BCI NET/BCI NET Dec 94.iso/archives/textfiles/linelink-faq.lha/linelink.amiga.faq

Text File | 1994-11-16 | 44.6 KB | 1,149 lines

The following is version 0.1 of the Frequently Asked
Questions on the Linelink144e modem sold by various retailers
for about $99.  This modem is a full 14.4K modem (v32bis) with
compression (v42bis). With appropriate software, it is
hardware capable for Fax and Voice Mail.

Due to the low cost a large number of people have been buying
the modem. Bad news is the modem comes with almost no manual.
This FAQ is intended to partially remedy this situation. It may
be of some interest to other users of high speed modems.

LineLink144e (Amiga) Frequently Asked Questions Version 0.1
===================================================
Information on the LineLink144e 14.4K modem sold by
MicroWarehouse as the Prometheus Promodem
Creative Computers as the VividLink
MacWarehouse as the LineLink
   the modem sells for $99.95 plus shipping from these sources

Version 0.1: 16 November 1994.

What's a LineLink144e Modem?
============================
The LineLink144e is a $99.95 modem that has v42bis (compression), v42
(error correction), v32bis (operates at a true 14,400 bps), has class 2
Fax and voice mail support in hardware. The next cheapest external modem
with these types of general features run about $160 at present. The
LineLink is manufactured by Prometheus.

About the LineLink FAQ author
=============================

This Amiga FAQ is based heavily on the work of:

Loudon Campbell   email: [e-mail]
In future email at  [e-mail]

Loudon Campbell is creator of the Macintosh version of the FAQ.

The format of this FAQ and much of the generic information comes
directly from his original document.
The Amiga FAQ modifications come from me:

Robert Davis     email: [e-mail]
my BBS           The Boarding House BBS  913-827-0744

and from other sources, some of whom are credited in this FAQ.

Specifications and Ordering Info
================================

As of catalog 21.0 from MicroWarehouse, the modem is listed twice.
Software supplied with the modem either has voice mail for MSDOS
computers or it does not, depending which way you order it.
The price is $99.95 for either version.
The modem itself is the same with either software package.

MicroWarehouse order phone number: 1-800-367-7080
International order phone number: 1-908-370-4779
Fax: [phone]
Express Customer Service (i.e. returns) 1-800-285-7080

For your $99.95+ $7 overnight shipping (US) this is what you get.

- FULL Error correction and data compression (v.42/v.42bis/MNP-5)
  In theory speeds can get up to an effective rate of 57,600 bps.
  (Don't expect any real data go this fast.)

- Has all the old standards (V.21/V.22/V.23, Bell 103). As well as
  modern V.32 (9600) and V.32 bis (14400).  Simply, this is a
  standard 14400 bps external modem.

- Truly useless manual and documentation. Manual is 28 pages
  This is the worst feature of buying this modem.
  S-Registers for this particular modem are detailed in document found
  on the Prometheus BBS.  A complete list of voice commands was
  recently posted. Both can be found on the LineLink Mailing list
  archive site.

- Manufactured by Prometheus for Technology Concepts.

- HARDWARE capable to 14.4K faxes
  GPFax works fine for receiving and sending faxes.

  As a LineLink modem, MicroWareHouse shipped a DB-25 to DB-25 cable
  and a DB-25 to DB-9 adapter in the package with the modem.
  From MacWarehouse or Creative, you get a Macintosh cable.

- SOFTWARE
  Nothing for the Amiga.  I use JR-Comm and Terminus.
  ProComm comes with the modem.  It makes a good blank disk.

- Supports Voice Mail (but I have not tried it myself)

My Linelink, serial number 83-12 %10456 reports the following:

ati3
Copyright (c) 1994 SSC, V1.3B.2   - 01/19/94

ati4
SERIAL * V32BIS * V42BIS * VOICE 2.2 * TIES * CID * SRFAX *

ati5
DSP Version: V1.30
MCP Version:V1.3  - 07/07/93, Copyright (c) 1993 SSC

- Almost Supports Caller ID sort of ...
 (i.e. it would really work if an extra relay was in the modem).
 Space is on the modem printed circuit board for a second relay.
 The first relay is used to pulse dial the modem.

- Uses Sierra chip set

- Uses a digital signal processor and conventional ROMS (no flash
  ROMS I am afraid, but what do you expect for $99.95).  The ROMS
  don't appear to be replaceable but who knows.

- Includes power supply .  For international buyers, it is a 120 volt
  transformer.  Output Rated at 9 Volts AC at 1 amp, 15 watts.

- Technical Support is provided by MicroWarehouse. (Which given a tough
  question then tells you to call Prometheus / Technology Concepts).

- Nothing written on warranty.
  BEST information I have is its a 120 day warranty from MicroWarehouse.
  Note that the MicroWarehouse catalog claims that all products it sells
  are covered by a 120 day warranty.
  However , I got a wide range of answers from MicroWarehouse and
  Prometheus on this point (i.e. 30 days, 40 days) all the way up to
  2 years with a 30 day money back guarantee.
  Buy it on a credit card that gives extended warranties. Unfortunately
  some of these card deals require a WRITTEN manufacturer warranty and
  registering.
  Finally it is computer equipment!
  Generally its outdated and obsolete long before it breaks.
  Low voltage electronics generally dies either in first few hours of
  constant use (and a couple of power cycles) or runs forever.

