I've been toying about with a retro BBS, targeted at hams and electronics hobbyists. Wanted to add a true dialup node, so I picked up a 56k USR 525 voice/data/fax modem. Has both DB-25 and USB ports. Claimed to work with Win 95/98/2000. Unfortunately, my Debian Linux box refuses to recognize it. I've tried mgetty, vgetty, and agetty, and the modem simply won't recognize the ATZ or ATDT7195551212 strings, or respond with an error code. It's got a new USB cable and a DB25-to-DB9, so its not the cable....plugged it into my old ThinkPad, and it works great. I should mention that the Linux box is a Raspberry Pi 4B, 8 GB RAM, 500GB SSD.ãã Any suggestions?ããTnx es 73, deãTed, K4TMLã---ã þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.netã

Re: USR USB Modem woesã By: Ted Long to All on Sun Jan 29 2023 12:55 amãã > ATZ or ATDT7195551212 strings, or respond with an error code. It's got a newã > USB cable and a DB25-to-DB9, so its not the cable....plugged it into my oldã > ThinkPad, and it works great. I should mention that the Linux box is aã > Raspberry Pi 4B, 8 GB RAM, 500GB SSD.ããWhat does lsusb show?ããAlso what does syslog show when you plug it in?ããã...ëîåïãã---ã þ Synchronet þ AnsiTEX bringing back videotex but with ANSIã

Ted Long wrote to All <=-ãã TL> I've been toying about with a retro BBS, targeted at hams andã TL> electronics hobbyists. Wanted to add a true dialup node, so Iã TL> picked up a 56k USR 525 voice/data/fax modem. Has both DB-25 andã TL> USB ports. Claimed to work with Win 95/98/2000. Unfortunately, myã TL> Debian Linux box refuses to recognize it. I've tried mgetty,ã TL> vgetty, and agetty, and the modem simply won't recognize the ATZã TL> or ATDT7195551212 strings, or respond with an error code. It'sã TL> got a new USB cable and a DB25-to-DB9, so its not theã TL> cable....plugged it into my old ThinkPad, and it works great. Iã TL> should mention that the Linux box is a Raspberry Pi 4B, 8 GB RAM,ã TL> 500GB SSD.ããWhat OS is running on the Thinkpad?ããSome of those type of modems are what used to be called "Winmodems", and ãonly work with Windows.ãããã... Daddy, what does "now formatting drive C:" mean?ã--- MultiMail/Linux v0.52ã þ Synchronet þ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FLã

Re: USR USB Modem woesã By: deon to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 10:58 pmããThanks for the responseãã Hotplug is detecting the modem....(cutcutpaste...)ããBus 001 Device 006: ID 04c1:3021 U.S. Robotics (3Com) 56k Voice FaxModem Proãã And the kernel is assigning it to abstract (virtual) port /dev/ACM0....the modem apparently is seeing activity on the port, because when I plug in the USB cable, the data and CTS/RTS LEDs flash for a second. But there's no response toãan AT command when sent from Minicom. I'm about ready to break out the 'scope or a logic probe to see if any data is actually being sent to the modem.ãã What should I try next?ãã73 de K4TMLã---ã þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.netã

Re: Re: USR USB Modem woesã By: Gamgee to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 08:56 amããWindows 2000 Workstation....it's a full-tilt hardware modem.ã---ã þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.netã

Re: USR USB Modem woesã By: Ted Long to All on Sun Jan 29 2023 12:55 amãã > I've been toying about with a retro BBS, targeted at hams and electronicsã > hobbyists. Wanted to add a true dialup node, so I picked up a 56k USR 525ã > voice/data/fax modem. Has both DB-25 and USB ports. Claimed to work with Winã > 95/98/2000. Unfortunately, my Debian Linux box refuses to recognize it. I'veã > tried mgetty, vgetty, and agetty, and the modem simply won't recognize theã > ATZ or ATDT7195551212 strings, or respond with an error code. It's got a newã > USB cable and a DB25-to-DB9, so its not the cable....plugged it into my oldã > ThinkPad, and it works great. I should mention that the Linux box is aã > Raspberry Pi 4B, 8 GB RAM, 500GB SSD.ã >ã > Any suggestions?ããIf it's an external modem (sounds like it is), it should work with anything.ãPerhaps double-check the DTE (baud rate) configuration for the port?ãããSending "AT\r" alone is a good test.ã-- ã digital man (rob)ããRush quote #11:ãStruck between the eyes by the big time world, walking uneasy streetsãNorco, CA WX: 54.1øF, 73.0% humidity, 0 mph E wind, 0.00 inches rain/24hrsã---ã þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.netã

