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Testing modems

S

SunDown79

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2005
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785
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I have these two old modems and although they power up I dont really know if they work.
So I was wondering what a good way would be to test these, its not like I can dial any BBS' anymore really ;)
I can remember that in the past I hooked up two modems with a direct connection between them (and probably some sort of crossed telephone cable) and that I could let them dial each other with dialtone detection off on both of them (or something like that).

Second question I have is if there is some way of hooking the modems to the internet so that someone might be able to do a telnet session and that there actually a real modem would pick up (there is no real practical use but I just think it would be fun to do) :)
 
I have a box the simulates a phone line. You place it between two modems and they can connect to each other. Forget the actual name for the item however. Otherwise, you are somewhat forced to find someone who has a hard line these days. Seems many people only have mobile phones.
 
It's actually pretty simple to test modems. There are two aspects. One is to have the modem on the right comport and IRQ, and the other is to send it an "ata" command to see if it will answer. If you get that far chances are the modem is fine, though there is always the chance that there is some odd problem - very rare though.

So, check the IRQ and com settings. Beware that DOS (I'm assuming) labels comports starting with one, so there is some room for confusion if you start with 2 in real life. As for sending the modem an "ata" that is often done simply by typing "echo ata >com1". If that doesn't do anything, then try com2, and so on. You can also talk to the modem using a comm program. Simple ones like Lync are best for this. I put that here for you.

Yes, modems hook up to the internet just fine. At least 10% of internet users do it this way. You need an ISP that has a modem to which you can connect. Those that offer dialup usually have banks of these and they're all 56K these days. Of course you will need to set up an account with them too. You will be using PPP and once you connect you will be able to do whatever you normally do, be it telnet, ftp, http, or whatever. That part is up to the software you're running.

Anyway, perhaps I'm wasting my time. You didn't bother to say what you had or what OS you wished to run, so perhaps you're not serious about this. :) For all I know you could have a winmodem.
 
Ha nah your not wasting your time, although I am talking about external modems, I have never really fancied internal modems.
And I dont actually know yet what I am going to hook up the modesm too, perhaps I'll put my BBS back to live on my Amiga, or perhaps I will connect my siemens telex to it.
That was also why I asked if there is a posibility to hook it up the internet or something (perhaps with a reverse RAS or something if that exist). Connecting the telex is easy with a RS232 to ethernet/telnet box but I would love to include the modem in it :)
 
External modems are basically a no-brainer. Plug it in and set the software to the comport that your serial port occupies. Fire up a communications program (like the one I just posted) and you can send commands to the modem. Usually "ati3" will return a string with the modem's identity. Then "ata" to see if it goes on line (you don't need to plug it into a phone line) and then "ath" to hang up again before the noise drives you crazy. :) Like I said above, the last two commands don't even need a program because the feedback is audio.

Without getting too fancy and if you don't have any local dialup services, you can still use the modem to dial from the command line - which is handy for setting up a contact list on your computer. Arrow up to redial. There's lots of fax software - though only a few businesses use that any more. I've got a command line faxer that I use the odd time when I want to send a note to a business.

What are the modems? They're not leased line are they?
 
I've resisted responding by saying that there are modems and then there are modems.

How do you, for instance test a Bell 208 modem? (you can still find them as well as compatibles).

Until the OP gives us more specific information, it's hard to say.
 
I actually do know about modem basics, I am bit rusty but I ran a BBS and have used them often enough at work too a long time ago (so go easy on me but you can go a little technical, if I dont understand I'll ask haha) :)
The modems are a longshine modem 2400 mnp5 (pretty much a clone-brand I think) and a Tornado Super Modem 2400.

The telephone line simulator seems interesting but it seems they are mainly to be found in the us.
 
You can always use the self-test feature of the modem. But if you want to test modem-to-modem operation without using a simulator, it's sometimes possible to set the answering modem using the ATA command and the originating modem with the ATH1 command. If that doesn't work, try ATD.
 
I'll hook it all up and take all your tips and see where I get :)
I also just downloaded a SIP server package and see if I can configure my ADSL modem (that also does VOIP) and get another voip gateway and then hook up the modems to that (who knows, perhaps the start of a vintage SIP network hehe)
 
I don't remember the commands via memory but there were some built-in diagnostic commands also you could send to the modem but you'd probably need to use a dialer program to see the response. Ironically I don't know what free ones are out there. I used (purchased) Procomm Plus years back on the 8088 and never tried anything else. You might search for the manual for that specific modem and it should have whatever adt or diagnostic commands listed as well (other than yes the very simple ata (answer) or adtdYOURPHONENUMBER to see if it'll dial (it will generally pick up with an ATH1 or 0 and check for a dialtone before dialing though).
 
barythrin said:
I don't remember the commands via memory but there were some built-in diagnostic commands also you could send to the modem but you'd probably need to use a dialer program to see the response. Ironically I don't know what free ones are out there. . . .
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Is there some reason to suspect that these modems don't work? I've got quit a modem collection and I don't think I've ever run across one that doesn't work. I do have a couple of very old ones that would only take capital letters, and that took a while to realize! As for onboard diagnostics, USR has a help menu "at$", but I suspect most of the 2400 generation don't have that level of functionality.