- Dimensions: Cheap, clean white plastic 1.75"x7"x8"
  Size of hard cover novel. Has cheap "feel" but looks OK. - The modem
  has a cheap built-in speaker that sounds horrible. - Instead of separate
  Receive Data and Send Data lights, it has only an I/O light.
  Some people find this a big deal, most could care less.
  AA (Auto Answer) CD (Carrier Detect), OH (off hook), MR (modem ready)
  are the only other LEDs. - Most batches of LineLinks use slide on/off
  switch (toggle is better).

Should I buy a LineLink?
========================

Keep in mind a few points. When this modem came out (early September
1993) the response to the $99 price on a v42bis, v32bis, S/R FAX modem
was overwhelmingly
       "Hey if it sounds too good to be true , it probably is" There is
an element of sour grapes (i.e. people who bought $250 modems a year
ago). Modems (external) with these data and Fax features were generally
in the $200 plus category. In PC world though prices were at or below
$130 so it really wasn't much of a surprise to see a bare bones $100 box.

People received the modems and confirmed they had all the features.
The argument then shifted to the quality of the modem, docs, and its
software. Personally I find the quality adequate, docs stink (you can
download info that is a good substitute).  There is plenty of fair
to good public domain and shareware terminal emulation software.

Generally higher priced modems will have longer warranties and have
better features like silent answer, call waiting etc. Few of the those
modems have voice mail however!

Short amateur opinions on who should or should not buy this modem.

 DEFINITELY SHOULD people.
   You own a 1200/2400 bps modem, have software you like and mostly
   call local BBS'es.

   You want to dial into a Unix server using SLIP or PPP etc.

   You want FAX, want voice mail, are on a tight budget
   (like a student) and have terminal software you like.

 PROBABLY SHOULD people.
   You want FAX, have terminal software you like, and you are
   willing to spend the money on GPFax ($50-60 US).

 SHOULD NOT people.

   You make many long distance connections or live where phone
   service is very poor.

   Need a good terminal program and don't want to use any of
   the freeware or shareware alternatives.

   Your continued income depends upon the modem working flawlessly.

The majority of owners have few problems. I bought mine mid July 1994
and have seen only relatively minor problems so far.

And note that MicroWarehouse is now selling the Magnum 14.4 FAX Modem.
This one sells for $89 plus shipping.  It uses the Rockwell chipset,
and does NOT have VoiceMail or the other extra features contained in
the Linelink.

 Generally the LineLink144e arrives at your door in one of four states.
  a) Works fine out of the box.
  b) Came with a defective/ mismatched/non-hardware handshaking cable
  c) Dead on arrival (usually fails self-test).
     MicroWarehouse will cheerfully replace the modem/cable if its found
     defective in the first 30days. They pay shipping both ways.
  d) Unhappy with life on your phone line or unwilling to talk to your
     favorite modem.

I suspect that resetting to factory defaults would
have "fixed" a lot of the modems sent back to MicroWarehouse, however it
is very clear that some of the modems are defective either due to bad
cables or the modem itself. (Note the LineLink seems to be selling well
especially to people who never had a high speed modem so more modems to
more inexperienced users means a large number of people with problems).

Concerning "d" above, my Amiga 3000 and LineLink could only get a 4800
bps connection to one local BBS, then using a BOCA 14400 modem.  When
the sysop switched to a Supra 28800 bps modem, the LineLine suddenly
began getting 14400 bps connects.  I don't know why,

Technical Support
=================
The manual is next to useless unless you have already used modems
before. The S-registers are not covered in any way whatsoever.
The S-registers covering data transfers are detailed in
a document found on the Prometheus BBS. (LineLinkSREG.TXT or 144E
SREG.TXT or something like that).

 If you want DETAILED info on AT commands in a more readable format.
  "The Hayes command set" according to Hayes including S-registers.
It can be found at following sites.

rigel.acs.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/modem/trm20.zip
ftp.uu.net:/systems/ibmpc/msdos/simtel20/modem/trm20.zip
wuarchive.wustl.edu:/systems/ibmpc/msdos/modem/trm20.zip
ccsun.unicamp.br:/pub3/simtel20/modem/trm20.zip
plaza.aarnet.edu.au:/micros/pc/oak/modem/trm20.zip

Another good place to look at files outlining commands for both
data and FAX is the site

ftp.halcyon.com: /pub/supra

Keep in mind this is a Prometheus manufactured modem. Their
implementation is slightly different from that of Hayes or Supra.
The above documents are however, still much better
than the manual that came with the Linelink.

 Note the LineLink does not strictly adhere to the Hayes command set.
 &R0 and &R1 are particular examples as well at TIES behavior. See
 BUGS later.  S register 30 in the modem attached to my Amiga simply
 does not exist.

With the above documents you should be nearly fully informed on the data
features of your modem.

The voice mail features have been released also. Again the mail server
should have the documents. This is of very limited use to even a
technically adept user. If you tear apart stuff to see how it works then
get it, if you want to use your modem for voice mail then get the files
on Aminet.

Generally hard problems require checking with Prometheus instead.

