• Direct connection of USR Sportster 33.6

    From bob prohaska@21:1/5 to All on Mon Mar 25 02:23:25 2019
    I thought that USR Sportster external 33.6 modems could operate
    connected via a 2 conductor cable, no telephone circuit required.
    Not sure where I got the idea, I _thought_ it was in the manual.

    On a whim I checked to see if there was some sort of AT command
    that told the modem to try to connect without first finding a
    dialtone, or dialing. Nothing.

    Many, _many_ years ago I had a USR Courier 9600, did _it_ have a
    direct wire connection feature? Then I'd just be confused, rather
    than totally delusional 8-)

    It's of purely historical interest, but does anyone still know?

    Thanks for reading,

    bob prohaska

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  • From Moe Trin@21:1/5 to bob prohaska on Tue Mar 26 21:12:10 2019
    On Mon, 25 Mar 2019, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article <q79e2t$sec$1@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:

    I thought that USR Sportster external 33.6 modems could operate
    connected via a 2 conductor cable, no telephone circuit required.
    Not sure where I got the idea, I _thought_ it was in the manual.

    Yes, but that was another century. I'm not sure if modems
    can still do that

    On a whim I checked to see if there was some sort of AT command
    that told the modem to try to connect without first finding a
    dialtone, or dialing. Nothing.

    AT$
    OTHER HELP: AT&$ & Cmds AT+$ Dial/Misc Cmds ATS$ S Regs AT+GCI$ Couns ----------- ----------- ------------------- ----------- -------------
    +++ Escape to Command Mode
    A/ Repeat Last Command
    Continuously Repeat Last Command
    A Answer Call
    |---- 0 ----|---- 1 ----|---- 2 ----|---- 3 ----|---- 4 ----|---- 5 |
    Bn | CCITT | Bell | | | | |
    En | No Echo |Commnd Echo| | | | |
    Fn |Online Echo| No Echo | | | | |
    Hn | On Hook | Off Hook | | | | |
    In | Prod Code | Checksum | RAM Test |Product ID | Settings |NV Sett|
    In |6=Link Diag|7=Prod Cnfg|9=Plug&Play|11=Ext Diag| |92=V92 |
    Ln |Low Volume |Low Volume |Med Volume |High Volume| | |
    Mn |Speaker OFF|On Until CD| Always ON |OFF in Dial| | |
    On |Back Online| & Retrain | | | | |
    Qn |Reslt Codes|Quiet Mode | | | | |
    Vn |Num Results|Verb Reslts| | | | |
    Xn |Basic Rslts| Extended | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced |7=Advan|
    Yn |ATZ use &W0|ATZ use &W1|ATZ use &F0|ATZ use &F1|ATZ use &F2| |
    Zn | Reset w/Y |Reset w/&W0|Reset w/&W1|Reset w/&F0|Reset w/&F1|Reset w|

    OK

    That's a USR 5637 (USB v.92). I had to think back to remember the
    right keyword to look for. Your headers say FreeBSD/11.1-STABLE, so
    you can probably translate from Linux as needed. So plug this into
    your favorite search engine: "Leased Line Mini-Howto" and find a
    copy of that ancient (original ~Mar 1998) document.

    Leased line mini-HOWTO
    Updated: Sep 2005. Configuring your modem and pppd to use a 2
    wire twisted pair leased line.

    Hope that steers you in the right direction.

    Old guy

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  • From bob prohaska@21:1/5 to Moe Trin on Fri Mar 29 03:02:12 2019
    Moe Trin <ibuprofin@painkiller.example.tld.invalid> wrote:
    On Mon, 25 Mar 2019, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article <q79e2t$sec$1@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:

    I thought that USR Sportster external 33.6 modems could operate
    connected via a 2 conductor cable, no telephone circuit required.
    Not sure where I got the idea, I _thought_ it was in the manual.

    Yes, but that was another century. I'm not sure if modems
    can still do that

    On a whim I checked to see if there was some sort of AT command
    that told the modem to try to connect without first finding a
    dialtone, or dialing. Nothing.

