Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!think!husc6!cmcl2!rna!cubsvax!winston
From: winston@cubsvax.UUCP (Ken Winston)
Newsgroups: net.micro.pc
Subject: Re: unix to pc comm; Smartcom
Message-ID: <531@cubsvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 22-Aug-86 10:54:41 EDT
Article-I.D.: cubsvax.531
Posted: Fri Aug 22 10:54:41 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 27-Aug-86 09:58:09 EDT
Organization: Columbia Univ. Bio. CG Fac., NY
Lines: 29

In a related area to this discussion:

We have an application that requires calling a number of PCs overnight
(i.e. unattended) with a MicroVAX II running ULTRIX. The calling machine
wants to dump a file to each of the PCs. The PCs are at different companies
but they all run the Hayes Smartcom program; some of them run other things
but Smartcom is the only thing they have in common. Apparently Smartcom is
by far the most popular communications program. There is no chance of
convincing them all to get something better.

Smartcom can be set up to receive calls; once a phone call is received
a menu shows up on the PC and one option (F1) is to capture a file. Thus
if someone is there at the PC and presses F1 after the phone call is
received, then a file can be dumped. But someone won't be there in our case. 

There is another mode you can set the Hayes program in so that it will talk
to another PC that also runs Smartcom. In this case it does not require a
person to be present. But then some sort of handshaking codes are sent
back and forth; the purpose of these codes, as far as I can tell, is not to do
error-detecting but rather to prevent anything other than another Smartcom
from talking to Smartcom.

Hayes refuses to tell anyone what the codes are. They could be figured out
by capturing them in a file or something. Has anyone done this? Better yet,
does anyone have a program to talk to Smartcom from unix?

Ken Winston				Winston Capital Systems, Inc.
...{cmcl2,rna,cubsvax}!wealth!ken	250 West 75th Street, Suite 3A
+1 (212) 382-3450			New York, New York  10023-1757