In a message dated 1/18/01 12:29:35 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>The low stadard RJ11 mounted modems work in all countries I have been in
>(dare I say it also did in UK and Australia when tried), but the dongled
>version is the approved and authorised connector which is required in
>countries such as the UK. In Australia the entire machine can legally be
>confiscated if non approved connections are made (the tests are for safety
>of the workers on PSTN networks, and requires stringent tests to ensure no
>high voltages or intermittents can be transmitted from the modem down the
>PSTN line)
I chuckled when I read this! Those standards date back pre-war (WWII) due
to the possibility of damage/line hold-down with old cross-bar switches.
When SS switches came around, the first ones were a bit more fragile than
today, so the regs stayed. Remember when you could only use a Bell phone on
telephone lines in the US? Today's standards changed due to phone switch
circuit protection taking exponential leaps up; the old standards are
basically anachronisms which are long due for being dustbinned (canned for
the Americans on the list) and which only exist to maintain a feeling of
"sovereignty" over state-run enterprises in some countries (NOT ALL). I'm up
to 60 countries, used a "low standard" modem w/o problems (even in Germany)
and only have problems with the physical connections (take an RJ11 cable,
chop off other end, add alligator clips.... presto, a multi-country 'phone
connector!).
Cheers!
Andrew
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