CompuServe Thread

Andre, As far as I know, what you are asking is going to cost you more (far more) than a serial cable to do the same. I work for Canon, and we link Fax machines (not my area of expertise) up in the same office for demonstrations through a simulated PSTN which cost an arm and a leg! Get a serial cable and use that! It won't cost *that* much… Kevin 68030/40 A1200… Flying AutoPilot from Surrey in the UK

Connect two modems together? If you have modular phone plugs with a "multiple" connection, just disconnect from the wall, leaving the computers hooked together "off line", and all should be well. Next job is to get them talking with "carriers". Load up terminal programs in each unit. On one machine, command +++ATA, on the other, +++ATD. This sets up the fiction that one unit is "dialling", the other is "answering". The terminal programs at each end should report CONNECT. At this point, you should be able to type on one keyboard and see the text on the opposite screen. Still not good enough for transmitting files, although you could get text through that way. Best to us an upload/download PROTOCOL. Tell one machine to upload, the other to download, and find a protocol that both terminal programs know. The selected file(s) will zoom through. For text/data files, you're about finished, except that different machines may use a different end-of-line signal (it's NewLine, or LineFeed, on the Amiga .. with MessyDos, it's the two-character group Return-Linefeed). For programs .. well, MS-DOS programs don't work on the Amiga, and vice versa. You can transfer data files more efficiently using (a) Cross-DOS, or (B) a BridgeBoard. You can even go faster bypassing the modems with a "null modem" cable. But modem-to-modem does work, and sometimes saves playing with connectors and cables. –Jim

AL >>Would anyone have any idea how I could connect two modems together, while NOT using the telephone system?? I have tried but it doesn't seem to work!<< Ok, you can hook the two modems directly by running the phone cord directly between modem bypassing the phone company. However, the phone company also provides power over one of the lines to power the phone. This is why the phones still work when there is a local blackout. Some modems also provided enough power to allow direct connect to another modem, but some don't. If you need more power try this: Get a 9 volt battery (the type used with clock radios). Cut the RED wire of the phone cord, and splice the battery into the RED wire. One half of the wire to the positive, the other half to the negative – so the transmissions pass through the battery. Only the RED & GREEN wires are used for most phones, the BLACK & YELLOW are spares for a separate line. You might be able to find a 9 volt battery connector (clamp?) at Radio Shack, or out of an old radio. Slicing the RED wire with the connector will allow easy replacement of the battery. You will need to set one term/modem to auto-answer (ATA), then call the other term/modem with a simple "ATD". If you have high speed modems, you may want add the extra options to the dial string. The phone number is only needed by the phone company to route the call to the other modem.

Have you tried the Public Domain network program ParNet? I have not used it personally but know someone who has and apparently it works well. You have to use a special cable, but you can access a hard drive in one Amiga from the other and visa versa.

at 20 meters, just about any solution you go for is going to need top quality cable and probably and amplifier. I forget what the ethernet limit is, but for serial and parallel I think it is about a 15-20 foot run after which you need some signal conditioning and energy boost.

We use boxes that we call 'short hauls' for such situations at work. Actually, we use them for going between floors in a high rise but they're no more expensive than modems. Of course, we use in-house dmarks but, that doesn't mean a long twisted pair wouldn't work.