Path: ugle.unit.no!trane.uninett.no!eunet.no!nuug!EU.net!howland.reston.ans.net!spool.mu.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!faqserv From: birchall@pilot.njin.net Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems,comp.dcom.fax,comp.answers,news.answers Subject: Fax/Modems: Practical Peripherals "PractiFAQ" Supersedes: Followup-To: poster Date: 23 May 1994 10:32:36 GMT Organization: none Lines: 430 Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: 6 Jul 1994 10:31:46 GMT Message-ID: Reply-To: birchall@pilot.njin.net NNTP-Posting-Host: 18.70.0.209 Summary: This posting contains Frequently Asked Questions - and answers - about Practical Peripherals fax/modems and data modems. It should be read by users seeking information on these products. Keywords: Practical Peripherals FaxModems FAQ X-Last-Updated: 1994/01/27 Originator: faqserv@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU Xref: ugle.unit.no comp.dcom.modems:51076 comp.dcom.fax:7178 comp.answers:5262 news.answers:22529 Archive-name: modems/practical-peripherals-FAQ Last-modified: 1994/01/04 Version: 1.03 Practical Peripherals Frequently Asked Questions Compiled by Shag (birchall@pilot.njin.net) Revision 1.03, January 4, 1994 This document seeks to provide accurate answers to Frequently Asked Questions about PPI (Practical Peripherals, Inc.) modems, faxmodems, and other products. Information contained herein isn't guaranteed to be the best or latest available, but has been compiled from several sources, including PPI's own catalog and information services. Please send questions regarding this FAQ, questions you would like included in this FAQ, and suggestions or corrections for this FAQ to the address above. Posting frequency should be about once a month, for those who keep track. ************************************************************************* * This file is NOT officially sanctioned by PPI. The prices listed are * * suggested prices, and retail prices are usually considerably lower. * * Thanks go out to PPI's tech support, the maintainers of the PractiFAX * * service at PPI, and especially Paul, Yvonne, and Gene at PPI Online * * Support, for the debugging and update information. * ************************************************************************* ---------- Contents of this FAQ: What's new in this revision? What's PPI? How can I contact PPI? What if I live in Canada? What V.FC (V.Fast Class) 28800bps products does PPI offer? Will PPI be supporting the V.34 standard, known as "V.FAST?" Does PPI offer any network or rack-mount products? Does PPI offer any products for use in Europe and Asia? What external modems and faxmodems does PPI offer? Why does the PM14000FXSA cost so much more than the PM14400FXMT? What internal modems does PPI offer for my PC? What are the differences between all these 2400bps units? What faxmodems does PPI offer for my portable computer? What other products does PPI offer? Will I need a high-speed UART to use my PPI modem with my PC? What software comes with PPI modems? What are the current EPROM versions for 14400bps faxmodems? My modem is buggy, how can I get an EPROM revision? What's this about data pumps? How do I find out which data pump I have? What do all the different Fax terms mean? What kind of warranty and support does PPI offer? Does PPI offer Caller ID support? Does PPI offer Distinctive Ring Detection? Will PPI be supporting the V.34 standard, known as "V.FAST?" Why does the CD light on my PPI 14400bps faxmodem blink? How can I display the help screens on my PPI 14400bps faxmodem? Why is my PPI 14000bps faxmodem so reluctant to hang up? Where can I get a PPI modem configuration file for my BBS? Are there any PPI SIGs on BBS networks? ---------- What's new in this revision? Information has been added regarding the following topics: PPI's new V.FC (V.Fast Class) 28800bps modems. Planned support for the V.34 (V.FAST) 28800bps protocol. PPI's new rack-mount and network products. PPI's new products for international use. PractiCARD compatibility-tested systems. Current 14400bps faxmodem EPROM versions. 