Baslinux mailing list

[sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>]

> > > > S15=128 seems to keep the Sportster from attempting to use X2, so it
> > > > negotiates and connects faster.  The non-Sportster boings for a lot
> > > > longer.
> > >
> > > the 'boing boing' is the modem testing the analog frequency response
> > > of the phone line... the modem on the other end will answer with a
> > > simple beep when testing is successfull (if testing is not successful
> > > you will not get 56k)
> >
> > So why is the internal (slight newer) modem with the slightly older flash
> > taking longer to connect?
>
> multiple causes for this one;
>
> the modem is just trying to be more thourough in its check
>
> bad programming causing problems during the check
>
> corrosion on the pins in the jack causing noise or signal loss (make
> sure they are shiny)

You mean the phone jack?  I can plug it in and out a few times.


> since its internal may be getting interference from a nearby card
> especially if it uses a transformer for phone line isolation (scsi is
> a bit noisy) or the PSU might be noisy (checked the modem in multiple
> systems?)  note: this one is rare but not unheard of...

I have ISA SCSI card in that computer and this is an ISA modem.  (Are 
there any pci hardware modems?).  I try to put the modems as far as 
possible from the power supplies.

> if it uses relays to 'pick up the phone' rather than solid state
> components the contacts may be corroded... (this one is something best
> left alone)..  rare as well but still not unheard of...

> > > > > > S32=34 stops the Sportster from trying to connect with SX2 but has no
> > > > > > effect on the other USR.
> > > > It does not stop the Sportster, I was wrong.
> > >
> > > x2 and flex should be disabled entirely.... they are obsolete unstable
> > > and unused by ISPs....
> > I thought S15=128 was supposed to disable X2 but maybe only for the
> > Sportster, which is why it connects with less boings.
> >
> > Ijust had a 20 sec timeout again.
>
> check your manual for an option for 'quick retrains' and make sure its
> turned on (if available)

I will look online for this.  Just found a Supraexpress manual 28.8
AT+MS=? lists supported options
%CI MNP 5 enabled
%C2 V.42bis enabled
%C3 V.42bis and MNP 5 enabled (Default).

They recommend turning OFF compression when transferred already-compressed 
files such as ZIP, because it may actually go faster.  I will try it.

%E   Do not request a retrain (default)
%E1  Monitor line quality and automatically request a retrain if line 
conditions are bad.

&K commands - flow control

Gateway Telepath 28.8 - supports full Hayes AT command set
Data compression:  V.42bis and MNP5 bps to 115,200 bps throughout.  Modem 
also operates without data compression (maybe this would work better for jpegs?)
ATI 0-7
No %-type commands like the Supra.
&K0 - Data compression disabled
&K1 Auto enable/disable (default)
&K2 - Data compression enabled
&K3 - MNP5 compression disabled

Obviously different modems use different commands.  I have a few USR 
manuals around some place and will experiment.

> > This must be why we are finding used 56K v90 for $1 (one of the three
> > actually worked at about 56K).  With people now switching to DSL, maybe a
> > non-winmodem V92 will show upused.
>
> er... i woudnt count on that... the ppl buying hardware v92s are those
> who are -stuck- with dialup...

But people around here have a choice and many still use dialup.

> also many newish hardware v90s are flashable to v92 (USR has linux
> flashers... might want to look into this one)

Mine are 1997 and I already flashed them all.

> > The 0459 came in that case, I meant that the case was dated 1995 because
> > they were first made then and used with 14.4K modems.
> > I may have read this wrong, upside down with a flashlight.  We have
> > another similar one that came as V90 not X2.
>
> check for V92 updates on the one that came as V90... if that was its
> original configuration...

I think that is the one that got knocked out by lightning.

> > > those 20sec freezeups are speedchange retrains.... if you use M2 you
> > > will hear a full retrain during those pauses...
> > >
> > > 14.4k is technically the most stable speed a POTS line can handle....
> > > anything faster is pushing the laws of physics...
> >
> > If I dialed in at a slower speed would it freeze up less often?  For
> > writing and reading email the speed is less important than a lack of
> > freezeups.  I get freezeups even with a 33.6K modem, should I try 28.8K?
>
> 28.8 would freeze too (26.4 is a more common speed than 28.8... phone
> lines simply werent ment for data... and i have the unfortunate
> situation of only being able to reach 24.0 with analog (28.8 & 33.6)
> connections/modems...

