GV mercury modem for 520c
Molly K Moore
10 seconds. It happens almost every time I use the modem. (Basically, things
that I type stop appearing on the screen.) I took it in to the electronic
services people at St. Olaf, and they said that it's just a defective modem,
that the two other people at St. Olaf who have the same model PB have had the
same problem, and that the GV people said that they wouldn't do anything to
replace, etc. Has anyone else had this problem? Did GV do anything about it?
MKM
Michael E. Fryd
K Moore) wrote:
What type of modem are you dialing into, and what compression options
are you using?
I have the same problem dialing into a Supra V.34 under ARA (no error
correction/compression). The strange part is that that under continuous
traffic conditions, it sometimes goes 30 minutes.
[FLAME ON]
WARNING: PERSONAL OPINION FOLLOWS FROM A FED UP GLOBAL VILLAGE MODEM OWNER
I am begining to suspect that it is a design problem with the
GV mercury modem. Both my 500 series mercury modems have
the same problem. If they admitted the problem, they would have
a major problem. They don't even have a newer internal to offer
as a trade-up. This is my 3rd, and final global village modem.
My first was the original PowerPort Gold. It was advertised as 14,400
with 4:1 compression. However it had a maximum speed of 38,400, so
4:1 wasn't a possibility. It also had a very slow v.42bis implementation,
so I usually got better throughput with compression off.
When global village came out with the improved Gold modem, I upgraded.
It would talk at 56k, but the latency speed on the v.42bis compression
was so bad, that it was still better to turn it off.
Now I have the Mercury. It disconnects after 20 minutes, and even Global
Village doesn't support the 19.2 speed in their new platinum modems.
At a recent trade show I asked a Global VIllage about an internal
V.34 for the powerbook. They said the 540 cpu wasn't up to it, and
I should wait and get their PCMCIA modem. If I get a PCMCIA modem, it
will be from a company with a history of working products.
The funny part, is that they keep repeating that the PB 500/modem interface
isn't fast enough to support support software v.42bis on the main CPU.
Why don't they simply put the v.42bis in hardware on the modem
card (as they do with the other internals, and is done with PCMCIA
modems)? They could at least be honest enough to say they aren't
interested in the market segment, instead of saying it isn't possible.
[FLAME OFF]
--
Michael E. Fryd
Mefco, Inc. e-mail: mf...@mefco.com
523 Michigan Avenue Phone: (305) 673-5200
Miami Beach, FL 33139 Fax: (305) 673-2950
Gen Kanai
we've been taken. GV sucks- their products dont work, they dont fix the
problem and they dont care. I have the same problem every one else has.
Any support they give me sucks and you can never get into their phone
support without waiting for 20 mins on YOUR own bill!
I'm really unhappy with mine and I'm gonna make sure that every single
powerbook owner I know never buys GV.
I'm gonna get a PC card and a PC modem...
I didnt want to.
Gen
In article <3vb97p$p...@news.stolaf.edu>, moo...@lars.acc.stolaf.edu (Molly
K Moore) wrote:
> My 520c came with a GV mercury modem that stops working after 20 minutes,
> 10 seconds. It happens almost every time I use the modem. (Basically, things
> that I type stop appearing on the screen.) I took it in to the electronic
> services people at St. Olaf, and they said that it's just a defective modem,
> that the two other people at St. Olaf who have the same model PB have had the
> same problem, and that the GV people said that they wouldn't do anything to
> replace, etc. Has anyone else had this problem? Did GV do anything about it?
>
> MKM
--
Gen Kanai // gka...@wolfe.net // gen.m...@dartmouth.edu
DoD#1458 // Calamari Club #004 // CB700SC!
"Don't knock on Death's door. Instead, ring the bell and run.
Death hates that..." --unknown
Drs Adosh W. van der Heijden
(Michael E. Fryd) wrote:
> In article <3vb97p$p...@news.stolaf.edu>, moo...@lars.acc.stolaf.edu (Molly
> K Moore) wrote:
>
> > My 520c came with a GV mercury modem that stops working after 20 minutes,
> > 10 seconds. It happens almost every time I use the modem.
(Basically, things
> > that I type stop appearing on the screen.) I took it in to the electronic
> > services people at St. Olaf, and they said that it's just a defective modem,
> > that the two other people at St. Olaf who have the same model PB have
had the
> > same problem, and that the GV people said that they wouldn't do anything to
> > replace, etc. Has anyone else had this problem? Did GV do anything
about it?
