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From: phil@amdcad.AMD.COM (Phil Ngai)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: RS-232C
Message-ID: <17985@amdcad.AMD.COM>
Date: Fri, 21-Aug-87 02:42:54 EDT
Article-I.D.: amdcad.17985
Posted: Fri Aug 21 02:42:54 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Aug-87 18:47:30 EDT
References: <192@caeco.UUCP> <2849@phri.UUCP> <1102@gilsys.UUCP> <2853@phri.UUCP> <635@imtec.co.uk> <1235@van-bc.UUCP>
Reply-To: phil@amdcad.UUCP (Phil Ngai)
Organization: Advanced Micro Devices
Lines: 36


We use MOD-TAP extensively and are quite satisfied with their
products.  We have somewhere around a thousand of their RS-232
adapters. I worked in networking for two years and not once did I see
a mis-wired or faulty adapter. That's something that's too easily
taken for granted. They did have a problem where the screws fell out
in shipment but that has been fixed for a long time. 

I know the RS-232C spec pretty well and had to interface some weird
equipment on occasion. For example, Bridge Communications has a
network management port on their GS/3 routers which we wanted to
access without walking or driving over to the router. We planned to
use our (separate) terminal network for this, but both the GS/3 and
the terminal network was DCE. With real RS-232C cables, you'd have to
make a weird "null-terminal" cable to connect the two. Since we were
using MOD-TAP, I just picked a special adapter for the GS/3 and
snapped in the modular cable and we could communicate. (this scheme
turned out to be useless for other reasons but the MOD-TAP adapter
did what I wanted)

MOD-TAP always had a pre-wired adapter to do the job. That's
important. Not only does it save you the work of inventing a custom
pinout, it saves you the work of documenting it and others the work of
finding your documentation after you leave. 

I recommend you look at using a WECo 258A harmonica in place of the
MOD-TAP. The function is identical and the price is much better,
probably due to WECo's higher volume. Aside from that, I highly
recommend MOD-TAP. 

We looked at Nevada Western but did not like their product as much.

-- 
I speak for myself, not the company.

Phil Ngai, {ucbvax,decwrl,allegra}!amdcad!phil or amdcad!phil@decwrl.dec.com