14400bps faxmodem ATI3 data pump return codes. Information has been removed regarding the following topics: Printer buffers no longer listed by PPI. What's PPI? PPI is Practical Peripherals, Inc., a manufacturer of computer peripherals. PPI is known particularly for modems and faxmodems. The company is a fairly autonomous subsidiary of Hayes, and generally offers lower-priced units than the Hayes brand. How can I contact PPI? Practical Peripherals, Inc. 375 Conejo Ridge Avenue Thousand Oaks, CA 91361 (805) 497-4774 Corporate Headquarters (yes, 4774 spells 4-PPI) (800) 442-4774 U.S. Sales Office (800) 537-2291 Canadian Sales Office (805) 496-7707 Tech Support and Upgrades (805) 374-7200 General/Sales FAX (805) 374-7216 Tech Support FAX (805) 496-4445 PPI BBS (800) 225-4774 PractiFAX What if I live in Canada? In Canada, PPI is represented by: Keating Technologies, Inc. 25 Royal Crest Court, Suite 200 Markham, Ontario L3R 9X4 (800) 565-3284 Sales (416) 479-0230 Corporate Headquarters (416) 479-0232 FAX What V.FC (V.Fast Class) 28800bps products does PPI offer? PPI introduced the first three members of its PM288 family of modems based on Rockwell's V.FC interim protocol at Fall Comdex in mid-November of 1993. This protocol, short for V.FAST Class, supports data speeds of 28000bps, with fallbacks to 26400bps, 24000bps, 21600bps, 19200bps, 16800bps, and 14400bps. The units also support the V.32bis protocol for speeds up to 14400bps. Computer-to-modem DTE speeds up to 115200bps are supported, and all three modems support 14400bps faxing. The PM288LCD is a stand-alone modem with a 3-line LCD which displays 30 modem functions including time of day, fax page count, actual throughput, caller ID strings, and status messages. Front-panel control buttons allow menu navigation. The Hayes compatible unit supports caller ID, asynchronous and synchronous operation, and includes an external speaker volume control. At only 4.2" deep, the unit has a much smaller footprint than its predecessor, the PM14400FXSA. The PM288HC internal half-card modem for PC-compatible computers is based on a 16550 UART to enhance background and multitasking performance. The PM288PKT pocket modem weighs only 4.2 ounces, and includes 8 LEDs, a speaker, 2 RJ-11 ports, a serial cable, 4-AA battery pack, a plug-in AC adapter, and a leather carrying case. All three units support Class 1 and 2 FAX, distinctive ring detection, Hayes AutoSync, alphanumeric telephone number translation, and DTE speeds up to 115,200 bps. On-line help is included in ROM, and the modems are covered by PPI's lifetime warranty. These modems are expected to ship for PC's and Macs in early 1994. Pricing and additional specs will be available shortly from PPI. Will PPI be supporting the V.34 standard, known as "V.FAST?" When the V.34 or "V.FAST" protocol is finalized by the ITU-T next year, PPI plans to support it fully, and will probably offer upgrades for existing 28800bps V.FC modems. No upgrade price has been determined yet, as the price of a new V.FAST unit may be so low as to make upgrades economically infeasible. It's highly unlikely that the 14400bps V.32bis modems will be upgradeable to V.FC or V.34, since the technology is different. Does PPI offer any network or rack-mount products? PPI introduced a line of rack-mount products at the Fall 1993 Comdex show, including racks, modems, and a LAN fax server. The PM288RC is a rack-mount 28800bps V.FC (V.Fast Class) modem with 14400bps send-receive fax, designed for use in PPI racks. The PM144RC is a rack-mount 14400bps V.32bis modem with 14400bps send-receive fax, designed for use in PPI racks. The PR16 is an EIA 19-inch metal rack with a display and control panel and 16 rack modem slots. The PR8 is a desktop rack assembly with 8 rack modem slots. The PR4 is a rack assembly with display and control panel and 4 modem slots. The PR4NFS is a Novell Netware network fax server in a desktop assembly with a display and control panel and 4 modem slots. Pricing and additional specs will be available shortly from PPI. Does PPI offer any products for use in Europe and Asia? PPI recently introduced its line of international modems, which are external models similar to those available for use in North America, but are designed for compatibility with electrical and telecommunication systems throughout Europe and Asia. The PM28800SAi is a V.FC (V.Fast Class) modem with 14400bps send-receive fax capabilities. The PM14400SAi is a V.32bis modem with 14400bps fax capabilities. The PM9600SAi is a V.32 modem with 9600bps fax capabilities. Pricing and additional specs will be available shortly from PPI. What external modems and faxmodems does PPI currently offer? PPI offers a variety of external modems and faxmodems which can be connected to just about any computer with an RS-232 port. These units are primarily aimed at IBM-compatible PC's and Apple Macintoshes, and most are available for either system. The Macintosh ones cost a bit more but include the special cabling necessary for use on the Macintosh. Price sheets are available from PPI's PractiFAX service, and the prices at the beginning of Fall 1993 were: Model Name US$ CAN$ MAC US$ MAC CAN$ PM14400FXSA 549 659 579 695 PM14400FXMT 299 379 299 399 PM9600FXMT 249 329 269 369 PM2400EFXSA 169 195 189 229 PM2400FX96SA 149 179 159 189 PM2400F Mini 119 143 - - PM2400SA 89 129 119 179 Why does the PM14000FXSA cost so much more