Re: USR USB Modem woesã By: Ted Long to deon on Sun Jan 29 2023 11:35 amãã > Thanks for the responseã >ã > Hotplug is detecting the modem....(cutcutpaste...)ã >ã > Bus 001 Device 006: ID 04c1:3021 U.S. Robotics (3Com) 56k Voice FaxModem Proã >ã > And the kernel is assigning it to abstract (virtual) port /dev/ACM0....theã > modem apparently is seeing activity on the port, because when I plug in theã > USB cable, the data and CTS/RTS LEDs flash for a second. But there's noã > response to an AT command when sent from Minicom. I'm about ready to breakã > out the 'scope or a logic probe to see if any data is actually being sent toã > the modem.ããOK, what device is the comms program using to talk to a "modem"?ããIf you use minicom, you should be able to connect to port /dev/ACM0 and talk to it - get the baud right because the modem will be talking a default baud rate - probably 19,200 or 38,400, and if they dont work 115k might. You'll know your close, because you'll see gibberish at the wrong baud speed.ããã...ëîåïãã---ã þ Synchronet þ AnsiTEX bringing back videotex but with ANSIã

Re: USR USB Modem woesã By: Digital Man to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 01:01 pmãã Problem solved...finally!ãããGot it licked, Rob!ãã Went back over the few docs I could find online for the modem, and carefully re-read all the manpages for theãgetty programs. Then removed all the getty stuff, reinstalled minicom, and compared the /etc/.config filesãwith everything i had printed out from the previous installation. Then I noticed some fine print in the onlineãdocs for the modem..."some UNIX systems capable of assigning virtual serial ports may identify the modem asã/dev/ACMn, or /dev/ttyACMn", So I changed the serial port ID to /dev/ttyACM0. The modem shot "OK" right back.ã Got a friend with a modem to call the BBS phone line, and he was able to connect at 56k down and 28.8k up.ãNow comes the fun part...setting up Synchronet, loading some files, and getting SMTP, QWK, and DDNS working.ã Thanks for the help, all! I'll probably be bugging sysadmins with silly noob questions as work on the BBS continues.ãã73 de,ãTed K4TMLã---ã þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.netã

Re: USR USB Modem woesã By: deon to Ted Long on Mon Jan 30 2023 08:26 amããSee previous post to Rob. The system wanted a wierd port ID..../dev/ttyACM0...before it would talk to the modem. But it's working fineãnow....sending files over a local connection within the same switch at 56k. Now comes the fun of setting up the BBS, and getting SMTP, QWK,and the http server up and running.ããThanks for the help!ãã73 de, Ted K4TMLã---ã þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.netã

