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From: dam@mtqua.att.com (Daniel A Margolis)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Answering Machines and Rotary Phones
Message-ID: <16769@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 7 Feb 91 22:38:51 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 100, Message 4 of 8


>>I've seen AT&T answering machines which say on the box that they
>>work with pulse phones (at the remote end, for checking one's
>>messages).  I haven't played with them. Does anyone know how they
>>work, or how reliable the detection is? 

>Not too reliable I would guess.

I bought my girlfriend one of these.  If you are at a touch-tone
phone, you just dial touch-tones in response to voice prompts like any
answering machine.  If you are on a rotary phone and you leave no
message (silence for a few seconds), it figures you have a pulse phone
and goes into voice response mode.  It gives you prompts and you
respond by saying simple words.  For example the conversation might
go:

Machine:  Entering first digit of remote access password now.  Enter 0...
          Enter 1...Enter 2...Enter 3...Enter 4...
Person:   Enter.
Machine:  Enter second digit...Enter 0...Enter 1...Enter2...
Person:   Enter.
Machine having accepted 42 as your password plays message 1.
Machine:  Repeat?
Person:   Repeat.
Machine repeats message.
Machine:  Repeat?...
No response from person, machine plays 2nd message.  And so on.


Dan Margolis