than the PM14400FXMT? The PM14400FXSA includes a 12-character LCD display - in addition to the 10 LED's which the PM14400FXMT also offers - and uses an AT&T data pump, mounted on a factory-upgradable daughterboard, rather than the PM14400FXMT's single-board Rockwell design. The PM14400FXSA was introduced several months before the PM14000FXMT, at which time prices for 14400bps modems were markedly higher. What internal modems does PPI currently offer for my PC? PPI offers several modems which are compatible with ISA-bus PC's and one which is compatible with MCA-bus PS/2's and PC's. These units can not be used with Apple Macintosh computers, and do not offer LED or LCD readouts. The prices on PractiFAX at the beginning of Fall 1993 were: Model Name Bus US$ CAN$ PM14400FX ISA 259 349 PM14400FXPS/2 MCA 599 719 PM9600FX ISA 229 319 PM2400EFX ISA 159 189 PM2400FX ISA 139 167 PM2400F ISA 99 119 PM2400 ISA 79 99.95 What are the differences between all these 2400bps units? The PM2400 and PM2400SA are plain 2400bps modems. The PM2400F series offers 9600bps send and 4800bps receive Fax capabilities. The PM2400FX and PM2400FX96SA offer 9600bps send and receive Fax. And finally, the PM2400EFX series offers 9600bps send and receive Fax, V.42 error correction, and V.42bis compression. Pretty complex? Here it is in chart form. Model Name Data Fax S Fax R V.42 V.42bis PM2400/SA 2400 N N N N PM2400F/Mini 2400 9600 4800 * * PM2400FX/96SA 2400 9600 9600 * * PM2400EFX/SA 2400 9600 9600 Y Y * These units offer V.42 and V.42bis support through software, via a Rockwell trick. This usually only works with the DOS software shipped with the product, so Macintosh mileage may vary. What faxmodems does PPI currently offer for my portable computer? PPI offers three faxmodems designed for use with portable computers. The PM2400FPPM plugs directly into the serial port on a PC, and offers the same capabilities as the PM2400F/Mini listed above. The PM14400FXPKT, a PC Magazine Editor's Choice, is available for either PC or Macintosh, and includes a leather carrying case and the proper cables to connect it to the system. The recently introduced PractiCARD 144 works with PC-compatible computers with standard PCMCIA v2.0 type 2 (or 3) slots, and has been tested for compatibility with the following units: AST PowerExec 4/25 and 3/25S Dell 325Sli HP LX-100 Palmtop and OMNIBOOK 300 IBM ThinkPad 750C and PS/NOTE NCR 3170 NEC UltraLite Versa 20 Sharp PC-6785 Toshiba T3300SL, T1900, T4600C and T4500 Zenith Z-Lite It uses software power management to consume less than 20 milliwatts of power in sleep mode. Prices on PractiFAX at the beginning of Fall 1993 were: Model Name US$ CAN$ Mac US$ Mac CAN$ PractiCARD 144 449 649 - - PM14400FXPKT 499 599 529 719 PM2400FPPM 159 189 - - What other products does PPI offer? PPI also offers the FaxMe cartridge for HP LaserJet II and III printers, and the Microbuffer Universal 16 printer buffer. The FaxME cartridge allows LaserJets to receive faxes directly, and the Microbuffer Universal 16 is a printer buffer which comes with 32kb RAM installed and can be expanded to 16Mb RAM. Prices on PractiFAX at the beginning of Fall 1993 were: Model Name US$ CAN$ FaxMe 159 199 Universal 16 259 311 Will I need a high-speed UART to use my PPI modem with my PC? A high-speed buffered UART chip such as the NS16550AFN will improve your data transfer speeds if you are using a 9600bps or 14400bps modem with your terminal software set at speeds above 9600bps. All PPI internal 14400bps modems (including the new PractiCARD) and 28800bps modems contain 16550 chips. If you have an external modem, you'll need a serial port card with a 16550 chip. What software comes with PPI modems? PPI modems for PC's ship with Smith Micro Software's QuickLink II/FAX software for use with DOS and MS-Windows. PPI modems for Macs ship with QuickLink II for Mac. When new versions of the software are released, PPI provides them as free upgrades to current users. What are the current EPROM versions for 14400bps faxmodems? Early-model PM14400FXHC and PM14400FXSA modems with the non-V.17 AT&T data pump use EPROM v1.23. Late-model PM14400FXHC and PM14400FXSA modems with V.17 AT&T or Rockwell data pumps and all PM14400FXMT modems use EPROM v2.17. PM14400FX PKT pocket modems use EPROM v2.16 or v2.17. My modem is buggy, how can I get an EPROM revision? If you have an old EPROM version with bugs which have been fixed in a more recent version, you can call tech-support at the number listed above and request the new EPROM. They will send it to you, with instructions on how to install it in your modem. If you call after working hours, you can leave a message and the EPROM will be shipped the next day. PPI will include a return envelope for you to send