* Eveneens geplaatst in (also placed in) SUPRAFAX *
* Eveneens geplaatst in (also placed in) MODEM.028 *
Hello All!
TECHNICAL SUPPORT NEWSLETTER     Version 9.0,  1/97
                                   Circulation 16,000+
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Happy New Year !!  1996 was quite a year for us and I am confident that 1997
will bring many new products to you.  Please read on for some announcements
and tech tips to start your new year.
Regards,
Jim Hafner-Eaton
Technical Services Manager
Announcements:
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*  Diamond Multimedia Technical Support has added a new service.  We now
offer support via TTY/TDD.  This new service will give the hearing impaired
the same level of access to live tech support as we offer for the everyone
else.  Support will be available for both Supra modems and Diamond video and
graphics cards.  The phone number to call is 541-967-2451.
*  Look for 56K modem announcement information in the next newsletter.
Upgrades:
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*  FAXcilitate 2.2 is now available for download from our FTP
 and Web  sites.  The
archive will update owners of FAXcilitate 2.0, 2.0a or 2.1 to the new
version.  If you currently have FAXcilitate 2.x you are strongly encouraged
to download this latest version.  If you have FAXcilitate 1.7.x you will
need to purchase the full package from our Customer Service staff.  Our
Customer Service staff can be reached at 800-727-8772, 360-604-1410 or
sales@supra.com.
*  Supra VoiceMail 2.3 is available for download as well.  The archive will
update owners of Supra VoiceMail 2.2.   Supra VoiceMail 2.3 fixes a variety
of reported problems and adds many features to the prior version --
including 10 mailboxes, CID support, fax-on-demand and pager notification.
Supra VoiceMail 2.3 will begin shipping with new SupraSonic 336V+ this
month.  The new manual for this version is also available at

Tech Tips:
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Part I.  General Tips
*  Surfing Tip.  While surfing around the Internet you will undoubtedly come
across times when loading a new page seems to take forever.  Many seconds or
even minutes can go by and no new data is sent.  Rather than just waiting it
out, you may be better off clicking Stop (or whatever is comparable with
your Web browser) the reloading the page.  By requesting the page again, you
may very well be able to load it easily and quickly.
*  Achieving 33.6Kbps connections.  Sure, we all want 33,600bps connections
every time we call another modem.  [In reality, we all want faster
connections but we are happy enough with 33.6].  Many factors play a role in
your connection.  Your modem and the modem at the other end of the
connection certainly play a major role -- as do the settings being used with
those modems.  But your phone lines and the equipment that your phone
company and/or long distance carrier use is just as important.
   After making an initial connection, your 28.8 or 33.6 modem will
constantly monitor the phone line conditions and adjust the connection speed
accordingly.  Each V.34 modem is responsible for its receive speed and if
line conditions improve the modem will request a rate change.  Thus, your
initial connection -- the speed most of you may see in some dialog box or
window when you connect -- may not give you an accurate impression of the
average line quality.  You may initially connect at 26,400 or 24,000 but
then, minutes into the connection the rate may be at 28,800 or higher.
   Some users have found that adding S191=127 or S191=126 to their init
string improves the initial connection rates.  This is not true for all
users, however.  The S191 register sets how aggressive the modem will be at
achieving an initial connection speed.  Setting it to 128 (i.e. S191=128) is
neutral.  Setting it lower than 128 makes the modem more aggressive at
achieving a faster connection at the risk of a less stable connection.
Setting it higher than 128 makes the modem more conservative -- favoring a
highly stable connection over a faster one.  In most cases, leaving the S191
register at its default setting (i.e. 128) results in the most balanced
approach giving you as fast of a connection as possible while maintaining a
high degree of stability.  If you want to experiment with the S191 register,
you should not change the value more than a couple of points.  Any more than
that, you risk a bad connection or a failure to connect at all.
Part II.  Macintosh Tips
*  Upgrading your SupraFAXModem 288 to support 33.6Kbps is a great idea.
This requires you to use the 12014425 flasher utility (if you have the 288PB
or 288 BZT Approved modem the flasher utility name is different).  If you
currently have version 1.3x (or later) ROM code in your modem, then using
the new flasher utility to upgrade your modem will be a snap.  Some users
who have version 1.2x ROM code in their modem have reported problems
upgrading directly to new code.  For these users, upgrading to ROM version
1.3x first, then to the newest ROM version works well.  So, if you have
version 1.2x ROM code and want to upgrade your SupraFAXModem 288, 288PB or
BZT Approved modem to support 33,600bps, we suggest going to our FTP site
and downloading the 1.300-13 flasher and using it first before attempting to
use the flasher utility that adds 33.6 capabilities.  The URL is
ftp://ftp.supra.com/pub/flashers_history/v34/1.300-13/mac/
*  If you experience any troubles opening other modem applications while
FAXcilitate or Supra VoiceMail are ON, simply select Turn Fax Off (or Turn
Voice Off) from the menu prior to using that other software.  Many
applications check to see if the modem port is in use and they let you know
that another application (in this case FAXcilitate or SVM) is in control of
the port.  FAXcilitate or Supra VoiceMail will release the port when asked
to do so by the other application but some applications insist on being
"polite" and don't allow you to proceed until you turn off the FAXcilitate
or SVM software.
