From: foegelle@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Michael Foegelle)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple2
Subject: Re: Fast modems FAX software for the GS
Date: 13 Oct 92 18:47:39 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX

In article <92278.031109SAB121@psuvm.psu.edu> SAB121@psuvm.psu.edu writes:
>In article <j348562@pro-cynosure.cts.com>, dig@pro-cynosure.cts.com (Doug
>Granzow) says:
>>
>>tcomtaob@CHASM.SCAR.UTORONTO.CA (Brian Tao) writes:
>>
>   <<Much stuff deleted>>.........  Then one day, when I was going
>home for the weekend, I set up a dinky little BBS so that a friend could
>get some stuff off of my HD.  MISTAKE!  For no reason that I was ever able
>to determine (I think it must have overheated somehow), the modem died.
>Dead as a door nail.  I had 3 lights lit all the time (2400 baud, carrier
>detect, and power), but I could not get anything to recognize it as a modem.
>I turned it on and off about 19 million times, connected it up to 3 different
>computers (Still no go...) and finally took it back to where I purchased it.
>It was the 4th return that week!  The supplier said that he would no longer
>carry the Zoom, and replaced it with a Viva 2400, which has NEVER given me
>any problems.
>
In our area (Austin TX) many dealers (mostly mac) carry the "faceless" Zoom
modem which doesn't have their name on 'em, while others do actually carry
the one with Zoom's name.  The modems are identical otherwise.

At any rate, I bought one of the 2400 baud ones when they first came out about
two years ago, and had nothing but trouble.  After making up the cable and
configuring it, it worked fine for about the first few days.  However, since
I was trying to use it to run a BBS in which the modem was on at all times,
it apparently overheated and blew the power supply (or the phone circuitry
right by the rectifying circuitry more likely) within the first week.  The
dinky little plastic case just held too much heat in if nothing else.  The
power supply input area would get almost too hot to touch.  I took it back
and went through 3 modems in three weeks before finally demanding my money
back and getting a REAL modem.  (Still a cheap one with the same Rockwell
chip set, etc, but made by some Korean (ugh) manufacturer for CompuAdd and
placed in a nice metal case.  I haven't had a days trouble from that one, and
it cost less than the Zoom.)  Apparently, as I discovered with the second and
third Zoom modems, the phone circuitry itself must have been extremely flakey.
If a caller would call my BBS and not connect, the modem would stay online 
thinking it had a 300 baud connection!  So beyond them having a high failure
rate, they generally operate poorly as well.  They may have improved on their
high speed line, but why risk it?  Supra's just as cheap and at least has a
better reputation for quality.  
>
>If you really want to go cheap, fine, get a Zoom, but remember, you only get
>what you pay for!
>
> ______________________________________________________________________
>| Salvatore A. Buttice              |  BITNet: SAB121@PSUVM            |
>| 1511 State Street    _____________|__InterNET: sab121@psuvm.psu.edu__|
>| Erie, PA 16501      |  My opinions are my own.  They are subject to  |
>|_____________________|   change at short notice.  PSU had nothing to  |
>|_APPLE_II_FOREVER!!!_|___do_with_my_opinions,_I_formed_them_long_ago._|
>|________________<This_space_intentionally_left_blank>_________________|

Michael Foegelle

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