For getting stuff on the screen, yes you need a program and it sounds like the OP knows that. :) I posted one similar to Procomm above. It is half the size and to my needs, more functional.

As for testing on-line, is there some reason that a call to one of our many North American dialup BBSs wouldn't work? I doubt it would cost more than a couple of euros for a quick call. Also if, like most people, the OP doesn't have two phone lines at home, he could take a computer to his friend or neighbours and set it to host mode and call there - or call home from there. Even the little program I posted can do host mode and there is no real setup other than typing "Alt-Q" which is in the menu - so no real learning curve. If you take the time to create a couple of directories you can test upload and download. Additionally you can do chat or leave messages. The program is about 37K so you can even just put it on a bootable DOS floppy and run it off any machine (an old laptop, or perhaps the neighbour's machine if it has a floppy drive) and save some lugging of equipment.
 
Here are some of those commands but as Ole Juul correctly stated, some of these are newer features on newer modems or proprietary to US Robotics, etc. If you initialize the modem with a higher speaker volume (if it supports it) or just enable it with ath2 (etc) then dial a friends house (let them know ahead of time or call a 1-800 free number) you'll be able to hear them talk through your modems speaker. You won't be able to do anything to talk back but it'll let you know that send, receive, and dialtone are likely working. The only modems I've seen stop working are ones struck during a thunderstorm but the good part is yes most modems are just plain obsolete and working not cheap because they're broken.
 
Ole Juul said:
Is there some reason to suspect that these modems don't work? I've got quit a modem collection and I don't think I've ever run across one that doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Not to dispute your observations, but my observations fall at the other end of the spectrum. I have more dead modems in my basement then the next two or three types of cards or devices combined. :) In the 80s and 90s I had to replace more clients' modems than anything else (as perviously stated). Although lightning (your friend from the other day) :) was certainly the culprit for many of these there were more than enough just plain equipment failures.
 
Stone said:
Not to dispute your observations, but my observations fall at the other end of the spectrum. I have more dead modems in my basement then the next two or three types of cards or devices combined. :) In the 80s and 90s I had to replace more clients' modems than anything else (as perviously stated). Although lightning (your friend from the other day) :) was certainly the culprit for many of these there were more than enough just plain equipment failures.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, well, given the phone number listed above, if anyone's interested, I can try my stack of USR Courier, etc. external modems to see how many work. They go back to the Dual Standard model. and Courier HST models I also have some Hayes and odd models, such as Zoom.
 
Stone said:
Not to dispute your observations, but my observations fall at the other end of the spectrum. I have more dead modems in my basement then the next two or three types of cards or devices combined. :)
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Same here; card for card definitely the most problem-prone card or external device in my experience, and lightning's not usually an issue in the downtown Toronto bank towers where most of my clients are/were.
 
MikeS said:
Same here; card for card definitely the most problem-prone card or external device in my experience, and lightning's not usually an issue in the downtown Toronto bank towers where most of my clients are/were.
Click to expand...

I guess I just haven't lived. :(

This is actually very interesting. Vancouver where most of my equipment came from, is not prone to lightning either. One might guess that some other factor is involved in this discrepancy of experience. I'm not a professional so perhaps my sample is considerably smaller. Nevertheless, I've probably got 30 modems and have had others in the past. Could there be a difference in the telephone system? This whole province is one company and has been since the telephone was introduced. Ontario could have an electrically different telephone infrastructure regarding surges and spikes perhaps. The other aspect is that the west coast rarely has any static, in fact I'd bet money you couldn't get a spark from rubbing a ballon on a synthetic carpet on most days. I remember reading about static and electronics when I was a kid and over the years have rarely seen the phenomenon - although I've looked for it. I finally decided that the people talking about it weren't actually lunatics ( as I had supposed when I was a kid) but that they in fact had a different experience based on living in a different part of the world. :)
 
So does lightning matter when most of your telephone and power lines are buried? My power comes from a 6600V drop from the main distribution line, thence underground to the transformer sitting in my front yard, then underground to the house and main panel. The phone lines are buried from the fiber-fed DSLAM to the house.

We don't get much lightning here, so the question is probably academic.
 
Burried cables probably are better protected then above ground cables but it is by no means a guarantee that nothing will happen, if lighting strikes close by enough your equipment will still be fried (I dont know this from a technical point eventhough I, as many, work in IT but I work for an insurance company and when lightning strikes somewhere there is always collateral damage). Fiber is ofcourse lightning save as its not an electrical cable so it wont travel along that.
 
Chuck(G) said:
So does lightning matter when most of your telephone and power lines are buried? My power comes from a 6600V drop from the main distribution line, thence underground to the transformer sitting in my front yard, then underground to the house and main panel.
Click to expand...

Yes but the transformer is still above ground. And if a lightning bolt hits close, the EM field that current generates can induce enough in your house side turns to cause damage. I have a similar setup in my neighborhood, but $19.95 investments in TVS protection is still a no brainer to me.

I must admit though I haven't had a wired telco carrier going to my house since I dropped the T1 in 2002.
 
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