Modem Caller-ID question (long-ish)

["Paul Gordon" <paul_gordon@xxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

Anyone using a Hayes Modem for Caller ID?

I purchased an Accura 56K voice message modem a few weeks ago purely for
this purpose, (for use with Homeseer Phone).

In a nutshell, it appears to be highly unreliable at retrieving the CID
data. When I first set it up I issued an "AT#CID=1" command to
turn it on,
tested it with several phone calls, and all seemed to be OK.

However, over the past couple of weeks, it has become obvious that it's not
OK...

Sometimes it will just "miss" CID on an incoming call, totally at
random,
typically out of 10 inbound calls, it might display the CID on 7 or 8 of
them, but not necesarily in any pattern.

Also, sometimes it will just stop doing Caller-ID totally, (as if AT#CID=0
had been sent), and will remain like that until I issue another AT#CID=1 to
force it on again.

Usually, behaviour 1 precedes behaviour 2. (but not always)

There appears to be no pattern or logic to these symptoms. Sometimes it
will
go for several hours reporting the CID quite reliably, and then start
exhibiting either symptom,  but sometimes it will only take half an hour or
so for one or other to start happening. It also seems to make no difference
if I bombard it with several calls in rapid sucession, or if I leave a few
minutes between them. Nor does it make any difference what type of call
comes in: IE CID available or withheld etc.

Whichever way it happens, it NEVER goes for more than about a day before it
stops working. (So if I set it up and test it in the morning, it's almost
always not working by the evening, when I receive calls that dont get
displayed.

Whilst this has been going on, I went out and bought an el-cheapo (£9)
CallerID unit to test the incoming data. This suggests that the data is
coming in 100%, as this unit has NEVER missid the CID data on a single
call.
- I've tested the modem both with this unit ON and OFF the line in case
they
interefered with each other, but it makes no difference, - if the modem is
in one of its periods where it is working, it is quite happy with the other
unit on the same line, and both will display the data.

I just can't figure it - the modem never gets powered off or reset in any
way. In fact for the last few days I have just had Hyperterminal sat
monitoring it constantly, and I have seen both behaviours several times
(with me doing a CID=1 from time-to-time).

So, my question (finally) is this:

Is there any configuration tweak I can make to the modem to make it more
reliable? - I know the CID data is always there, is there perhaps a
sensitivity adjustment? Or, is there a status string I can view to get a
better idea of what's happening? (ATI1 through ATI7 don't seem to show
anything useful). Is anyone else using a Hayes modem for caller ID, and is
it reliable?

Alternatively, can anyone suggest an alternative modem that is reliable? -
I
need to use a 100% TAPI compliant modem for Homeseer phone, AND it needs to
be a voicemodem to do the the answering and IVR stuff, so please don't
suggest using one of my ropey old USR modems from the back of my junk
cupboard. For the same reason, a dedicated PC CID unit like the solwise is
also not an option.

The plan is to use Homeseer phone as my primary answering system,
(replacing
Comfort), identifying callers by there caller ID, with personalised
greeting
messages and options for certain numbers, and a "**** off and leave me
alone" message for phone spammers. Also, "Do not disturb"
times, and VIP
lists for family members, and all kinds of other really groovy things!. All
of which rely on a foundation of reliable CallerID recognition though!

Any suggestions greatfully accepted!

Cheers.

Paul G.

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