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Collection of V.90/V.92 modem sounds (2016)

goughlui.com

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Re: Collection of V.90/V.92 modem sounds (2016)

#41
post #17

I used to hate that screeching noise so much I cut the wire to the internal speaker of my first modem (1200 baud) For subsequent modems (speed upgrades) I had learned the about Hayes AT command set and init script would mute the internal speaker for peace of mind. Personally for me, this modem noise is as bad as fingernails screeching down a blackboard!

Little me kinda liked that sound — it meant I was going online!

Though I kept wondering how is it that when you pick up the phone while downloading something you just hear seemingly random constant static, yet somehow the computer decoded that into useful things. And how you were able to download multiple files from different places simultaneously over a single phone line. It felt a bit like magic. It was much later that I learned about the packet-switched nature of the internet.

Re: Collection of V.90/V.92 modem sounds (2016)

#42
post #4

Did anyone that didn’t live inside the CO ever actually connect at 56k, or was this only the stuff of legends? Edit: My personal max downlink record was 48 kbps, despite being subscribed to 56k service. This is why I ask. This also brings back memories of hovering the mouse cursor over the dial-up icon in the system tray in Windows to see your line speed.

I remember speeds usually being 40+ kbit in Russia. On the rare occasion when I got anything slower than 40 I just disconnected and tried again.

> hovering the mouse cursor over the dial-up icon in the system tray in Windows to see your line speed

Didn't it show a bubble thing from that icon when you connected saying "WebPlus is connected, your speed is XX kbit/s"?

Re: Collection of V.90/V.92 modem sounds (2016)

#43
post #27
post #21

Use the power of Linux and minimodem to hear modem sounds... And transmit a file — wirelessly! The future is now! Sender: $ cat /etc/passwd | minimodem --tx 300 Receiver: $ minimodem --rx 300

LOL it's amazing that we've invented all this stuff and yet never just let our computers talk to each other without a wifi card or a phone or whatever else. We just needed a speaker and a microphone the whole time. How long before someone makes a phone app to just let two phones talk to each other to transmit a file? No, I don't care about your network, just let me access the speaker & microphone and beep at each oth…

We used to use acoustic couplers to allow computers to talk using a handset, back when Ma Bell didn't allow you to plug directly into the phone line.

Re: Collection of V.90/V.92 modem sounds (2016)

#45
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Owned an ISP. When we started we used USR Sportsters at 28.8k then flashed these up to support 33.6k. They were hooked up to Portmaster 2's. As we went digital we used PM3's. I saw some 53k connections but it wasn't very common. Most common was 48k to 50k. The PM2's were an amazing machine. We never had an issue with them in years of service. The PM3's were buggy until the later years. Eventually the firmware got goo…

The ISPs I worked at used PM2s with "racks" of Sportsters mounted on wood or shelves. I remember many melted cases. Later on a place I worked at used old PM2s to run serial consoles. The things used a lot of space, naturally.

We had ours on retail wire shelving, there was plenty of room and airflow. We used the PM2's as reverse consoles after we went digital too. Thank god we rarely had to use them. But they sure were reliable. I had many PM2's with 1000+ day uptimes.

Re: Collection of V.90/V.92 modem sounds (2016)

#46
post #43
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LOL it's amazing that we've invented all this stuff and yet never just let our computers talk to each other without a wifi card or a phone or whatever else. We just needed a speaker and a microphone the whole time. How long before someone makes a phone app to just let two phones talk to each other to transmit a file? No, I don't care about your network, just let me access the speaker & microphone and beep at each oth…

We used to use acoustic couplers to allow computers to talk using a handset, back when Ma Bell didn't allow you to plug directly into the phone line.

Yeah, I remember them. But somehow we never let computers just talk to each other via sound, directly. Like humans do.
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