> >
> > MKM
>
> What type of modem are you dialing into, and what compression options
> are you using?
>
> I have the same problem dialing into a Supra V.34 under ARA (no error
> correction/compression). The strange part is that that under continuous
> traffic conditions, it sometimes goes 30 minutes.
>
FLAME LEFT OUT
I, one of a group of users of Internet Access Provider knoware.nl
(specialized in ARA-connections, using SupraV34/28K8 at the server-end),
am confronted with the 20-min.-time-out-problem of GV-mercury too. On 5XX
as well as on Duo 2XX. And by use of ARA 2.0 as well as MacPPP. A
GV-import-firm forwarded the following comment of GV:
====================
Quote GV:
-----
1.We have seen this one a couple of times as well, and it is under
investigation. I have seen a couple of these issues resolved with an
updated dialing script installed at the server end, but there seems to be
more going on.
2. This time out issue we do come accross from time to time. Efforts to
reconstruct this here have revealed that the most likely cause is script
incompatibilities with the client and server modems. Updating either the
client or server scripts usually resolves the problem. Two other causes
have been identified. The first is the use of older Supra modems, a ROM
upgrade will take care of this. And the other is the use of Shiva LANRover
3.02 and our modem on the server end. We have an updated script that will
take care of this one.
Also the problem occurs when dialing in to an Anchor 144V32HP modem. When
another modem is used the problem does not occur.
-----
End of quote GV.
=====================
So, Global Village Inc. please let us know what to do about it? Obviously
just using *new* supra-modems (Rom-update 1.2 from april 30. 1995) and
changing the ARA 2.0-script doesn't solve the problem.
See also: >Does anyone use a PCMCIA 28k8 modem on a PowerBook 500?< from
>rvme...@consultdata.knoware.nl (R.J. van Meenen)< in this newsgroup.
Adiosh!
--
Non cogito, sed muto ergo sum.
---Adosh W. van der Heijden---
Michael E. Fryd
It seems to be corelated to CLEAN phone lines.
If I momentarily pick up an extension while dialed up, I get an extra
10 to 15 minutes (total of 30 to 35 minutes before disconnect).
The trick is to provide just enough noise on the lines to disrupt
the modems, without causing them to disconnect.
If the 20 minute problem really is related to line quality, that would
easily explain why some people never see the problem, and others see it
constantly.
Michael Peterson
Michael E. Fryd <mf...@mefco.com> wrote:
>[FLAME ON]
>
>WARNING: PERSONAL OPINION FOLLOWS FROM A FED UP GLOBAL VILLAGE MODEM OWNER
>
>I am begining to suspect that it is a design problem with the
>GV mercury modem. Both my 500 series mercury modems have
>the same problem. If they admitted the problem, they would have
>a major problem. They don't even have a newer internal to offer
>as a trade-up. This is my 3rd, and final global village modem.
[SNIP...history of shoddy GV modems]
>Now I have the Mercury. It disconnects after 20 minutes, and even Global
>Village doesn't support the 19.2 speed in their new platinum modems.
>At a recent trade show I asked a Global VIllage about an internal
>V.34 for the powerbook. They said the 540 cpu wasn't up to it, and
>I should wait and get their PCMCIA modem. If I get a PCMCIA modem, it
>will be from a company with a history of working products.
>
>The funny part, is that they keep repeating that the PB 500/modem interface
>isn't fast enough to support support software v.42bis on the main CPU.
>Why don't they simply put the v.42bis in hardware on the modem
>card (as they do with the other internals, and is done with PCMCIA
>modems)? They could at least be honest enough to say they aren't
>interested in the market segment, instead of saying it isn't possible.
>
[RANT ON]
In contrast to puting the v.42bis in hardware, seems they could make
V.34s contingent on a PPC upgrade card. Seems a PPC makes their "CPU
is too slow" argument kinda silly. I bet they fire back with the
16mhz I/O bus being too slow. I think a bit of the flame should be
shot at Apple for making such a dead-end modem slot...if it really is
a dead-end.
[RANT OFF]
>[FLAME OFF]
--
Michael W Peterson mwpe...@nyx.cs.du.edu
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups....
