 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group The Modem and I: Part 2 Jean D'Andrea jda@melbpc.org.au |
The modem had been purchased and sat in its box on the table, just begging to be put to work. It was time to discover if I could get it up and running.
After unpacking everything and checking that all the parts which should be in the box were actually there (I'm a sceptic) it was time to connect up all the pieces. Not knowing much about installing modems, I did something really different: I read the manual! Not the really technical stuff, just the "Quick Start for IBM Users" pages. Following the instructions, I crouched behind the computer station, plugged in the phone line, and connected everything in sight. Well, not quite everything; the cat hid under the coffee table. Finally, the modem was ready. I switched on: it worked.
"Ah, yes. But just because the pretty lights came on doesn't mean it will actually talk to another modem." I needed a communications program.
The only one available at that moment was Windows "Terminal". Once again, I read the relevant manual. It looked pretty straightforward. Turning to the computer, I started entering the necessary information. "Baud Rate" was needed. "Hhmmm. It doesn't seem to have 14400, better use 19200 since I'm pretty sure there was something about that in PC Update recently."
Initialisation strings? "Leave it at default. Can't mess it up then, due to lack of understanding!" I told myself. Also a certain amount of impatience to actually start communicating had crept in. Finally, entering information to the communication program was completed.
The doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of some friends, the non-computer-literate variety. Usually I enjoy having visitors, but "Why now?" I asked myself, "Can't they see I want to play with my new toy?" Sometime later, they departed, (No, I didn't toss out any hints!) and I returned to the modem.
I entered "AT". The modem responded with "OK", then after a short pause to think about it, added "Error 28" on the next line. "What? RTFM! What is this Error 28?" I reached for the manual. No such message was listed. Panic attack! "What now?" I double checked everything. "No, not the cat." The set up seemed right. I tried "AT" again, with the same result. Having nothing to lose at this point, I decided I might as well tell it to dial a number, and keyed one in.
Strange noises came from the speaker; could the modem be about to expire? Silence fell: the screen was blank. Suddenly, it came to life. I had communicated! Across the screen marched the words:
"Welcome to Melbourne PC User Group BBS".
Reprinted from the December 1994 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
