Rod, at 09:14 on Mar 17 1996, you wrote to Bill Grimsley...

BG> I've just spent half the morning replacing EPROMs,
BG> calling your M34F, and logging the results with each
BG> individual EPROM chip (all four of the bastards),

RS> Just think how much more convenient that would
RS> have been if the Sportster had been flashrom Bill |-)

Is that a macro, or are you just trying to make a point?  :)

As I said, the $700 I saved will pay for a hell of a lot of EPROMs...

BG> whilst the new V.34+ EPROM has provided an absolutely quantum leap
BG> in performance.  It's like running a completely different modem,
BG> as there's just no comparison between them.

RS> Its basically just the usual excising of modem inter operability warts
RS> on the handshake failures if they really have gone for good with the V43+
RS> roms. Presumably seen rather more on your type of very ordinary line.

May also have been an inherent design fault, considering that only the
floating connects were occasionally failing.  Once a specific link rate was
forced, say 26400 or so, the problem went away.  It could be that USR was
trying too hard for full speed connects, ignoring the problems that showed
up with faster link rates on poor or marginal lines.  Hard to say for sure.

RS> The same thing happened with one rom change in the Supra
RS> V32bis roms too, helped the handshaking very substantially.

Yeah, they were one of the few manufacturers to supply ROM upgrades, but
most Yank companies were pretty bloody slack with their V.32bis modems.

BG> Interestingly, I referred back to some of my press releases from
BG> USR, and they actually stated at the time that the V.34+ upgrade
BG> EPROM had been improved so dramatically, that users could expect
BG> at least one 2400bps step improvement in link rates, and in some
BG> cases, as much as 2 x 2400bps steps.  This actually correlates
BG> quite accurately with the results I'm seeing here too.

RS> Sure, but thats a completely separate issue to handshaking failures.

Dunno, if the signal level or the modulation was somehow stronger, I think
the two would go hand in hand.  But no matter whom I call at V.34 now, the
modem categorically refuses to fail.  I'm certainhly not complaining
though.

RS> AND its hard to say how much of that is poetic license on the
RS> speed stuff too, it may well be what actually happened is that
RS> its just fixed some blemishes in what they did before that. USR
RS> has always been very reluctant to admit they have fixed a stuffup.

This improved Sportster V.34 code was put about at around the same time as
they released the Courier flash-ROM which was giving everybody much faster
connects, so I presume it's much the same revision of code.

Regards, Bill

--- Msgedsq/2 3.20