Hi All!
I've seen, in the not too distant past, a lot of discussion here about where
to find NON-WinModems, or how to make WinModems work under Linux and/or DOS.
Well, I just found a V.90 / K56Flex modem at, of all places, TigerDirect.com!
It's in their catalog Vol IX, Issue 7, on page 64.
TigerDirect Item # A109-1028 - 56K Flex/V90 Hyper Fax Modem with Full Duplex
Speakerphone - ISA - $49.99 (by AMQUEST - www.amquestmodem.com)
DO _NOT_ CONFUSE IT with the Item A109-1032 """ - PCI - modem for $15 less.
The PCI modem description says: "Controller and firmware runs on Pentium
host PCs with hardware data pump for best performance, running under Windows
95/98" (In other words, it's a WinModem)
The ISA version will work as EITHER jumper-configured (all 4 COM port
addresses, and IRQs 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, and 11!), OR as Plug-n-Pray.
MY CONFIGURATION
----------------
In my system the modem's at I/O Address 02E8hex, IRQ 3 (COM4, by the spec).
I have COMs 1 and 2 occupied, and COM 3 physically absent (Nothing at
03E8hex). To take care of those mis-guided programmers that can't abide by
the spec, I have a small debug script in my AUTOEXEC.BAT file that patches
the COM port list at 0040:0000.
It's a simple 3-line file named COMPATCH.DBG, run from a line in
AUTOEXEC.BAT that says "debug <C:\DOS\COMPATCH.DBG >NUL:".
COMPATCH.DBG itself is just:
e 0040:0006
E8 02
q
and when it's done, the COM port list looks like this:
-d 0040:0000
0040:0000 F8 03 F8 02 E8 02 E8 02-78 03 00 00 00 00 00 00
\COM/ \COM/ \COM/ \COM/ \LPT/
1 2 3 4 1
Yes, I _know_ that puts the same I/O address in for COMs 3 & 4 - I have
Windows 3.11 set up exactly the same way, using IRQ 3 for both COM 3 & 4,
and it works perfectly in both DOS and Windows.
TEST RESULTS
------------
I have used it successfully now 3 different ways with 3 different apps:
1 - To contact GEnie, one of my online services, using the DOS-based,
character-mode OLR software called Aladdin, by means of which I'm
sending this message.
2 - To dial into my ISP (Compuserve classic) and run the Arachne DOS browser.
3 - To dial in from Windows 3.22, using the Shiva dialer, and run Netscape
4.08 (16-bit, of course), Eudora Lite, AOL 4.0, & AOL Instant Messenger.
All three went flawlessly.
FURTHER NOTES
-------------
The modem (and the rest of my order) were delivered in 5 or 6 days via UPS
ground - There was a weekend in there, so it's not as slow as it sounds.
One warning - The modem pictured on the box is NOT the modem pictured in the
catalog ad. As a matter of fact, if you look closely at the box in the ad
you can see the discrepancy. NOT TO WORRY! The actual modem INSIDE the box
is different from BOTH of the illustrations. <G>
However, the silk-screen jumper list on the modem is sufficient to get all
the jumpers set correctly. And when I eventually cracked open the pamphlet /
manual they supply with it, it matches the board fairly well.
Figured I'd pass along some GOOD news for once.
Later,
Dave
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