Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!unisoft!gethen!isaac
From: isaac@gethen.UUCP (Isaac Rabinovitch)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: ZOOM 2400 Baud Modem
Message-ID: <810@gethen.UUCP>
Date: 19 Mar 88 19:33:00 GMT
References: <1513@homxc.UUCP>
Organization: There's Unix there in Oakland
Lines: 36
Summary: Zoom again!

In article <1513@homxc.UUCP>, mchin@homxc.UUCP (M.CHIN) writes:
> 
> I just received a promotional in the mail from ZOOM Telephonics, Inc.  It's
> advertising a 2400 Baud modem for $199.  If I get it now, it'll only cost me
> $169.  What I'd like to know is if anyone has had any experience with any of
> ZOOM's earlier modems.  From the advertisement, it sounds like a good deal.
> It includes a 2-yr. warranty, and 30-day money-back guarantee.  Technically,
> it allows for 4 com port addressing, "latest" in digital signal processing
> and adaptive equalization, a high-speed UART.
About 1 1/2 years ago I got a similar "limited time offer" blurb from
ZOOM.  Then it was $300 for the 2400 bps version, and they didn't
mention adaptive equalization.  As always, "the price is only good for a
limited time!" is a marketing phrase you should ignore.

I'd never heard of ZOOM and I'm a hardware idiot, so I decided to go
with a name brand and a local vendor:  a USR 2400 for slightly more
purchased at a local store.  It's worked out, but in hindsight it may
not have been the best choice.  ZOOM seems to now have enough history to
count as a legitimate company.  They also take credit-card orders, which
gives you some legal protection.  Wish I knew why they don't sell
through standard channels.

One feature that sounds interesting is the modem's modularity.  If
I outgrow my current modem, I have to replace the whole thing.  ZOOM
claims to be able to add features by adding chips.

> The UART is supposedly for
> compatability with the faster processing speeds of 80286 and 80386 based
> machines.  However, this statement sounds pretty fishy, making the entire ad
> suspect.  I though that processing speed is not realted to bus speed.  While
> the 80386 may run at 16 MHz, the bus speed is usally down at 8 MHz as used
> in the AT.

I don't know that much more than you, but I understand that a peripheral
that slows down the bus can slow down the system -- if you're doing
something that uses the bus.