root@zswamp.uucp (Geoffrey Welsh) (05/30/91)
I've received e-mail from a couple of folk asking that I post any more info I might have on the CompuCom Speedmodem. Well, last night I finally got my hands on one, so this is as good a time as any to give my first impressions. (1) The docs stink. No, that's not really, true, since the modem didn't come with what any other manufacturer would have the gall to call "documentation". The printed booklet was sparse, badly prepared, and certainly nowhere near complete. The modem was accompanied by a diskette labelled "Documentation", but it consisted mostly of messages from people claiming that the following setup worked with such-and-such software; if my experience with BBS operators setting up HSTs in the early days holds true to this day (and I don't see why it wouldn't), most of those setups will be less than ideal. (2) We were told by a salesvermin (the benign ones are referred to as "salescritters") that the modem had a 16550 on it; not only did the modem fail to respond to 16550 activation instructions (using both my own software and the X00 FOSSIL), but no chip on the modem claimed to be a 16550. For that matter, no chip on the modem claimed to be a UART of any kind, but one 40 pin DIP had its identification blatantly scratched off! I have no idea why they've done this, since they stand to *gain* if it's known that a 16550 could be plopped in place of the 16450 (if indeed that is what that chip is). (3) After spending some time configuring the modem from hints gathered from the printed docs, the text files on the disk, and the status reports generated by the modem (this last probably the most useful documentation that came with the bloody thing!) and testing on local MNP-capable boards, we called Rusty & Edie's BBS to test the 9600 bps configuration. A YMODEM-G download failed. I don't know if the problem was in my configuration or with the UART, but I suspect the latter. In any case, there are as of yet no SpeedModem BBSes in my area (I know of only one in each of the 519 and 416 area codes, both long distance), so trying to solve the problem with repeated dialouts promises to be an expensive venture. The modem, on the other hand, seems decent. Its commands and report screens bear similarities to many of the other modems I've configured (not least of which, the ATI 2400etc). The contruction seems sound and I like tha fact that they've put a volume knob on the thing, even though it's an internal and will be hard to reach. While operating as a 2400 bps MNP modem, it did its job as well as any other device with similar capabilities. We have not yet even begun to test its FAX capabilities. Geoff -- Geoffrey Welsh - Operator, Izot's Swamp BBS (FidoNet 1:221/171) root@zswamp.uucp or ..uunet!watmath!xenitec!zswamp!root 602-66 Mooregate Crescent, Kitchener, ON, N2M 5E6 Canada (519)741-9553 "He who claims to know everything can't possibly know much" -me