A friend who thought his phone lines only supported 28K discovered he 
could get 40K with a USB modem (after the onboard one died).
> > 3.3K.  With a 33.6K modem.  3.1K with 56K - but variable.  Would a 33.6K
> > speed actually upload faster overall, because of fewer freezeups?
>
> yep... if you do more uploading and general traffic than just surfing
> the web a 33.6K might be better than a 56K...

I could try doing email online at a slower speed.
If I told it not to retrain what might happen?

> > Should I set connect speed to not 115200 but 57600 for 56K 1998 modems?
>
> if the modem supports 115200 use it... if not use the next highest
> speed... even the modem makers say this...

> > I will check our 14.4K ATT (if I did not already recycle it).
> > Does anyone but Rockwell and USR make 56K internal hardware modems?
>
> i didnt even know rockwell was still making hardware internals... only
> hardwares i can find are externals... (zoom and usr) PCI hardware
> modems arent... compatible enough for my tastes...
> ISA cards and ISA mobos are specialty items in todays market (if we
> are talking new hardware anyway)

Mine are not new.  I have a Hayes external that used to be 56K.

> > We had one external 56K Sportster that produced garbage at 152000, worked
>
> bad programming...cant remember what the bug was in (i think there was
> an Sregister that had to be changed) but look for an update... (altho
> you did say 'had' so i guess you dont have it anymore)
I have not kept good track of the modems.

> > at 57600. Maybe broken somehow.  They keep working despite problems (such
> > as taking the phone offhook as soon as you turnthem on,
>
> if they dont take the phone off-hook while turned off but still
> plugged in check for Sregister settings that may have been changed to
> cause this.....

Thanks - I will look for a way to set defaults.  But it is probably 
damaged by lightning (before we got it).

> > only running at
> > slow speeds,
>
> corrosion, noise, bad programming... incorrect Sregister settings...
After a lightning storm.

> needing to be told to go offhook before you dial....)
>
> that one is definitly software related....

> > Lightning damage?
>
> possible on the one that stays off-hook and the slow one but modems
> usually have lightning protection... if the strike actually makes it
> through its usually the end (cant pick up the phone at all or
> completely dead) ... i have a USR 5686D flashed to V92 that was struck
> by lightning... ATH1 (go off hook) ATX3DT (blind dial) both cause a
> click noise and "ERROR" .... it never dials out or can even pick up
> the phone.... AT&T1 (internal analog loopback test) works tho.... so i
> have a 90$ paperweight that responds to AT commands and nothing
> else..... ugh... (i can even do flash upgrades on it... not that it
> does me any good)

We once fixed a 1200 bps modem by replacing diodes.  The company sent them 
to us free.  That was back when they cost $150 used.

> a friend once asked (quite some time ago) if it would be possible to
> use a modem as an ad-hoc soundcard (play music through its speaker)...
> i told him i would need some sort of low-level access to the
> DSP/datapump to do that.... guess i have a candidate for
> experementation... (USR modems -are- rather extensivly documented)

The speakers are even smaller than the PC speaker, why bother?

> > Thanks for all the helpful info.  Where did you learn so much about
> > modems?
>
> "hacker" mentality stuck on dialup since 1997?.... (i read in the
> jargon file that those with a hacker mentality tend to absorb and
> retain massive amounts of "useless" data)
>
> mainly i just like taking things apart to see how they work and if
> they can be improved in any way or made to do things 'they arent
> supposed to do'.... and watching clocks slowly count backwards all the
> time has lead me to learn everything i can about modems and phone
> lines.... and ways to try to speed those clocks up.... (and as a
> side-effect... learning a few other things related to modems/phone
> lines.... ever called anyone by using the hook switch to dial their
> number? ;) )

No, how?
> > > > > > Sindi
> > _______________________________________________