Telecom-REQUEST@MIT-XX.ARPA (Moderator) (09/01/85)
TELECOM Digest Sunday, September 1, 1985 12:50AM
Volume 5, Issue 30
Today's Topics:
Weird Radal/Vadic Modem Problem
Satellite viewing "freedoms" (long)
Re: PC Pursuit
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From: jeff@isi-vaxa (Jeffery A. Cavallaro)
Date: 30 Aug 1985 1718-PDT (Friday)
Subject: Weird Radal/Vadic Modem Problem
I am having a weird problem with my Radal/Vadic 300/1200 baud modem at home.
I am dialing a Leamah secure dialing interface, entering a 10 digit code,
and letting it call me back. Here is what happens:
1. RI goes active.
2. I pick up the phone, listen for the buzz, and put the modem into data
mode.
3. I hang up the phone and hit a few <CR>s. The TX light is active.
4. The modem toggles back and forth between 300 and 1200 baud, attempting
to talk to the host.
PROBLEM: The carrier and receive lights are never active. This same modem
works just fine when tested by our hardware group.
POSSIBLE COMPLICATION: I do not have pushbutton service. Thus, I have
to have the operators call and enter my code so the
LEAMAH will call me back. Might this have something
to do with the problem???
Any insight is welcome. Thanx in advance...
Jeff
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Date: Sat, 31 Aug 85 13:42:21 edt
From: David M. Siegel <dms@mit-hermes>
Subject: Satellite viewing "freedoms" (long)
Some comments on Lauren's recent message...
A point to point transmission, such as microwave telephone signals,
can, and should, be thought of as a wire. To intercept such a signal
would normally require placing a device within the signal path. This,
I agree, can be thought of as a wire tap.
However, intercepting a signal on a radio in your bedroom (or in your
backyard), I feel, falls within a different category. Any law that
prevented a person from doing this would be totally unenforcable. For
example, police radio transmissions are easiliy monitored by the
public on a variety of commercial products. An attempt to outlaw such
devices would create a situation where the criminals could still
obtain such devices, and the general public would have a noticible
loss of freedom. A scramled signal is a much better way to protect
information. With this approach, it is much more likely to prevent the
transmissions from falling into the ears of the wrong parties. This
approach can be taken without changing any laws, and without reducing
a freedom that people in the United States expect.
If the public were given a choice in this matter, and were informed
that scrambled signals would be more effective at keeping information
out of reach from the wrong parties, I doubt there would be much
support for some law banning a person from tuning a radio to a
particular frequency.
The same is true for commercial signal broadcasts. If a company
broadcasts a signal that people can passively pick up without great
effort and cost, how can you enforce a law stopping people from
receiving the transmission? Are you going to outlaw certain electronic
curcuits? Will police officers be stationed at every home watching the
frequency someone tunes into their receiver? And how can they expect
people to pay for it? If the cost of buying the transmission is
cheaper than the cost of picking it up for free, or the effort is too
great, (for example, scrambling the signal and changing the encyption
key frequently) people will buy the service. Use economics instead of
violations of the principles of freedom we expect.
-Dave
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Date: 26 Aug 85 21:11:35 GMT
From: rick@seismo.CSS.GOV (Rick Adams)
Subject: Re: PC Pursuit
I used PC pursuit over the weekend to tranfer data with uucp to ihnp4,
hao and gatech. I saw no data errors (or packet retransmissions
either. the line was quite clean) and the throughput was as good as
normal direct dial.
It's 1200/300 only, you can't get 2400 baud throughput. Then again,
it's a fixed cost no matter how long you are on the line.
The only real pain with pc-pursuit is that they will ONLY bill you
with a Visa or Mastercard. No checks, no purchase orders.
I expect to save about $6000 per year with pc pursuit (presuming
nothing changes fromt the current status)
If I could only get to northern New Jersey or Columbus, I save even
more.
---rick
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End of TELECOM Digest
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