🚀 go-pugleaf

About 6 months ago I bought a US Robotics 212A modem so that I could
call UNIX from home at a resonable speed.  The UNIX systems do not have
a direct outside number for access.  Teletype has a Dimension PBX and so
you must use the remote access number for the PBX.  This means (for those
unfamiliar) that I must dial 14 digits  111-1111,2222,333.  The first
7 are for the local office to route me to the Teletype PBX.  I then get
a second dial tone and must dial the second 4 digits to gain access to the 
PBX.  I then get a third dial tone and I dial the last 3 digits which are 
the PBX extension for the UNIX system.  All this works fine if I use the 
tone pad of my phone, but if I use the USR modems auto-dial capability it
often fails.  The modem dials through the local office just fine but seems
to have problems breaking the dial tone of the PBX.  I have monitored the 
line as the modem is dialing and I have the proper delays programmed.  
I thought it might be that the modem can't drive the 10 miles (as the crow
flies) of copper so I took it to work and tried it.  I used the modem to 
dial out and then back in again through the PBX, and it still didn't work.
I have tried switching the polarity of the line at the modem also.  I talked
to some people at USR and they were very pleasant but of no help.  Basically
because they wouldn't let me talk to an engineer.  Some times I wish there
were a special phone number at every company which would connect you with
an engineer instead of a sales person. ("But all I want to do is talk to
a fellow engineer who understands the problem!")  Anyway, all I've gotten 
from USR is "it doesn't sound like our problem, but we'd be interested
to know the solution.".  I tried to talk to some Bell people too but they
would not answer any technical questions.  
	It seems to me it is either a level problem or a frequency problem.
If anyone knows the tolerances required by the Dimension or can help me
with my engineering curiosity I would really appreciate it.  Also, I would
be curious to know if anyone else has the same problem.

						Andy Rolfe 
					      Teletype Corp.
					     CORENET 362-3202
					..!otuxa!tty3b!yellow!arr