Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!intercon!news
From: kdb@macaw.intercon.com (Kurt Baumann)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: Re: Nodem SCSI-EtherTalk
Message-ID: <26FE5170.17C7@intercon.com>
Date: 24 Sep 90 18:33:20 GMT
References: <2446594@mtsg.ubc.ca>
Sender: usenet@intercon.com (USENET The Magnificent)
Reply-To: kdb@macaw.intercon.com (Kurt Baumann)
Organization: InterCon Systems Corporation, Herndon, VA
Lines: 44

To answer the original question, yes you need to get 1.0.1 MacTCP.  The earlier
version had problems dealing with SCSI net devices.

In article <2446594@mtsg.ubc.ca>, USERGIF@MTSG.UBC.CA writes:
> I tested the NODEM product and was not impressed.  It had a poorly designed
> case that would come apart in your hands just from the pressure of unplugging
> a tight ethernet cable.  (It snapped together rather than being held firmly
> with screws).
>  

Hmm, man of steel there.  I tried to open one of these so that I could fix
a heat problem that I was having.  It did everything but come apart easily.
I had to resort to using a screw driver to pop it open, that worked just
fine.

> Also, its performance on a Mac Plus was terrible.  This may not be the fault
> of the NODEM, but I was getting only about 4K/second with Telnet or MacIP
> downloads as opposed to about 15K/second with a 3Com Ethernet board equipped
> Mac SE.
>  

I think you hit the nub of the problem.  Any SCSI net device that I had seen
has been slooow.  And obviously the internal SE board is going to be faster
because it doesn't have silly SCSI to deal with.

> If you could get a NODEM for only a couple of hundred bucks, I might be
> willing to live with the poor performance, but they cost far more than
> that.

The only thing that bothers me with this statement is that out of ALL of
the SCSI net devices I have used this one is the ONLY one that worked the
first time I installed it.  All of the others have had problems which have
lead me to call the manufacturer, and get help (ROM upgrades, Software changes,
new boxes, etc.).  Given this fact I would rather pay the "extra" up front
and get something that worked the first time.

Now some of the problems I experienced with other units have most likely
been fixed now, but it is something to be aware of when looking at these
devices.

--
Kurt Baumann                       InterCon Systems Corporation
703.709.9890                      Creators of fine TCP/IP products
703.709.9896 FAX               for the Macintosh.