Date: Wed, 25 Sep 1996 20:14:04 -0600 From: Steve Passe <smp@csn.net> To: questions@freefall.freebsd.org Cc: rohit@cs.UMD.EDU Subject: Re: questions-digest V1 #1395 Message-ID: <199609260214.UAA23341@clem.systemsix.com> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Wed, 25 Sep 1996 18:19:58 PDT." <199609260119.SAA08774@freefall.freebsd.org>
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Hi, >I have a USR sportster 28.8K external FAX modem hooked up to COM2 >with Straight thru cable. > ... >When I dial in to the ISP using 'tip', the connection goes thru >fine, but I am frequently interrupted by moderately long periods >of silence where my keystrokes are not echoed onto the screen. >These keystrokes seem to be bufferred someplace (TCP??, remote modem??) >as they spring back up after a while. I lose characters sometimes, >but only very rarely. This sounds suspiciously like a problem I had with a pair of sportsters. The bottom line was hardware failure. The problem was that the sportsters were doing re-negotiation every 2 - 15 minutes. The perioud of "blackout" would be between 15 - 180 seconds (going by memory). Judging from news I saw on the net this may be a "feature" of a certain generation of sportster. Note the end of item #2: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- > 1. There most definitely is a "new" V34 USR Sportster which represents > a total, radical redesign over those V34 Sportsters which were the > subject of the rave reviews in the magazines last year. > > 2. This "new" V34 Sportster is currently in distribution with firmware > eprom dates of: > 09-19-95 > 10-13-95 > 10-18-95 > 01-11-96 > All of which have been observed to contain operational anomalies in > various stages of evolution. The major bugs in 09-19, 10-13 and > 10-18 firmware manifest themselves as interoperability and > connectivity problems, ie, inability to connect without placing > multiple attempts and a propensity to abort that connection once > made. They also have been observed to simply freeze up when trans- > mitting data. The freeze-up problem continues in 01-11-96 firmware. > > 3. Users sending their "new" redesigned V34 Sportsters in for warranty > repair recently report receiving their modem back with a firmware > eprom date of: > 03-04-96 > Which tho a significant improvement over prior firmware versions, > still contains the intermittent FREEZE UP bug. > > 4. USRobotics R&D is obviously aware of the issues in earlier firmware, > as evidenced by the barrage of subsequent firmware "maintenance > releases". They are also said to be aware of the "freeze up" matter > and are reportedly working to address this nagging problem, although > as of 04/11/96 wasn't fixed yet. > > 5. MOST RECENTLY, USRobotics has ceased socketing the firmware eprom > IC chip on the V34 Sportster and begun SOLDERING IT TO THE BOARD, > MAKING FIELD REPLACEMENT IMPOSSIBLE. AWWWWWWWWWSHITTT!!!!! > > 6. The "new" V34 Sportster product can be identified on vendor's > shelves by examining the 8th place of the 16-digit product serial > number. External models containing the new circuit design begin > with serial numbers either 00083901 or 00083902 where the "01" > or "02" are the identifying characteristic. Internal models begin > with serial numbers either 00084001 or 00084002. Again the "01" > and "02" are the identifying characteristic. Prior design models > which -do not- contain the above discussed operational anomalies > contain a "0" in the 8th place, ie, 00083900 and 00084000. These > product serial numbers are listed on the product end-flap and may > be examined without opening the unit. INSTALLED modems may have > their "i7" screen interrogated, ie, ATI7<enter> from any terminal > program. The "new" designed units will display a CLOCK FREQUENCY > of 92.0 Mhz. Prior designs use a 20.16 Mhz clock frequency. Also > the ATI7 screen can be interrogated to read the firmware eprom > date. Latest known firmware available carries the date 03-04-96. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- My sportsters matched the designation described in item #6. I noticed that the problem was worse on hot days. My solution was to keep the modem COOL. I literally had to put a fan next to it, blowing air both over and beneath the case ( I put tall rubber feet underneath it to allow airflow below it ). This, plus cranking up the air conditioning a notch, has eliminated the problem for me. -- Steve Passe | powered by smp@csn.net | FreeBSD
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