HOWTO: send message to pager with vs 2005 using VB.NET?

[=?Utf-8?B?QHdpbg==?=]

Hello There,

I need to page a pager whenever an error event takes place in my app.
What is the best approach in this?

Should I use and modify the SerialPort class to talk to the modem.

I hope someone wants to help me or has an example for me

Thanks
--
Regards, @win

[Dick Grier]

Hi,

Does the PC that is running your application have an internet connection?
If so, then the simplest thing is to use a paging web service (available via
subscription from most paging companies). The actual web service will
provide the required API. All you have to do is to subscribe to it in your
application.

You can use a dialup modem (and the SerialPort class) to page via the TAP
protocol. You dial in directly, using your modem, to the paging service to
which you subscribe, and send the message formatted using that protocol. I
have details and some examples in my book (see below), though nothing for
..NET. TAP is used less frequently these days because so many PCs have
internet connections.

If all that you need to do is to send a NUMERIC page (TAP is for full text
paging), then most services support simple dialing. You use the modem to
dial the service, after answer (you do not allow the modem to connect, but
instead use it as a simple dialer), you send some additional digits that are
the pager number -- some pagers may then allow you to send additional digits
that might be used to represent the actual error event. I have example code
for this sort of thing in my book using VB6. It could be ported to .NET
quite easily.

Dick

--
Richard Grier, MVP
Hard & Software
Author of Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications, Fourth
Edition,
ISBN 1-890422-28-2 (391 pages, includes CD-ROM). July 2004, Revised March
2006.
See www.hardandsoftware.net for details and contact information.

[=?Utf-8?B?QHdpbg==?=]

Hi Dick,

Thanks for your answer. Sorry for my late response (away for a few days).

The Pager run through a local PBX so I have to dial a number.
Its the simple kind of pager where you just dail the number of the pager and
thats it.

Although i'm looking for a managed code solution i will take a look at your
book.

Thanks again.

--
Regards, @win
"Dick Grier" wrote:

Hi,

Does the PC that is running your application have an internet connection?
If so, then the simplest thing is to use a paging web service (available via
subscription from most paging companies). The actual web service will
provide the required API. All you have to do is to subscribe to it in your
application.

You can use a dialup modem (and the SerialPort class) to page via the TAP
protocol. You dial in directly, using your modem, to the paging service to
which you subscribe, and send the message formatted using that protocol. I
have details and some examples in my book (see below), though nothing for
..NET. TAP is used less frequently these days because so many PCs have
internet connections.

If all that you need to do is to send a NUMERIC page (TAP is for full text
paging), then most services support simple dialing. You use the modem to
dial the service, after answer (you do not allow the modem to connect, but
instead use it as a simple dialer), you send some additional digits that are
the pager number -- some pagers may then allow you to send additional digits
that might be used to represent the actual error event. I have example code
for this sort of thing in my book using VB6. It could be ported to .NET
quite easily.

Dick

--
Richard Grier, MVP
Hard & Software
Author of Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications, Fourth
Edition,
ISBN 1-890422-28-2 (391 pages, includes CD-ROM). July 2004, Revised March
2006.
See www.hardandsoftware.net for details and contact information.