PE>> As of 1996-02-28T09:40 I have my Netcomm M34F back online.  
PE>> I have added %L11 this time, and we'll see how it goes before
PE>> I try changing some other parameters.  BFN.  Paul.

JL>> When the hell are you going to stop this modem circus and just
settle with 
JL>> the most acceptable performing modem?

PE> That isn't an option available to me.  In fact, I don't even
PE> know which is the most acceptable modem yet.

Paul, are you trying to look for problems that simply don't exist or are
these "anomolies" and "bugs" which you state, simply a
byproduct of your warped and loony behaviour ?? :)

Seriously, no modem you choose is going to interoperate 100% with the
diversity of modems that your points/other users have.  There are way too
many variables to consider, hence you must reach a compromise of sorts -
some users are going to have to tolerate anomolies which others won't
experience.  You can't possibly cater for all your users needs but you can
effectively minimise operational tradeoffs through careful modem usability
testing - something which you're attempting to do, although in a rather
unorthodox way.   

PE> I need to wait for genuine problems with the Viper to come in.  Once I know
PE> what the answer is, at least then I will know which one is the best 
PE> performer.  And if the answer is:

PE> 1. USR, then I can't buy a replacement for 2-4 weeks anyway, and
PE> I've already spent the money on a Netcomm, so have to think hard
PE> about what to do.

It was foolish and naive of you to outlay money on a NetCon modem when you
were  well advised to stay away from them.  From your perspective however,
I can see some advantages behind your motivation to buy the NetCon (Local
support, Ease of replacement etc) yet given the poor reputation and limited
feature-set of these modems (esp the V.34 models), you've basically landed
yourself an inflated plastic paperweight :-)

For all the time you had the USR online, I never had an ounce of trouble
connecting.  Never once did I get a non-EC connect at DTE rates greater
than 9600bps, yet link rates at V.34 remained consistently higher with the
USR than with any other V.34 modem you've had online.  Autobauding
anomolies aside, the USR has been the best performing modem you've had
online.

PE> 2. Viper, then I can swap with the Netcomm, but if it turns out
PE> that all I needed to do was change a couple of parameters, then
PE> I'm going to be a real goose.

You passed the "goose" stage a while ago.  You're now entering
the "Raving loony stage" :-)

From memory, when you last had the Spirit Viper online I had a pretty
uneventful time - the generic Rockwell modem I was using (with the buggy
"04BC" DP) was quite happy negotiating with the Viper but was far
from ideal since the buggy Rockwell had retrains permanently disabled.
Needless to say, I ditched the Rockwell and bought a V.34 Lifestyle a short
time later.

PE> 3. Netcomm, then I can keep my existing modem and be happy.

In your dreams  :-)

PE> As it is, the Netcomm is the only one that has failed to let
PE> the Maestro SE connect, even with %L11, which means now is the
PE> time for a long process to continue.  Assuming %L11 doesn't
PE> fix Bill's problems, then the next thing I need to know from
PE> Bill is whether my Netcomm M34F is at least a halfway-decent
                                                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
PE> 14.4k modem.                                     
    ^^^^^
ROFL! - You really have a profound sense of confidence with your M34F don't
you Paul?. NOT!


John.


BTW, What modem did you have online at approx 12:30PM ~ 27/02/96?. I
couldn't obtain an EC connect at all with your modem and hence had to
resort to a forced V.22bis/NO-EC link. Any ideas?
@EOT:

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