Working on laptop using a C-phone?
Posted By: looking on 2008-03-04
In Reply to:
 Considering taking a position where I'll have to use a C-phone. I travel and work on my laptop frequently. Does anyone know if this is possible while using a C-phone? Sorry, may be a dumb question but I'm not that computer savvy.
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Another option - tether laptop to phone
Instead of having an air card, I chose to have the internet put on my phone. Then when I want to work, I use a USB data cable and plug it into the computer (tethering).
My work use is also occasional, and this allows me the flexibility of using the internet at other times on my phone (mapquest when traveling, checking email, etc.). It is the same 60 a month for the 5 gb.
Not all phones will tether; their websites advises which models do.
Good luck!
working on a laptop
does anyone here do their transcription on a laptop? I know you can add a normal sized keyboard to the laptop to work on, but are there any problems with working on a laptop full time? 
Working from laptop
I also travel with my laptop. I have AT&T mobile broadband, works great. I use a separate keyboard and mouse (bluetooth wireless). Works really well.
Does anyone use laptop & cell phone/Internet Card for work?
I am not real computer literate but am wondering if I couldn't get unlimited Internet with a cell phone plan and use that for my on-line job/Internet connection exclusively. I have found plans for around $70/month.
If so, I was thinking too I could possibly give up my land line phone, Callwave, my dial-up ISP (as that is all we have available where live) and actually save a little money by doing so. I don't make/receive a lot of land line calls and I have a TracFone cell phone that I don't use much now. I get excellent reception with that where I live. We have a huge tower within walking distance of where I live but we live out in the "sticks". :D I know my connection would be dependent on the reception where I live and the cell phone service I would use. I am not sure which one truly has the best coverage and/or who may be using the tower by our home but TracFone apparently does. :)
TIA.
Been working on a laptop for 6 years.
Definitely need an external keyboard and I would also recommend an external mouse instead of using the touch pad, unless you have a keyboard that has a touch pad. Unless you plug in an external monitor too, the smaller screen may be an adjustment, although several of the newer laptops have 17 to 17.5 screens now. A major plus to a laptop is if the power goes out and you download via wav files you can work, at least for a little while, using the battery. I have cable internet, but I also get 20 hours/month dial-up with that, so I can use the dial-up to download/upload and use my battery to work for 3+ hours. You can also get an inexpensive inverter to plug into your cigarette lighter in your car and plug your laptop into that to charge your battery, or use for working in the car while traveling. I have a box about 1-1/2 inches tall that all my power cords plug into and I have my laptop sitting on that and it makes it the right height for typing.
Laptops generally run considerably more than a desktop, though you can find a decent laptop now for $800.00 or less, though most will run you around $1000.00/more depending on what bells and whistles you want.
working on laptop while on trip -- q:
If i do work some while on a trip, with good reason but still not required of me, is that trip then tax-deductible, or would that be wrong?
laptop not working with foot pedal?
I just tried my new laptop with all my peripherals; everything works except the footpedal. Laptop is Toshiba; foot pedal is an Infinity IN-USB-1. I plugged it in cold (as the others) and have no clue what to do or if it needs replaced, what to replace it with. Can anyone help?
thanks a whole lot.
C phone foot pedal is not working??
Any suggestions or is it just bad wiring???? Thanks so much.
Help please!!! Is there anything that would make my c-phone footpedal stop working?
Maybe it got deprogrammed? It was unplugged for a couple of months. Any suggestions please?
Ladies!! My c-phone headset plug is not working!
I don't know what happened. One minute it was working fine and the next day whenever I insert the headset I get no sound. The footpedal works fine so it is not the power plug..only the headset and I also cannot get the speakerphone to work or I would use it this way. It's one of the C-phones that have no display...I'm so upset. I purchased it off of E-bay about 2 weeks ago for $150. Any ideas of what I can do? How to get the speakerphone to work. Thank you!
To all of you Escriptionist out there...Laptop question. Have any of you found a laptop that you can
thing. I tried one of those adapter that goes from the 9-pin to the USB but when I plugged in the USB my foot pedal did not work right. I know supposedly there is a help section on the escription website that says the adapter may work and how to make them compatible etc but it never worked for me. Has any of you find a solution or a laptop that this foot pedal with work with. I'd like to work while traveling and get a laptop but it never worked on my old one. Ideas??
C-phone used to call in to dictating systems to receive work. A special phone. nm
nm
I had a lot of trouble with static in my C-phone. I replaced the phone cord and that made a big
difference. Also, have you tried a different headset? Also someone told me one time that there is a microphone under your volume control on the right corner of the C-phone. It's a tiny hole. If you break off a Q-tip and stick that into the hole that will squelch a lot of background noise and that worked as well. As far as getting your C-phone service, I heard that Dictaphone is "sunsetting" C-phones at the end of this year. Meaning, they aren't going to service them anymore as they are considered an obsolete technology. So, I would contact Dictaphone and see what your options are.
