XPost: alt.comp.linux   
   From: nospam@needed.invalid   
      
   On Mon, 2/2/2026 6:39 AM, Carlos E.R. wrote:   
      
   > In the subject of winmodems, I bought one by mistake. At that time I   
   > double booted to Linux, and that blasted thing would not work in Linux at   
   all.   
   > I think I resold it to a friend what was a happy Windows user.   
      
   Modems were never a lot of fun at the best of times.   
      
   I had two modems with datapumps, one each from the different   
   modem factions. If I was "dialing into a Livingston front end",   
   there was a modem for that, and there was another modem   
   for the other flavors of front ends (modem pool).   
      
   I think if you mixed the wrong modem types together,   
   there would be a spiral of death, where the datarate   
   would drop, until the datarate dropped so low, it would   
   do a disconnect. And this is because if conditions improve,   
   the bins that weren't being used, would not be recommissioned.   
   And thus, a connection could only go downhill.   
      
   My modems may have been flashed once or twice. I needed to   
   flash them, for them to run at 56K. And I think a typical   
   good day with the modem, was 43.3 or so. The line to the   
   CO was likely too long, to support more than that. They used   
   to connect a tank of dry nitrogen to our "wire bundle"   
   in the manhole, and leave the gas running for a couple   
   days, to "dry the lines". And this would help bring my line   
   back to 43.3K again. I would occasionally have it drop all   
   the way to 33.6K because of line conditions.   
      
   I had to disconnect the household phone wiring, drill a wire up   
   through the computer room floor, and run a brand new phone wire   
   up into the computer room. And that's how I got the ability   
   to run at 43.3 . You had to fight every inch of   
   the way with that crap.   
      
   My manager at work, when he had to debug his damn modem,   
   there was corrosion in some phone wires where they passed   
   through the foundation wall.   
      
   "Good riddance, to bad rubbish."   
      
   I don't recollect anyone lamenting that their modem was   
   in the junk room now :-)   
      
      Paul   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)