Re: Good deal on Modem

[sknkwrks@sonny-boy.cs.unlv.edu (Scott Alfter)]

In article <behrenss.749283731@hphalle6> behrenss@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (Soenke Behrens) writes:
>sknkwrks@howlin.cs.unlv.edu (Scott Alfter) writes:
>>In article <behrenss.749241416@hphalle6> behrenss@Informatik.TU-Muenchen.DE (Soenke Behrens) writes:
>>>rwk@pro-novapple.clark.net (Rick Krieger) writes:
>>What would you recommend, then?  I've been running a Supra V.32bis
>>(Rockwell chipset) here for over a year and haven't had the problems
>>you describe.
>
>First, apologies, it seems the modem doesn't use Rockwell, so I really
>can't say anything about it. If you don't have the problems, you a)
>obviously don't use FAX and b) are obviously just plain lucky on
>your data connections (good phone lines, type of modem you connect to).

Bzzt!  I have sent a few faxes...used DosFax Pro to crank out a couple
of faxes to my Congresscritters back when His Slickness' Tax-and-Spend
Bill (TM) was up for a vote.  (I even got a reply (by snail-mail) back
from one of them. :-) )  The faxes went out with no problems.

As for phone lines, quality is variable around here.  I usually get
good connections, but there's sometimes a little interference when I
call into UNLV.  The 2400 calls made through the DataLink 2400 in my
GS sometimes get a little noise, but the connections the Supra makes
to the same location have always been rock-solid.

As for modems...with the exception of USRobotics Sportsters (which are
of marginal quality themselves), I've never had problems connecting to
other modems--USRobotics Couriers, ZyXels, other Rockwell-chipset
modems (such as Practical Peripherals--and other Supras), etc.

>I had a Supra for a while (1.2H ROMs), and it sucked so bad I sold it
>off and got a ZyXEL. _Much_ better. I can't say anything about the
>1.8 ROMs, it seems they really fix a lot of things ... but I remain
>sceptical, especially against other brands, because they use the
>original Rockwell code.

I started with 1.0D ROMs...just an occasional glitch from MNP-only
2400 connects would cause it to hang.  With 1.2H, I had no problems,
except for the Sportsters (InSync says it has received more trouble
calls regarding Sportsters, BTW, than any other make of high-speed
modem).  1.8 has been knock-on-wood reliable so far, except for the
fact that USRobotics modems don't properly signal when they're going
to hang up...this causes modems that behave according to the rules
(such as the Supra) to try to retrain for half a minute or so before
giving up.  (USRobotics is supposed to be one of the better brands,
right?  Why, then, can't they implement V.32bis properly in their
modems?)

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