i am working on an application that needs to send production details to a mobile using text messages. i am proposing to use a pc and a
visual basic 6.0 based application. i am quite comfortable with mscomm control. how can i send text messages to a mobile phone using the
above tools. can somebody help please ?

 

You will need a mobile phone with a PC link cable for starters. You will then need info on the protocol the phone requires. I use a Siemens S35 for a similar task, Siemens provide on their web site a document describing the protocol used, I imagine other manufacturers do the same.

 

>> You will need a mobile phone with a PC link cable for starters. <<

You're cellular provider may have the technology to receive Internet-based email (US Cellular and several others do).

Then, you can use Microsoft's SMTP server to send them out to the phones.

 

I also worked on a similar application. SMS text messages use the Telocator Alphanumeric Protocol (TAP), which basically sends an ASCII message to the mobile service provider. You can either write the code yourself to use this protocol, or there are a few vendors that sell ActiveX controls that handle all of this.

You can get hold of the TAP specification from Motorola at "http://www.motorola.com/MIMS/MSPG/pcia_protocols/tap_v1p8/":http://www.motorola.com/MIMS/MSPG/pcia_protocols/tap_v1p8/

One of the better ActiveX controls that I came across and tested is produced by a German company called Derdack. A demo version can be found
on their website at "http://www.message-master.de/download/developer/mmdev.exe":http://www.message-master.de/download/developer/mmdev.exe
I am not specifically recommending this control, as I do know that there are a few others available too. This one was one of the easier to
use, and comes with some useful demo code.

 

I understand that it is possible to send an SMS using a GSM module and or a Phone. But I am wondering if it is possible to send invoke a application such as ICQ which allows you to send a SMS with out needing a new number phone or a any
additional hardware? IS ActiveX the correct way to approach this problem?

MK

 

I wrote a C++ app that recovered alarm messages from within Wizcon and sent them to various users via alpha/numeric telephone. One thing I quickly discovered is that not all TAP is TAP !!!
It appears that many cell phone service providers "do their own thing". Check before you leap !!

Mark Hill