  Prometheus Sales 1-800-477-3473 , 1-503 -692-9600
  Prometheus Tech Support: 503-692-9601
  Prometheus BBS: 503-691-5199
  Prometheus FAX: [phone]

The correct internet email address for Prometheus tech support
on American Online is

       [e-mail]

In general ask questions on (AOL, or Compuserve ??) the LineLink mailing
list or the following internet Usenet newsgroups

 comp.sys.amiga.datacomm
 comp.dcom.modems
 comp.dcom.fax

An Amiga users comments
=======================

    Ordering:
    First  off, if they try to sell you the 'fax upgrade', don't take
it.   This is ONLY MaxFax software, the modem is already fax capable.
MAC owners are kinda dumb, so they are easy to take advantage of...:)
They sell Mac owners a DATA modem or FAX modem, both EXACTLY the
same except for the bundled software :):):)
    The same goes for the VOICE upgrade, again this is only MAC
software.

    Second, if ordering from Canada, do NOT let them add the GST!
    Why?  - here are the reasons to give the order clerk:
    - they are not a Canadian company,
    - the sale did not take place in Canada
    - there is no guarantee they will remit it to Canada,
    - their paper work to do so will cost them too much,
                    (worked for me)

    How my order went:
    I  ordered on Dec 1, 1993, and was told it would be shipped Air
Express and  I  would  receive  it within 7 days.  I called on the 9th
to ask about  my  order.   After  giving my PO number they discovered
it was issued  to  someone  else..and  they had no record of MY order.
They re-entered my order and  shipped  it  Overnight Air express and it
arrived  via  Purolator  Courier the  next  morning!   MacWareHouse
absorbed the shipping costs ($20US), a VERY NICE GOODWILL GESTURE.  I
actually paid only $99US.  Now THAT'S SERVICE!


    The modem:

    First off, since it is set up for MAC's two settings must be
changed for operation on the Amiga (and PC)
    &C1 so that carrier detect is NOT forced true
    &R0 so that RTS/CTS flow control does not use DTR/CTS as on the
MAC.
    and one other..
    &Q5 - although the sparse manual says this is default, it was not
on mine. It was set to &Q0, which disables v.42bis.

    The docs:
    Almost  useless  :)
    There  is  NOTHING  on  fax  in  the 28 page manual, nor on the S
registers.  A number of the commands are missing even though they are
referenced (%A for example).  Commands are listed which do not appear
in the profile and some which do appear, are not in the docs.  If you
have  the  Sierra  14.4 faxmodem chipset docs, you've got it all.  :)
Hayes,  Supra (and even Zyxel to some extent) documentation should be
generally  applicable.   The  SSC  chipset,  similar  to the Rockwell
chipset,  uses  \  and  %  commands  which are not found in the Hayes
command set.  The \ commands may give problems with software that uses
\ as an escape character.


    Some stuff not documented:

    ATI6    - returns the firmware revisions for DSP and MCP

    AT#F    ?
            IS SET TO 000
            (ON Zyxel, this is = AT&N32 (Set To ZFAX mode)
    AT%A    ?
            IS SET TO 000
    AT%B    ?
            IS SET TO 4


    Recommended Reading:
        TRM20.ZIP
        This  is the Hayes Technical Reference Manual.  It lists all
the AT, AT& commands as well as all the S registers.

        SUPRACLASS2.DOC
        This  is  a  Supra Technical Support Bulletin which lists all
the  Class  2 fax commands for the Rockwell faxmodem chipset, as well
as programming specifications.  Although the LineLink uses the Sierra
chipset, the Rockwell is very similar.

and another Amiga users comments
================================


From: [e-mail] (Ferry van 't Groenewoud (I87))
Organization: FWI, University of Amsterdam

Hi fellow linelink users,

I have an A500 1.5Mb mem 20Mb A590+ with Kickstart 1.2 (yeah, no money
for even a ROM-upgrade)

My LineLink works like a charm, got it from MacWarehouse and imported it
to the Netherlands. I bought a power supply for it since the 110V one will
not work here in Europe.

I will include some commands that will setup your modem pretty ok. I also
had the problem that the CD light was always on out of the box, but was able
to correct this straight from JRCOMM. No need to hook it up to a PC.

Some useful info I picked up from the net:

#-------------------------------------------------------------------------
LineLink 14.4e   part number BND 0249
Manufacturer = Technology Concepts

Toll Free Order Number      1-800-255-6227
International Order Number  1-908-370-4779
FAX Order Number            1-908-905-9279
Price                       $ 99.00 (American)

This modem is plain white with the usual lights for OH, CD, etc..
It has a female RS-232 plug on the back and an internal speaker
(generally the default is off). It comes with Macintosh terminal
software and cable.. So if you have an IBM or a RS-232 serial port
then all you need to use this modem is a RS-232 male to female cord.

It supports v32 and v42 and IS fax capable if you have the software to
utilize it..

Here are a few commands you might need to set it up..

AT&C1 - To reflect the true state of the carrier
AT&D3 - For DTR Hangup
AT&W0 - Saves profile setting to non volatile ram
AT&Y0 - Will recall saved user profile after each power up or reset

Another recommended init/setup (I haven't tested this one):

AT&F
ATW1&C1&D3\N6\V1\Q3%C1
AT&W0

Please note that you should set the RTS/CTS handshaking in your terminal
program.