Dave Hamilton
Peterson) wrote:
> [RANT ON]
>
> In contrast to puting the v.42bis in hardware, seems they could make
> V.34s contingent on a PPC upgrade card. Seems a PPC makes their "CPU
> is too slow" argument kinda silly. I bet they fire back with the
> 16mhz I/O bus being too slow. I think a bit of the flame should be
> shot at Apple for making such a dead-end modem slot...if it really is
> a dead-end.
>
> [RANT OFF]
Is it that the CPU is too slow, or is it the UART like it is with most DOS
machines that can't go past 19.2k?
-Dave
P.S. Have a nice day.
--
Have you ever gotten sick and tired of hearing AT&T take credit
for things they haven't invented yet? You will.
-Dave Hamilton (jaz...@onr.com)
Marc Bizer
(Dave Hamilton) wrote:
>Is it that the CPU is too slow, or is it the UART like it is with most DOS
>machines that can't go past 19.2k?
Macs don't have a UART (or at least not as a stand-alone chip). The modem
for the 500 series sits on the same 16-bit peripheral bus which handles
ethernet, video, etc... so speed limitations aren't an issue. It's just
that the Duo/500 series modem uses the Mac's CPU for the controller
functions (error correction, compression), and these require too much
overhead when you're running at 28.8kbaud.
--marc bizer
Steve Kanefsky
Dave Hamilton <jaz...@onr.com> wrote:
>
>Is it that the CPU is too slow, or is it the UART like it is with most DOS
>machines that can't go past 19.2k?
There's no UART involved at all because the modem is a bus modem not a
serial modem (i.e. there is no serial port -- the modem sits directly on
the bus). The 100-series PowerBooks are the only ones with serial modems
(and ironically they are the only ones for which an internal 28.8 modem
is available. Just goes to show that a dumb but standard interface can
be better than a fancy whiz-bang proprietary interface).
--
Steve Kanefsky
Nick Chinn
> My 520c came with a GV mercury modem that stops working after 20 minutes,
> 10 seconds. It happens almost every time I use the modem. (Basically, things
> that I type stop appearing on the screen.) I took it in to the electronic
> services people at St. Olaf, and they said that it's just a defective modem,
> that the two other people at St. Olaf who have the same model PB have had the
> same problem, and that the GV people said that they wouldn't do anything to
> replace, etc. Has anyone else had this problem? Did GV do anything about it?
This is not a bug with the modem, and even if it was, Global Village would
never refuse replacing it.
There is a definite possibility the problem is related to a bad
system...so you might check it out with Disk First Aid or Norton Disk
Doctor, or just try reinstalling the Global Village software, maybe even
from a fresh disk you can get from GV tech support.
-- Nick
*********************************************************************
Nick Chinn | FirstClass BBS administrator:
QA Engineer | * Dead Dog Party
Global Village Communication | * OneNet West Central - West US Hub
ni...@globalvillag.com | Serving the OneNet(tm) community
| since before the beginning!!
_____________________________________________________________________
--> for tech support, please e-mail "techs...@globalvillag.com"
Dave Hamilton
mlb...@mail.utexas.edu (Marc Bizer) wrote:
> In article <jazzbo-0208...@onramp2-15.onr.com>, jaz...@onr.com
> (Dave Hamilton) wrote:
>
> >Is it that the CPU is too slow, or is it the UART like it is with most DOS
> >machines that can't go past 19.2k?
>
> Macs don't have a UART (or at least not as a stand-alone chip). The modem
> for the 500 series sits on the same 16-bit peripheral bus which handles
> ethernet, video, etc... so speed limitations aren't an issue. It's just
> that the Duo/500 series modem uses the Mac's CPU for the controller
> functions (error correction, compression), and these require too much
> overhead when you're running at 28.8kbaud.
> --marc bizer
If the modem's using the Mac's CPU for all that, they why the hell is the
modem from Global Village so damn expensive?
Michael E. Fryd
ni...@globalvillag.com (Nick Chinn) wrote:
I am suprised you you seem so sure that this is not a bug
in the PowerPort Mercury.
- The problem occurs on multiple powerbooks for many customers
- I have personally verified the problem on multiple PowerBooks with
factory installed Mercury modems.
- I have personally verified that the problem occurs on a fresh
'out-of-the-box' Apple configured PowerBook 540.
