Cardinal 3480 external is a USR modem; now to identify the USR model # [long]
Pete
I've been messing with my Cardinal Connecta external model 3480 modem.
It ignores &u&n commands which is seriously compromising my use of the
modem. Since Cardinal is out of business I'm out of luck for a
firmware upgrade. There is really nothing to lose for me.
Then it struck me. Since Cardinal oddly started building TI/x2 modems
after being Rockwell-based for so long, could it be that simply a
rebadged USR modem sat inside my Cardinal plastic body?
I disassembled the modem and found two small white stickers covering
up info on the PCB, like this:
line 1: Copyright 1996
line 2: }
line 3: } --[white sticker]
line 4: }
Peeling the sticker away revealed the following in plain printing:
line 2: U.S Robotics
line 3: 1.012.0459-C
line 4: Product Rev. [box]
I peeled the other white sticker away and found a full-blown
decorative USR logo. The logo signifies to me more than, say, a
trademark, patent, or copyright assertion on a licensed clone done in
plain print. The logo must mean it is a genuine USR product, no?
This evidence convinces me the modem is nothing more than a USR modem
bought by Cardinal for repackaging. Probably it was a model that
didn't sell well or at least one in which USR had overstock. Sound
plausible to you?
Now the deal: I have to find what exact USR model this is. After
that, I must somehow hack either the USR modem upgrade wizard, the
Cardinal upgrade wizard (the two are identical BTW), or the USR .dmf
file containing later firmware.
As I see it, the upgrade wizard software looks for strings returned by
the modem in order to identify it. I can either hack the USR upgrade
wizard software to accept the string returned by my Cardinal, or hack
a USR .dmf file to look like a Cardinal .dmf for use by the Cardinal
upgrade wizard. The Cardinal wizard itself would not need to hacked
since of course the modem is a Cardinal and would be recognized as
such. I believe the USR .dmf would be easier to hack, since my
existing Cardinal .dmf files have what look like easily identifiable
strings. If so, the Cardinal wizard would blithely use the hacked USR
.dmf file and make my modem a full-blown USR. From there after, I'd
use the USR upgrade wizard.
How does this plan sound? Doable?
Now to identify the USR model my Cardinal actually is.
Externally, I have 7 LEDs across the front of the modem PCB and top of
my plastic shell. They are in order AA, CD, RD, SD, TR, CS, and
ARQ/FAX.
There is a power switch in the lower left corner of the PCB and to the
left of the lights on my plastic shell. There is a volume dial at the
far left of the PCB and plastic shell.
The rear, from left to right, is as follows: line jack, phone jack,
DIP switches, 25-pin female serial connector, and power plug. The DIP
switches number 8.
Given this info, is it possible to get an exact USR model number xref?
I have scoured the PCB for any model numbers, but nothing is obvious.
There isn't a single mark on the bottom of the PCB. The right top has
this: 97/09 94V-0 GSEP-M01. Other than the ICs, what should I look
for? In short, how do I ID this modem?
The modem itself has a 256k EEPROM, so I have x2 and V.90
concurrently. It is not a voice modem, just straight data and fax
(class 1 & 2.0). I have access to full USR functions, Sportster
variety not Courier, via the AT commands. There is nothing that isn't
USR about this modem except for the plastic clam shell.
Many thanks to anyone helping me tackle this, Pete
John Navas
Pet...@yahoo.com (Pete) wrote:
Plausible, but my guess is that it's an OEM modem designed by USR. It may
or may not have even been built by USR, much less be identical to a retail
USR modem.
>Now the deal: I have to find what exact USR model this is. After
>that, I must somehow hack either the USR modem upgrade wizard, the
>Cardinal upgrade wizard (the two are identical BTW), or the USR .dmf
>file containing later firmware.
>
>As I see it, the upgrade wizard software looks for strings returned by
>the modem in order to identify it. I can either hack the USR upgrade
>wizard software to accept the string returned by my Cardinal, or hack
>a USR .dmf file to look like a Cardinal .dmf for use by the Cardinal
>upgrade wizard. The Cardinal wizard itself would not need to hacked
>since of course the modem is a Cardinal and would be recognized as
>such. I believe the USR .dmf would be easier to hack, since my
>existing Cardinal .dmf files have what look like easily identifiable
>strings. If so, the Cardinal wizard would blithely use the hacked USR
>.dmf file and make my modem a full-blown USR. From there after, I'd
>use the USR upgrade wizard.
