Stan writes:
 
>Key difference: the Courier is *designed* to be
>left turned on 24 hours a day, the Sportster
>(and other cheap modems) aren't.
 
Let me disagree with Stan a bit. Don't discount the "cheap" modems so
quickly. We've installed about 200 inexpensive modems at our various
customers sites over the last two years -- and to my knowledge, not one of
them has ever failed. And I'm quite sure that they're used in just about
every conceivable environment.
 
When we began the modemization of our customers two years ago, we originally
recommended the Bocamodem 14.4K, but later changed our recommendation to the
Hayes Accura 14.4, and then to the Hayes Accura 288 (street price: approx.
US$240) or the Magnum 28.8 (approx. $159). We changed our recommendation not
because of any bad luck with the Bocamodem, but simply due to price and
availability of the (then new) Hayes modems.
 
Due to bad experiences with both USRobotics and MultiTech modems years ago, I
haven't (and am not likely to) recommend either brand to our customers (but
that could just be residual prejudice on my part). Rather than take a chance,
we recommend only Hayes or Magnum modems, simply because we've had such good
luck with them (Magnum is manufactured under license from Hayes).
 
In order to make the connection of a modem to an HP3000 even easier for our
customers, we ask if they won't let us buy the modem for them and configure
it here before we send it on the end user. Doing this has made life
enormously easier for everyone; at that point, it really does become just
plug and play.
 
One note on the 28.8K modems: there are now two standards for 28.8Kbaud
transmission, V.34 and V.FC -- and, of course, they are incompatible. If the
28.8K modem that you purchase does not support both standards (and there are
many that don't), then the highest speed two disparate 28.8K modems will find
in common is 14.4K. Modems that support both the V.34 and the V.FC standard
cost no more than single-standard modems.
 
Wirt Atmar