[SGVHAK] The Modem Challenge

[Lan Dang]

I came across this webpage that seems to involve true 
hardware hacking--I saw instructions for soldering--in order to hook up a modem to a cell phone.  I'm not entirely sure I understand the purpose 
or feasibility of this hack, but the comments are interesting.
http://everything2.com/title/How+to+connect+any+cellular+phone+to+a+modem



Anyway, here are some notes and links I have gathered.  This is not an easy subject to look up as most of the time, the conversation and instructions are about mobile tethering and 3G modems.  Also a lot of the relevant conversation for dialing out to other modems tends to be from 2007 and earlier, back when the desire was more common.  Sometimes, I look up faxing.


I think it boils down to:
1) Carrier must support it.  It was easier with CDMA for some reason.  It could be that the CDMA carriers had more of a customer base interested in this technology.  (People usually reference Sprint.)  Or it was easily supported in the underlying technology.   These days, it's unlikely that the carrier supports it because they have moved away from something called cct switching.  (I think they're referring to circuit switching)

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Sprint-moves-to-packet-switch-network


2) Cellphone must support it.  If the modem capability isn't built in, then you have a problem.  I think the newer phones are data-only, but you might have luck with some older phones.  I think there was some talk about using old Nokias for this.  It may be a combination of hardware and firmware.  "At least some phones (those that maintain 
compatibility with old network protocols) have built-in modems that 
respond to AT commands.  If you have one of these you should be able to 
connect to a modem elsewhere in the phone network."

3) Drivers and/or connection software
Basically, you need a way to hook the phone up to your computer in such a way that it treats it as a modem.  This can be done over Bluetooth or directly over USB, but it may require drivers or some kind of special software.

I think these days, when you connect your Android phone to a computer,  it's with the expectation of data transfer or tethering, so other services are unavailable.  i don't know if rooting or flashing the ROM would help.


REFERENCES
Fax over a GSM Cellular Phone (2001)
http://navasgroup.com/attwireless/fax.htm

Engadget 2005 article
http://www.engadget.com/2005/01/18/how-to-use-your-cdma-cellphone-as-a-usb-modem/

Lifehacker 2006 article - 
http://lifehacker.com/175048/geek-to-live--use-your-cell-phone-as-a-modem 

Courtesy of Wayback machine, instructions for GSM modem using Mac (circa 2006)
http://web.archive.org/web/20120417183025/http://homepage.mac.com/jrc/contrib/tzones

QNC And Dial-up Compatible Phones (not sure if this is for analog dialup)
http://wiki.howardforums.com/index.php/QNC_and_Dial-up_Compatible_Phones_and_HowTo

Useful forum thread on this topic from 2004:
http://www.velocityreviews.com/forums/t3953-dial-up-through-a-cellphone.html

Other Forum postings

http://forums.cnet.com/7723-7584_102-21639/connect-laptop-via-dial-up-modem-over-a-cell-phone/
http://superuser.com/questions/355241/how-can-i-use-my-cell-phone-to-establish-a-dial-up-networking-connection
http://www.linkedin.com/answers/technology/information-technology/computer-networking/TCH_ITS_CNW/783279-76546455
http://forums.cnet.com/7723-6142_102-234705/cell-phone-as-a-modem-for-a-faxing/
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/2564-37-cell-phone-analog-modem

Modem scripts for Mac
http://www.taniwha.org.uk/


Lan



________________________________
 From: Braddock Gaskill <braddock at braddock.com>
To: Hardware Hacking Special Interest Group <hak at sgvhak.net> 
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2013 9:17 AM
Subject: [SGVHAK] The Modem Challenge
 

Hi folks,

So as you know I've put up a BBS (626-441-2970), but it seems that most
people no longer have access to the technology needed to access it.  Very
sad.

So I'd like to challenge the group to find a solution.  Can you dial in at
300 baud over a cell phone?  Or without a modem?

This could be a real public service for, for example, political dissidents
when a nation's broadband goes dark.  And it sounds like fun.

-braddock

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/ _, _// /_/ /(__  )/ /_/ // /_/ //  __// /   / /   / /_/ / 
/_/ |_| \__,_//____// .___//_.___/ \___//_/   /_/    \__, /  
                   /_/   ____                 __    /____/  
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  An experiment in     / /_/ // __ \ / __ \ / __/            
   social SysOps      / _, _// /_/ // /_/ // /_              
   626-441-2970      /_/ |_| \____/ \____/ \__/              
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