Question : Problem: Modem Silence

First off, let me apologize if this question has been answered, but I've searched high & low, and thought I'd tried everything...  

I'm trying to silence my modem.  As far as I can tell, it's an LT 56K internet fax modem.  I've tried several things to quiet it and it is quiet on dial-up networking and windows-based applications.  i.e., I've done this:  

1.    Control Panel/Modems/Properties/Speaker Volume/Level-Off/OK.

and also this:

2.  Control Panel/Modem/Properties/Connection/Advanced/Extra
Settings/M0/OK.

Since neither of these things have worked, I can only surmize it's 'cause the application I want to silence is rather dos-based (i.e., it will work in Windows, but very poorly)

I'm at my wits end - can anyone help?  TIA

Kathy

Answer : Problem: Modem Silence

Control Panel, Modems and the DUN settings only apply to Windows applications.  DOS applications will always directly access the modem's COM port address and send AT commands direct to the modem.

You don't have much information about the commands the application is sending to the modem. There are two alternatives:

a) it is sending a AT&F to reset modem to factory defaults, followed by configuration strings.  If this is the case the onbly way to silence it, would be to modify the initialisation strings the application sends. If the program does not provide a Setup program to do this, you may be able to find them in an "INI" file.

b) (the more likely situation) The application resets the modem using a ATZ command. This will use settings stored in the modem. You can set these using a communications program such as Hyperterminal.

Go to Start Menu, Programs, Accessories, Communications, you should then find a folder for Hyper Terminal. If you don't you need to go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Software, then Windows Setup and install it.

From inside the folder, click on the icon for Hypertrm.exe. It will ask you to choose a name and icon for the connection - just enter any name such as "SetModem" and any icon.

It them asks you to enter a phone number. Don't - instead go to the box where your modem is named, and select the drop-down list beside it. Among the options will be "Direct to COM1", "Direct to COM2" etc. Choose the one that your modem is on (if you don't know which it is, Control Panel Modems will tell you). Then the phone number panel then becomes greyed out - press OK, and then press OK again to skip the Properties screen.

You are now at a blank window. Anything you type is being sent to the modem and may not be "echoed" back to the screen - don't be alarmed by this. After you press the Enter key the modem's response should be shown on screen: it will usually just say "OK".

Type commands as follows:

AT&F     (this will reset modem to factory defaults)

ATM       (silence speaker)

AT&W     (Write settings to modem's memory)


You might want to then try dialling a number to ensure it is silent:

ATD555-5555


Personally I don't like completely silent dialling, as your modem may have an incorrect number and you would never know that you keep getting a system message saying the number has been changed to...         Worse still perhaps the wrong number was published and you get a little old lady very puzzled by all the strange calls she is getting!

As an alternative to silence (ATM0) try setting the volume to its lowest setting (ATL1).

Finally an alternative if you can't get these commands to work. Many LT modems are voice modems and these usually provide an output that you can connect to a sound card. If this output is via a jack socket on the back of the modem, plugging any jack into that socket will normally disable the internal speaker.