Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Sun, 19 May 1991 20:35:37 GMT From: hullp@cogsci.Berkeley.EDU () Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Touch-Tone Selections From Overseas Message-ID: Organization: Institute of Cognitive Studies, U.C. Berkeley Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu 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 378, Message 4 of 8 Lines: 38 In article Claus Tondering writes: > I frequently phone the US from Europe; but I often run into trouble if > the party I am calling asks me to enter some number (e.g. an extension > number or a menu selection) on my touch-tone phone. Although the > touch-tone frequencies are international, these selections often do > not work when used from Europe. One of three things happens: > 1) It works perfectly, and I get connected as requested. > 2) It works only if I hold each key down for two or three seconds. > 3) Absolutely nothing happens. The American party does not recognize > my touch-tones. > I have even noticed both behavior 2 and 3 when calling the same > (Massachusetts) number on different occasions. I have had similar problems in getting my US tone-controlled answering machine to play back messages from overseas phones. I've had such problems both with foreign phones *and* using a Radio Shack pocket tone generator (where there's no touch-tone phone available) from Spain, the UK, and from Guatemala. I *think* the problem is simply poor lines on which tones don't have a high enough volume (or maybe the frequencies get messed up?). The only solution I've found is the same as your #2: To hold the button down for several seconds. For this reason, I don't like phones (such as many Panasonic models) on which the length of time each tone is generated is automatically controlled i.e., if you hold the button down the tone is *not* generated continuously until you take your finger off. Philip V. Hull INTERNET: hullp@cogsci.berkeley.edu BITNET: hullp@cogsci.berkeley.bitnet UUCP: ucbvax!cogsci!hullp OR: ucbvax!cogsci.berkeley.edu!hullp