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This page has some information on common
problems that may be helpful if things are
not working properly. This information can
also be found in the program help.
Caller ID Problems
Speakerphone Problems
Answering System Problems
If the program logs all calls as "No
Caller ID", then the Caller ID feature
on your modem is not working. For the Caller
ID to work properly, your modem must have
Caller ID capability, it must be compatible
with the Caller ID service in your area,
and you must subscribe to Caller ID service
with your phone company. Also, your modem
must be installed with a TAPI compliant .inf
file (driver). If not, your modem's Caller
ID feature simply will not be enabled. This
is the most common cause of Caller ID problems.
If you're not sure whether your modem is
Caller ID capable, or you think there may
be a problem with the modem, you can use
a communications program (such as the Windows
HyperTerminal) to test it. This will eliminate
your modem drivers, Unimodem, and TAPI as
possible problems, and tests the modem directly.
First, close any programs that use the modem.
Then run your communications program (it
must be one with a terminal screen that allows
you to type in AT commands). Make sure it
is setup to communicate with your modem,
then type in the AT command that your modem
uses to enable Caller ID (refer to your manual).
For example, AT#CID=1 is a common command
string. Also, AT+VCID=1 is very common. Press
Return and you should get an OK back. Now
have someone call you and you should see
something like this:
AT#CID=1
OK
RING
DATE = 0317
TIME = 1405
NMBR = 5045551234
NAME = A NAME
RING
If this works, then you know your modem supports
Caller ID and is working properly. If so,
you probably have a driver problem.
If this test fails, then you may have a modem
problem, your modem may not have Caller ID
capability, or it may not be compatible with
your local Caller ID standard.
Intermittent Problems
Some modems simply are not 100% reliable
at reporting the caller's name and number.
If the Caller ID works most of the time but
you sometimes see "No Caller ID",
that means that your modem failed to report
any Caller ID information on that call. The
program can't show the Caller ID information
if your modem doesn't report it properly.
When this happens, make sure that your modem
is connected directly to the telephone wall
jack. Connecting the modem to another device
(such as a fax machine) can cause this problem.
Also, if you have a telephone plugged into
the "Phone" jack on your modem,
try unplugging it. Some telephones, especially
Caller ID phones, can cause intermittent
problems with your modem's Caller ID detection.
If you can't get the Speakerphone to work
on Phone Plus or CallStation, remember that
a speakerphone is not included on all voice
modems. If your modem has speakerphone support,
it will usually have a microphone input and
a speaker output on the back of the modem
card. If these connectors are present, you
can be pretty sure that you have a speakerphone
modem.
Make sure that your microphone and speaker
are connected properly according to the instructions
that came with your modem. A common mistake
is to try and operate the speakerphone using
a microphone and speakers connected to the
sound card when they need to be connected
to the modem. You can usually use the speakers
connected to your sound card if you connect
a jumper cable from the speaker output on
the modem to the "Line" or "Aux"
input on the sound card. When doing this,
make sure that the sound card's line input
is enabled and the volume is turned up.
If you are sure that your modem has speakerphone
support, but you still can't get it to work
properly, you probably have a driver problem.
Your drivers may not be 100% TAPI compliant.
This is particularly common with "Winmodems"
since they use special drivers and your main
CPU to process the speakerphone audio rather
than hardware built onto the modem. Impulse
Technology cannot help you if you have driver
problems, you would need to contact your
modem manufacturer.
Here are some common problems users may run
into when first using the CallStation answering
system.
When CallStation answers a call, I see "Error
loading wave file" on the pop-up window,
and then CallStation hangs up without taking
a message.
CallStation can only use standard PCM format
wave files for the greeting. Click Voice
| Greetings | Standard to display the Standard
Greetings dialog. Make sure your greeting
plays OK here. You may need to select another
wave file, or record a greeting from a microphone.
When CallStation answers a call, I see "Error
playing wave file" on the pop-up window,
and then CallStation hangs up without taking
a message.
This error can occur if CallStation has a
problem playing the greeting or the beep.