- I have personally verified that re-installing the Global Village
or Apple System software has no affect.
- I have personally verified that these systems pass all Norton Disk
Doctor and Disk First Aid test.
- I have personally verified that the easiest way to solve the problem is to
slide in a PCMCIA card cage and use a non-global village modem.
- I have personally verified that Apple will not replace modems exhibiting
these symptoms, as Apple considers the modem to be 'working'
I have seen numerous posts from many people having the exact same problem
of PowerPort 500 Mercury modems disconnecting after 20 minutes and 5 seconds.
Other people have no trouble.
Clearly the Mercury has a problem under certain, yet to be tracked down,
repeatable conditions. (perhaps it only happens when dialing
into certain modems.)
I have noticed that picking up an extension while connected consistantly
extends the call past 20:05. This indicates to me that it is some sort of
timer inside the modem that causes the problem.
I have also noticed that Global Village's standard response is that there
is no problem with the Mercury modem; the problem must be with the user's
system.
Global Village consistantly claims an interest in quality, yet, when large
numbers of users have the same exact problem with the modem, GV says
"Try running Disk First Aid, our modems are fine". I would expect
a company that was actually intersted in product quality to query
users with problems, in an effort to find the common factor.
Forgive me if I sound bitter. But I have spent many, many hours of my
time over the last few weeks trying to get my Mercury working.
My PowerBook has been back to Apple, I have reinstalled software on
both my PowerBook and my server machine. All to ne avail.
I finally solved the problem by simply spending $575 on a PCMCIA card cage
and a TDK modem. I now have no trouble with a calls over 2 hours. Plus, I get
the added benefit of connections faster than 14.4.
Guy Teague
: In article <nickc-02089...@nchinn.globalvillag.com>,
: ni...@globalvillag.com (Nick Chinn) wrote:
: > In article <3vb97p$p...@news.stolaf.edu>, moo...@lars.acc.stolaf.edu (Molly
: > K Moore) wrote:
: >
: > > My 520c came with a GV mercury modem that stops working after 20 minutes,
: > > 10 seconds. It happens almost every time I use the modem.
: I am suprised you you seem so sure that this is not a bug
: in the PowerPort Mercury.
: - The problem occurs on multiple powerbooks for many customers
: I have seen numerous posts from many people having the exact same problem
: of PowerPort 500 Mercury modems disconnecting after 20 minutes and 5 seconds.
: Other people have no trouble.
: --
: Michael E. Fryd
: Mefco, Inc. e-mail: mf...@mefco.com
: 523 Michigan Avenue Phone: (305) 673-5200
: Miami Beach, FL 33139 Fax: (305) 673-2950
--------
I've been trying to follow these GV PP Mercury threads since before I
bought my PB520c with this model modem a few months ago. My only
communications so far has been using ZTerm 0.9 through a local BBS onto
the Internet @ 14.4. I ftp'd and downloaded some huge files from the apple
ftp site (about 16 hours worth over 2 days) and experienced no problems
attribibutal to the modem.
From reading these threads I got the idea that the problem only occured
(or was most prevalent) when using a PPP connection at 19.2. Is the
problem more general in scope than this? When most people post the
problem they just tend to say "lost connection after 20+ minutes"
which isn't much information. I wonder what the result would be if
someone tried connecting to someone else with the identical setup
including init strings -- whether the connection would drop
simultaneously from both ends. Please post. Thanks.
--
Regards, [dteague 73 de "They're out there" -- K. Kesey
Guy @csc.com] KG5VT "Brown shoes don't make it" -- F. Zappa
Michael E. Fryd
wrote:
>From reading these threads I got the idea that the problem only occured
>(or was most prevalent) when using a PPP connection at 19.2. Is the
>problem more general in scope than this? When most people post the
>problem they just tend to say "lost connection after 20+ minutes"
>which isn't much information. I wonder what the result would be if
>someone tried connecting to someone else with the identical setup
>including init strings -- whether the connection would drop
>simultaneously from both ends. Please post. Thanks.
The problem seems to depend on the type of modem at the far end.
My less than scientific survey indicates that
The industrial strength modems used by most service providers
seem to work fine. People dialing into consumer grade modems are
more likly to encounter the problem. Many people only dial into
industrial strength modem pools and have no problems, and hence do
not believe that their modem has a flaw.