I know very little about Lanier equipment. I've not used it as extensively as Dictaphone. Is there a local appliance repair place in your area? You might ask one of those places to take a look at your equipment and see what they think. Kinda scary, cause they could do more harm than good, but maybe worth a shot.
Not much help, I know. But I thought I would share what tiny bit of obscure knowledge I do have. 
I've changed them between an old phone and new phone, but the same company, i.e. Nextel.
x
I use my c-phone whenever we travel. You can hook it directly into your room phone. Be sure and as
xx
I think you can dial into most systems that require C-phone without having a C-phone nm
.
I am wondering if there is a way to use your C-phone with Vonage phone service?
??
May have to change phone companies, have switched to job using a C-phone. sm
Currently have Embarq (formerly Sprint), and my usage will be going up about 12,000 minutes a month. What phone companies offer really unlimited for a flat rate? TIA.
C-phone and ATT. There is no problem with the C-phone, but ATT wouldn't let me use unlimited.
nm
I have cable phone access and my C-phone works - sm
I am not sure about you problem, because it sounds just like I have mine hooked up. The only thing I can think of is that mine has 2 line hookups in the back of the phone. If you have this too, I would just try the other one, which you probably have already done. Sorry that was not much help. I wish you luck
I have a very loud hum when using my C-phone, but no hum when I'm using the regular phone. SM
Anyone else experience this problem with their C-phone? Is there a problem with my C-phone? At first I thought it was my telelphone line and called the phone company. They sent a technician out to replace the lines and check the house, but the hum is still there on the C-phone.
It's driving me batty!
C-phone info regarding phone lines etc.
I am completely clueless on the subject of a C-phone. Can someone help me understand exactly how this works? Do you have to specifically have a separate "dial up internet" service to use the C-phone? I currently have cable internet and am wondering if there is anything else I need to get. I guess I should contact my phone company. At any rate, any help anyone could give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
If you use a C-phone for work and have a digital phone
through cable, have you tried to take an incoming call?
We only have one phone line. I rarely get/make calls and when I do we have cell phones. I just started working with a C-phone and got digital phone. I can go a month and my phone not ring, so far have gotten 3 calls today, but I'm afraid that if I try to answer the phone that I will lose my report.
I guess I could pull up a report and have my husband call on his C-phone and test it that way and then if I lose it no biggie.
Anyone use/try C-phone with Medicom's phone service?
Wondering if it works?
You get more working the evening or night shifts and working w/o benefits. And producing like a mad
,
Ditto....granted I am not working much these days, but am currently trying out a new way of working
when I do work which seems to be helping. I am timing myself and keeping a log of how long it takes to to type however many minutes. I am averaging anywhere from 13-18 minutes of dictation an hour now doing this. Granted the time fluctuates between who I am typing, and if I have to look up names, addresses, etc., just depends on the division I am doing at the time. But work that used to take me 3 hours to do is now taking me under 2 hours, I am also trying to put in more macros as I go along, which slows me down initially but pays off in the long run of course. I was working "all the time" before but took forever to get done since I was not applying myself. This new "attitude" has helped me a lot. My goal, in the Fall, is to do 90 minutes a day consistently at 6 hours, and then maybe get up to 120 minutes a day at 8 hours, still while having at least half of the day free (do 60 minutes at night, and the other 60 by Noon). Thereby doing 1200-1400 lines a day. I have never really buckled down and done more than 8000 lines per pay period, so it will be a nice change. Maybe you can do something like that and have a specific knock off time as was suggested below. 
Working holidays? Out shopping in stores where someone IS working
that holiday you refuse to work? Grocery stores, food joints & seems any store is open on holidays and you expect them to be fully staffed, so why shouldn't we?
Yes, I took off for the first time on Christmas day, in 18 years and it was great, but I worked Christmas eve and this whole past weekend.
Someone has to do it!
C-phone and phone line
I have cable for my Internet so I have my C-phone on my regular home phone line and forward my home phone number to my cell phone.
A c-phone is just a phone, with headphones sm
and a foot pedal. You call into a number (hopefully 800 number), put in your codes, and a voice file comes on. You use the headphones and the foot pedal, and transcribe on your computer into a word processing program, then send the finished file back per their directions.
The c-phone is not connected to the internet in any way. There is no downloading involved. It is just a phone by means of which you get your voice files. It needs a phone line and you stay on the line the entire time.
c-phone from cell phone
I believe if you check with your cell phone carrier they have an adapter that you can use to plug into your cell phone from the c-phone. Not sure about this but I think I had a friend tell me she had to do this but it was a year or so ago. Hope this helps.
It connects via phone like, just like a C-phone.
I have an old actual C-phone phone if that is what you mean, (sm)
not the newer kind that connects to a computer. I don't know if yours is programmed the same, but mine shows 8 to decrease and 9 to increase. Hope this helps.
C-phone and phone plans....
I have a company that I have recently hired on with that uses c-phones. At home I have an unlimited long distance plan, but I'm wondering if while traveling there is a plan that you can get in order to use a c-phone in a motel, relative's homes, etc. I like to be able to still work while traveling and I feel this is going to limit me. Any suggestions or ideas?
