-=> Quoting Trev Roydhouse to Tony Clark <=-

 >  TR> Your trusty Spirit Viper V34 modem can now be
 >  TR> upgraded from a lowly 28.8K (V34/VFC) to the latest
 >  TR> and greatest 33.6K speed.

 > Be carefull with this. The viper is a generic rockwell
 > modem.  The news I received from rockwell was that the 33K

 > upgrade was a beta release only.

 TR> Well, after a week on one of my BBS lines, I have no complaints.

I must admit I may have misled you somewhat.  The beta was out for a while
before the first official release 1500.  This release was then replaced by
1510 after about a week.  the good newsfor you is that the bug fix in 1510
should not effect you.  I was something to do with PnP from memory.

 >  TR> Cost: $25 if you purchased your Viper modem
 >                between 31 May and 31 July 1996.

 > This is ok for a new EPROM

 TR> Indeed.

 >  TR>       $65 if you purchased your Viper modem
 >                before 31 May 1996.

 > This is a rip off for a new EPROM  :(

 TR> MBE also replaced my DSP and CPU chips, in addition to the EPROM. I
 TR> believe it's extremely good value.

If they did that, you must of had the earlier -21 data pump and there was also
a broken version of CPU, but that was before they released V34 :(

 TR> In fact, my purchase of the Spirit II V32bis modem (Oct 1992),
 TR> subsequent upgrade to the Spirit Thunder V32terbo (Mar 1994), then the
 TR> Spirit Viper V34 (Apr 1995) and now Viper V34+ (July 1996) has been
 TR> the *best* modem purchasing decision I ever made. Original purchase
 TR> price $655; total cost of upgrades $339.

You have spent $994 on a modem you could by nowdays for around $300 - $400.
You have actually had two modems in this time, except for the case and power
supply. :)  Your lucky, in as much, as you haven't been burnt as much as some.
 Hi Dave :)

 TR> Care to name any other 1992 vintage modem which has had a similar
 TR> upgrade path and low cost?

In 1995, you ceased to have a 1992 modem!

 TR> There have been many, and more expensive, pretenders over that same
 TR> period; Netcomm, Telebit, USR to name just three who at various times
 TR> claimed theirs was "the last modem you'll need to buy" or had a
 TR> "future upgrade path".

Agreed, the Spirit was always reasonable value and they have given you a
reasonable upgrade path IMHO.  I still object to $69 dollars for a $10 EPROM
and 5 minutes labour.  I upgraded 3 of my modems, total cost $30 - EPROMS, $4
for a call to Rockwell's BBS plus 20 minutes labour. I spent 5 minutes
configuring the EPROM image for Australian service tone detection. :)

Tony


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