Go to the Control Panel and double-click
the Multimedia icon. On the Audio tab, make
sure the "Use only preferred devices"
option is NOT checked.
If you are using Windows 2000 or Me, your
greeting must be in 8,000 Hz, 16-Bit format.
If it is in any other format, you will get
this error. Greetings recorded by CallStation
will always be in this format.
When CallStation answers a call, the caller
hears the greeting but no beep, and then
CallStation hangs up without taking a message.
Click Voice | Greetings | Standard to display
the Standard Greetings dialog. Make sure
the "Greeting only" option is NOT
checked. When this option is checked, CallStation
simply plays the greeting and then hangs
up. This also applies to the Personal and
Group greetings.
CallStation hangs up on callers while they
are leaving a message.
Standard modems do not have a good way of
telling when a caller has hung up. CallStation
has two ways of detecting when a caller has
finished their message and hung up the phone.
Problems occur when one of these methods
malfunctions. You can usually fix the problem
by changing the settings under the "Advanced"
button on the Voice configuration tab.
The first method involves detecting silence.
CallStation analyzes the message as it is
being recorded looking for periods of silence.
If CallStation detects continuous silence
for more than the period set in the "Hang
up after X seconds of silence" option,
it will decide that the caller has finished
leaving a message, stop recording and hang
up. When working properly, this keeps the
program from recording a long period of silence
after the message. On some modems, the recorded
sound level may be too low for CallStation
to detect so it thinks there is silence when
the caller is actually talking. This problem
can be easily fixed by changing the silence
detection sensitivity to "High".
The problem may also be solved by setting
the "Record Boost" option +6dB
or +10dB to amplify the recorded sound. Doing
this will also make the messages sound louder
when you play them back.
The second method involves detecting a "pulse"
on the line. When a caller hangs up the phone,
a pulse occurs on the line. CallStation can
detect this pulse. This allows it to hang
up quicker than having to wait for the silence
detector. A pulse may be falsely detected
if you have the "Record Boost"
option set too high for your modem causing
the audio to "clip" excessively.
If this option is set to +6dB or +10dB try
setting it down a notch. If you still have
a problem you can always disable the pulse
detection by unchecking the "Auto Detect
remote hang up" option.
CallStation keeps recording even after the
caller hangs up.
If the recorded sound level on your modem
is unusually high, you may have a problem
where CallStation sees noise on the line
making it think the caller is still talking.
The silence detection then fails to hang
up the modem. If this happens, you may need
to change the silence detection sensitivity
to "Low".
I hear an echo when I test the answering
system.
If you test CallStation by calling from a
second line (or a cell phone) in the same
room, and you have the "Call Screening"
option checked, you will hear an echo when
leaving a message. This is normal since the
message heard through your computer speakers
is slightly delayed and gets fed back into
your phone. When someone leaves a message
from another location, this echo will not
be present.
When I try to enable the answering system,
I get an "Error getting device ID"
message.
This error occurs when CallStation can't
get a "device ID" to play wave
files through your modem, so this means that
there is a problem with your system. You
may not have a modem wave driver installed.
Here is something to check. Go to the Control
Panel and double-click the System icon. Select
the Device Manager tab. Expand the "Sound,
video and game controllers" branch.
Make sure that you have a "Wave Device
for Voice Modem". View the Properties
for this device and make sure it is working
properly.
Also, double-click Multimedia in the Control
Panel. Select the Devices tab. Expand the
"Audio Devices" branch. Make sure
that you have a serial wave device for your
voice modem here (there should be only one).
Make sure it is enabled and active.
If you do find a problem, you may be able
to correct this by downloading and installing
the latest drivers for your modem. Check
your modem manufacturer's web site.
Also, this problem may be caused by a hardware
conflict. In the Device Manager, check your
modem properties and make sure that your
modem doesn't have any resource conflicts.
When CallStation answers a call and plays
my greeting I hear the first second or two,
then I hear garbage or silence.
This normally happens if you upgrade Windows
without installing new modem drivers, or
install the wrong drivers for the operating
system you are using. This problem can be
fixed by installing the correct drivers.
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