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From: schuster@cup.portal.com (Michael Alan Schuster)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: Software to transform generic 2400 modem to MNP level 5?
Message-ID: <37462@cup.portal.com>
Date: 1 Jan 91 21:00:45 GMT
References: <9012221054.aa08435@PARIS.ICS.UCI.EDU> <37187@cup.portal.com>
  <2780d8d5.38f4@petunia.CalPoly.EDU>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 26

>I tried the version of MTE that is on SIMTEL.  I normally log into our
>Unix system on campus, which is equipped with MNP5 modems.  The MTE program
>displays a little "speedometer" that shows the bits per second being
>transmitted and received.  According to this, the instantaneous rates hits
>up in the thousands of bps.  But I tried timing various displays of text,
>and never was able to get it to display faster than the same text at 2400
>bps without MNP.  In fact, in normal interactive work such as editing or
>reading news, the overall effect is to slow down your work, because there
>is a certain overhead for the MNP protocol, which results in noticeable
>delays as you type.

That's about what I'd expect. In my office we have a machine with a Hayes 2400.
(Actually requested a 2400V, but how we got screwed there is another story).
Anyway, I found out that Hayes is closing out the stock of the now-discontinued
V-Series Modem Enhancer for $99. These units feature V.42bis, and essentially
turn a 2400 into a 2400V. These units will ONLY work with Hayes modems as,
among other things, they check ROM versions and operate in synchronous mode
in order to gain the throughput that MTE loses.

Anyway, I got an enhancer, hooked it up and ... voila! I get error-free
transmission and visible data compression (somewhere between 4800-9600 bps
throughput on BBS sytems ... on text, of course).

If you have a Hayes external modem and are looking at commercial software
solutions like MTE ... call Hayes Customer Service and order a $99 enhancer
before they're gone forever.