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Here's something new...

Z

zach_morton

Guest
With analog on it's way out, it was bound to happen to the cell industry as well. I had an old bagphone as my link to my transmitter site being interfaced to a Sine Systems RFC-1. It was the only way I could get a link to my tower site.

Now...with the bag phone, it worked like a champ. I was notified that the old analog service would disappear on Feb 18, and that I'd no longer have service.

So...I purchased a new digital cell phone, and a Dock-n-Talk phone dock for this phone. Supposedly it interfaces with everything using Bluetooth, or so the manufacturer stated. Ever since, I can't get the remote control to recognize DTMF tones. The remote control will answer...say "enter"...and as soon as I attempt to enter the passcode, it hangs up.

Anyone else have this issue, and if so, how you got around it.

Grr!
 
How do you get audio to your site? Might be time to think about some kind of RF link for remote control.
 
littlejohn said:
Try a different carrier and/or a different phone. Some don't pass DTMF for beans, for whatever reason.
Click to expand...

Also, some phones have a DTMF Tone Length setting. Be sure that's set to "long".
 
My thought is that I am placing the phone/dock too close to the transmitter. Whatever is happening, it's in that particular phone...whether it's too close to the transmitter or just can't handle what it's advertised to be able to do.
 
There is a vendor out there that makes an interface to make a digital cell unit into a POTS line but the name is escaping me right now. It basically functions the same as the bagphone as it will give you a POTS line connection for the RFC-1B. That is what you need, if I can find it in my internet links I will repost it unless someone knows what I am talking about.
 
The box I have is from a company called Phonelabs...the product is Dock-N-Talk.
 
Ran into a similar problem with my Sine Systems. There is a mod on their website to help the RFC1B recognize the DTMF tones a little better. It is a resistor change for some of their boards. This did not correct the problem 100%, but it did help. My carrier was Sprint and, get this, the DTMF problem was only related to certain cell sites around town. One area would work perfectly and another area would get the same results. Just an "Enter" prompt then a hang up. Check to see if your RFC1B needs the DTMF mod on the board. A call to Sine Systems was very helpful to me. You may not be having the same problem as I had, but sure sounds familiar! Good Luck.
 
NoTimeForSleep said:
http://www.getwirelessllc.com/Telular_Term_SX5E.cfm
Click to expand...

Depending on your carrier, be prepared for several hours of being on the phone with them trying to explain what the Telular device is. I've installed 4 of these devices, 2 on Verizon (CDMA) and 2 on AT&T (GSM) (formerly Cingular). Setting up the units on Verizon's network was rather painless, just supply the ESN to the carrier and the units are turned on. Cingular was rather challenging, since they didn't want to send me only 2 SIM cards (they wanted me to upgrade our service with a brand new phone!). I had to go through a couple of tiers of tech support to explain what exactly the device was.

As far as reliability, these units are very good. You can add a battery backup and external antenna to the units (highly recommended). I am using these units as part of a mobile emergency communications PSAP (public safety answering point) to act as a backup in case landlines go down.

In theory, you should be able to put any carrier on the GSM model by swapping out SIM cards. I haven't tried it myself, but I would be pretty sure that it would work.

-M
 
Had the same issues. Got to be a CDMA carrier for it to work. Change the resistor on the board as noted. Shorten the enter code. Play around with placement of cell phone inside shack and place a remote antenna outside the shack if you can. Sine System website will be of great help.
 
The Telular stuff is great. Been using them for years now. The unit I have has an external antenna port, so I mounted an 800mhz yagi up the tower a bit to clear the ridge and get signal from the AT&T site.. Been very reliable. DTMF is no problem at all.

df



mattthepm said:
NoTimeForSleep said:
http://www.getwirelessllc.com/Telular_Term_SX5E.cfm
Click to expand...