    AT$
    OTHER HELP: AT&$ & Cmds AT+$ Dial/Misc Cmds ATS$ S Regs AT+GCI$ Couns ----------- ----------- ------------------- ----------- -------------
    +++ Escape to Command Mode
    A/ Repeat Last Command
    Continuously Repeat Last Command
    A Answer Call
    |---- 0 ----|---- 1 ----|---- 2 ----|---- 3 ----|---- 4 ----|---- 5 |
    Bn | CCITT | Bell | | | | |
    En | No Echo |Commnd Echo| | | | |
    Fn |Online Echo| No Echo | | | | |
    Hn | On Hook | Off Hook | | | | |
    In | Prod Code | Checksum | RAM Test |Product ID | Settings |NV Sett|
    In |6=Link Diag|7=Prod Cnfg|9=Plug&Play|11=Ext Diag| |92=V92 |
    Ln |Low Volume |Low Volume |Med Volume |High Volume| | |
    Mn |Speaker OFF|On Until CD| Always ON |OFF in Dial| | |
    On |Back Online| & Retrain | | | | |
    Qn |Reslt Codes|Quiet Mode | | | | |
    Vn |Num Results|Verb Reslts| | | | |
    Xn |Basic Rslts| Extended | Advanced | Advanced | Advanced |7=Advan|
    Yn |ATZ use &W0|ATZ use &W1|ATZ use &F0|ATZ use &F1|ATZ use &F2| |
    Zn | Reset w/Y |Reset w/&W0|Reset w/&W1|Reset w/&F0|Reset w/&F1|Reset w|

    OK

    That's a USR 5637 (USB v.92). I had to think back to remember the
    right keyword to look for. Your headers say FreeBSD/11.1-STABLE, so
    you can probably translate from Linux as needed. So plug this into
    your favorite search engine: "Leased Line Mini-Howto" and find a
    copy of that ancient (original ~Mar 1998) document.

    Leased line mini-HOWTO
    Updated: Sep 2005. Configuring your modem and pppd to use a 2
    wire twisted pair leased line.

    Hope that steers you in the right direction.

    Old guy

    Found the article at:
    http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Leased-Line/modem.html#modem-conf,

    and noted this line:

    The USR Sportster and USR Courier-I do not support leased line.

    Most probably I read the statement about direct connections in the manual
    of a Courier 9600 that I used before getting the Sporter 33.6's and wrongly thought it applied to the Sporters as well.

    Thank you for clearing the cobwebs!

    bob prohaska

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  • From Moe Trin@21:1/5 to bob prohaska on Sat Mar 30 22:47:32 2019
    On Fri, 29 Mar 2019, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article <q7k1rk$ak7$1@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:

    Moe Trin <ibuprofin@painkiller.example.tld.invalid> wrote:

    bob prohaska wrote:

    On a whim I checked to see if there was some sort of AT command
    that told the modem to try to connect without first finding a
    dialtone, or dialing. Nothing.

    Recall that the signals on the wire differ between the two modems
    "originate" (caller) and "answer" (callee) modes. Depending on the
    standard, this means different bit patterns or coding schemes and
    maybe even different audio carrier frequencies. Answer mode is
    rarely (if ever) needed in a consumer grade device (where the
    manufacturer needs to keep costs low to be competitive - which
    resulted in the software-based LooseModems).

    Leased line mini-HOWTO
    Updated: Sep 2005. Configuring your modem and pppd to use a 2
    wire twisted pair leased line.

    Found the article at: >http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Leased-Line/modem.html#modem-conf,

    That's the place! In the mid-90s, I used to have a nightly
    cron-job to downloaded and "diff" the directory listings from a
    mirror site because there were ~450 documents (from "3-Button-Mouse"
    to "ZIP-Install") and several would be updated each week.

    Most probably I read the statement about direct connections in the
    manual of a Courier 9600 that I used before getting the Sporter
    33.6's and wrongly thought it applied to the Sporters as well.

    Entirely possible. Leased lines were never that common, but some
    people did run message boards, BBSs and other dial-in services, and
    there was a cost/feature trade-off of suitable modems. For just
    connecting two computers, there were other options - thick Ethernet
    (10Base5) was good to 500 meters (1650 feet), thin (10Base2) and
    twisted-pair (10BaseT) Ethernet to 200 meters (650 feet), but you
    could also use RS-232 (classic) serial to speed/distance
    combinations like 19200 baud to ~80 meters (250 feet) on out to
    110 baud to 840 meters (2750 feet) - a bit slow, but cheap!

    Old guy

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  • From bob prohaska@21:1/5 to Moe Trin on Sun Mar 31 00:05:46 2019
    Moe Trin <ibuprofin@painkiller.example.tld.invalid> wrote:
    On Fri, 29 Mar 2019, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article <q7k1rk$ak7$1@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:

    Moe Trin <ibuprofin@painkiller.example.tld.invalid> wrote:

    bob prohaska wrote:

    On a whim I checked to see if there was some sort of AT command
    that told the modem to try to connect without first finding a
    dialtone, or dialing. Nothing.

