FAXMODEM(8C)

💖 FAXMODEM 💖

okay bestie, welcome to FAXMODEM(8C) — yes that's the manual name, section 8C, we're in the system admin section and we're thriving 💅

✨ NAME ✨

faxmodem — dynamically add a modem to a HylaFAX server system 🦋

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

/usr/bin/faxmodem [ -q queue-dir ] [ -c capabilities ] [ -p ] [ -P ] [
-u priority ] modem

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💫 DESCRIPTION 💫

so basically, faxmodem sends a message to the HylaFAX queuer process faxq(8C) and is like "hey girl, this modem is ready for use" and also tells it all about its fax-related capabilities. no cap. this is literally the mechanism by which modems get added in a send-only configuration. once a modem has been configured, you can reconfigure its status using the faxstate(8C) program. and faxmodem can also be used to alter the capabilities and usage priority of a modem you already configured. versatile queen 👑

the modem you specify is either the terminal device name where the modem is attached, or a HylaFAX device identifier (peep hylafax-config(5F) for the tea on device identifiers). device names can be given without a leading directory pathname — like ttyf2 instead of /dev/ttyf2. lowkey convenient.

to figure out the capabilities of a modem you either use the probemodem(8C) script or you just... manually talk to the modem. for a Class 2 modem the capabilities are given in the response to the AT+FDCC=? query command, and for a Class 2.0 modem it's the AT+FCC=? command. to check if a modem is capable of polled retrieval of documents, use AT+FSP=? for a Class 2.0 modem or AT+FSPL=? for a Class 2 modem — if 1 shows up in the response then the modem supports polling. slay.

for example:

hyla% cu -l ttyf2
Connected
at+fclass=2.0
OK
at+fcc=?
(0,1),(0-5),(0-2),(0-2),0,0,0,(0-7)
OK
at+fsp=?
(0,1)
OK

in this case the modem would be added using the command:

/usr/bin/faxmodem -c '(0,1),(0-5),(0-2),(0-2),0,0,0,(0-7)' ttyf2

(by default polling is assumed to be supported 🫶)

Class 1 modems require a different technique, bestie. the host implements most of the fax protocol, so all that's needed is to identify the possible signalling rates the modem supports for transmitting — this is done with the AT+FTM=? command. for example:

hyla% cu -l ttyf2
Connected
at+fclass=1
OK
at+ftm=?
24,48,72,73,74,96,97,98,121,122,145,146
OK

in this case the modem supports 2400, 4800, 7200, 9600, 12000, and 14400 bps signalling rates, so the modem would be added using:

/usr/bin/faxmodem -c '(0,1),(0-5),(0-2),(0-2),(0,1),0,0,(0-7)' ttyf2

it's giving ✨configuration✨

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🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

the following options are available:

• -c — specify the fax capabilities using the syntax defined by the "Class 2" specification: (vr),(br),(wd),(ln),(df),(ec),(bf),(st). where vr specifies vertical resolution, br specifies bit rate, wd specifies page width, ln specifies page length, df specifies data compression, ec specifies error correction, bf specifies binary file transfer, and st specifies scan time/line; and each of the above specifications is a range or list of numbers that defines the exact capabilities of the modem. for example, the default capabilities are (0,1),(0-3),(0-4),(0-2),(0),(0),(0),(0-7) which specifies the modem is capable of sending and receiving both low and high resolution facsimile with a variety of page sizes; supports signalling rates 0-3 (2400 bps through 9600 bps); supports only 1D-encoded data compression; and does not support error correction or binary file transfer. a modem's ability to support polled retrieval of facsimile is specified separately with the -p and -P options. 💅
• -p — specify the modem is not capable of polling for remote documents.
• -P — specify the modem is capable of polling for remote documents (default). 👑
• -q dir — use a spooling area other than /var/spool/hylafax.
• -u priority — assign the specified priority to the modem when scheduling it for outbound use. modem priorities are numbers in the range [0..255] with lower numbers meaning higher priority. modems are initially assigned priority 255. 📈

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🗂️ FILES 🗂️

• /var/spool/hylafax — default spooling area
• /var/spool/hylafax/FIFO — fifo for contacting faxq

consult hylafax-server(5F) for a complete discussion of the structure and content of the spooling area. 🧚

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👀 SEE ALSO 👀

hylafax-server(5F), faxgetty(8C), faxq(8C).

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and that's the whole vibe, bestie — this page dropped Oct 27, 1995, and it's from FAXMODEM(8C), the one and only. go configure some modems, you ate. 💖✨