1 Dec
2011
1 Dec
'11
10:54 a.m.
Google is giving me conflicting answers... I want to dial a remote gsm
device via my iPhone plugged in to a PC but I'm not seeing anything that
looks like it might be a modem when I do lsusb. This is obviously
different than just having a data connection to the internet as the
remove device isn't connected to the internet - I need to dial it
directly.
Can the iPhone be used as a GSM modem or is that deemed too 'legacy'
these days? I'm hoping there is a usb switch app I can run to enable the
modem USB interface but I'm not optimistic.
Thanks
James
1 Dec
1 Dec
4:13 p.m.
James Harper wrote:
Google is giving me conflicting answers... I want to
dial a remote gsm
device via my iPhone plugged in to a PC but I'm not seeing anything that
looks like it might be a modem when I do lsusb. This is obviously
different than just having a data connection to the internet as the
remove device isn't connected to the internet - I need to dial it
directly.
I have a fairly antiquated NextG handset which can function as a mobile
'router';
via a USB cable or WiFi. My understanding is that it is still capable of
sending and receiving calls in this situation.
Are you sure the iPhone can't dial out while connected to the PC ?
In which case I can't see why it would care whether the remote device was;
gsm ,3g, NextG or 4G.
Even if you are trying to do VOIP over the data channel I would have
thought
the phone company associated with the service would still hide the
complexities
of the mobile technology of the remote device from users
.......or is there something which I am not understanding ?
regards Rohan McLeod
5:25 p.m.
On Thu, 1 Dec 2011, Rohan McLeod <rhn(a)jeack.com.au> wrote:
James Harper wrote:
Have you tested that?
The last time I tried to use a smart-phone for calls and data the data stopped
when the call started. It's really annoying when you have ssh'd to a server
and the client calls to ask if it's fixed yet...
Apparently you need to either have a phone with two 3G antenna (which is
really rare) or a phone that can do calls over GSM while 3G data transfer is
in progress. Hardware to support voice over GSM and data over 3G is
apparently reasonably common, but software support isn't so good.
NB This is generic telephony stuff, I'm not an expert on it and I don't know
much about the iPhone.
Google is giving me conflicting answers... I want
to dial a remote gsm
device via my iPhone plugged in to a PC but I'm not seeing anything that
looks like it might be a modem when I do lsusb. This is obviously
different than just having a data connection to the internet as the
remove device isn't connected to the internet - I need to dial it
directly.
I have a fairly antiquated NextG handset which can function as a mobile
'router';
via a USB cable or WiFi. My understanding is that it is still capable of
sending and receiving calls in this situation. Are you sure the iPhone can't dial out while
connected to the PC ?
In which case I can't see why it would care whether the remote device was;
gsm ,3g, NextG or 4G.
They apparently want to have a direct data connection between two smart-phones
without either being connected to the Internet. I doubt that this will be
possible unless they use IP over SMS or something equally horrible.
Even if you are trying to do VOIP over the data
channel I would have
thought
the phone company associated with the service would still hide the
complexities
of the mobile technology of the remote device from users
.......or is there something which I am not understanding ?
Phone companies do a really poor job of hiding the complexities. If you put a
different SIM in your phone you have to configure a new APN to connect to the
Internet! How hard would it have been to design some way for the SIM to store
the APN data - or even for the OS such as Android to have a list of the APNs
for all the telcos in the region and the bigger ones in other regions? A file
with about 20K of data could have all the APNs that you are ever likely to
need and a lot more and that would not be noticed in the gigabytes of storage
that modern phones have.
--
My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/
My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/
6:29 p.m.
> Are you sure the iPhone can't dial out while connected to the PC ?
> In which case I can't see why it would care whether the remote
device
was;
gsm ,3g,
NextG or 4G.
They apparently want to have a direct data connection between two phones without either being connected to the Internet.
I doubt that
this will
be possible unless they use IP over SMS or something
equally horrible.
A smart phone talking to a GSM modem attached to a fixed roadside device
actually. They just don't want to have a separate GSM modem for the
PC/laptop when they have a perfectly functional iPhone which they always
have on them. Ultimately they will probably be using Windows to make the
connection, but I'm testing with Linux. Because it's better :)
James
11:23 p.m.