Another command to be sure to send the modem is

AT&R0

The factory setting is for the modem to power up in 'mac'
mode. The Mac has a non-standard serial port, so it does
some weird things with the RTS/CTS handshaking. The above
command put the modem into 'pc' mode, in which case the
serial lines act normally.

The command string to make sure the modem gets v.42bis (default is usually
v.32bis):

        AT\N6\Q3\V1%C1

That's about it so far...

LineLink Mailing List
=====================

This is the best place to ask questions and get/give current info on the
Linelink modem. It has been an excellent source of information and a
repository of information on the LineLink.

   This list is for discussion of the LineLink 144e modem sold by
   MicroWarehouse and manufactured by Prometheus.  All discussions
   concerning this modem are welcome especially those about using
   it on platforms other than a Macintosh.

The mailing list and list server etc. for the LineLink was established
by Stan Hall


Stan Hall's  email address is  <[e-mail]>.

Files that are archived there include the latest FAQ (I hope) and
digests of the mailing list itself. Also the S-registers  documentation.
(Moderately useful) Complete set of voice mail commands.  (Not too
useful to even a technical user)

   If you wish to send a message to all of the list members, mail your
   message to:

      [e-mail]

 Note: It would be better to join the list before sending mail to all
       its members!! Don't send to this address to send mail to an
       individual.

To use this facility you will be sending email to one of the addresses
below.

   To send a message to the digest address it to:
      <[e-mail]>

   To contact the list server (to JOIN, UNJOIN, etc.) send your commands
to:
      <[e-mail]>


   To reach the list administrator send to:
      <[e-mail]>


  To contact the archive server (back issues, etc) send your commands
to:
      <[e-mail]>


   The address for the archive server is:
      <[e-mail]>


The commands used for the archive server(s) are:

     HELP
        Returns command summary.

     REPLYTO
        Responses from the server will be sent to this address instead
        of the address in the "From: " line.

     INDEX
        Will send a listing of files available from this server.

     GET <filespec> [uue[ncode] | xxe[ncode]]
        Sends the specified file <filespec>.  UU or XXencoding can be
        specified.

     QUIT
        Causes anything after this command to be ignored.

Examples:

Example join the Mailing List:
   If you would like to join the mailing list (highly suggested) send an
   email message to <[e-mail]> the email should have
   in its body the following two commands:

       JOIN LINELINK
       QUIT


Example get the most current LineLink FAQ:
    Send email to <[e-mail]> with the following
    commands in the body of the email message.


      GET /public/LineLink/LineLink.faq
      QUIT

   P.S. Server Trivia: you can also send the request to the list server
   address: <[e-mail]>

Also file names may change so try HELP and INDEX commands first

Undocumented Modem Features
===========================
Command ATW2 works. The corresponding register (S95 ???) is not present
however.  Some S registers seem to have larger ranges than indicated.

Caller ID (the feature that is sort of there)
#---------------------------------------------

Please note this is not a bug its a non-feature, I included it just so
the curious can play with it. The relay is not included so as a cost
cutting measure (reasonable since so few people have Caller ID). I think
the missing relay MIGHT have been used for other features (such as
recording outgoing messages from the local phone).

+=======================================================================+
>From Chris Baker (a co-author of MaxFax)

The LineLink firmware DOES support caller id detection.  The modem will
display the caller id it receives from the phone co.  The only problem
is the modem will then crash and require a powercycle to get it back
because the LineLink doesn't have the necessary relay switch onboard.

To try the caller ID yourself do the following:' AT#VS4' after the OK
set your DTE to DCE (port) speed to 19.2k and enter 'AT#CC1' to indicate
formatted caller id output.
+======================================================================+

Modem Bugs and Misfeatures
==========================

One person bought 4 LineLinks, after about 8 Hours of being on
unattended they had to be reset manually. This seems to be generic
problem with LineLink in that only power on and power off seems to solve
strange problems.  (It seems particularly prone in Fax and voice modes).

People have reported that the LineLink is about 15% slower than other
modems in side by side comparisons.  At present I discount this claim,
it appears to be about dead even with the majority of other 14.4K modems.
With one exception, the Linelink is exactly equal to my Zoom 14.4
in both uploads and downloads.

Some of the S registers are not saved to non-volative memory that you
might think should be saved. Most notably register S7 is not saved to
non-volatile memory.

Power Supply/ FCC license
-------------------------
The LineLink itself is in a plastic case so is more prone to RF noise
than a modem in a metal case.

Keeping the modem away from other devices is a reasonable precaution
though so far I personally have had no trouble in that area.

The included power supply "brick" is a 120 volt AC input to 9 Volt AC ,
1 amp 15 watts output transformer.  Its UL listed, however one person
reported that his power supply burned up (literally!).

One person in Norway used a 9 volt DC, 300 milliAmp transformer. The
modem responded to commands but the MR and CD light went out when the
modem went off hook. Some people think the power supply is too weak,
given that the modem works at all this grossly underpowered, this is
probably just a wild conjecture at this moment.  No one has reported
substituting a higher amperage power supply.

People have cited following problems
 a) Modem stops working when nearby refrigerator turns on.
 b) Modem MR light goes off and stays off, or just flickers.
 c) AM station being played over modem speaker.
 d) LineLink causes interference with television.

