Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!decwrl!sun!imagen!atari!portal!cup.portal.com!thad
From: thad@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: wanted to buy: a reliable modem
Message-ID: <9261@cup.portal.com>
Date: 19 Sep 88 09:51:17 GMT
References: <219100002@iapic.cvm.uiuc.edu> <6505@dasys1.UUCP>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 57
XPortal-User-Id: 1.1001.2826

Whoa!

Someone just mentioned Practical Peripherals' modems.

A customer of mine attempted to use those with a "special" dialback unit
I manufacture, and it became very clear very quickly that modem is "Hayes"(tm)
compatible ONLY in that it recognizes "Hayes" commands.  It does NOT function
as does a Hayes (and other fine modems) when one wishes full modem control
(via DTR).  This "problem" is symptomatic of MANY what I call "toy" modems.

To be fair, the modem DOES function fine AS A MODEM.

It is NOT "compatible" re: its operation re: DTR, DSR and DCD and re-init'ing
to a known state.

After many years in this business, it's clear there are three types of modems
one can find:

1. industrial quality.  solid, dependable, reliable, consistent.

2. consumer quality.  not designed for 24 hrs/day use, but otherwise generally
   reliable and "compatible" with de facto ACU protocols

3. pure shit  (sorry if use of this word offends, but even I (for whom most
   callers to my BBS and other services must consult dictionaries to fathom
   the meaning of words I use) cannot conjure up a better description! :-)

These categories are "generally" delimited by price, but I've seen some
excellent modems (2400 baud) under $200, and I've seen junk at $400-$500.

Over the past 5 years I've managed to test some 200+ different modems with
my products.  Most modems perform acceptably, but there are some that do not.

There was even a CTS 2424ADH that did "weird" things with the DSR and DCD
signals after one would drop DTR.

In MY opinion, the Signalman modems fall into category 3 (above).

Again, in MY opinion, I'm surprised the FTC hasn't stepped in to stop all the
bogus claims of "Hayes (tm) compatibility.  I'd hoped the marketplace would
weed out the irregulars, but such is not happening.

I'm all for LESS government regulation, etc., but perhaps SOMEONE should come
to the aid of the consumer (like the FTC did re: consumer audio amplifier power
ratings and FM receiver sensitivity about a decade ago).

I throw junk (both hardware and software (disks)) out the window and over
the fence.  My fence collapsed last year!    :-)


Thad Floryan [thad@cup.portal.com (OR) ...!sun!portal!cup.portal.com!thad]




P.S. My neighbor chipped in 50-50 for a new fence.  'Spose he found a use
for all the "junk".  :-)