Earnhardt@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA.UUCP (07/30/86)
The Vadic 2400PA modem has a bug in the support of the break signal. When using the modem with a terminal at 1200 baud, break works fine. When using with a terminal at 2400 baud to a remote 1200 baud system (using the 212 protocol) the break signal does NOT work. Presumably the "speed conversion" feature of the 2400PA is not clever enough to double the time that the signal line is held by the terminal when transmitting out on the line. Even though the lack of a break signal with speed conversion will probably not lose a lot of customers, this is another example of my experience with the option-loaded 2400 baud modems: they are complicated. Setup can take a long time. There can be permutations of the configurations that are useless in non-obvious ways. Modems are getting pretty close to being computers all by themselves. Modem manufacturers are pretty inexperienced in software. It may be a while before modems gain the robustness and ease of use that was around in the 1200 baud days.