The above examples represent real hardware problems. Specifically
overloaded wall outlets with power spikes and RF noise. Yes a good hefty
size capacitor/inductor in the LineLink helps reduce the effects of
power spikes. On my Linelink it has a 2200 microfarad capacitor on the
circuit board which was much larger than I expected!
Plugging your LineLink into good noise/surge suppresser might help but
garbage in -> garbage out still applies.

If the MR light goes off for short periods of time (i.e. a few seconds
say every few minutes) don't worry too much. Otherwise start thinking
about where you might be getting noise and do something about it.


NOISE ON PHONE LINES
--------------------

People have reported that :
 a) Modem works with v42bis connections but not MNP
 b) Modem won't work over phone lines with appletalk
    on other phone line pair. (Not usually an Amiga problem!)
 c) Rewiring phone cable fixes problems.
 d) Long distance calls unreliable.

Usually these symptoms are accompanied with the MR light going on and
off.

The majority of "noise" problems seem to be poor software setup. Some
"noise" problems seem to be incompatible modems on other end. Some seem
to be real problems with the modems. The Linelink seems to be similiar
to other modems near its price in handling noise. It may be slightly
below average.

Keep in mind there is a lot of noise and very limited bandwidth on many
existing telephone lines. Note that ISDN will help in the future
making present modems obsolete.
Some telephone companies are now digitally compressing (lossy) so they
can cram more calls into the available bandwidth while claiming better
sound quality. This essentially translates into more (effective) noise
from the modems point of view.

The LineLink is MUCH better than a conventional 2400 bps modem or even
a 9600 bps modem without V.42 error correction in its ability to handle
noise on the phone line. All high speed modems are sensitive to noise,
its only a matter of degree.

On my modem I have successfully transferred data even when I pick up the
portable phone and keep it off the hook. It retrains (MR light goes off
and modems renegotiates, MR light comes back on). It then transfers at a
slower rate. If I talk into the phone too long it will disconnect. This
is exactly what it should do.

Bottom line is if you are using average or better phone lines and don't
expect miracles you should be quite happy.

Noisy lines MAY give trouble. Avoid this modem if you do much long
distance, unless you plan on buying, trying it and returning it if you
are not satisfied. (Most people ARE satisfied)

I doubt any modem less than about $200 is going to be significantly
better. Your mileage could vary.

Officially &R0 and &R1 are equivalent , i.e. they both do nothing (Milt
Sagen from Prometheus). Official word from Prometheus (Mark Smith) is
"At this point, the &R command is not an implemented command.  It is one
of those things that they planned to put in and so the documentation
refers to the command - but the modem does not actually respond to this
command in the manner described."


TIES (Time Independent Escape Sequence)
---------------------------------------

The LineLink appears to employ TIES (Time Independent Escape Sequence)

Escaping is the process of making the modem going into command mode to
accept modem commands from data mode (i.e. transferring files etc).

Rumor has it that TIES was created to avoid paying Hayes a royalty (3%
of modem price in one court case, according to a Hayes employee) on the
patent it holds.

In order not to accidentally trigger this behavior in this file,  I am
going to write three pluses +++ as + + +, i.e. with spaces.  This is
only so the file can be easily uploaded, don't include spaces when
typing.

A TIES modem goes immediately into command mode (i.e. accepts AT
commands) if

+ + +AT"return" is typed at any speed with anything before or
after it.

In other words if you are trying to transfer a file that "happens" to
have this sequence of 6 ASCII characters it will stop in mid transfer.
The program you are using is then likely to hang (because it still
thinks the modem is in data mode).  This is dangerous behavior. There is
no warning and if it happens on a file it happens each and every time To
be fair the half life is gigabytes of random ASCII data before you would
expect to trigger the behavior. But real data is not random!

In contrast the Hayes standard requires that if you type in
    "Wait Guard Time"+ + +"Wait Guard Time" has effect of going to
command mode. Where "Wait Guard Time" is a pause in input of at least
the guard time.

This is exactly the behavior described in the LineLinks manual.

The guard time is stored in register S12 in 50th of a second.  Hayes
standard has 1 Second (S12=50). LineLink has S12=40. We can reset S12 to
50 or more but that is not a problem.

Note that the S-register info on S12 given in the document on the
Prometheus BBS contradicts the manual on the behavior of the second
guard time.

My experiments with the LineLink using Zterm produce the following.

With S12=40, I initially got very sporadic results. I don't understand
some of the behavior but some of it can be attributed with fact that the
line pacing in zterm is set by default at 40/60 'th of a second

With S12=200 , I got the following behavior consistent with a guard time
of about 3.5 seconds.

+ + +AT"return"  escape independent of where EXCEPT
+ + + +AT"return"  doesn't escape.
"Wait Guard Time"+ + +"Wait Guard Time"   escapes
+"Wait Guard Time"+ + +"Wait Guard Time"  doesn't escape
"Wait Guard Time"+ + + x"Wait Guard Time" doesn't escape
"Wait Guard Time"x + + +"Wait Guard Time" doesn't escape

In other words it behaves like a TIES modem that also obeys the Hayes
standard, but has weird behavior when doing combinations involving four
pluses in a row. This may be "correct" behavior but its still bizarre.

