How do modems interact with efax and ccl scripts to receive calls in 10.5?

Question

I want to do two things:
1) alter the modem init string used for faxing and receiving calls, and
2) alter the RING string to detect and respond to other modem responses during the answer process
The machine in question is a PowerBook G4 with an Apple Internal Modem (V.92) running Leopard 10.5.1.
In searching, it seems that Leoard is using efax as its base fax app. I have located the efax plist in the LaunchDaemons folder. It sends the 'answer' command via the 'fax' app to the 'efax' app. This command is an argument key in the plist.
Now, how do I change the modem init string that is used for the purpose of faxing? Also, how do the modem CCL files interact with this whole process - or do they?
Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. I'm either just googling for the wrong things or there aren't many people looking for this information? Most likely the former...

Answer 1

Well, I'm starting to feel like I've got a little blog going on here, since I'm only answering myself - but for anyone else who may someday seek this information, here is a little more:
In Leopard, when you set up the fax in System Preferences/Printers and Fax, it enables an efax plist used by an application called 'launchd'. When your computer boots up, if that plist is indicated as enabled (using a key within the plist), launchd starts up the 'fax' script with parameters matching what is entered in the fax setup in System Preferences. This script starts up the 'efax' application, which runs continuously in the background, waiting for a call to come in.
The plists involved are:
Library\Preferences\com.apple.print.FaxPrefs.plist -- which contains the actual fax preferences, like phone number and number of rings for example, that are ultimately provided to efax.
System\Library\LaunchDaemons\com.apple.efax.plist -- which is the one used by launchd to start the fax script, and which contains the arguments and path to that script.
efax does not use the CCL scripts; instead, those seem to be used by the Internet Connection modem selection, as I mentioned previously.
efax runs in the background constantly. If it were to crash for some reason, launchd would automatically start it up again - unless the fax functionality is turned off in System Preferences, in which case the efax application would be 'turned off', and would no longer run in the background.
There is a 'lock' feature in efax, which is supposed to temporarily suspend efax while other apps use the modem. So, my next question is whether I can somehow leave the Internet Connect functionality running, exiting when I get the result I want, which would then allow efax to come on up and answer the phone.
Alright, I'm going to admit it - I'm trying to find a way to make Distinctive Ring work with efax. The PowerBook G4 internal modem can sense Distinctive Ring with a +VDR=n,n value added to the initialization string. Once this is added to the init string, the modem will return the amount of time the ringer is on or off, with values like DRON=8 and DROF=40, as well as the normal RING. Using a CCL script, I can look for those values coming in from the modem instead of the usual RING value. (As far as I can tell, I cannot do this with efax directly without changing the actual source code. The RING value it looks for is hard-coded.) So, the question becomes how to transfer control from the Internet Connect to efax, and can I do so soon enough for it to be able to answer the phone before my AT&T CallNotes does?
More to come (if someone else doesn't answer my question before I do