't test it yet. I'll try to let you know when I have.

[august10021]

Hi Valya: thanks for your reply but as I said in my previous message, I didn't want to spend $72 a year for as long as you have it installed and instead wanted to invest $40 and that was it. besides. there's the additional charge of ordering another feature which means an additional $ 6 per month. there has to be another way.....

[brendandonhu]

If your ISP supports it you can use a V.92 modem. It is the new dialup standard and it tells you when there is a call.

[august10021]

Hi Brendan....... (i don't remember the rest now). How can I replace my old 56K modem w/the V-9? Is this an external modem? Thanks!

[brendandonhu]

Well the standard is rising very quickly. I highly doubt that your ISP supports it. Call them and ask several different people if it is supported, most of the tech supporters at companies are illiterate. If they do you can go to a computer store, pick upa v.92. You will have to open your case and replace the modem. Be warned, the feature isnt the same as Callwave or another service. I think it just pops up a box saying that you got a call but im not sure.

[markopolo]

I have a Creative Modem Blaster V.92 and they proclaim the modem on hold feature but they don't bundle or support the application (NetWaiting) you need to use it. And NetWaiting itself is an absolute junk afterthought that won't install right, won't work when installed finally and I cannot even find support for (not at makers Conexant or BVRP websites). I have searched for other MOH software to no avail.

I originally had the call forwarding busy feature that forwarded to my cell phone, but I don't want to talk for extended periods on it anyway. I just want to know when a call is coming in and ignore it answer it and disconnect from the internet. I don't mind reconnecting after a call. The speakerphone answering system program that comes with my modem (supervoice) would be great but it doesn't work with modem on hold, only offline. I thought the switchboard would be a viable option but I am glad I searched for reviews for it first and found this forum.

Does anyone use a MOH program that works?

P.s. You need call waiting, of course. Also, modem on hold does not work without software and, as mentioned before, the length of time before the other line cuts out is very limited. Also, to reiterate, your ISP must support it with dedicated access numbers for v.92.

[bk11]

I use Pagoo. www.pagoo.com It's alot better than callwave I think

[ulTRAX]

DarkStar wrrote: "Guys really this issue of having dialup service and wanting to answer your telephone and talk while you surf away is fantasy land ... "

You'd be correct... if anyone here actually was talking about SURFING while using the phone. ;-)

[brendandonhu]

Yes I have heard of people being electricuted because they were surfing with their cell phone and fell in.

[august10021]

Hi bk 11: how much do you pay a month for this service? thanks for the info even though i don't know if i'm gonna use it. have to find out first the cost involved.