Orchid V4, V4+ and Ranger 400 phone users - Discussion

Heinz

cwaite wrote: »

I am thinking of purchasing an orchid dialler, as we currently use 18185 for mobiles but my teenage stepdaughter has just run up a massive bill constantly calling her friends on their mobiles.

I want to know is it possible to block calls to mobiles even if she uses the 18185 prefix, but allow calls to specific mobiles (ie my mobile and my girlfriends).

Strangely enough, you've just described exactly the problem my daughter has just had - with her THREE teenage girls!

You could bar 18185 itself and bar 07 calls generally on an Orchid - but there's no way to allow calls to specific mobile numbers.

As she knows you currently dial 18185 when calling mobiles, beware too, that teenagers are very adept at problem-solving and disconnection of the Orchid for the period of a single call is not outside the bounds of possibility!

The workaround my daughter now uses is to bar 18185 and 07 on the Orchid but to have 'permitted' mobile numbers programmed into a phone (which does not have an LCD display showing the number being dialled). The programming includes the Orchid override code, a pause, 18185 and then the mobile number. That's 20 digits - the maximum her phone will accept.

Beware too other active telephone sockets - teenagers know how to buy a £2.97 phone in Argos and plug it in.

cwaite

Heinz wrote: »

Strangely enough, you've just described exactly the problem my daughter has just had - with her THREE teenage girls!

You could bar 18185 itself and bar 07 calls generally on an Orchid - but there's no way to allow calls to specific mobile numbers.

As she knows you currently dial 18185 when calling mobiles, beware too, that teenagers are very adept at problem-solving and disconnection of the Orchid for the period of a single call is not outside the bounds of possibility!

The workaround my daughter now uses is to bar 18185 and 07 on the Orchid but to have 'permitted' mobile numbers programmed into a phone (which does not have an LCD display showing the number being dialled). The programming includes the Orchid override code, a pause, 18185 and then the mobile number. That's 20 digits - the maximum her phone will accept.

Beware too other active telephone sockets - teenagers know how to buy a £2.97 phone in Argos and plug it in.

Thanks for your reply.

Are you saying that I would need to block calls via 18185 totally, or could I enter a rule to say bar calls to 18185 07xxxxxxxxxx but allow calls to 18185 01xxxxxxxxxxx and 02xxxxxxxxxxxx, to allow us to still make calls to landlines using 18185

Quentin

You need to block 18185 and 07 numbers to stop your daughter making any calls to mobiles via an orchid.

As Heinz says this won't stop a resourceful teenager making the calls by bypassing the orchid (either by unplugging it or figuring how to use any override you have programmed!!)

BritBrat

Todays future, the litle blighters should not be so clever.

Bet they do a internet search for a way and stumble across MSE.

cwaite

Quentin wrote: »

You need to block 18185 and 07 numbers to stop your daughter making any calls to mobiles via an orchid.

As Heinz says this won't stop a recourceful teenager making the calls by bypassing the orchid (either by unplugging it or figuring how to use any override you have programmed!!)

Thanks again if I were to block 18185 and 07 numbers would this mean this would also block calls to 01 and 02 numbers when using 18185, is the system flexible enough to create a rule that is setup to just block numbers that start 07 and 18185 07, but still allow calls to numbers that start 18185 01 and 18185 02

The way I would like to set the system up is so that:

When any numbers begining with (see below) are dialled:

07 - Barr the call
18185 07 - Barr the call
01 - Allow the call
02 - Allow the call
18185 - 01 Allow the call
18185 - 02 Allow the call

Does anyone know if this configuration is possible with the orchid

Also is it possible to setup an overide that I changeable, (ie so that if she did ever find out the key combination I could change it)


Luckily enough the only telephone socket we have is hidden behind a cupboard thats not very easy to remove, so I can hide the orchid and just tell her that our telephone provider is barring calls to mobiles.

Quentin

if I were to block 18185 and 07 numbers would this mean this would also block calls to 01 and 02 numbers when using 18185,

Yes you will be barring 18185 altogether (so you cannot use it for anything at all via orchid. You can still use it if you use the code to bypass orchid)

Heinz

Quentin wrote: »

Yes you will be barring 18185 altogether (so you cannot use it for anything at all via orchid. You can still use it if you use the code to bypass orchid)

No, you would be barring the dialling (keying) of 18185, not the Orchid inserting a 18185 prefix.

Hence, if she tried to dial 1818507812345678 (as you do now), the 18185 Routing bar would apply but if she dialled 07812345678, the 18185 Routing bar would not apply and the Orchid would add the 18185 prefix and allow the call to proceed (that's why you'd also need to bar 07).

cwaite

Sorry, I am having a tough time trying to get my head round this one.

If I were to set the orchid to dial 18185 everytime a number starting 07 was entered would I need to block just 07 or would I need to block 18185 07.

Heinz

cwaite wrote: »

Sorry, I am having a tough time trying to get my head round this one.

If I were to set the orchid to dial 18185 everytime a number starting 07 was entered would I need to block just 07 or would I need to block 18185 07.

I'm not at all surprised you're confused with all this. The problem is your 'pre-Orchid use' of 18185 means she knows the prefix. After the Orchid is installed, there'll be no need to dial the 18185 prefix (because your Routing rule would mean the Orchid will automatically insert it) but she might well try dialling it manually - so you'd have to bar the dialling of 1818507.

However, at the moment, you can't add a Routing rule to bar the dialling of 1818507 because it doesn't appear in the drop-down list.

What I think you need to ask for is a new Routing rules to be added to the drop-down menu:

1818507 - Bar

BTW, the override code (3 digits) is fixed and cannot be changed AFAIK.

As you can probably tell, you're exercising my mind on this!

Quentin

Part of the problem is that the orchid is useless at carrying out any parenting exercises.

Maybe she could have a small allowance and any charges over that she pays for herself?