"KALLCOST" by Pete Sipple Written for the Psion Series 3 (May 1994) This procedure allows call costs to be calculated either during a phone call, or prior to making a call. Includes costs for Mercury Calls, BT Direct Dialled Chargecard Calls, Mercury Chargecard Calls and BT payphones, as well as standard BT charges. KallCost has been designed as a no-frills procedure, so's not to waste valuable RAM. If you feel that KallCost is missing a vital feature, please let me know. The procedure creates a small "defaults" file called KALLDEF.ODB in the \OPD\ directory. The procedure requires KALL.DAT to be located in the \OPO\ directory. This contains charge/rate data. * Note * The structure of KALLDEF.ODB has changed slightly since Version 5.6 - existing default files will be overwritten. This will not cause any problems, and you will be prompted for new defaults when you first run Ver 5.6 or above Changes with Version 6.0 ======================== Drastic improvements to layout and data storage. Version 6.0 now includes the option for users to change charge information without having to wait for a new release from me. The Set Rates option will allow you to change rates, as well as editing three International rates. Fixes several bugs, including smoother transition of timebands at midnight, correct identification of Cheap/Weekend rates for local calls, and should run slightly faster. Now supports three international calls, which can be altered by user. USA, South Africa & Europe included as examples. Rates ===== This release now include details of the new charges which came into effect on 9th March 1994, following the introduction of BT & Mercury's daytime tariff. I am waiting for clarification of how the new tariffs will affect payphones and chargecards. Until I hear otherwise, I am assuming that the Dec 93 rates still apply. International Calls =================== Basic provision has now been made for international calls. At the present time, the user will be required to enter the rates themselves. This is to save RAM. Once a rate has been entered once, it will be remembered for future calls. This will allow users to set up three frequently called country. Please Email me if you need a current rate. A major problem with International calls, is timebands. Most, but not all, international destinations from the UK have a Standard Rate (8am-8pm weekdays), with Cheap Rate (8pm-8am & weekends). This is not always the case, and should be considered before relying on the figures supplied by KallCost. Charges for Payphones/Chargecards have not been implemented at this stage. Zmodem Transfers =============== KALLCOST also includes a calculator for ZMODEM transfers. At present, this is only a rough guide, and only allows for transfers at 2400Baud. If someone out there lets me have accurate transfer rates for other baud rates and protocols, I will include them in future revisions. Contacting me =========== Please let me know your comments or suggestions regarding this procedure. I can be reached by Email at the following addresses: psipple@cix.compulink.co.uk (checked daily) Compuserve:100333,3266 Disclaimer ======== New releases are issued shortly after price changes from BT or Mercury. Please contact me if your release is out-of-date. Please note that I can accept no responsibility for any inaccuracies in charging information. Rates are constantly subject to change, and the method for calculating calls is becoming increasingly complex. For this reason I cannot always guarantee that the information is correct. Please let me know if you discover any problems, so that I can keep up-to-date. Although this procedure should be stable, I cannot accept any liability for loss or damage incurred, as a result of using this procedure. KALL.OPO is released into Public Domain, and I am not looking for any payment for this procedure. I am, however, interested to know whether you have found this procedure useful, and whether you have any suggesions for improvements. Please feel free to email me with comments! Written by: Pete Sipple 01 May 1994