GN9209-5.TXT Issue #22 GIF News Page Five - September/October 1992 Hsiao & Hunter, Inc. _________________________________________________________ > < > The USRobotics Sportster V.32bis Sportster 14,400 < >_______________________________________________________< Review by Eric Hsiao USRobotics has always been synonymous with high quality modems in the BBS world. Their Dual Standard is the dream modem of many BBS users, and is one of the most popular high-speed modem used by sysops. USRobotics' aggressive-pricing sysop plan has made their courier line of modems very successful in the BBS scene. All USRobotics modems now come with Group 3 Fax capabilities built in. With the success of the Courier line given, there is another new line of modems titled the Sportster line. These modems are targeted more to people who want a good modem but are on a budget. While the lower priced modems like the Boca Research and Zytel are based on the Rockwell chipset, the Sportster uses its own DSP chip, which works quite well. Some users report problems with Rockwell based modems such as busy-signal detection, FAX connections, and difficulty connecting to certain brands of modems. However, not all users of these modems have problems, so it may depend on the ROM revision of the Rockwell chip, as well as the individual manufacturer's design around the chip. Since the Sportster itself is not based on the Rockwell chipset, it does not suffer from the same problems. Instead, the Sportster line is designed around USRobotics' own DSP chip, which functions very well. Looking at the Sportster V.32bis, one can see the compactness and the ergonomic design. The modem features the CCITT V.32bis standard, V.42 error correction, and V.42bis 4:1 data compression. The modem is also backwards compatible with 9600, 2400, 1200, and 300 baud. However, this modem does not have the HST protocol in it. Since most high speed boards are running on Dual Standards anyway, connecting at 14.4bps is not too difficult nowadays. The Sportster is capable of handling a DTE rate of 57.6 kbps, good for V.42bis compression. On the outside are nine LED status lights, typical of most external modems. The front of the modem features an easy to adjust volume knob, and the power button is conveniently located on the left side of the modem. Transfer rates with this modem at 14.4 kbps yield around 1650-1700 characters per second, using the Ymodem-G protocol. The modem handles extremely well under line noise conditions. The hardware is very stable and I have yet to come across any problems with the modem itself. Using the modem itself is easy. The only hardware installation involved is plugging it in and turning it on. Make sure you have a 25-pin serial cable, as the package does not come with one. However, it does come with telephone wire. When installing, make sure the connection marked TELCO goes to your wall jack and the one marked PHONE goes to your telephone. On the software end, the modem comes with a information on setting up popular PC communication packages for the modem. Most of the registers and dip switch settings can be left mostly at the factory defaults, however, the manual clearly defines them so if you do need to change any of them, you will know what you are doing. A nice feature of the modem is the ability to save your new settings, even if you power off the modem. This feature uses the modem's non-volatile ram (NVRAM). The modem takes the standard "AT" command set, making it Hayes-compatible. In regards to software, the modem comes with BlastFax, a DOS-based FAX program. Installing BlastFax is easy with the installation program. However, I noticed a small bug where the installation program asked for disk 2 twice, even though it was already in the drive. The Fax program itself is fairly easy to use, with most of the commands done by the mouse. Besides the standard FAX program features like keeping a phone book, a send/receive log, and outgoing fax scheduling, BlastFax has the ability to import other file types to be faxed. For example, you can create a logo using a paint program, save it in .PCX format, and use it on the cover sheet of your fax. BlastFax also takes in HP PCL level 4 and 5, which means you can create a document in Windows, then print in HP format into a file. That file can then be sent as a fax. BlastFax comes with licensed fonts from the Agfa Division, Miles Inc. If you are not into using DOS, Winfax Pro by Delrina works fine with the Sportster modem. However, both these programs do have drawbacks. The first being that neither lets you preview faxes using what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG). You can view outgoing faxes with BlastFax, but only after sending the FAX. In Winfax Pro, you cannot view cover pages at all. A good fax program should allow a person to arrange the text and pictures on the screen, much like a desktop publishing program. Neither BlastFax or Winfax Pro allows you to change the location of a image, such as a .PCX file, on the cover page. One should be able to place a logo or image where they want and write text at any preferred place. A fax program that has some basic desktop publishing features would make composing faxes so much easier, and users could see exactly what they are faxing before they actually fax it. Other fax programs do exist such as Intel's Faxability Plus, Eclipse for Windows, and BitFax. However, I have not gotten a chance to try them out yet. Overall, the USRobotics Sportster V.32bis 14,400 Baud modem is a very sturdy product that comes from a company that knows modems. It comes with a 5-year warrantee, an 800 tech support number, and is made in the USA. USRobotics operates its own bulletin board as well as having a representative on the Relaynet RIME USRobotics conference. Basically, this modem is for anyone who wants a competitively-priced modem with USRobotics quality. The hardware works very well and does not suffer some of the reported symptoms of Rockwell-based modems. The list price on the Sportster is $529, but street prices are around $350-$400.