>
>How does this plan sound? Doable?
>...
Risky. If you flash the wrong firmware, you can kill the modem.
--
Best regards,
John mailto:Use...@NavasGrp.Dublin.CA.US http://www.aimnet.com/~jnavas/
28800-56K Modem FAQ: http://www.aimnet.com/~jnavas/modem/faq.html
Rick Collins
>Many thanks to anyone helping me tackle this, Pete
What you propose wouldn't be legal. Also, had you asked, many here
could have old you your modem was an OEM USR. As to the model number,
what you've described matches many models of Sportsters. It's not
possible to determine which from that description.
-----------------------------------
Rick (remove X from e-mail address)
'LilRedDog
BOTH values are used to restrain the connection....
I have not done a lot of work on this, but I could not get it to work
until I moved up to 22. I use &N35&U22. I had wanted to ensure a V.90
connection, so originally I tried &U15, but it seemed to ignore the
command until I got past &u21. Now I get a redial just as I had intended
at anything below 34,666
Good Luck.
Pete wrote:
>
> Hi all,
> Now the deal: I have to find what exact USR model this is. After
> that, I must somehow hack either the USR modem upgrade wizard, the
> Cardinal upgrade wizard (the two are identical BTW), or the USR .dmf
> file containing later firmware.
>
> As I see it, the upgrade wizard software looks for strings returned by
> the modem in order to identify it. I can either hack the USR upgrade
> wizard software to accept the string returned by my Cardinal, or hack
> a USR .dmf file to look like a Cardinal .dmf for use by the Cardinal
> upgrade wizard. The Cardinal wizard itself would not need to hacked
> since of course the modem is a Cardinal and would be recognized as
> such. I believe the USR .dmf would be easier to hack, since my
> existing Cardinal .dmf files have what look like easily identifiable
> strings. If so, the Cardinal wizard would blithely use the hacked USR
> .dmf file and make my modem a full-blown USR. From there after, I'd
> use the USR upgrade wizard.
>
> How does this plan sound? Doable?
>
> Now to identify the USR model my Cardinal actually is.
>
> Externally, I have 7 LEDs across the front of the modem PCB and top of
> my plastic shell. They are in order AA, CD, RD, SD, TR, CS, and
> ARQ/FAX.
>
> There is a power switch in the lower left corner of the PCB and to the
> left of the lights on my plastic shell. There is a volume dial at the
> far left of the PCB and plastic shell.
>
> The rear, from left to right, is as follows: line jack, phone jack,
> DIP switches, 25-pin female serial connector, and power plug. The DIP
> switches number 8.
>
> Given this info, is it possible to get an exact USR model number xref?
> I have scoured the PCB for any model numbers, but nothing is obvious.
> There isn't a single mark on the bottom of the PCB. The right top has
> this: 97/09 94V-0 GSEP-M01. Other than the ICs, what should I look
> for? In short, how do I ID this modem?
>
> The modem itself has a 256k EEPROM, so I have x2 and V.90
> concurrently. It is not a voice modem, just straight data and fax
> (class 1 & 2.0). I have access to full USR functions, Sportster
> variety not Courier, via the AT commands. There is nothing that isn't
> USR about this modem except for the plastic clam shell.
>
Pete
Navas) wrote:
>>This evidence convinces me the modem is nothing more than a USR modem
>>bought by Cardinal for repackaging. Probably it was a model that
>>didn't sell well or at least one in which USR had overstock. Sound
>>plausible to you?
>
>Plausible, but my guess is that it's an OEM modem designed by USR. It may
>or may not have even been built by USR, much less be identical to a retail
>USR modem.
It appear the modem was a genuine USR model. A sticker inside on the
serial port connector had a long serial number under a bar code. That
was followed by a few spaces and 00178602 R:2. Anyone familiar with
that number will know it means my Cardinal was a model 1786-02
external USR.
I can only surmise as I had guessed before. Cardinal bought the plain
USR models and not an OEM version.
Pete