In previous version of this post I reported "Wait Guard Time"+ + + would
escape without the second guard time, I now can't reproduce that
behavior. Some people have reported + + + without an initial "Wait Guard
Time" escapes.  My guess is there are some bugs in the ROM on parsing
the input in these cases but who knows or cares anymore.

None of this behavior is really that important in practice. Ignoring
Hayes propaganda test files and documents on modems you are unlikely to
trigger the behavior with real data accidentally.

Setting up your Linelink for the first time!
============================================

Obviously plug every thing in like the manual shows.

The phone line from your wall goes in the LINE phone socket not the
PHONE socket. (Easy to do when you aren't looking at the back!)
The Linelink LINE socket is closest to the left rear corner of the
modem.  The PHONE socket is closest to the RS-232 connector.  This
is reversed from just about every other modem ever made.

Turn on the power etc. Load any communication program.  JR-Comm and
Terminus are the programs which I use most.

When you first get your modem, do the following commands. Redo these
commands if your modem "Misbehaves" for no apparent reason.

ATZ
AT&F
AT&F0
AT&F3
AT&W0
AT&W1
AT&Y0

The command ATZ resets the modem.  Normally Avoid its use it resets data
settings, some Fax and some voice settings. ATZ or repowering the modem
DOES not necessarily restore factory defaults unless you do the above
procedure.  The commands &F   &F0 and &F3 resets the active profile to
factory defaults. Prometheus says they are identical but it pays to be
paranoid at least once. AT&W0 and AT&W1 save the active profile to the
two permanent storage locations (non-volatile memory) so next time you
power on your modem (or use command ATZ) you will be at factory settings
automatically. AT&Y0 selects the first non-volatile memory settings as
the default on next power up.

DO THE ABOVE OR YOU MAY REGRET IT!! You have been warned!!

The command AT&V will display the present settings. For reference on my
modem at 57600 bps  (which was purchased in Sept. 93) at&v gives the
following  for the ACTIVE PROFILE ( slightly reformatted to fit)

ACTIVE PROFILE: B1 E1 L2 M1 N1 P Q0 V1 W0 X4 Y0 &C0 &D0 &G0 &J0 &K3 &L0
&P0 &Q5 &R0 &S0 &T4 &U0 &X0 &Y0 \C0 \G0 \Q3 \T000 \V1 \X0 %A000 %D2 %E1
S00:000 S02:043 S03:013 S04:010 S05:008 S06:002 S07:040 S08:002 S09:006
S10:014 S11:075 S12:040 S14:AAH S16:00H S18:000 S21:00H S22:76H S23:11H
S25:005 S26:001 S27:49H S36:007 S37:000 S38:020 S46:138 S48:007 S49:010
S50:200 S63:000 S82:128

There are some differences between shipping modems, you can compare
 it with the manual defaults, &R0 is commonly different as well as \V1 .
 Don't worry if you have &R1 instead. If \V0 is your default you should
 probably add \V1 to all your init strings.


Testing Your LineLink
---------------------
How to test your modem .
Most of Procedure is from tech support (except for things they forgot to
tell me like you need to escape + + +).  First this is a very incomplete
test. If it fails send the cable AND modem back. If it passes you still
may have a bad cable or more rarely a bad modem .

Use the provided modem cable. Turn power on Modem , Mac etc. You need
not plug in phone line to do test. Start up terminal program. I used
MacKermit myself , but zterm, or MacKnowledge should be fine. First set
your terminal software to 9600 bps (or lower). 14400 bps won't work at all.
19200 will work on some of this but not all.  Don't enable hardware or
software flow control in your software. {Should work with flow control
but if your cable is miswired it will complicate the test of the modem }
The test procedure is shown below.

I added some comments and put prompts "You>" and "Modem>" in. Don't type
"Type>" and "Modem>" or the comments.  But do type in carriage returns
on input.
  You> Means you type it in.
  Modem> Means the modem responds with this line.
  !   Means this is a comment I added to clarify what is going on .
Excluding prompts and comments this is exactly what happened on mine (at
9600 bps)

You>atz
! Normally avoid atz since it changes FAX and Voice settings.
Modem>OK
You>at&f3
Modem>OK
You>at&f0
! Modem is set competely to factory defaults.
Modem>OK
You>at&q0
! This puts it in asynchrous mode. It also disables v42 (error control)
! and v42bis(compression).  I also believe it requires DTE speed to equal
! DCE speed.  Only &Q0 is allowed for this self test.
! (Same as Hayes modem).
Modem>OK
You>at s18=0
! This is redundant, since factory defaults were reset above.
Modem>OK
You>at&t8
Modem>OK
! Modem flashes MR light until you enter next line.
You>+ + + at&t0
Modem>000
! The 000 means no errors were detected. If nonzero send LineLink back.
Modem>OK
You>at&t1
Modem>CONNECT 9600
You>This is stuff I typed in.+ + +
! Should echo everything you type until you exit with + + + (No spaces)
Modem>OK
You>at&t0
Modem>OK
You>at&f
! Just putting it back to factory defaults
Modem>OK


Typical Session
---------------

The following is Hayes BBS's phone number which is obviously a good
place to call to test your modem.  Please do try local phone numbers
first and read some of Hayes advertising out of courtesy.

