How do I use my voice modem?

January 3, 2005 5:26 AM

How do I use my voice modem? [More Inside]

This evening, our only home phone took a bath and no-longer works. I've been trying to use my 56k voice modem as a phone instead. I thought it would be simple; plug my microphone headset into the microphone/speaker sockets on the side of the modem, and use the Windows Dialer software to call the number.

Sure enough, I can hear the number being dialed, but once the line at the other end is picked up, my headphones go almost completely silent. Changing the modem "speaker volume" setting only changes the volume of the dialing - the post-pick-up volume is still inaudible. I've tried a couple of other piece of "phone dialer" software but they seem to be front-ends for the Windows dialer, and result in the same problem.

Does anyone know of a good simple piece of software that will do the job (no need for address books, I just need to be able to dial number, and continue to dial my PIN to check my voicemail etc.)? Does anyone know how to configure my modem or Windows dialer so it doesn't turn the speaker off once the line is connected?

posted by Jimbob to computers & internet (4 comments total)

The way I would attack this problem would be to get a copy of the user manual for the modem and experiment with typing the command strings to the modem (using hyperterminal or something like it) until I figured out what I actually wanted sent to the modem.
posted by rdr at 5:37 AM on January 3, 2005

Interesting you suggest that, rdr. I did have a play with hyperterminal, but could not figure out how to send raw Hayes commands to the modem. Hyperterminal just seems to want a number to dial, rather than letting you talk to the modem directly.
posted by Jimbob at 5:40 AM on January 3, 2005

Fire up Hyperterminal.

Hit cancel when it prompts you for the connection description.

Enter "+++" to get into command mode.

You should be able to enter Hayes Modem Commands now.

Alternatively, the search string "modem as a telephone" seems to google up some good results.

Good luck!
posted by yangwar at 6:25 AM on January 3, 2005

Make sure Windows isn't doing something silly with your volume levels when it connects. Double click on the ickle speaker icon in the bottom right, and watch for any changes (Mutes) when it connects. Unmute as necessary.

When I started using Skype, it muted almost every channel as soon as I made a connection. Stupid Skype.
posted by armoured-ant at 7:01 AM on January 3, 2005