class 1 usefulness

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Hi,

Robert J. Brown wrote:
> I have always agreed with you regarding the undesirability of class 1
> faxing on a unix machine, but now I have the problem of faxing from a
> laptop. The laptop presents a somewhat different picture. I am
> running Linux 2.0.29 kernel on a an IBM Thinkpad 365XD with 40 MB ram
> and 1.3 GB disk.
[..]
> Since the laptop is always a single user system whenever it is off the
> LAN (including not hooked up via ppp over a modem to my own network),
> it behaves more like a DOS box than a Unix box, system load wise.

Hmmm... I stubbornly refuse to see your point :-) -- I'm typing this on
my laptop, which has a perfectly class 2 capable fax modem (USR Worldport
-- interesting enough, it has a Rockwell chipset, nevertheless, it works
very well).

> This appears to be a good case for class 1 fax support in sendfax.
> Likewise, there is the occasional need to receive a fax from someone
> while I am out in the field. So class 1 support in mgetty would be
> helpful also.

I agree.

Indeed, I am working on class 1 support now (don't tell anybody!), and
it is slowly taking shape, at least for sending faxes. I think I will
need two more weeks or so to have something that is barely able to send
faxes under perfect conditions, and maybe two or four more weeks to
implement all the T.30 error recovery procedures (hairy).

Fax reception support in mgetty will be attempted after sendfax works,
'cause it's easier then (all the small bits in place).

> I also have need to equip my system with a cell-phone modem hook-up.
[..]
> So what I really want is a PCMCIA modem supported by Linux drivers
> that will connect to a cell phone and allow the power and modem cables
> to be simultaneously connected. Fax class 2 would be nice, but if
> sendfax and mgetty begin to support class 1, then I guess class 1
> would sufice.

No idea what to use here. There are some PCMCIA cards for cellular phones
out there that are supposed to be handled like a normal modem, but I
have no experience with this (the PCMCIA card to use my Ericsson mobile
phone for data transfers costs about 500 US$, which I wasn't willing
to spend yet...)

gert
-- 
Gert Doering
Mobile communications ... right now writing from *AWAY* :-)) 
... mobile phone: +49 177 2160221 ... or mail me: gert@greenie.muc.de
.