Digital phone/C-phone
Does anyone use a C-phone with digital phone service? Does this work out okay?
working IN A HOSPITAL is different than working at home.
Someone can steal you identity from the internet if they want to. Why would you go to the time and trouble to jeopardize a job that requires some level of skill to steal someone's identity or medical records? You could get a job as a retail clerk and get info easier than going through the testing required to become an MT.
Somehow working at home translates into not really working
My in-laws are the worst. Whenever they plan something last minute and my husband says that I had to work, they say, "but she works at home!". When I one time mentioned I had a "schedule" and basically punch a clock and work full time, I don't think they believed me. They will sometimes call mid-day during the week if they are in the area to see if I want to go for lunch, etc! The best is, my husband doesn't make all that much money, so where is it coming from, the money fairy? I am ready to strangle someone! So I know how you feel and I'm sorry it upset you. You are not alone.
I daydream about NOT working while I'm working.
There are so many other things I need and want to get done. I've been working way too hard lately, and summer is just slipping by again. Well, I'm outty.
laptop
I WOULD USE A LAPTOP. THIS CONDITION HAS TAKEN MY WHOLE LIFE FROM ME. MY JOB , MY INDEPENDENCE, BUT I REFUSE TO LET IT GET ME DOWN ALL THE WAY. AT HOME YOU ARE ABLE TO CHANGE POSITIONS OFTEN, GET UP AND WALK AROUND, SIT IN A DIFFERENT PLACE, LAY DOWN IF NEED BE. MY DAUGHTERS ARE NOT USED TO DOING WITHOUT AND I DO NOT INTEND FOR THEM TO START NOW. ANY POSITIVE HELP IS MUCH NEEDED, BUT I GUESS YOU CAN KEEP THE BAD TO YOURSELF. MAYBE I JUST DONT WANT TO FEEL LIKE THERES NOTHING I CAN DO. MAYBE I DONT WANT TO GIVE UP AND FILE FOR DISABILTY JUST YET. ANY HELPFUL ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ANGELA LEE LPN
I use a laptop too
We bought it a year before I started working - not knowing what the required ports would be for foot pedals, etc. I have a Compaq Presario. I also have Bellsouth high speed internet connection. It works for me fine even when I go out of town.
laptop is the only way to go s/m
I would never have a big computer again! I have worked on DocQScribe and other internet platforms and never had any problems. Also have BellSouth DSL. My computer is a Dell Inspiron. If any disasters strike here that I can see coming will load the pets some clothes and the Dell and take off. Good luck getting put back together!
Laptop
Can you tell me which Dell you purchased - I am trying to decide which one would meet my needs - using DQS as well. Thanks
Anyone using a laptop?
Am in the market for a laptop and looking for suggestions. Thanks.
laptop
Yes, but hook up an ergonomic keyboard and a mouse. The portability of it is great.
Laptop
I use my laptop as a backup or to work when I am out of town. The only problem with it is the smaller screen. Performance is no different than my PC though. I do have a regular keyboard for it, and a mouse.
Laptop
I have a Dell Inspiron 2500 but it has nowhere near the memory to download from an outside transcription company. Another problem is the footpedal, how on earth would you use this in your automobile. As well, the DSL, how on earth can you tell when you're traveling if you have access to same? This would be a lifesaver for me, as I have osteoporosis and can go like mad in my recliner without back pain which kills when I use my desktop. I sure would be one happy gal if I could work from a laptop. You do get used to the keyboard, I thought at first I would never, ever have any speed, but one does get used to it. Please e-mail me or write any suggestions here. How much minimal memory do you have on your laptop to comply with companys you work for? 
Laptop
Does anyone out there use a laptop for transcription?
laptop
on cold days, in front of the fire place. in the summer, outside....can't live without my laptop!
laptop
I use my laptop in a regular desk setting and I use a regular keyboard with it, not the laptop keyboard. I like to sit outside on the balcony in the spring, summer, fall, but I have never not used a desk; can't imagine using it in my lap. I think that would be too uncomfortable, but hey that's just me. I have a very comfortable chair. I mainly have mine because I travel quite a bit and this way, I can take my work with me if I want.
laptop
My step-dad is an over-the-road truck driver and he uses a laptop with a PC card just as you are describing. He loves it and has no problems whatsoever unless he is in an area where there is no service (just like with a cell phone).
My Laptop is
an HP Pavilion and I love it - one thing to be sure of is that you get one with a good big screen or a port where you can connect our monitor, and be sure it has a port for your keyboard (USB if you have that kind of keyboard). You'll never be able to do any good at MTing with the tiny keyboard that a laptop has. I made a big mistake by buying one without a floppy drive, but it's not hard to get an exernal floppy drive (ask me how I know) and costs about $50. As for the internal stuff ie RAM, hard drive, that's in pretty much the same ballpark as a desk top, get as much as you can possibly afford.
Laptop use
I also would be curious as to how this would be done. How do you get your voice files? How do you use a foot pedal? My husband drives semi and this sure would be nice for going with him on long runs.
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