*  Some PowerBase 180 owners, who own a SupraFAXModem or SupraSonic modem,
have reported that they are unable to properly communicate with their modem
if it was off when the computer was turned on.  Restarting the computer with
the modem on resolves the problem.  We suggest that owners of PowerBase
computers affected by this problem just remember to turn on their modem
before turning on their computers.  Leaving the modem on all of the time
will not harm the modem nor use much power so that is an option too.  This
problem has not been reported by any SupraExpress modem owners since those
modems get their power from the computer, and thus, are always turned on at
the same time that the computer is turned on.
Part III.  PC/Windows Tips
*  Reinstalling Windows 95 after you have installed your modem.  If you find
it necessary to reinstall Win95 at some point after you have installed your
modem we suggest removing the modem first.  Then, after the installation of
Windows 95 is complete, you can reinstall the modem.  We have found that
Windows 95 does not consistently work right at detecting PnP devices during
the first boot up after the Win95 installation is complete.  If you do not
remove the modem you will likely find it detected and placed in a category
named Other Devices in your Device Manager.  Thus requiring a bunch of
cleaning up of the Device Manager and, perhaps the rebooting of your
computer to get the modem properly configured.  Summary: it is often easier
to just remove the modem then reinstall it.
*  Installing an External modem.  Some of our external modems ship with the
Plug and Play Utilities disk.  This disk has both the Win95 INF files for
our modems and the Plug and Play software needed for installing an
_internal_ PnP modem in a system running DOS or Windows 3.x.  If you are
installing an _external_ modem, do not install the Plug and Play software.
You only need that disk for purposes of having your modem recognized by
Windows 95.  The serial card in your computer (or serial port on your
motherboard) is what needs to be configured in your system.  In general,
that serial card is configured when you buy the computer.
*  Using an Internet Phone application.  There has been a recent upsurge in
the use of Internet phone applications.  The use of such applications allows
you to place telephone calls over the Internet.  The issue that is often
raised by customers contacting our Tech Support staff pertains to
full-duplex vs. half-duplex communication over the phone link.  First let me
define those terms.  Full-duplex: this is how your telephone works.  Both
parties can be talking at the same time.  Half-duplex: this is more like a
walkie-talkie where only one person can be talking at a time.  Full-duplex
is generally preferred and it is likely what you are expecting.
   Full-duplex speakerphone transmission over the Internet requires that you
have a full-duplex capable sound card and the appropriate full-duplex
drivers from the sound card manufacturer.  The full-duplex capability of
such a connection has nothing to do with the modem.  Even if you have a
speakerphone modem you need to have a sound card that can handle
full-duplex.  The speakerphone capabilities of a modem are not used when
placing phone calls over the Internet.  The sound card does all the
digitizing work and the modem merely transmits the data.  If you are unsure
if your sound card supports full-duplex, consult with the users manual for
the card of contact the manufacturer or dealer from where you purchased the
product. Being in Tech Support, I suggest reading the manual first. 
*  Configuring a Plug and Play modem for use with Linux.  Visit the
following web site 
and download the isapnptools from their 3rd party PnP drivers.
Once you are comfortable with your knowledge of how PnP works,
you may wish to try some of the other drivers such as the kernel
patches etc..  For answers to many other questions, try the FAQ at
http://www.redhat.com/linux-info/pnp/pnp-faq.txt
   If using isapnptools, you will need to use
setserial to configure the proper tty/cua device.  You need
to specify the UART type, interrupt, and I/O address, or the
modem may not work.  You should specify the UART as a 16550.
*  Some users have reported that FaxTalk Messenger is hanging up on callers
after about 5-7 seconds into the message that they are leaving.  In short,
the software is mis-detecting silence on the line.  Although this is not a
common error, if you do encounter this problem, here is a solution:
   Locate the file FAXTALK.INI in your c:\faxtalkm directory. This is a text
file and can be edited with any text editor or word processing software.
Open the file.  Scroll down to the section labeled
      [VOICEMAIL]
Add the following line to that section:
      SILENCEPERIOD=255
Doing so will tell FaxTalk Messenger to wait longer when detecting silence.
Thus, if FaxTalk Messenger is mis-detecting silence on your line it will not
disconnect the caller when they are leaving a message for you.
_______________________________________________________________________
  Maillist             Diamond Multimedia          maillist@supra.com
                    Communications Division
               7101 Supra Drive SW * Albany OR 97321
                      http://www.diamondmm.com
______________________________________________________________________
                Technical Support E-Mail Addresses:
pctech@supra.com         pcfax@supra.com            mactech@supra.com
faxcilitate@supra.com    faxnetwork@supra.com        mac288@supra.com
pc288@supra.com          pnplegacy@supra.com       pnpwin95@supra.com
________________________________________________________________________
All, regards & take care,
Henk            (e-mail: henk.loosbroek@pi.net)   [PGP KeyID: 9032BB1D]
Latest Supra-ROM (V34-PC-ext): 1.440-25-V34_DS (05 nov 96)(Magic: SUPE1201)
Latest BGFax                 : 1.60Z           (31 dec 96)(Magic: BGFAX)
... You must think I'm quite the madman. - Soran
--- GED3 3.00.Alpha2+/FD 2.12+/GE 1.11+
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