Xref: utzoo comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware:2585 comp.dcom.modems:7074 Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!crdgw1!ge-dab!tarpit!bilver!bill From: bill@bilver.UUCP (Bill Vermillion) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.dcom.modems Subject: Re: Wanted: Advise on a modem for my PC. Message-ID: <1249@bilver.UUCP> Date: 26 Oct 90 21:21:53 GMT References: <6758@suns401.cel.co.uk> <1990Oct23.063532.21901@robobar.co.uk> <1990Oct24.142824.23134@Octopus.COM> Reply-To: bill@bilver.UUCP (Bill Vermillion) Organization: W. J. Vermillion - Winter Park, FL Lines: 58 In article <1990Oct24.142824.23134@Octopus.COM> pete@octopus.COM (Pete Holzmann) writes: >ronald@robobar.co.uk (Ronald S H Khoo) writes: >>In article <6758@suns401.cel.co.uk> njm@cel.uucp () writes: >>> Are there any very strong reasons for not getting an internal modem? >>Yes. Many. They are a mistake. (reasons 1 & 2 about lights and interface omitted - wjv) Reason # 3) - (for not using an internal modem) You are giving that mean old lady, Ma Nature, direct access to your data bus. A nice lighting hit anywhere in a mile or so can just zip down the phone line, into the modem, onto the bus, and from then on anywhere it wants. In Lightning World, that entertainment center that completely surrounds Disney World, FL, I have lost 3 modems to lightning. All external. The died fighting to save the cpu. On the other hand I know a person who had an internal modem. The lightning entered his computer through the phone connection, got onto the bus through the modem, destroyed the modem, the video display card, and the motherboard. The power supply and the case survived. He was lucky the printer didn't get taken out with the lp port on the video card. And you can always keep lightning out of the computer if you spend enough money. The only way I can see to keep it out when connected to phone lines would be some units with opto-isolation. Are those made.? An interesting sidenote. Most mfrs. will not warrant their equipment for lightning damage. However at one time (I don't know if this still is true) anyone in this area who had a Hayes get hit, sent it back, and typically Hayes repaired it free of charge. Sold a LOT of modems that way. Fix one or two, and sell 100 more. Last Hayes I bought however was $650 for a 1200 BPS back in 1982. That was only a couple of hundred more than the first Hayes modem I had. 300 bps S-100 card, that I think Dennis made in a garage type operation. I had a lightning strike about 50' feet away last year, that tore the bark from a 100' pine tree down to the ground. My Trailblazer stopped answering the phone. Actually it answere, and went thtough all the motions, except picking up the line. Line relay appeared to be hung. TB fixed it but said next time there would be a charge as it was a non-warranted type problem. Anyway - the $50 or so premium you pay for an external buys you enough chips willing to sacrafice their lives for your computer to make it a must for me. Think of an external modem as a fairly expensive lightning supressor. ;-)/2 -- Bill Vermillion - UUCP: uunet!tarpit!bilver!bill : bill@bilver.UUCP