On Thu, 1 Dec 2011, "James Harper" <james.harper(a)bendigoit.com.au> wrote:
A smart phone talking to a GSM modem attached to a
fixed roadside device
actually. They just don't want to have a separate GSM modem for the
PC/laptop when they have a perfectly functional iPhone which they always
have on them. Ultimately they will probably be using Windows to make the
connection, but I'm testing with Linux. Because it's better :)
What does "GSM modem" really mean in this situation?
There is no requirement to use the ISP Internet service to transfer
packet/stream data over GSM. Some years ago some people I knew developed
encrypted GSM phones which encrypted the encoded voice data and then sent it
in the same way that regular GSM voice data is sent. The phones usually
encode voice to data, compress it, and then GSM provides the ordered packet
layer. Well they just added an extra encryption step.
There's no technical obstacle to running something like PPP or a virtual
serial port instead of encrypted voice in that situation, and the people I
knew probably developed just that as a first stage towards their end goal.
There's lots of different ways of doing these things, many of which can save a
few dollars each on the cost of the multitude of devices in the field while
adding to the hassle at the server end. Most of these things would be
impractical to try and reverse engineer unless you have a great desire to
learn about mobile phones.
Of course such things would preclude using an iPhone as they are too locked
down to be convenient for such things.
--
My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/
My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/
7:21 p.m.
Russell Coker wrote:
On Thu, 1 Dec 2011, Rohan
McLeod<rhn(a)jeack.com.au> wrote:
Well
now that you mention it ...no;
I tend to use my pre-paid Elite ZTE mf668A NextG USB mobile
router..only $0.08/ MB :- |;
for 'bush' and emergencies;
the ZTE 165 post-paid NextG phone cost ...$2.00/MB .....ouch!;
lucky I had only down loaded 10MB, when sanity set in !
James Harper wrote:
Have you tested that? Google is giving me conflicting answers... I want
to dial a remote gsm
device via my iPhone plugged in to a PC but I'm not seeing anything that
looks like it might be a modem when I do lsusb. This is obviously
different than just having a data connection to the internet as the
remove device isn't connected to the internet - I need to dial it
directly.
I have a fairly antiquated NextG handset which can function as a mobile
'router';
via a USB cable or WiFi. My understanding is that it is still capable of
sending and receiving calls in this situation.
The last time I tried to use a smart-phone for calls and data the data stopped
when the call started. It's really annoying when you have ssh'd to a server
and the client calls to ask if it's fixed yet...
Well I can report that of two
friends of mine, who both by chance, have
Samsung GalaxyS GT 19000's;
one claims to be able to 'brows' and talk ie. no PC connected and
the other claims he can 'brows' on his laptop (WiFi connection), whilst
taking phone calls !
Apparently you need to either have a phone with two 3G antenna (which is
really rare) or a phone that can do calls over GSM while 3G data transfer is
in progress. Hardware to support voice over GSM and data over 3G is
apparently reasonably common, but software support isn't so good.
NB This is generic telephony stuff, I'm not an expert on it and I don't know
much about the iPhone.
Do you mean
dial-up like the old asynchronous stuff over 'real' MODulate
De Modulate devices ? ;
or by passing the phone companies as well, as in :
" http://www.servalproject.org/" ?
Are you sure the iPhone can't dial out while
connected to the PC ?
In which case I can't see why it would care whether the remote device was;
gsm ,3g, NextG or 4G.
They apparently want to have a direct data connection
between two smart-phones
without either being connected to the Internet. I doubt that this will be
possible unless they use IP over SMS or something equally horrible. i
Well I guess sometimes things accidentally work ; I tried the SIM from
my mobile in my Elite;
result : it worked; but cost $2/MB....curious though !!
Isn't there some mob ~ Amaya ? advertising replacement mobile SIMs ?;
or am I misunderstanding you ?
