Maybe a crazy idea, but would it be possible to build a 'simulation box' that sits between a router and a modem so that one can connect to the internet with a modem today?

HanSolo wrote on 2023-02-09, 18:34:

Maybe a crazy idea, but would it be possible to build a 'simulation box' that sits between a router and a modem so that one can connect to the internet with a modem today?

Yeah, you can simply put a modem in one machine, connect the machine to the ethernet or wifi and set up a routing between the ppp interface and the interface facing the Internet (there are USB modems so you can use something like RPi for this purpose) and you can "dial it" from client machine (ATD1 on the "router" and ATX1 on the "client"). For actual dialing experience you would want some sort of PBX between two modems. Otherwise a simple "power injector" ( https://www.jagshouse.com/modem.html ) will do but with some modems it's not even necessary ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnI6jGs5uKU ).

Not that it makes much sense when you there are simple modem emulators that do just that when connected to computer directly through a serial port (ie from computer's point of view it has a modem hooked up, while the device itself just emulates modem connecting to a wifi actually).

HanJammer wrote on 2023-02-09, 14:29:

appiah4 wrote on 2023-02-09, 12:27:

I eventually replaced it with a 56Kbps PCI modem when I upgraded to a Pentium II. I really hope to find a working specimen of that as well.

Any particular model? I have a few 56k PCI modems, maybe one of these is the one you are looking for?

Sorry, I wasn't being clear. I am looking for the Supra 28.8 external modem:

Found in stuff they wanted to throw into thrash...

well... I'm guilty throwing away 2-3x this amount around 20 years ago...

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2023-02-09, 08:59:

I'm not sure how it works in other countries, but in the US we would still need to have an active land-line phone service to send or receive a fax using a telephone-based fax machine or modem. In most places, a standard land line will cost as much or more than high speed cable or FIOS internet service because they force you to pay tons of fees. Imagine paying $50-$100 (339-677 RMB) per month just to maintain a dedicated fax line in 2023. 😮

That sure is way to expensive than a fax proxy; I just found a price list of China Telecom in Shanghai:

• New landline application fee: RMB¥10 (US$1.47)
• Installation fee (residential): RMB¥130 (US$19.12)
• Installation fee (commercial): RMB¥300 (US$44.12)
• Monthly fee, basic service (residential): RMB¥25 (US$3.68)
• Monthly fee, basic service (commercial): RMB¥35 (US$5.15)

While prices are low, only ~20% residential households in China continue subscribing landlines nowadays.

I live in a very rural area and cell service is basically non-existent so a landline is an absolute must here. Thankfully the copper in our area is in fantastic shape VZ did a full overhaul of the copper F1 and F2 lines in 2015-2016. So our landline and DSL service are very stable and reliable. So with WiFi calling and our landline we have good communication.

Somehow found this Micronics branded dual socket 5 motherboard being thrown out. I sure hope it works because if it does, this is an incredible find!

EvieSigma wrote on 2023-02-19, 01:10:

Somehow found this Micronics branded dual socket 5 motherboard being thrown out. I sure hope it works because if it does, this i […]
Show full quote

Somehow found this Micronics branded dual socket 5 motherboard being thrown out. I sure hope it works because if it does, this is an incredible find!

PXL_20230218_234034695.jpg
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One man's ewaste is another man's treasure. Do a followup on how it goes with that board.

That's a hell of a find that dual socket 5 board

EvieSigma wrote on 2023-02-19, 01:10:

Somehow found this Micronics branded dual socket 5 motherboard being thrown out. I sure hope it works because if it does, this is an incredible find!

Nice !! It is a variant of the M54E2 (09-00210-xx) / Micronics M54Pe (09-00210-xx)
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/micron … 4e2-09-00210-xx and https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/micron … 4pe-09-00210-xx
Bet that RTC is out of juice 😀

Today, while keeping an eye on my childrens at a playground, i noticed a beige box among the grass just next to a residential building.

I could not resist to have a look.
Apparently, some kind of weirdo had thrown stuff through his window. Judging by the damages it must have been from the third or fourth floor.

There was a ~2000 computer, a DVD player and some more unindentified junk.

The PC was wide open (due to the impact).
It was some kind of media PC. Asus motherboard with IGP. Socket 370 and a modem. I grabbed the Coppermine Celeron 633, a ram stick and some kind of addon board with decoder or tvout chip
The DVD drive looked great, but had no tools to remove it. The owner thrown it with the VGA cable cut to 50cm and the telephone cable still attached to the modem (2m long)

I placed the case and some debris near a trash container (could not fit it inside).

acl wrote on 2023-03-18, 18:41:

The DVD drive looked great, but had no tools to remove it. The owner thrown it with the VGA cable cut to 50cm and the telephone cable still attached to the modem (2m long)

Common mistake. Since high school I never left home without a multi tool and a pocket knife. You just never know when you might need something.

