[comp.sys.amiga] Ok to unplug modem?

beldavsa@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (11/07/88)

I have been using a very old 1200 baud Racal Vadic modem with my Amiga (when
it works), and I have found that the power supply heats up quite a bit
if left on for very long periods of time - this tends to screw the modem
up as well.  Unfortunatly, there is no "on/off" switch, so the only
way to turn the damn thing off is to unplug it.  Anyway, I have a freind
that fried his Amiga by unpluging the serial port from the Amiga that was
attached to his modem.  I am wandering if the same effect can occur from
simply unplugging the modem from the power strip.  I would rather not
turn my Amiga off each time I want to use my modem (so that I can plug
it in with the power off).  So: is it safe to unplug the modem from the
power strip, while its STILL attached to the Amiga (1000) through the serial
port, AND while the Amiga is still on?  Is it safe to plug the modem in
at these circumstances as well?

Thanks!

(Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but in the matters of computer
hardware, I'm not exactly the most "enlightened".

page@swan.ulowell.edu (Bob Page) (11/08/88)

>I have a freind that fried his Amiga by unpluging the serial port
>from the Amiga that was attached to his modem.

Hmm.  I do this all the time, unplugging/plugging my modem and MIDI
interface (someday I'll get a switcher, really) for over three years
now and I'm still in business.

>I am wandering if the same effect can occur from simply unplugging
>the modem from the power strip.

Not unless your modem is pretty messed up.  But the serial.device is a
finicky thing - sometimes it will cause your Amiga to hang if it gets
data at a rate it isn't expecting.  If your modem spits out trash when
you disconnect the power, you might not want to do that.

..Bob
-- 
Bob Page, U of Lowell CS Dept.  page@swan.ulowell.edu  ulowell!page
Have five nice days.