A. Just the following items, as you might expect.

1. Microsoft Windows, Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT
2. The appropriate version of Power Page
3. A modem and phone line connected to the computer using any COM port.

Q. What information do I need about the pager?

A. The only thing you need to know about the pager is the pager phone number or the Pager ID. For example, I have a Motorola Advisor on Interlink Communications of Colorado. The phone number to my pager is 8260590.

Q. What information do I need to know about the paging company?

A. You will need the following information.

Access Number. You will need to know the paging terminals alphanumeric paging access telephone number. This is the phone number of the modem at the paging company that will receive the message using the TAP protocol. This number is the same for everybody that has a pager from that company. Many carriers will offer 800 numbers - especially the nationwide guys like SkyPage or Mobilcomm.

The baud rate. You need to know the paging company's modem baud rate associated with the access number. Believe it or not, most access modems still receive alphanumeric messages at 300 baud. Many have "upgraded" to 2400 baud. It doesn't really matter that much what rate they have - pager messages tend to be relatively short so the speed of transfer is not really that important.

Characters per message block. Most paging carriers limit how many characters can be sent in one message. A lot of carriers limit the message size to 80 characters. Many others have expanded their service to 230 characters per message. The size of message really becomes a factor of the carrier. You will need to find out this information or learn this through trial and error. However, remember with the registered version allows you to send messages of any size an will automatically break your one message into several pages.

Password? Does your paging carrier require a password. Most US companies DO NOT. In this case, Power Page sends six zeros as the password. This is the standard way of doing it. If do require a special password, see the note under "access number" in the documentation.

Q. What are the common problems users experience with Power Page?

A. Troubleshooting (Common Problems)

Error 21 - Timeout waiting for ID=

By far the most common problem is the failure to communicate with the paging terminal.  This is also returned when there is “NO DIAL TONE” or some other modem problem.

The solution to this problems is sending the appropriate modem initialization string.  Many paging terminals use old 300 baud modems.  The do not take too kindly to the error correcting and data compression protocols of the newer V.XX modems.  Therefore, your goal is to find a modem initialization string that will turn off all of that and set your modem to “normal” Bell 212 mode. (if possible)  There are too many modems to accumulate a list of these strings - and they vary very widely.  Some of the commercially available packaged alpha dispatching software has a list of these strings.

May I also suggest that you try your new string using a COMM program like the Windows terminal program.  Set the baud rate to 300 baud, Even parity, 7 data bits, and 1 stop bit.  XON / XOFF flow control should be OFF.  Dial manually and after you see the CONNECT message, press ENTER (CR).  If you are communicating properly, you will see the string “ID=“.  Play with it until you do, then try Power Page again.

Enclosed also is the MODEMS.TXT file which lists the suggested initializations strings for the various modems.  These were included for your convenience.  I do not guarantee that they all work.

New: Try setting your port$=”TAPI” and the modem_init_str$=”AUTO”  This will tell Power Page to try to use the modem settings from your modems INF registry settings.

 

GPF’s

If you got a GPF during the call to PowerPage() or GetPowerPageStatus() it is most likely caused because you did not pre-allocate space for the retmsg$ parameter. 

Power Page returns the message strings into the retmsg$ parameter.  In many languages, string space is allocated as needed - so when you simply define a string, the space is not yet allocated.  Therefore, you should pre-allocate the retmsg$ string with a command equivalent to: Retmsg$=Space$(100)

 

Getting stuck during sending block (NAK 5 times message)

Most likely you have a unacceptable pager ID.  PageNet assigns separate alpha PIN numbers than the pager phone number.  The alpha pin number is what you should use in the Pager ID parameter.

 

Return code 21: Timeout waiting for goahead string

Usually the problem is an invalid password.  By default, Power Page sends 000000 as the password, which is accepted by most terminals.  Some terminals want NO PASSWORD.  To tell Power Page not to send a password, add a ^ (carrot) at end of the access_number string.  For example:

Access_number$=”18005551212^”