Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!bu.edu!telecom-request From: hayes!tnixon@uunet.uu.net (Toby Nixon) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Call Waiting and Prodigy Message-ID: Date: 27 Feb 91 17:38:54 GMT Sender: news@bu.edu.bu.edu Organization: Hayes Microcomputer Products, Norcross, GA Lines: 39 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 166, Message 8 of 12 In article , abc@adm.brl.mil (Brinton Cooper) writes: > My niece has a PS-1 which runs and connects her to Prodigy (I think). > Anyhow, they have call waiting at their house; as you know, this > feature of the phone often disconnects dial-up modems. In fact, with > their C-64 and TRS-80 machines, they experienced this when calling > BBS lines. > However, she tells me that when she's connected to Prodigy, the call > waiting seems not to work. If someone calls during a Prodigy session, > the caller gets a busy signal. > Does someone have an explanation? I believe the Prodigy Startup software asks you whether or not you have Call Waiting. If you do, it automatically prepends "*70," to the phone number when it dials, to disable call waiting. Have them add "*70," to the beginning of phone numbers they use to call BBSes, and they shouldn't get interrupted by Call Waiting any more. There IS another explanation, by the way. The Hayes Personal Modem 2400 that is sold with the Prodigy Startup Kit has a special "Call Waiting" feature. Not only is the modem tolerant of the call waiting interruption, but it also has the ability to inform the software with a special message that a call is coming in. The software can then put a message up on the screen for the user which could say something like "You have another call coming in. Do you want to log off Prodigy and take the call now, or ignore it?" However, even though this feature was added at Prodigy's request (that modem was built by Hayes to Prodigy's detailed specifications), I don't believe the feature has ever actually been supported in Prodigy's software. Toby Nixon, Principal Engineer | Voice +1-404-840-9200 Telex 151243420 Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. | Fax +1-404-447-0178 CIS 70271,404 P.O. Box 105203 | UUCP uunet!hayes!tnixon AT&T !tnixon Atlanta, Georgia 30348 USA | Internet hayes!tnixon@uunet.uu.net