    Recall that the signals on the wire differ between the two modems
    "originate" (caller) and "answer" (callee) modes. Depending on the

    Both of the modems in question are capable of answering. I used them
    in a pair between home and work to set up a PPP link. The problem would
    be to get the modems to ignore the lack of dialtone and ringtone. Maybe
    it's still possible, but clearly nobody (including me) has much motivation
    to pursue the idea. I was mostly bothered at the mismatch between my
    memory and the available evidence.

    Thanks for reading!

    bob prohaska



    standard, this means different bit patterns or coding schemes and
    maybe even different audio carrier frequencies. Answer mode is
    rarely (if ever) needed in a consumer grade device (where the
    manufacturer needs to keep costs low to be competitive - which
    resulted in the software-based LooseModems).

    Leased line mini-HOWTO
    Updated: Sep 2005. Configuring your modem and pppd to use a 2
    wire twisted pair leased line.

    Found the article at: >>http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Leased-Line/modem.html#modem-conf,

    That's the place! In the mid-90s, I used to have a nightly
    cron-job to downloaded and "diff" the directory listings from a
    mirror site because there were ~450 documents (from "3-Button-Mouse"
    to "ZIP-Install") and several would be updated each week.

    Most probably I read the statement about direct connections in the
    manual of a Courier 9600 that I used before getting the Sporter
    33.6's and wrongly thought it applied to the Sporters as well.

    Entirely possible. Leased lines were never that common, but some
    people did run message boards, BBSs and other dial-in services, and
    there was a cost/feature trade-off of suitable modems. For just
    connecting two computers, there were other options - thick Ethernet
    (10Base5) was good to 500 meters (1650 feet), thin (10Base2) and
    twisted-pair (10BaseT) Ethernet to 200 meters (650 feet), but you
    could also use RS-232 (classic) serial to speed/distance
    combinations like 19200 baud to ~80 meters (250 feet) on out to
    110 baud to 840 meters (2750 feet) - a bit slow, but cheap!

    Old guy

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Moe Trin@21:1/5 to bob prohaska on Sun Mar 31 20:41:05 2019
    On Sun, 31 Mar 2019), in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article <q7p08q$821$1@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:

    The problem would be to get the modems to ignore the lack of
    dialtone and ringtone.

    Found the manual for USR-1787 (56k Sportster dated 1997) - doesn't
    appear to be supported.

    Found _files_ (but not the CD) for USR-5637 (USB Hi-Speed modem
    from 2012) now /usr/share/doc/5687/5637.ref_data which says:

    Xn Sets result codes displayed. X4 This command enables tone
    detection options used in the dialling process. As each function
    is chosen, the modem's result codes are also affected. Therefore,
    this command is frequently used to control the modem's responses.
    The primary function of this command is to control call response
    capabilities.

    The default seems to be X4

    Command Extended Dial Tone Busy Tone
    Result Codes Detect Detect
    X0 Disabled Disabled Disabled
    X1 Enabled Disabled Disabled
    X2 Enabled Enabled Disabled
    X3 Enabled Disabled Enabled
    X4 Enabled Enabled Enabled
    X5, X6 Enabled Enabled Enabled
    X7 Disabled Enabled Enabled

    Option Description
    Function Enabled Disabled
    Ext Result Codes Displays basic result codes, connect messages
    with data rate, and an indication of the modem's error correction
    and data compression operations. Displays the basic result codes.

    Dial Tone Detect Dials upon detection of a dial tone and
    disconnects the call if the dial tone is not detected within 10
    seconds. Dials a call regardless of whether the modem detects a
    dial tone. Register S6 contains the dial delay.

    Busy Tone Detect Monitors for busy tones. Ignores all busy tones.

    Option Result Codes
    Command Result Codes
    X0 • OK • Ring • Error
    • Connect • No Carrier
    X1 • OK • Ring • Error
    • Connect <Rate> • No Carrier
    X2 • OK • Ring • Error
    • Connect <Rate> • No Carrier • No dial tone
    X3 • OK • Ring • Error
    • Connect <Rate> • No Carrier • Busy
    • Blacklisted
    X4 • OK • Ring • Error
    • Connect <Rate> • No Carrier • Busy
    • Blacklisted • Delayed • No dial tone
    • Call Waiting detected
    X5, X6 • OK • Ring • Error
    • Connect <Rate> • No Carrier • Busy
    • Blacklisted • Delayed • No dial tone
    • Call Waiting detected
    X7 • OK • Ring • Error
    • Connect • No Carrier

    I suspect this was originally a Hayes command, as an old copy of
    Scott Mueller's "Upgrading And Repairing PCs" (3rd edition from
    1993) has near-identical information in a Modem Commands appendix.