Even if you are trying to do VOIP over the data
channel I would have
thought
the phone company associated with the service would still hide the
complexities
of the mobile technology of the remote device from users
.......or is there something which I am not understanding ?
Phone companies do a
really poor job of hiding the complexities. If you put a
different SIM in your phone you have to configure a new APN to connect to the
Internet! How hard would it have been to design some way for
the SIM to store
the APN data - or even for the OS such as Android to have a list of the APNs
for all the telcos in the region and the bigger ones in other regions? A file
with about 20K of data could have all the APNs that you are ever likely to
need and a lot more and that would not be noticed in the gigabytes of storage
that modern phones have.
regards Rohan McLeod
11:36 p.m.
On 1/12/11 5:25 PM, Russell Coker wrote:
Apparently you need to either have a phone with two 3G
antenna (which is
really rare) or a phone that can do calls over GSM while 3G data transfer is
in progress. Hardware to support voice over GSM and data over 3G is
apparently reasonably common, but software support isn't so good.
The 3G standard used worldwide (UMTS) does support simultaneous voice
and data. There could be a million different factors why it doesn't work
at a particular time. I'm certain that I have taken calls while
'tethered' up to a laptop before.
- or even for the OS such as Android to have a list of
the APNs
for all the telcos in the region and the bigger ones in other regions? A file
with about 20K of data could have all the APNs that you are ever likely to
need and a lot more and that would not be noticed in the gigabytes of storage
that modern phones have.
There already is a mechanism - /system/etc/apns-conf.xml . I believe
this file is empty in the Android Open Source distribution. Pester your
manufacturer if they do not include a full worldwide list. Many custom
Android distributions do have them.
On 1/12/11 10:54 AM, James Harper wrote:
Can the iPhone be used as a GSM modem or is that
deemed too 'legacy'
these days? I'm hoping there is a usb switch app I can run to enable the
modem USB interface but I'm not optimistic.
Highly doubt you will be able to - on older smartphones the modem could
be made available over USB but this has died out in favor of tethering.
I doubt any current smartphones could, either.
a) The USB client functionality is in the kernel, you would need to add
the relevant bits there to bridge between USB and the modem
b) Even then the modem may not have a traditional serial interface - on
those that do, it is merely an emulation layer coded into the radio
firmware, and the purpose James wants ('circuit switched data' as it is
called), it probably won't implement that.
- Mathew
11:45 p.m.
The 3G standard used worldwide (UMTS) does support simultaneous voice
and data. There could be a million different factors why it doesn't
work at a
particular time. I'm certain that I have taken
calls while 'tethered'
up to a
laptop before.
Does this apply if you are in a reception area that doesn't get a 3G
signal and you're stuck with EDGE/GSM?
James
11:53 p.m.
On 1/12/11 11:45 PM, James Harper wrote:
As far as I am aware, no.
The 3G
standard used worldwide (UMTS) does support simultaneous voice
and data. There could be a million different factors why it doesn't
work at a
particular time. I'm certain that I have
taken calls while 'tethered'
up to a
laptop before.
Does this apply if you are
in a reception area that doesn't get a 3G
signal and you're stuck with EDGE/GSM?
3 Dec
3 Dec
1:16 a.m.
On Thu, 1 Dec 2011, Mathew McBride <matt(a)mcbridematt.dhs.org> wrote:
I've just upgraded my Samsung Galaxy S to Cyanogenmod which has the settings
for Three/Vodefone. The stock Android 2.2 on that phone didn't do it, maybe
Optus just crippled the phone to not work with competitors.
--
My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/
My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/
- or even for
the OS such as Android to have a list of the APNs
for all the telcos in the region and the bigger ones in other regions? A
file with about 20K of data could have all the APNs that you are ever
likely to need and a lot more and that would not be noticed in the
gigabytes of storage that modern phones have.
There already is a mechanism - /system/etc/apns-conf.xml . I believe
this file is empty in the Android Open Source distribution. Pester your
manufacturer if they do not include a full worldwide list. Many custom
Android distributions do have them.
4136
days inactive
4138
days old
9 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
-
James Harper -
Mathew McBride -
Rohan McLeod -
Russell Coker