   Hayes BBS (800-874-2937).


Following is typical phone connection (Dial in to US Robotics v32bis,
v42bis) I used zterm, with hardware flow control on. Hardware hangup
OFF. bps rate set to 57600 (I know wishful thinking but we can hope!).
Here is EXACTLY as it appears on our system as I dial in.

AT&FW1L3&C1S7=60

OK

ATDT 18008742937

CARRIER 14400

PROTOCOL: LAP-M

COMPRESSION: V.42BIS

CONNECT 57600

Note we have  LAP-M error correction  and V.42BIS compression . The
carrier is 14400 which means we have v32bis. The connection between my
Mac and modem is 57600. At the Unix end (you can't tell it from above)
the receiving modem is connected to the modem at 38400, so I personally
cannot exceed 38400 on our dialups . Keep this type of thing in mind
when judging speed. If you get different responses above it is very
likely that the modem on the other end doesn't support one of the above
standards, or is not set up correctly.

Know what you are dialing into.  If you get a 9600 bps connection on a
modem that someone claims to be 14.4K , maybe the modem on the other end
doesn't use V32bis but an older proprietary format.


How do I set up Program "XXX"  for the LineLink?
================================================

First read section about setting up your LineLink for the first time.
In both the manual and this FAQ. Then precede.

In programs there is generally an dialog box that lets you input a
string that is sent to initialize the modem. Sometimes called reseting
the modem. Call this the init string.  You may have to type the
string manually. Generally the string that works and gives you what you
want is

AT&F

a better string is

AT&FW1L3&C1S7=60

  &F  MUST be FIRST in the string after the AT.  (ESSENTIAL)
  W1  Gives more detailed info on the connection especially error
         control and compression.  May confuse very old and stupid
         programs that look for CARRIER instead of NO CARRIER.
         but not very likely.  (VERY VERY useful)
  L3  Turns up the volume to highest level. (L2 is default, Very
      Optional)
  &C1 Makes the carrier detect light on modem do exactly that.
      More and more programs can detect carrier (on the GPi pin)
      Hence its used (or needed) in some modern programs. For older
      programs its ignored.  In any case its helpful and can't hurt.
      No reason not to use it.
  S7=60  means modem has 60 seconds when calling out to get
       a valid carrier before hanging up.  The default is 40 seconds.
       My LineLink connects in about 17 seconds after the other modem
       answers the call so 40 seconds is usually enough. 60 seconds
       does help many people and is very helpful when doing FAX/VOICE.
       S7=90 may help on long distance calls. Eliminates many problems
       and adds no new ones. (ESSENTIAL for some people). For
       international FAX calls S7=120 is suggested. Linelink documents
       indicate 60 is maximum, 90 seems to work but be conservative and
       try 60 before trying 90.


Avoid using ATZ, ATZ1, ATZ2 if you are using Fax/Voice Mail.
The reason is that ATZ resets both the Fax and the voice features in
addition to data settings.  I am sure this causes much grief for people
since many programs send ATZ without you ever knowing it. Otherwise feel
free to use ATZ but be sure to start from factory defaults. You did read
the above section "Setting Up your LineLink for the first time" right?

As far as the software settings of your programs

You want hardware handshaking enabled for both input and output. CTS
often refers to output hardware handshaking. RTS (and/or DTR) often
refers to input hardware handshaking. The point is that hardware flow
control should always be used.

Don't use SOFTWARE handshaking (also known as XON/XOFF flow control)
unless Hardware Handshaking is NOT available.  Add &K4 to init string of
the offending program and use XON/XOFF flow control in software and
pray.

Don't use both software (XON/XOFF) and hardware handshaking !!!

If you get garbage on your screen after the other modem answers
---------------------------------------------------------------
Any Amiga can handle 19200 bps comfortably.  Most accelerated Amigas
can handle 38400 bps, some work OK at 57600 bps.
So start with 19200 bps and move up if everything works.

Double check to see if hardware handshaking is being used.

Double check the parity etc. used in terminal emulator /comm program.

Most computer systems use 8 data bits , 1 stop bit and no parity.

IBM mainframes commonly used 7 data bits and even parity.

Check to see if your terminal type is correct.

Generally Unix systems will use either VT52,  VT100, Tectronix etc.
If you are calling an IBM-PC or most bulletin board systems generally
either TTY or ANSI or ANSI graphics will be appropriate terminal type.

More exotic data settings
-------------------------
Some people prefer to use W2 instead of W1. This could confuse some
programs.  Programs that autobaud generally look at the connect speed
as the DTE (Amiga) speed which is the only relevant info for the serial
port connection to work.  W2 returns CONNECT 14400 even if the DTE speed
is 57600. W1 gives the most information. W0 gives the least confusing
information from the terminal program's point of view,i.e. minimal
information.
W2 gives less information than W1 and a different interpretation of
CONNECT. Try W2 if it works and you like it use it.

If you want to disable data compression while still using error
correction add S46=136 to the string. Disabling compression is not
recommended except in unusual situations. Using v42bis compression will
NOT significantly slow down data transfers even when sending
pre-compressed data. Only MNP compression has that problem.

