23 Jul
1998
23 Jul
'98
12:50 a.m.
'*' and '#' have no pulse analogues.
However, in the states at least, the
equivalent to dialing a dial access code preceded by a star or pound is
generally achieved by rotary dialing '11' before the code (ie. *69 would
be 1169).
Fortunately in the UK there are no requirements yet (afaik) for * and #
on the public networks. On the private exchange at work, 11=*, 12=#,
13=** and 14=##, at the beginnings of numbers only, but I don't know
whether it still works.
BTW, in the UK # is _never_ called "pound". "Hash" is the most usual
name, followed by "gate" and "hatch". "Pound" means a
script L with a
couple of horizontal bars through it :-)
As for trying to communicate with auto-attendants,
you'll probably have to
add external buttons to your rotary phone to give you the capability of
dialing '*' and '#'.
That's what I was afraid of. Although a neater hack still would be a
modified dial that did 11 pulses for * and 12 for #. Mechanically
possible, but I wouldn't want to try and modify the old dial.
There is a blanked-off hole in most type 746 phones that can accommodate
1 or 2 buttons, and I was thinking of putting # and * there, but this is
more usually used for a "recall" button.
Incidentally, does anyone know why "timed break" recall buttons are
replacing local earth ones? And how long is the break?
While a pulse-to-DTMF converter is a neat hack (and
these sort of
converters were installed in some step-by-step exchanges in the US, at
least there were in my local exchange when we were step-by-step, but come
to think of it I don't know why, unless they were converting my pulse
dialed digits to DTMF so that some other adjunct piece of equipment such
as a Dialed Number Recorder could know what digits I was dialing, for
purposes of surveillance ;) it'd be easier to just buy a cheap DTMF phone.
Sam, you should be ashamed of yourself. The object of the exercise was
not to get a DTMF phone, but to get one with a _rotary dial_. I already
have a DTMF phone, and I am interested in thes project _purely_ for hack
value.
Slightly less far off topic, does anyone know the reason for the
divergence in layout between phone keypads and computer ones, i.e.
123 789
456 vs. 456 ?
789 123
0 0
Which came first?
Philip.