Multi Frequency "MF" (DTMF/MF4) dialling for the Psion MC400 - the Series 3 and later Psion machines had MF dialling capability built in but the MC-series laptops pre-dated those machines and missed out... until MCMF!
files here uploaded from MCMF10.zip (http://cd.textfiles.com/psion/disk2/OTHER/SUNSITE/UTILS/MCMF10.ZIP) for archival
MCMF.TXT:
---- PSION MC-400 DTMF Dialler Utility v1.0 ---- Apr. '95
This ZIP file should contain:
MCMF.OPO The OPL executable
MCMF.ICN An Icon for installing MCMF into System window
MCMF.OPL The OPL source
MCMF.TXT This File!
This utility written by Chris Farrow.
Credits
-------
The OPL implementation of "Bring" used in this program is based on code
originally written in C by Colly Myers and translated to Series 3 OPL by
Tom Dolbilin, adapted for the MC with help from David Wood at Psion.
Disclaimer
----------
You are free to use and modify MCMF and the OPL source as you wish, but
the author cannot be held responsible for any problems or data loss that
may arise, from use of this program, modified or otherwise. This program
has only been tested on an MC-400 (Word) V2.60F.
MCMF v1.0
---------
This utility has two modes of operation:
(i) Edit Mode: The number to be dialled is entered and can be edited
before pressing <Enter> which will cause any diallable digits in the
input string to be dialled.
(ii) Free-form Mode: Any diallable digit entered will be dialled
immediately.
The following parameters are changeable, and are stored in a setup file
(MCMF.DEF) when the program runs.
Tone time
Delay time
Pause time
Tone volume
Also the current mode of the program is stored so that when next run, it
will start up in the mode it was last used in.
It is possible to "bring" data into the dialler (Edit mode only) in the
same way as the native MC apps. For example, find an entry in a database
file, highlight the no. you want to dial, switch to MCMF and bring the
number on to the input line.
Running MCMF
------------
To install MCMF into the system window, copy the files MCMF.OPO and
MCMF.ICN to the same directory on a local MC disk. From the system window
select "Install..." (Psion-V). Use the file selctor to navigate to the
directory where you put MCMF.OPO and select this file. The telephone icon
should now appear in the system window.
Whenever MCMF is run it will look for a file in the root directory of the
default drive called "MCMF.DEF", which contains default values for tone
time and delay time etc. If it is not present, MCMF will ask you to
confirm or change the defaults, and then create the file.
The settings are:
Tone Time: The time the MF tone is actually present
Delay Time: The time between the MF tones
Pause Time: The time the "," charcater pauses for (see below)
Tone Volume: The volume the tone is played at, Quiet, Medium or Loud
Once the defaults have been set up, you will be presented with a screen
like this:
--- MC-400 DTMF Dialler ---
Input No. to be dialled then <Enter>
("U <Enter>" changes defaults, "X <Enter>" exits)
("L <Enter>" brings data, "M <Enter>" changes mode)
->
Any text entered will appear by the cursor ("->"), the delete key and
cursor keys are available to move along the input line and edit it. The
escape key will clear the contents of the input line. The number is
dialled by pressing "Enter". Diallable characters are "0123456789ABCD*#"
and ",". The "," character is used to insert a delay (the time of which
is alterable), for instance if dialling via a PABX, where a dial-out code
is needed, followed by a pause before a second dialling tone is heard.
Any non-diallable characters are ignored and stripped out of the input
string, so it doesn't matter if you ener a number as "0151 254 3000" or
"0151-254-3000". After dialling a number the previous string remains on
the input line, and is available for re-editing or re-dialling. The
"Escape" key clears the input line.
Should you wish to alter the default tone times etc. then enter "u" on a
blank line (Case is not important), and MCMF will allow you to change the
settings. Currently all times are in 1/24ths of a second and are minimum
1/24ths and maximum 99/24ths.
In Free-form mode the digit entered is dialled instantly and displayed by
the cursor.
Entering "x" on a blank line exits the program (again, case is not
important).
I have had a 100% success rate using this program to dial on many
different types of phone, I have found that holding the microphone
approx. 10cm over the MC speaker gives best results.
Limitations
-----------
Firstly, me! I do not pretend to be the world's greatest programmer and
although I have tried to make this program as resilient as possible there
are bound to be some situations I have overlooked. The delay times are
implementend with the OPL command "pause" and as such cannot be exactly
guaranteed by the system, so you may notice irregular pauses between
digits. This should not cause any problems though as the delays will
always be *longer* than specified.
In Free-form mode, don't dial too quickly! The program cannot respond to
input as quickly as you can type it. At present only the last digit
dialled is displayed - this may change in future versions.
If the Link is running and active (i.e. you are transferring files) then
there will be some degradation in the quality of the MF tones, possibly
to the extent that they may not be recognised by the telephone network.
For this reason it is wise not to attempt to use this program to dial
while there is lots of background activity on the system.
Any bug reports or comments welcome, preferably by e-mail to
cxf@cix.compulink.XX.XX or failing that (as a last resort only please!)
by phone to 01704 XXXXXX.
Chris Farrow 3/4/95