Qualification timers
Spoken words contains short gaps in the audio due to articulation. The dialer ignores gaps that are shorter than a qualification timer qoff; that is, the end-of-voice is asserted when qoff expires.
The dialer utilizes two qualification timers:
▪qoff, for humans, determines when a call is connected to an interviewer. The settings should be short (<0.8 seconds); otherwise the respondent might become impatient and hang up. However, a qoff that is too short causes many false negatives because the timer fails to bridge well-articulated greetings.
▪qam, for answering machines, determines when amfile is played. It should be long (>2 seconds), otherwise the playback might start before the answering machine is ready to record it.
See also