back your old EPROM, postage is about 50 cents, and you should do so after you're sure the new one works. There is no charge for EPROM upgrades unless they add functions to the modem, but if you don't have problems, there's not really any need to upgrade. What's this about data pumps? When the PM14400FX, PM14400FXSA, and PM14400FXPKT were first introduced, an AT&T data pump (mounted on a daughterboard) was selected, which did not support V.17 14400bps fax. At that point in time (and to an extent, even today), the competing Rockwell integrated chipset had a reputation for a somewhat flawed implementation of the V.32bis 14000bps data protocol, which caused trouble connecting to some other brands of modems. Currently, all PPI's 14400bps units use either a newer version of the AT&T pump, which supports V.17, or the integrated Rockwell chip, which reportedly is less buggy now. Early models of the PM14400FX and PM14400FXSA can be upgraded by to the newer AT&T pump by swapping the daughterboard and EPROM. This costs $99 and has to be done by PPI. If you have the newer data pump, but an old (1.xx) EPROM, you can get the new (2.17, currently) EPROM for $29. How do I find out which data pump I have? You can find out which data pump is in your PPI 14400bps faxmodem by sending the command ATI3 to the modem. An informational string will be displayed, including a 3-character code for the pump. The second character is the manufacturer, the third character is the revision. For example, [1A3] indicates an old AT&T pump, [MA4] indicates a new V.17 one. [6R1] indicates a Rockwell pump. What do all the different Fax terms mean? "Group 3" is the general designation for faxes that can handle transfers at speeds of at least 9600bps. "Class 1" faxmodems cannot automatically sense whether incoming calls are data or fax calls. "Class 2" faxmodems can automatically sense this. If you like standard numbers, V.27ter is the 2400/4800bps fax standard, V.29 is the 9600bps one, and V.17 is the 14400bps one. PPI's faxmodems support all those which would be expected. What kind of warranty and support does PPI offer? As of October 12, 1991, all PPI modems and printer buffers are covered by lifetime warranties which provide free factory repair or replacement of products suffering from damage not caused by the user. Reportedly, this warranty even covers lightning strikes. Batteries and battery packs are, of course, not covered. PPI also offers telephone technical support, a support BBS, the PractiFAX 1-800 fax-back support service, and PPIFORUM on CompuServe. Does PPI offer Caller ID support? All the current 14400bps faxmodems using the 2-series EPROMS support the single-message Caller ID format. The multi-message format is not supported. All the modems in the new PM288 family also support Caller ID. Does PPI offer Distinctive Ring Detection? The PractiCARD 144 PCMCIA modem offers Distinctive Ring Detection already, and it may be added to PPI's other 14400bps faxmodems in future EPROM revisions. All the modems in the new PM288 family support Distinctive Ring Detection. Why does the CD light on my PPI 14400bps faxmodem blink? A blinking CD light indicates that the carrier signal quality has changed, and the modem may be renegotiating the carrier speed. This takes several seconds, usually. Under some circumstances, the process may disrupt file transfers, but normal typing and communication should not be disrupted. If your modem is a PM14400FXSA, the LCD display will inform you that a retrain is in process. How can I display the help screens on my PPI 14400bps faxmodem? The AT$H command will display the multi-screen command summary. The ATI6 command will display information about your current, or most recent, connection. Why is my PPI 14000bps faxmodem so reluctant to hang up? In your modem's configuration, register S10 contains a setting (from 1-255 in tenths of a second) that determines how long the modem will wait after carrier is lost, to see whether the carrier comes back. In situations where the line is very noisy, this can be quite convenient. However, if you have call-waiting and want calls to disconnect you for some reason, it can be a problem. Setting the delay to a shorter period might help, but in some cases, the modem will just keep doing what it thinks is right - stubbornly maintaining that connection. PPI tech support hasn't said anything about a definite fix. Where can I get a PPI modem configuration file for my BBS? Check with the PPI support BBS. If your system is a WWIV BBS, you can get a PM14400FXSA configuration file from The Sandman, 1@3462, or a PM14400FXMT configuration file from Aldur, 1@3314. Are there any PPI SIGs on BBS networks? WWIVnet's PPI SIG is hosted by The Sand Castle, node 3462. ----------