telephone switch?
10 messages in this thread
I'd like some opinions or help, if anyone has any experience in this area.
I'm looking at designing a kiosk application. This kiosk would allow someone to
fill in a questionnaire on the screen, and then have access to a 1-800
telephone line (phone attached to kiosk).
The part I need help with is, we don't want the phone to be 'active' unless the
person has completed the questionnaire or criterium. I need some kind of
hardware solution that would allow for this. It wouldn't have to be fancy, just
something that would perhaps trigger a line in a serial port that would switch
a telephone box that turns the line on.
Can anyone offer any suggestions/ideas to this end?
Jim
Jim,
Couldn't you use Superbase Pro 4 to do your data entry screen and then
have it dial out when the user clicks on a button (that checks to see that
all data entry fields have been filled in)? I thought SBP4 had this
capability…
Michael…
Sorry if I wasn't clear on what I was looking for (I was rushed when entering
that message, so I didn't think too clearly when I typed it in).
I'm really only looking for the hardware solution end of it. Not the
software.
Jim
Jim,
Ah, no, you were probably clear… I was just sticking my novice nose
where it didn't belong and taking a stab at what I *thought* you meant.
🙂
You need to be real careful with this. Make very sure the user can't get
a dial tone through any failure mode. If they can find a way to get a
dial tone, they can use a pocket dialer or other means to dial out to the
number of their choice.
Sounds like what you want is a little more complicated than a simple
switch, since you want complete control of what number is dialed, etc.
Dale Larson
– An Amiga Software Engineer with some time on his hands.
Dale…
I was thinking that we would have a modem actually drive the dialing of the
phone number. The hard part is how we have a phone connected to this
arrangement, and turn it off and on.
Jim
Some modems can turn the phone on and off, but I think you missed my
point.
Once you turn the phone on, even if you dial the number, something may go
wrong or the user may find a way to make something go wrong. If this
happens, the user may find a way to get a dial tone. If he does, he can
dial anywhere he likes.
I suggest you talk to someone friendly at the phone company. Ask what
they'd suggest. I know that courtesy phones exist which are wired to only
connect to one number, and that may be a phone company service. They may
be able to suggest an easy way to provide computer control of such a
line.
Dale Larson
– An Amiga Software Engineer with some time on his hands.
Dale…
I agree with your prognosis, and appreciate your warnings. We have thought of
that, and are looking at contingencies and possibilities that might help us
out. I will be calling up the phone company to seek their advice on this as
well.
A modem that would allow the handset to go dead on command would be a big
help (it would be nice if this were an old cheapie slow modem too, since we
don't actually need it to do anything but dial the phone)
Jim
A lot of local phone companies offer "hot dial" services for phone lines. This
is a service where a certain number is dialed when the phone is taken off-hook.
You can't ever get a dial tone with this type of service on a line, just ring,
busy, or a connection.
It doesn't actually 'dial', the connection is just put through. Some
people try and save money with phones that automatically dial instead of
taking advantage of the phone service. I always find it funny to hit the
hook switch on those to see it interrup the dialing sequence. I would
imagine that you could get pretty good at sending the call to some place
else if you are real careful.