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From: gabe@sirius.ctr.columbia.edu (Gabe Wiener)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: Apple-Cat Modem: Quite a Hacker's Toy
Message-ID: <15735@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 30 Dec 90 19:15:56 GMT
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In article <15707@accuvax.nwu.edu> lazlo%triton.unm.edu@ariel.unm.edu
(Lazlo Nibble) writes:

>	45.5 baud -- "communications with the deaf network"; this last
>		required a "simple, no-charge hardware modification" from
>		the factory, probably a trace cut on the board.

The later models didn't even need a hardware mod to run TDD.  You just
popped it out of the box, shoved it into slot 2, and ran the "Deaf
Term" software that Novation included on the utilities disk.

THe Apple-Cat II had only one real problem, and that is it had so much
stuff packed onto one board that it used to overheat a lot.  Many
people (including myself) used to run their machines with the cover
off in order to protect the modem from blowing.

The modem in its fullest configuration had TWO cards, the second being
for 212 mode.  You could install the second card in a slot, or you
could run it in Slot Saver position.  Since the only thing the 212
card needed from the slot was electrical power, and since the slots on
the II were a high commodity, novation developed a nifty little trick
that let you mount the card on the flat surface of the power supply
(with special clips and an adhesive board, and then get the power
through a special Y-connector that'd intercept the power before it got
to the motherboard.

I'm only sorry no one makes something as good as the Apple Cat II in a
standalone serial configuration.  It really was a gem of a modem in
every way.  It had touchtone dialing (in those days, a very unique
feature), touchtone decoding (with one $30 chip added), an X-10
controller, a voice handset that was fully programmable, and best of
all, a D/A converter chip on board that could work wonders.  I had
software for mine that could synthesize eight-voice music, male and
female voices with great text-to-speech, and of course, all the TSPS
tones, 2600 Hz, payphone coin tones, etc.  The phreaks loved it.  I
miss it, though, because of its great answering machine capabilities.
Heck, people were writing automated telephone info services on those
things back in 1983!.

Oh well.  I wish I still had mine, but since I don't have an Apple II
anymore, it wouldn't do me much good!


Gabe Wiener - Columbia Univ.   gabe@ctr.columbia.edu       
gmw1@cunixd.cc.columbia.edu    72355.1226@compuserve.com