Depending on your carrier, be prepared for several hours of being on the phone with them trying to explain what the Telular device is. I've installed 4 of these devices, 2 on Verizon (CDMA) and 2 on AT&T (GSM) (formerly Cingular). Setting up the units on Verizon's network was rather painless, just supply the ESN to the carrier and the units are turned on. Cingular was rather challenging, since they didn't want to send me only 2 SIM cards (they wanted me to upgrade our service with a brand new phone!). I had to go through a couple of tiers of tech support to explain what exactly the device was.

As far as reliability, these units are very good. You can add a battery backup and external antenna to the units (highly recommended). I am using these units as part of a mobile emergency communications PSAP (public safety answering point) to act as a backup in case landlines go down.

In theory, you should be able to put any carrier on the GSM model by swapping out SIM cards. I haven't tried it myself, but I would be pretty sure that it would work.

-M
Click to expand...
 
Doc-N-Talk for $130.00 or less plus $20.00 for the cable to hook up any cell phone (as long as it is CDMA technology). Then you have to practice dialing to find the right speed. Not too fast and not slow and the Sine System will hear rhe tones. Cheapest way to go but a little frustrating at first but once you get the hang of it you'll be able to communicate with the tower easily.
 
zach_morton said:
With analog on it's way out, it was bound to happen to the cell industry as well. I had an old bagphone as my link to my transmitter site being interfaced to a Sine Systems RFC-1. It was the only way I could get a link to my tower site.

Now...with the bag phone, it worked like a champ. I was notified that the old analog service would disappear on Feb 18, and that I'd no longer have service.

So...I purchased a new digital cell phone, and a Dock-n-Talk phone dock for this phone. Supposedly it interfaces with everything using Bluetooth, or so the manufacturer stated. Ever since, I can't get the remote control to recognize DTMF tones. The remote control will answer...say "enter"...and as soon as I attempt to enter the passcode, it hangs up.

Anyone else have this issue, and if so, how you got around it.

Grr!
Click to expand...

AHH Zach, you mean to say the local Telco cannot run a copper line to the site????? How is your STL getting there? RF?? You COULD use a dialup at the studio with an auto answer, take audio to a subcarrier on the STL, out to the xmtr, take the RC audio out back to a subcarrier on the main carrier or a return TSL link...sure would beat what you got now...

Yep, digital is great aint it???AHHH no....(NOT in every case!) Im fighting VoIP enterprise wide in my company....modems, faxes, etc just dont like working over IP...and where's the cost savings?? (there is none)...

A TSL link is easy to do with a 15watt Marti on 450.......be more reliable than the digital cellular....BTW your PHONE doesnt generate DTMF.....it only sends the digital command to the cell site that then sends it to the switching center....where it MAY create the DTMF tones....from the digital info.....or keeps it in the pure digital mode until the other end...where the digital waveforms are converted back to analog...and there is where the DTMF "tones" are created in some cases!
 
Ugggh. I have enough fun doing sports remotes over cell phones, with a Sine DAI-1 at the studio to control automation and patch the phone audio to air. But that's with the studio end having a POTS line. I am shying away from cable phone or other VoIP type lines at the studio for this same sort of reason...I have no idea how well those terminal devices emulate a line or pass DTMF.

Oddly enough, one of the away sites we went to has problems passing DTMF to the studio over a land line. I can unlock the DAI-1 but then when the talkback audio kicks on I can't control anything. Must be low audio level somewhere in the path.
 
Finally decided to just give up on the idea of passing DTMF tones...throwing money at it hoping that it'll work. I am upgrading our plants to ARC-Plus remote control systems anyway, and with the T1 connections, I'll be able to connect to it via ethernet through my blackberry.

That revelation came to me a couple of days after posting the initial question...but thanks for all the great answers.
 
We picked up a couple of the Broadcast Tools ip remote controls, but left the dialup feature in the Burks. We have POTS to the transmitter sites, but the T1s ride our microwave system. So, we need a method of control should the microwave go away and the program delivery revert to ISDN.
 
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