Help W/Buying 9600 Modem
20 messages in this thread
I have finally made the big step and decided to purchase a 9600 Baud
modem. The question is: Which one to get? Which format? What brand?
Where can I get it for a decent price?
Remember: Dual standard is out ($$$!), but I am considering getting a
used/rebuilt modem, then upgrading the chip set. A would appreciate any
help in not getting soaked on this one!
– via Whap!
Thom:
It seems the cheapest 9600 modems with v42bis/v42/v32 etc. are selling in
the mid to upper $400 range. Intel, Supra, Practical Peripherals among
others, sell in this range. One other consideration is the Hayes Ultra.
I've seen it for about $640, but there's a $150 rebate which brings the
price down to $490. I hate rebates as much as anyone (why don't they just
lower the price), but sometimes you gotta play the manufacturer's stupid
games.
Paul
Paul,
In Southern California the CompUSA stores are selling the ATI 9600
v32/v42/v42bis modem for US$399 + tax.
I read in "LAN Times" last week that a company called CompuCom is bringing
out a V32bis compatible modem for $500 ($580 for external) list price.
V32bis gives you 14.4 Kbps uncompressed. It seems like I'll wait a couple
more months before putting out the $$$.
Why can't these computer makers just say "OK, that's it. This is good
enough". And just stop introducing new things. That way we wouldn't have
all these improvements a month after spending a buunch of money.
Paul
Actually, I hope it never stops. We need inovation to keep people on their
toes.
Some modem makers such as Practical Peripherals are working on making their
current products V.32bis compatible so you COULD spend now and get the new
firmware when it's available. I bought a Practical Peripherals 9600 baud
modem a few weeks back and don't regret it (except when calling HST only
systems). It's been mentioned that V.32bis compatibility will be out by
fall for this modem.
Dan
Dan McCoy – via Whap! and saving money doing it too!
Paul,
Unless they've voted in the last week, V.32bis don't exist yet. It's
still a proposed standard.
I guess V.32bis just being a proposed standard doesn't keep some
manufacturers from trying to be first on the market. They better hope it
doesn't have to be changed.
Paul
Paul –
V.32bis has been approved by CCITT (several months ago as I recall).
Jeff Schweiger
Vic –
> Unless they've voted in the last week, V.32bis don't exist yet. It's
> still a proposed standard.
HUNH?! I thought the CCITT voted it in last February! No?
. . . . . JimDoc
Vic,
The V.32bis standard was approved by the CCITT in May. For details
you should probably talk to Toby Nixon, who is on the relevant CCITT
committee. Toby is a Senior Engineer at Hayes, and has an account here on
CIS. I don't know his UID, but I've seen it in his Usenet postings.
–dds
dales@teksce.SCE.TEK.COM
Paul –
I worry about a description like "V32bis _compatible_ modem", particularly
for $580, external, particularly since most good v.32/v.42bis external
modia list for about $700. Mine (PM9600SA from Practical Peripherals) is
available mail order for around $450 and they have repeatedly promised an
upgrade path (not free or user-installable) to v.32bis.
. . . . . JimDoc
Jim;
Good quality V.32bis and V.42bis modems are showing up in the $450 range
now. I picked up a Spartan and it works amazingly well considering how bad
the phone lines are in this area. One of the BBSes in San Diego (business
related) was completely unusable before.
An Amiga message processed by Whap!,
bill
Paul –
> Why can't these computer makers just say "OK, that's it. This is good
> enough". And just stop introducing new things.
You kiddin', man?! I can hardly wait for my 75 mHz 68050 machine with 8
megs of chip ram and 32 megs fast (expandable to 128) with the 80486
bridgeboard with SVGA on the board, the AMAX IIci on a board, the 2560 X
2048 32-bit color display. Laptop. With internal gigabyte rewritable
optical disk. And the HP LaserJet V with internal PostScript III and a
68040 processor.
. . . . . JimDoc
Jim,
naw, by then, chip ram won't exist! 🙂
Brian J. Bartlett
Jim;
You mean 8 Meg of Cache don't you?
An Amiga message processed by Whap!,
bill
Ya, I'm just goofin'. It does get annoying when you end up paying twice
for something because of all the upgrades charges though. If we could just
hurry up, and get to the physical limits of everything. Then we could have
the atom size switches, sub-micron size printed circuit traces, the
micromotors the size of a dust particle, etc. Then everything would be all
designed. Due to the laws of nature, things couldn't improve, only
applications could be made better.
But…didn't someone back in the days of three-digit year numbers say
something like "Everything that will be invented has been invented."
Paul
Paul;
It wasn't during the 3 digit years. It was around the turn of the century
and it was the U.S. Patent Office Director that made the statement!
An Amiga message processed by Whap!,
bill
Bill: Now that you mention it, you are right on that quote. All that
ancient history kinda blurs together for me.
Paul
PD>> But…didn't someone back in the days of three-digit year numbers say
PD>> something like "Everything that will be invented has been invented."
Yes, but it wasn't all that long ago. I don't remember the exact year but
I think it was in the early 1900's. And it was made by somebody involved
in the U.S. Patent office who was advocating shutting it down.
Paul –
> …didn't someone back in the days of three-digit year numbers say
> something like "Everything that will be invented has been invented."
Actually someone suggested in this country, in the early 20th century, or
maybe even the 19th, that the patent office should be closed, because
everything had been invented….
. . . . . JimDoc