[net.micro] modems "powered from the RS232 lines..."

lauren%lbl-csam@vortex.UUCP (06/23/83)

From:  Lauren Weinstein <vortex!lauren@lbl-csam>

Any modem manufacturer who tries to power equipment from the
RS232 lines should be hung upside down by his or her "chips".
If powering a modem from the phone line is bad, powering from
the RS232 lines is simply AWFUL, and potentially damaging to
some equipment.

Manufacturers who use these gimmicks are trying to save the cost of
a UL-approved tranformer plug.  Don't fiddle with modems that
do not use A.C. power -- they are simply not very reliable in
the long run.

--Lauren--