robin@ccb.ucsf.edu (Robin Colgrove) (04/10/89)
help! sorry for a novice question but i need some quick advice and couldn't think of anything better than asking "News" for any group with the word modem in it. i hop this is not a horribly inappropriate place for this. anyway, my trusty old (~6 yr) prometheus promodem 1200 is going down, i fear. it has gradually developed a pattern of not showing a "MR" modem ready light when turned on and can only be cured by unplugging the power altogether and letting it sit for >1 hr. before retrying. questions: 1 is this a sign of immanent collapse? 2 what happens if I circumvent by never turning it off? 3 since i'll eventually want to get a new modem, anybody got any good reviews of 1200vs2400vs9600 internal vs external (Mac II) data vs data+fax hayes standard vs ?? thanx robin
jim@kaos.Stanford.EDU (Jim Helman) (04/10/89)
> it has gradually developed a pattern of not showing > a "MR" modem ready light when turned on and can only > be cured by unplugging the power altogether and letting it > sit for >1 hr. before retrying. I'd bag it and get a 2400 BPS Hayes compatible, before it dies completely. They're cheap (around $150) compared with 9600 BPS modems or what you probably paid for the Prometheus 1200 several years ago. 9600 BPS modems are still pretty pricey. They're bound to drop quite a bit in price over the next year or so as production steps up. But in the meantime, if the problem is thermal, you might not have to wait an hour before trying again. Put it in the freezer for a few minutes. My Basic Time 2400E does not like the current California heat wave, but works just fine after some refrigeration! -jim