PCBoard 14.5a (BBSs) and Intel's SatisFAXtion 400 modem
=======================================================

After a frustrating couple hours, and several very helpful talks with
Michael at Clark Development (PCBoard authors), Dan at Intel's 
SatisFAXtion Tech Support, and Rob Hannah (who all know more about 
BBSs than I'll _ever_ want to), I have finally been able to reliably 
autodetect FAX and MODEM calls and answer them appropriately.  Most of 
the work needs to be done on the PCBoard end.

1. Patch PCB145.EXE to replace "ATA" + Chr(13) with 4 Chr(0)s.  In 
   PCBoard 14.5a, the offset for the correct "ATA" (there are three)
   is at byte 237275.

2. In PCBSetup's "Modem Configuration" screen (Option 'D' on the
   PCBSetup menu), the "Modem Initialization String" should be 
   "ATS0=255E0M0H0".  The "Modem Off-Hook String" should be 
   "ATE1M0H1".  Also, make sure the option "Modem Off-Hook During 
   Recycle" is set to "Y", because otherwise users may constantly get 
   a FAX connection whenever they redial.

3. Run SETUP.EXE for the Intel SatisFAXtion modem, and select the
   "Advanced Setup/Setup options for answering incoming calls" menu 
   option.
   
   3.1. Specify that the Faxmodem "has its own phone line" 
   3.2.	Set the "Board answers on ring #" to 1
   

Explanation:

The SFX400 will successfully determine whether the incoming call is a 
MODEM or FAX call if you tell it to answer on ring 1.  If you don't 
specify a value for the MODEM to automatically answer (ATS0=<rings>), 
no attempt is made to determine if the call is another MODEM.  The 
string ATS0=255 is used to tell the Faxmodem to attempt a modem 
connection, but obviously the modem will not pick up for quite some
time, since 255 rings would take a while.

If a modem connection is negotiated, the resultant "CONNECT" string 
is sent to the modem.  This is what will let PCBoard know that the 
selection was successful.

This configuration will most likely work with other BBS products as 
well.  The most important piece of the puzzle is to set the BBS 
software up so that it does NOT send a string to the modem during the
call negotiation process, because the modem will send back "NO CARRIER,"
which is obviously NOT the result you desire.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BEGIN DISCLAIMER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please be aware that by doing this patch to PCBoard, you break its "No Back 
Door" security ability because User B could potentially connect to User A's 
session if User A hangs up without choosing "Goodbye", or is in a door and 
hangs up.  One potential solution to this is to set the number of rings for 
the FaxModem and PCBoard to 3 or 4, so more time is required before the 
modem could get a connect string.

There may also be an option for the SFX400 to go through a cycling phase
after the carrier has been dropped.  However, I didn't find one in their
Command Reference list.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! END DISCLAIMER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This information provided by:

John F. Kaster
Interface Technologies, Inc.
2314 Mary Baldwin Drive
Alexandria, VA 22307-1508
CIS:       71510,3321
Voice:     703/765-0805
Fax/Modem: 703/765-1836


(Just so you know who to blame)