If your phone line is an old leased PBX system or some other weird
system you may need to add S63=x where x=0 to 15 and represents how much
to decrease the carrier output. The default is 0 and should be increased
by 3's.  Very unlikely to be needed. I haven't tried it recently so
don't be surprised if it makes it worse.

If you are in the United Kingdom or HongKong add  &P1 to the string.

You could save these settings using AT&W0. For instance
AT&P1&FW1L3&C1 S46=136 S7=60
AT&W0
AT&Y0
Would save personal settings appropriate for someone
in the United Kingdom who dislikes compression.
Note S7=60 still needs to be in the init string since S7 register
isn't saved in non-volatile memory on the LineLink.

If you have a very noisy phone line you can add S10=26 to your init
string. This allows up to  (26-6)/10 = two seconds of really bad noise
before losing your connection. The default is 0.8 seconds.  Increase
only if you must and only by as small amount as you can get away with!

System Software
---------------

FAX (and nothing but the FAX)
=============================

Call Discrimination a.k.a. Adaptive Answer
------------------------------------------
AT+FAA=0 enables
calldiscrimination (otherwise called Adaptive Answer).

Or maybe  AT+FAA=1 does?  I have two different answers!!

Interestingly AT+FAA by itself returns codes consistent with the values
listed for the the voice/fax/data discrimination.

FAX bugs and misfeatures
------------------------
No Amiga specific information is yet available.

For folks new to ftp
--------------------
If your Amiga is hooked up via SLIP or PPP then you should know
how to get files to your system already.

The following assumes you are connected to a Unix machine connected to
the internet, and you have a Unix shell prompt on the screen.

Generally after logging into your Unix machine you simply type
ftp
you then get a prompt something like ftp> you then type in
open "ftpsite"
where "ftpsite" is the name of the site you are connecting to so for
instance open ftp.cdrom.com

When ftp prompts you for a username and password, send "anonymous" as
the username, and your email address as the password, for the author
of this Amiga version of the FAQ, it would be [e-mail]
Use your real email address as a matter of courtesy. Help usually lists
available ftp commands. Most common are cd (change directory),
ls (list directory), get (get the file from the ftp site to your local
Unix box) and quit.

Here is a typical ftp session:

ftp> open ftp.cdrom.com
Connected to wcarchive.cdrom.com.
220 wcarchive.cdrom.com FTP server (Version wu-2.4(1) Mon Aug 15 13:35:59 PDT
1994) ready.
Name (ftp.cdrom.com:salin2lb): anonymous
331 Guest login ok, send your complete e-mail address as password.
Password:
230-Welcome to wcarchive - home ftp site for Walnut Creek CDROM
230-
230-You are user 144 out of a possible 350.
230-
     (a whole bunch of advertising for Walnut Creek CDROM deleted)
230-
230-Please read the file README
230-  it was last modified on Tue Aug 23 04:13:33 1994 - 46 days ago
230 Guest login ok, access restrictions apply.
Remote system type is UNIX.
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp> cd pub/aminet
250-Please read the file README
250-  it was last modified on Wed Sep 21 22:16:20 1994 - 17 days ago
250 CWD command successful.
ftp> get RECENT
local: RECENT remote: RECENT
200 PORT command successful.
150 Opening BINARY mode data connection for RECENT (8939 bytes).
226 Transfer complete.
8939 bytes received in 2.2 seconds (4 Kbytes/s)
ftp> quit
221 Goodbye.

Real people would have had an "ls" command somewhere in there to see
what files are there before trying to download them.

On most Amiga file sites, files such as RECENT are stored in either
straight ASCII or as GZIPed files.  RECENT.Z would be such a GZIPed
filename. The downloadable executable files for Amiga computers are
usually compressed in LHA format.

AT this point, the file is now on your Unix box. You then download it using
xmodem, zmodem, kermit or whatever (using either ascii or binary mode
depending on above).

FTP SITES
---------
These are the members of Aminet and have the files from here.  All mirrors
have the new files but most delete old files, however ftp.wustl.edu and
ftp.cdrom.se keep all files.  Whenever possible, use the mirror that is the
closest to your place.  Most mirrors get updated three times a day.

USA (MO)     ftp.wustl.edu           128.252.135.4   pub/aminet/
USA (CA)     ftp.cdrom.com           192.153.46.2    pub/aminet/
USA (TX)     ftp.etsu.edu            192.43.199.20   pub/aminet/
Scandinavia  ftp.luth.se             130.240.18.2    pub/aminet/
Switzerland  ftp.eunet.ch            146.228.10.16   pub/aminet/
Switzerland  litamiga.epfl.ch        128.178.151.32  pub/aminet/ (*)
Germany      ftp.uni-erlangen.de     131.188.3.2     pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-paderborn.de    131.234.2.32    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-kl.de           131.246.9.95    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.cs.tu-berlin.de     130.149.17.7    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-oldenburg.de    134.106.40.9    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.coli.uni-sb.de      134.96.68.11    pub/aminet/
Germany      ftp.uni-stuttgart.de    129.96.8.13     cd aminet
UK           ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk        146.169.2.1     pub/aminet/
Australia    splat.paxnet.edu.au     192.107.107.6   pub/aminet/ (*)

   (*) closed 6:30am to 4pm weekdays
==========================================================================