Still, it was very dangerous from the previous owner to just throw them out the third floor window.

I'd be glad that it wasn't a CRT thrown out at the very moment. Sometime around 2004, my dad was almost inches close to being killed by some schmuck who threw a Sony CRT off the 8th floor, in Bucharest.

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-03-18, 19:36:

Common mistake. Since high school I never left home without a multi tool and a pocket knife. You just never know when you might need something.

Still, it was very dangerous from the previous owner to just throw them out the third floor window.

You're right.
I have pocket tools in my work backpack and a swiss army knife in my car. But we got to the playground after a walk.

(And i tend to not carry the swiss army knife in town because i'm pretty sure it's not legal)

PcBytes wrote on 2023-03-18, 20:01:

I'd be glad that it wasn't a CRT thrown out at the very moment. Sometime around 2004, my dad was almost inches close to being killed by some schmuck who threw a Sony CRT off the 8th floor, in Bucharest.

Super dangerous. I hope it was not intentionally dropped on your dad.

Yes. Even if it looked like the stuff was there for some days already, i was quick to pickup the case.
I don't wanted to be hit by something.

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-03-18, 19:36:

acl wrote on 2023-03-18, 18:41:

The DVD drive looked great, but had no tools to remove it. The owner thrown it with the VGA cable cut to 50cm and the telephone cable still attached to the modem (2m long)

Common mistake. Since high school I never left home without a multi tool and a pocket knife. You just never know when you might need something.

Still, it was very dangerous from the previous owner to just throw them out the third floor window.

I can confirm that I too have run into whole cases with stuff in them in the wild, and wished I had a screwdriver with me. Although it's more often that I just see them sticking out the top of a dumpster.

If it isn't gross, I'll sometimes just take the case back with me, gut it, and then throw away the junk.

acl wrote on 2023-03-18, 20:45:

(And i tend to not carry the swiss army knife in town because i'm pretty sure it's not legal)

I'd check local regulations. There are generally very specific ones. For example where I live, switchblades, butterfly knives and knives above a blade length of 8cm are forbidden to carry on your person.

RandomStranger wrote on 2023-03-18, 22:39:

acl wrote on 2023-03-18, 20:45:

(And i tend to not carry the swiss army knife in town because i'm pretty sure it's not legal)

I'd check local regulations. There are generally very specific ones. For example where I live, switchblades, butterfly knives and knives above a blade length of 8cm are forbidden to carry on your person.

French laws regarding knives are a bit funny.
Even a small knife is considered like a weapon.
So, regarding transportation, knives must follow the same rules. You must have a good reason to have it, and you must carry it in a way that it can't be used immediately.
Firearms for example must only be carried in a case, unloaded and disassembled. And you're only allowed to carry the case to the shooting range and back home basically.

But... (because in my country, everything is complicated) traditional knives are USUALLY allowed and it's up to the police officer to decide if it's allowed or not.
Having a knife when you're fishing should be okay. But if you're drunk, smoking weed and annoy people passing by while fishing then it's probably not okay.
If you have a swiss army knife in the street, this should be okay. But if you're caught with the same knife during the (current) riots then you'll probably be arrested.

Yeah my smaller suburb city has fairly relaxed laws but the neighboring big city has some very strict ones. Here we have Fed, state, county and then city laws... and you can be OK out in the country but as soon as you cross a city line ooops....

acl wrote on 2023-03-18, 20:45:

Super dangerous. I hope it was not intentionally dropped on your dad.

Yes. Even if it looked like the stuff was there for some days already, i was quick to pickup the case.
I don't wanted to be hit by something.

Pretty sure it wasn't intentional - though who in their right mind would throw a CRT from the 8th floor, and in an heavy traffic area no less, eludes me to this day.

Didn't really find this in the trash but it seems it fits this topic.

I was looking for a small LCD screen that would be handy to use when testing old hardware because lugging CRTs around isn't very practical. I found this online ad where someone was giving away this small BenQ monitor (FP731) for free, which just seemed perfect for my use case. It was closeby, so I got into the car and drove over.

When I arrived, this wasn't a residential home but an old office building. Apparently they were clearing it out and there was way more hidden in the back of the office.

For instance, three Dell 1701fp monitors. I've briefly tested them but the image quality is so terrible that I'm probably going to trash them. One of them doesn't even show any image anymore, the other one's VGA port is bust and only shows DVI.

But then the good stuff came! This Tulip branded 17" inch CRT for instance, which worked just fine.

And even better: A Philips 107T4 CRT with a nice flat screen. Awesome picture quality.

Lastly, this awesome NEC MultiSync FE700+ flatscreen CRT. Very nice screen. Also cool to have it in black, since all my other CRTs are beige.

I also got a bunch of PS2 keyboards and mice, plus some VGA and power cables.

So overall a great haul! The guy said he would otherwise have it all thrown out and/or recycled, so I saved a bunch of great hardware 😀