    Old guy

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  • From bob prohaska@21:1/5 to Moe Trin on Mon Apr 1 00:53:06 2019
    Moe Trin <ibuprofin@painkiller.example.tld.invalid> wrote:
    On Sun, 31 Mar 2019), in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article <q7p08q$821$1@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:

    The problem would be to get the modems to ignore the lack of
    dialtone and ringtone.

    Found the manual for USR-1787 (56k Sportster dated 1997) - doesn't
    appear to be supported.

    Found _files_ (but not the CD) for USR-5637 (USB Hi-Speed modem
    from 2012) now /usr/share/doc/5687/5637.ref_data which says:

    Xn Sets result codes displayed. X4 This command enables tone
    detection options used in the dialling process. As each function
    is chosen, the modem's result codes are also affected. Therefore,
    this command is frequently used to control the modem's responses.
    The primary function of this command is to control call response
    capabilities.

    The default seems to be X4

    Command Extended Dial Tone Busy Tone
    Result Codes Detect Detect
    X0 Disabled Disabled Disabled
    X1 Enabled Disabled Disabled
    X2 Enabled Enabled Disabled
    X3 Enabled Disabled Enabled
    X4 Enabled Enabled Enabled
    X5, X6 Enabled Enabled Enabled
    X7 Disabled Enabled Enabled

    Option Description
    Function Enabled Disabled
    Ext Result Codes Displays basic result codes, connect messages
    with data rate, and an indication of the modem's error correction
    and data compression operations. Displays the basic result codes.

    Dial Tone Detect Dials upon detection of a dial tone and
    disconnects the call if the dial tone is not detected within 10
    seconds. Dials a call regardless of whether the modem detects a
    dial tone. Register S6 contains the dial delay.

    Busy Tone Detect Monitors for busy tones. Ignores all busy tones.

    Option Result Codes
    Command Result Codes
    X0 ? OK ? Ring ? Error
    ? Connect ? No Carrier
    X1 ? OK ? Ring ? Error
    ? Connect <Rate> ? No Carrier
    X2 ? OK ? Ring ? Error
    ? Connect <Rate> ? No Carrier ? No dial tone
    X3 ? OK ? Ring ? Error
    ? Connect <Rate> ? No Carrier ? Busy
    ? Blacklisted
    X4 ? OK ? Ring ? Error
    ? Connect <Rate> ? No Carrier ? Busy
    ? Blacklisted ? Delayed ? No dial tone
    ? Call Waiting detected
    X5, X6 ? OK ? Ring ? Error
    ? Connect <Rate> ? No Carrier ? Busy
    ? Blacklisted ? Delayed ? No dial tone
    ? Call Waiting detected
    X7 ? OK ? Ring ? Error
    ? Connect ? No Carrier

    I suspect this was originally a Hayes command, as an old copy of
    Scott Mueller's "Upgrading And Repairing PCs" (3rd edition from
    1993) has near-identical information in a Modem Commands appendix.

    Old guy

    On closer reading, the combination of X0, H1 and O1 might do the trick, if
    A can be used on the receiving end and D with no number on the calling
    end. Quite obviously USR wanted folks to buy more expensive modems if
    they intended to use dedicated wires.

    It's kinda funny, in that dedicated wires seem simpler than dialed service. Just listen for a carrier, respond if it's heard, send a carrier, respond
    if it's heard, alternate at random times until a connection is made.
    I'll bet somebody must have written a script to do that, likely more than once....

    Thanks for reading!

    bob prohaska

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  • From Moe Trin@21:1/5 to bob prohaska on Mon Apr 1 03:37:02 2019
    On Mon, 1 Apr 2019, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article <q7rndh$48v$1@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:

    On closer reading, the combination of X0, H1 and O1 might do the
    trick, if A can be used on the receiving end and D with no number
    on the calling end.

    I think you're right, but I'm down to one modem now.

    Quite obviously USR wanted folks to buy more expensive modems if
    they intended to use dedicated wires.

    Either that, or another vendor. I found one more manual (Siig
    14.4) and it doesn't provide enough details, but the Xn commands
    are similar.

    It's kinda funny, in that dedicated wires seem simpler than dialed
    service.

    Dedicated wires are much less common - the last one I encountered
    was in 1992. and the hardware was ancient - v.21 (300 baud) I think.
    The link was a mile long, and ran 24/7. The hardware dated from 1975.

    Old guy

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