ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) (04/16/86)
[ What's a line eating bug? ]
I had an Avatex modem for a total of about 3 hours. I plugged it
in, switched it on, and tried typing at it. Nothing. Wouldn't even echo
what I was sending. Next I tried getting it to answer the phone. It
wouldn't do that, either.
Now, it was probably just this particular modem, but after having
read the manual and tried to use the thing, I thought it was a bit too
cheesy for me. However, everyone else seems to like it......
Me? I recently bought a MultiTech 224E 2400 baud -- oops! -- bps
modem, which I use with my Amiga (this terminal emulator I cooked up keeps
up with it at all speeds; I'll post it when I cruft in all the features I
want). Ever since I got it, I have had but one noisy connection, and that
was the occasional ")t" at 2400 bps.
The modem is also unusually smart. It can store up to 10 phone
numbers, complete with pauses. It has a built-in help screen. It can
detect dial tone and busy signal. It also auto-redials all by its ownself.
It also performs error correction at 2400 bps (model 224E only). The modem
can also transmit/receive data over the phone at a baud rate different from
the rate the RS-232 port is running at. Thus, if you've got a terminal that
only works at 9600 baud, you can still use this modem to connect to other
systems. The modem can also deal with European CCITT gurad tones (whatever
those are). Oh yes, it also has non-volatile RAM for storing your
parameters and phone numbers.
And to top it all off, it's Hayes-compatible. In fact, it's more
Hayes-compatible that Hayes's own 2400 bps modem. And the MultiTech will
even change its response codes to match those of the Hayes 2400 under
software control. So you win all ways.
My only complaint: There's no power switch. You turn it off by
unplugging it. Don't think you can hack a power switch in on your own,
since the wall pack provides about 5 different voltages to the thing.
Suggested retail is something like $599 (I'm not sure about that;
can someone confirm it?). I got mine at the West Coast Computer Faire for
$450 (I probably could have done better, but do you see me complaining? :-).
Now if I could just finish this terminal emulator.......
Schwab
well!ewhac
dual!unicom!ewhac
>> Since I don't work for anybody, I don't need to include disclaimers.