CompuServe Thread

Chip, Though some modems will allow you to hook up without a real telephone connection, usually it will not work. The real answer is to hook up directly from port to port with what is known as a 'null modem' cable. Unfortunately, the 64 uses 0 and 5 Volt levels instead of RS-232, so in order to use this method, you will have to use an adapter (VIC-1011 or equivalent) on the 64 side. One other method is to actually call over the phone lines. Regards, Larry.

Chip, When you say you spliced a cable…(handset modular cord and wall modular cord) … do you mean that you spliced two cables and tried each one, or that you spliced a single cable and put a handset plug on one end and a wall plug on the other end? If the second (single cable), then I presume that one of the modems that you are using gets inserted in between the handset and the phone rather than directly on a phone line…if this is true, then you'll never get your setup working since the levels on a handset are not the same as the levels on the line. If there were any way for it to work (and to be honest, I doubt it will work as a direct connect), they you'd have to hook up wall plug from the phone to the modem that accepts a wall plug. That is, hook up the modem to the handset and then take the plug comming out of that phone, and hook it to the other modem in the LINE jack. As I say, I seriously doubt this will work since you'll be removing power from the phone line that way. You might also try hooking to that phone, but hooking the 2nd modem to a completely separate wall jack. If you tried 2 cables with different connectors…and it didn't work with the cable with 2 wall jacks on it…then it won't work at all. You'll have to take Larry's suggestion for an RS232 adapter or use the phone lines directly by having the compters at 2 separate locations (not practical)., Don