Finding a proper GSM-modem

[Jorrit Mulder]

I have been looking on the requirements page for gsm-modems which can be used to use Frontline SMS. However, these modems are all outdated and not in stock. All I found was a Huawei 1750 for 90 euros, a Huawei E5 for 200 euros and Samba 75 for € 250.-. I was wondering, does anybody have experience with one of these modems, and otherwise, what other more current modem would you suggest?

 

Thank you so much in advance for your time and consideration,

 

Jorrit Mulder

[Kati]

Hi Ken,

Unfortunately I found that your statement that "all of the phones listed on the website will work" is not true in my case. I am using a Nokia 9500 as a modem for FLSMS, which is listed under "phones that work". The problem is, FLSMS can SEND messages to the receiver phone (we tried two different ones: Nokia 6220 and Nokia E70), but it does NOT receive any SMS messages (none are shown in the Received messages window of FLSMS).The 6220 has FL Forms installed and when we selected Get New Forms, a text message is received by the 9500 (it's a string of characters), but again, not displayed as Received in FLSMS

We made sure that PC Suite or other software were not running.

We know that the cable must be ok, because PC Suite can see the Inbox/Outbox of the Nokia 9500. So the cable is obviously supporting the phone.

We suspect that FLSMS software just cannot access the phone's Inbox to get and read that string of characters.

If you really have no idea what we could do, then should we buy a Huawei E1750 GSM modem?

thanks so much,
kati

[kiwanja]

Hi Kati

Sorry you're having problems. We'll need to take another look at the 9500, I think. In terms of modems, these are the recommended devices. The ones listed on the site are reported as working - we use the Samba 75 for development work (but this is one of the more expensive options).

Let us know what you decide and how you get on.

Ken

[Kati]

Hi Ken,

I don't know if you can answer this, but I've been trying to access the inbox of the Nokia 9500 using HyperTerminal (AT commands)--which is as basic as it gets. Even this program cannot see the phone's inbox, so, two questions:

1. should the phone actually store SMS messages in its inbox, which then is supposed to get read by FLSMS? (or are the SMSs supposed to go directly to FLSMS via the phone)

2. with a GSM modem, where do the incoming SMS messages actually get stored?

I'm just trying to understand a bit more about how it works. Maybe I need to download the source code to see how it accesses messages?

Thanks again!
kati

[kiwanja]

Hi Kati

The reason some phones only send and some only receive with FrontlineSMS is usually down to phone security - not all allow access to the inbox or outbox for external applications. It's annoying but just how it is. Our developers may want to chip in if they can tell you more.

GSM modems usually store the messages in their device memory, but many can be configured to use the SIM (you'll need to check the user guides for each, or search online, to find out the appropriate AT commands to do that).

As you'll have noticed, we recommend GSM modems over phones simply because they tend to avoid many of these kinds of problems.

Hope that helps.

Ken

[Kati]

Hi Ken,

ah...So are you saying that the SMSes should be set to be stored on the SIM card, instead of the phone's internal memory?

Do you know if it is possible to change where messages are stored on the Nokia 9500? We have not been able to find a setting that will allow SMSes to be stored on the SIM card.

For GSM modems, is it also true that message settings should be configured to be stored in the SIM?

awaiting in suspense!
kati

[kiwanja]

Hi Kati

Sorry - can't add this to your last comment (Ning won't let me). The older Nokia phones do allow you to select the message destination (at least mine did) but I can't remember where it is. Newer phones default to phone memory, I think.

The same applies to modems. There may be standard commands, but I don't know what they are off-hand.

Ken

[Kati]

Hi Ken,

I've just received a Huawei E1750 modem and all is well. Still wish I could have found how to switch the settings on the Nokia 9500, but anyway, I'm glad it's working with the modem.

Thanks!

[Morgan Belkadi]

Ok, great!

Sorry you had to go through all of this!

[Justin Kiggins]

Anyone know anything about compatibility of the Huawei K-series? It looks like that's all we can get in Egypt. The K3765 and K4505.

[kiwanja]

Hi Justin

Unless another user has reported trying these devices, we're not able to confirm whether they work or not (we're unable to test all modems in all markets, as you can imagine). The ideal scenario would be to borrow one or try one from the shop before paying. In theory, all GSM modems should work.

Sorry we can't be more specific!

Ken