SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET (07/10/87)
Almost any external Hayes compatible modem can be swtiched freely among computers. You should be able to find a 1200 baud for less than $120 (I have a friend with a //c who is very happy with the Avatek she bought a few months back). I saw a new 1200 in the Pipeline section of A+ a few months back that had a LIST price of only $125. Check the Computer Shopper, I hear tell 1200 baud Hayes clones are available for less than $90 and a Robotics Courier 2400 (I have one, it's VERY nice) for under $190. Your biggest problem with a mail order modem is going to be getting a cable that actually works with a //c. I had some trouble finding one myself, and several friends have received "//c" cables from mail order places that did not work. We have a local dealer that gets //c cables from a distributor in California. We've taken to ordering modems without cables and getting the cables from someone who knows what he's doing. SOFTERM 2 (Programs Plus offers it for $145; list is $195) will emulate an HP 2622A (not knowing HP terminals, I don't know whether or not that's more advanced than an HP 2621). The documentation does say that SOFTERM does not support the "line drawing character set." SOFTERM emulates VT-100, IBM 3101-2x series, and 23 or so other terminals. It's the only program for the Apple that I've seen that supports "block mode" (as opposed to character mode) communictions. It is NOT in ProDOS but it will read and write ProDOS floppy disks (as well as CP/M format, DOS 3.3 format, and Pascal format). I've used SOFTERM since Sep '83, and I really like it (although it IS expensive). SOFTERM has its own file transfer protocol as well as Xmodem, but not Kermit. They supply FORTRAN 77 code (with some bugs in it) for the mainframe end (but someone may have to be pretty handy with assembler to add the pieces to adapt it for your site), and they have mainframe versions on disk for a number of mainframes (DEC yes, IBM no). VINCE@UCONNVM got the SOFTRANS protocol running on our IBM 370/CMS operating system, and it works dandy.
jimo@rosevax.Rosemount.COM (3) (07/28/87)
In article <8707100847.aa04232@SMOKE.BRL.ARPA>, SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET writes: > Almost any external Hayes compatible modem can be swtiched freely > among computers. You should be able to find a 1200 baud for less > than $120 (I have a friend with a //c who is very happy with the > Avatek she bought a few months back). INTERTEC (a Michigan firm, address unknown) sells a Hayes compatible for $89. It can be purchased by getting a stack of BYTE Bix cards (aka 'Bingo' cards). I'vre had mine since Xmas and it does the job for me. It also comes with its own software. > Your biggest problem with a mail order modem is going to be getting > a cable that actually works with a //c. I had some trouble finding > one myself, and several friends have received "//c" cables from > mail order places that did not work. We have a local dealer that > gets //c cables from a distributor in California. We've taken to > ordering modems without cables and getting the cables from someone > who knows what he's doing. Inmac sells a Hayes to //c cable for $29.95 (#745-2). I buy Inmac products and can say that their fit,form and function are of high quality. -- Do what you're doing or fake it 'til you make it.