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Direct connection of USR Sportster 33.6
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bob prohaska
Mar 24, 2019, 10:23:25 PM3/24/19
to
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
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
Moe Trin
Mar 26, 2019, 5:12:11 PM3/26/19
to
On Mon, 25 Mar 2019, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article
<q79e2t$sec$1...@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:
>I thought that USR Sportster external 33.6 modems could operate
>connected via a 2 conductor cable, no telephone circuit required.
>Not sure where I got the idea, I _thought_ it was in the manual.
Yes, but that was another century. I'm not sure if modems
<q79e2t$sec$1...@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:
>I thought that USR Sportster external 33.6 modems could operate
>connected via a 2 conductor cable, no telephone circuit required.
>Not sure where I got the idea, I _thought_ it was in the manual.
can still do that
>On a whim I checked to see if there was some sort of AT command
>that told the modem to try to connect without first finding a
>dialtone, or dialing. Nothing.
OTHER HELP: AT&$ & Cmds AT+$ Dial/Misc Cmds ATS$ S Regs AT+GCI$ Couns
----------- ----------- ------------------- ----------- -------------
+++ Escape to Command Mode
A/ Repeat Last Command
A> 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
bob prohaska
Mar 28, 2019, 11:02:14 PM3/28/19
to
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
Moe Trin
Mar 30, 2019, 6:47:32 PM3/30/19
to
On Fri, 29 Mar 2019, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article
<q7k1rk$ak7$1...@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:
>Moe Trin <ibup...@painkiller.example.tld.invalid> wrote:
>> bob prohaska wrote:
>>> On a whim I checked to see if there was some sort of AT command
>> that told the modem to try to connect without first finding a
>> dialtone, or dialing. Nothing.
Recall that the signals on the wire differ between the two modems
"originate" (caller) and "answer" (callee) modes. Depending on the
standard, this means different bit patterns or coding schemes and
maybe even different audio carrier frequencies. Answer mode is
rarely (if ever) needed in a consumer grade device (where the
manufacturer needs to keep costs low to be competitive - which
resulted in the software-based LooseModems).
>> Leased line mini-HOWTO
>> Updated: Sep 2005. Configuring your modem and pppd to use a 2
>> wire twisted pair leased line.
That's the place! In the mid-90s, I used to have a nightly
cron-job to downloaded and "diff" the directory listings from a
mirror site because there were ~450 documents (from "3-Button-Mouse"
to "ZIP-Install") and several would be updated each week.
>Most probably I read the statement about direct connections in the
>manual of a Courier 9600 that I used before getting the Sporter
>33.6's and wrongly thought it applied to the Sporters as well.
Entirely possible. Leased lines were never that common, but some
people did run message boards, BBSs and other dial-in services, and
there was a cost/feature trade-off of suitable modems. For just
connecting two computers, there were other options - thick Ethernet
(10Base5) was good to 500 meters (1650 feet), thin (10Base2) and
twisted-pair (10BaseT) Ethernet to 200 meters (650 feet), but you
could also use RS-232 (classic) serial to speed/distance
combinations like 19200 baud to ~80 meters (250 feet) on out to
110 baud to 840 meters (2750 feet) - a bit slow, but cheap!
Old guy
<q7k1rk$ak7$1...@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:
>Moe Trin <ibup...@painkiller.example.tld.invalid> wrote:
>> bob prohaska wrote:
>>> On a whim I checked to see if there was some sort of AT command
>> that told the modem to try to connect without first finding a
>> dialtone, or dialing. Nothing.
"originate" (caller) and "answer" (callee) modes. Depending on the
standard, this means different bit patterns or coding schemes and
maybe even different audio carrier frequencies. Answer mode is
rarely (if ever) needed in a consumer grade device (where the
manufacturer needs to keep costs low to be competitive - which
resulted in the software-based LooseModems).
>> Leased line mini-HOWTO
>> Updated: Sep 2005. Configuring your modem and pppd to use a 2
>> wire twisted pair leased line.
cron-job to downloaded and "diff" the directory listings from a
mirror site because there were ~450 documents (from "3-Button-Mouse"
to "ZIP-Install") and several would be updated each week.
>Most probably I read the statement about direct connections in the
>manual of a Courier 9600 that I used before getting the Sporter
>33.6's and wrongly thought it applied to the Sporters as well.
people did run message boards, BBSs and other dial-in services, and
there was a cost/feature trade-off of suitable modems. For just
connecting two computers, there were other options - thick Ethernet
(10Base5) was good to 500 meters (1650 feet), thin (10Base2) and
twisted-pair (10BaseT) Ethernet to 200 meters (650 feet), but you
could also use RS-232 (classic) serial to speed/distance
combinations like 19200 baud to ~80 meters (250 feet) on out to
110 baud to 840 meters (2750 feet) - a bit slow, but cheap!
Old guy
bob prohaska
Mar 30, 2019, 8:05:47 PM3/30/19
to
Moe Trin <ibup...@painkiller.example.tld.invalid> wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Mar 2019, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article
> <q7k1rk$ak7$1...@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:
>
>>Moe Trin <ibup...@painkiller.example.tld.invalid> wrote:
>
>>> bob prohaska wrote:
>
>>>> On a whim I checked to see if there was some sort of AT command
>>> that told the modem to try to connect without first finding a
>>> dialtone, or dialing. Nothing.
>
> Recall that the signals on the wire differ between the two modems
> "originate" (caller) and "answer" (callee) modes. Depending on the
Both of the modems in question are capable of answering. I used them
> On Fri, 29 Mar 2019, in the Usenet newsgroup comp.dcom.modems, in article
> <q7k1rk$ak7$1...@news.albasani.net>, bob prohaska wrote:
>
>>Moe Trin <ibup...@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
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
Moe Trin
Mar 31, 2019, 4:41:06 PM3/31/19
to
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
<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.
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
bob prohaska
Mar 31, 2019, 8:53:06 PM3/31/19
to
> ? 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
> 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
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....
Moe Trin
Mar 31, 2019, 11:37:03 PM3/31/19
to
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.
<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.
>Quite obviously USR wanted folks to buy more expensive modems if
>they intended to use dedicated wires.
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.
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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