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Newsgroups: comp.os.386bsd.questions
Subject: Re: Any high speed modems that actually work?
Message-ID: <MARK_WEAVER.93Oct11215308@excelsior.cis.brown.edu>
From: Mark_Weaver@brown.edu
Date: Tue, 12 Oct 1993 01:53:08 GMT
Sender: news@cs.brown.edu
References: <terry.750367146@uivlsisd.csl.uiuc.edu>
Organization: Brown University Department of Computer Science
In-Reply-To: terry@uivlsisd.csl.uiuc.edu's message of 11 Oct 93 19:19:06 GMT
Lines: 55
In article <terry.750367146@uivlsisd.csl.uiuc.edu> terry@uivlsisd.csl.uiuc.edu (Terry Lee) writes:
> A while back during the discussions of RS232 flow control, a few people
> mentioned that very few high speed modems actually implement flow control
> correctly and reliably or use a large enough buffer. Could the people in
> the know mention a few modems that do have good implementations? The popular
> choices seem to be the USR Sportster, Zoom, Supra, Intel, and the Hayes Accura.
> I've heard good things about ZyXEL but they seem to be more expensive. I'm
> looking for a good 14.4K FAX modem to use with my FreeBSD system. If possible,
> please post as the answers might benefit others. Thanks!
I used to own a company that developed modem telecommunications software,
and we got free loaners from many modem manufacturers. I played with all
of them, and this is my experience:
US Robotics Courier V.32bis fax w/ ASL: (approx $450)
This is probably my favorite modem, and the one I use for my slip
connections with NetBSD 0.9. It is relatively easy to use, gets
great connections, and I love it. I use it routinely for 14400bps
connections that last over 24 hours at a time, without a hitch.
It doesn't even get hot.
Telebit Worldblazer:
This modem equals the USR in terms of quality. It also has the
advantage of supporting PEP, if you have use for that protocol. The
register set is a little cumbersome, however.
Supra V.32bis fax: (approx $300)
In my opinion, this is the least expensive v32bis modem worth buying.
Although it doesn't typically get as clean connections as the Telebit
or USR, it is a decent modem.
Hayes 14400:
In my opinion, Hayes modems are overpriced in relation to their
quality. Often they would simply fail to make a connection at all if
the connection wasn't clear enough. They are also dicks about their
"Hayes AT command set." Some other companies have been forced to
change the +++ timing conventions slightly in order to avoid a law
suit with them.
Zoom:
I personally think this company makes total crap. Although they are
the cheapest, I've known at least a couple of people whose 2400 baud
zoom modems just stopped working, and I found their high-speed modems
to be quite suboptimal.
Practical Peripherals:
I was never able to get this modem to make a connection. Every
time, it would connect for less than a second and then hang up.
This is what some of the other modems would do on a bad connection,
but I never managed to get this modem to connect to anything. I
think I was probably screwing something up though.
Please send flames to <president@whitehouse.gov>. Perhaps other people
have had different experiences, but I'm just telling you mine.
Mark
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