With a smart modem, you use the right keystrokes to awaken the gizmo
or get it to answer the other computer.
Most smart modems nowadays employ commands similar to those of the Hayes
models. With Hayes-style modems, if two people are switching from voice
to data, one will type =ATD= and a carriage return (to start getting the
modems talking), and the other will type =ATA= (to answer
electronically).
If you’re talking to another micro or a little terminal hooked up to the
phone at the other end, you may need to type =E= (and the return)
instead of =T= (and the return).
That’s the echo mode, which you’ll recall differs from the “terminal”
one. =E= lets you see your own typing. Again, normally, one micro user
will be in echo, and one will use the straight terminal mode. When
communicating with a bulletin board, even on a micro, use the =T=
command rather than =E=.
How to switch from the regular terminal mode to the echo mode or the
reverse?
You use MODEM7’s electronic gear shift. That’s =Control-E=; don’t
confuse it with the =E= used in the echo mode. You tap out this command
in other situations, too, whenever you want to return to MODEM7’s main
menu. A =Control-E=, of course, consists of holding one finger on the
=CNTRL= or control button and then hitting the letter =E=.
Here’s a warning: you may need to hit the line feed and/or the carriage
return at the end of each line for your words to come out in the right
places on the other person’s screen.
The terminal mode is worth using even when you and the other person only
plan to exchange electronic files. If the terminal mode doesn’t work,
then the others probably won’t, so use the terminal mode first to pave
the way for file exchanges. By the way, the terminal mode is just the
ticket to communicate with information utilities like The Source or with
bulletin boards.
TO RETURN TO THE OPERATING SYSTEM OF YOUR COMPUTER
To return to CP/M—to crank up WordStar or Perfect Writer, for
instance—you: