Dwaco wrote on 2023-03-04, 21:14:

Come on.

You put your modem outside, not inside.

Modems should be external, you know, with blinking LEDs and everything.

And tell the random colleague who calls late in the evening the number written on the box? No way.

movie: Hackers

But yes, the more LEDs the better. Coolness factor x10.

I do have a few retro modems, too. And an acoustic coupler.

My goal is to use them for my video channel one day, to simulate the experience of playing old modem chess games in the old days.
To do so, I've got an old Auerswald unit. It's essentially an internal landline, with multiple telephone connections and a simulated dial tone.
By dialing zero (0), you can leave the internal system and connect your telephone to the real landline.
The English term for such an apparatus is "private branch exchange" (PBX), according to the web.
Essentially, modem play is an alternative to the null-modem option that many games supported.

Second purpose is to dial into re-creations of classic online services.
Fans of old systems such as Minitel, BTX or AOL have their PCs connected to their VOIP DSL/Cable router modems.
An example of such a thing is "Neu Ulm", here in Germany.

Then, there is old mailbox software that wants to see a modem.
Some of them have interesting games built-in..

Last, but not least, there are still a few mailbox systems around.
Some don't even have an internet connection, it seems.
I suppose that's on purpose, even.

Edit: Old modems are very interesting. They contain a little computer, sometimes based on rare micro-controllers.
Even if they have a permanent ROM that can't be modified, many can be wired to accept an external EPROM.
So it's worth not throwing them out. New modems are also interesting if they have a DSP chip.
Such a chip could be repurposed for other hardware projects, maybe.

Edit: Photo attached.

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-03-04, 21:22:

Dwaco wrote on 2023-03-04, 21:14:

Modems should be external, you know, with blinking LEDs and everything.

This is the way.

Not necessarily. 😀 Think of the FiFo issue: 16450 vs 16550A.
In the early 90s, many PCs had outdated FiFo UARTs on their motherboard or their multi-i/o cards. Many didn't even know that.
Speeds over 9600 or 19200 Baud caused connection problems/data corruption. Especially on multi-tasking systems.
With an ISA modem, the user could be sure to have a proper COM port with a working FiFo buffer on the card.

Another reason as to why external modems were popular: They could be switched off (aka peace of mind).
I remember back in the day how we were terrified by high phone bills.
We were afraid that a malfunctioning modem could call a random number or something.
The older among us know stories about toddlers who accidentally phoned the time information in Honk Kong or something.
A few minutes or hours could create phone bills as pricey as a condominium suite, enough to ruin your life.
Then, by the 2000s, so called "dialers" or "dialer software" made this horror come true (on 32-Bit Windows).

Jo22 wrote on 2023-03-04, 23:02:

Another reason as to why external modems were popular: They could be switched off (aka peace of mind).

Back when we used modems, the external modem really was all about the blinky lights. That, plus you didn't need to give up any internal slots or futz around on the inside of the cimputer.

But those blinky lights were glorious. Visual feedback for uploading, downloading, connecting. It was great. 😁

That's why the softmodem in my NEC/PackardBell Versa E400 comes with a program that displays the "LEDs" in a window 😁
Still with no manual or tooltip... the activity and online ones are obvious, only maybe 8 remain 😜

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-03-04, 23:24:

But those blinky lights were glorious. Visual feedback for uploading, downloading, connecting. It was great. 😁

Oh right, the other kind: the connection icon in the taskbar, which Vista changed to be off by default and FAKE when enabled (fixed animation for any transfer instead of indicating upload vs download), someone (maybe Raymond Chen) even had an article proudly explaining that...

Then since Win95 there's this apparently useless LIGHTS.EXE program in System32 which has something about modems in the description, IIRC?

Oh my goodness...

I haven't thought about that little "two-computers" icon on the taskbar since I actually had dial-up! Wow! The vast majority of my dial-up time was on Windows 98, so I remember watching those little screens flash from dark to bright green with activity. I can still associate the mental image of solid light green screens with "everything's working smoothly" and solid dark green with "ohh COME ON... just DO IT already!"

Thanks guys. Genuinely haven't thought about that in over 20 years. 🤣

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-03-04, 23:24:

Jo22 wrote on 2023-03-04, 23:02:

Another reason as to why external modems were popular: They could be switched off (aka peace of mind).

Back when we used modems, the external modem really was all about the blinky lights. That, plus you didn't need to give up any internal slots or futz around on the inside of the cimputer.

But those blinky lights were glorious. Visual feedback for uploading, downloading, connecting. It was great. 😁

Reminds me of my PK-232 TNC. It has a whole front plate made of LEDs. 😁

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6_PNpWEhNc

PS: Did I mention that I was a Sysop myself for a short while ? 😉
I ran my own mailbox in the last days of BBSes.
Even hacked-together my own BBS software through the use of macros and hex editors.

The coolest telephone modem I had back in the 90s was a black Dr. Neuhaus model.

It looked a bit like this one here.: https://computer-retro.de/Bilder/Modems/GVC-S … ne-Netzteil.jpg

That chassis would be neat for Mt32-pi, too.

Edit: Overly popular here in Germany were those gray Creatix modems, I think.