kevin@HARVARD.HARVARD.EDU (Kevin Crowston) (11/24/85)
I recently purchased a 1200 baud standalone modem from DAK for $175,
which makes it the cheapest modem I could find. I ordered it over the
phone, charging it, and it arrived about 16 days later by UPS. (I
still haven't gotten the VISA bill.)
The modem is actually made by ADC and looks pretty much like any other
1200 baud modem: it has an RS232 plug, two modular phone jacks and a
power switch on the back and a bunch of lights on the front. It's
Hayes compatible (actually, it supports a superset: for example, it
can tell if the phone was busy, and if it was, will redial every 30
seconds, can talk to the phone at 300 baud and the terminal at 1200,
has a built-in clock, etc.) and works fine with, for example,
MacTerminal (in fact, I'm using it now). I don't know how else you
can measure the performance of a modem; if it works, it works.
The documentation is very complete, and includes, for example,
chapters explaining data communication, the role of a modem, what the
lines in an RS232 connector do, etc. I had no trouble setting the
thing up; in fact, it worked straight out of the box. (Therefore, I
don't know how DAK is about repairs or returns, although they do have
a 30 day return policy.)
The only discrepency I've noticed so far is minor: the modem has help
screens so you can be reminded of the commands if you don't have the
manual. On this modem, however, only one of the help screens ever
appears. I don't consider this a big problem, but it might account
for the low price.
I summary, if you're in the market for a 1200 baud modem, look at the
one DAK offers (they call it a 1200 Baud Smart Duck and it's order
number 4334).
DAK's address:
DAK Industries Incorporated
8200 Remmet Ave.
Canoga Park, CA 91304
Order Line:
1-800-325-0800
--
Kevin Crowston UUCP: {seismo,ut-sally}!harvard!kevin
MIT Sloan School of Management ARPA: kevin@harvard.ARPA