Re: Re: USR USB Modem woesã By: Gamgee to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 08:56 amãã > -=> Ted Long wrote to All <=-ã > ã > TL> I've been toying about with a retro BBS, targeted at hams andã > TL> electronics hobbyists. Wanted to add a true dialup node, so Iã > TL> picked up a 56k USR 525 voice/data/fax modem. Has both DB-25 andã > TL> USB ports. Claimed to work with Win 95/98/2000. Unfortunately, myã > TL> Debian Linux box refuses to recognize it. I've tried mgetty,ã > TL> vgetty, and agetty, and the modem simply won't recognize the ATZã > TL> or ATDT7195551212 strings, or respond with an error code. It'sã > TL> got a new USB cable and a DB25-to-DB9, so its not theã > TL> cable....plugged it into my old ThinkPad, and it works great. Iã > TL> should mention that the Linux box is a Raspberry Pi 4B, 8 GB RAM,ã > TL> 500GB SSD.ã > ã > What OS is running on the Thinkpad?ã > ã > Some of those type of modems are what used to be called "Winmodems", andã > only work with Windows.ã > ã > ã > ã > ... Daddy, what does "now formatting drive C:" mean?ããWinmodems used a digital sound processor to generate tones, and relied onãsoftware to work. ããBack in the dialup days I set up a dial on demand server/ router with aãmodem that had a DB25 port. This was being done with a lightweight linuxãdistro called Coyote linux, but the most important thing was selecting the porãt being used. It was like that in the DOS days. An external modem is justãthat - an external device the PC doesn't have to detect or see. It isãassumed it is there to accept send and receive requests. If you'reãconnecting via USB I imagine you should see a connection if you list usbãdevices.ãã---ã þ Synchronet þ The Cave BBS - Since 1992 - cavebbs.homeip.netã

Re: Re: USR USB Modem woesã By: Moondog to Gamgee on Mon Jan 30 2023 02:51 pmãã Got it fixed, thanks moondog! Yeah, I used to run a multinode VBBS back in the late 80's and had a 4-port 56k x2 USR Internal card that relied on a Fossil driver to overcome the DOS serial port limitations. Then I heard about Slackware, and never looked at a MicroLimp OS again :>)ã This li'l BBS is running Debian Buster on a Raspberry Pi 4B, 8GB of RAM, and a 500G SATA laptop drive. I've got Crumbcast 10mB/s DOCSIS service for IP connectivity, so email and message board updates won't be a problem, if I can figure out how to drill a hole in the firewall for SMTP relaying.ã---ã þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.netã

On Sun, 29 Jan 2023 00:55:14 -0800ã"Ted Long" <ted.long@VERT> wrote:ãã> I've been toying about with a retro BBS, targeted at hams andã> electronics hobbyists. Wanted to add a true dialup node, so I pickedã> up a 56k USR 525 voice/data/fax modem. Has both DB-25 and USB ports.ã> Claimed to work with Win 95/98/2000. Unfortunately, my Debian Linuxã> box refuses to recognize it. I've tried mgetty, vgetty, and agetty,ã> and the modem simply won't recognize the ATZ or ATDT7195551212ã> strings, or respond with an error code. It's got a new USB cable andã> a DB25-to-DB9, so its not the cable....plugged it into my oldã> ThinkPad, and it works great. I should mention that the Linux box isã> a Raspberry Pi 4B, 8 GB RAM, 500GB SSD.ã>ãGood to see this is working, unfortunately, if I had seen it sooner Iãcould have got you going right away. These USB modems create ttyACMãdevices. This starts for abstract control model. ããminicom -D /dev/ttyACM0 would have got you going, assuming the rightãbaud rate. I have a USB powered hub with 4 of these USR3637 modems. Asãfar as I can tell they're softmodems. Interesting they're no longerãavailable in the US or Canda but are for sale in EMEA, which isãannoying.ããThey're connected to an 8 port Grandstream ATA. 3 are for user dialinãusing either a UK local call or US Dallas phone number, the 4th is forãme to do dialout and extension to extension connections for testing.ã-- ãEnd Of The Line BBS - Plano, TXãtelnet endofthelinebbs.com 23ã---ã þ Synchronet þ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.comã

On 2023-01-29, Ted Long <ted.long@vert.synchro.net> wrote:ã>ã> I've been toying about with a retro BBS, targeted at hams and electronics hobbyists. Wanted to add a true dialup node, so I picked up a 56k USR 525 voice/data/fax modem. Has both DB-25 and USB ports. Claimed to work with Win 95/98/2000. Unfortunately, my Debian Linux box refuses to recognize it. I've tried mgetty, vgetty, and agetty, and the modem simply won't recognize the ATZ or ATDT7195551212 strings, or respond with an error code. It's got a new USB cable and a DB25-to-DB9, so its not the cable....plugged it into my old ThinkPad, and it works great. I should mention that the Linux box is a Raspberry Pi 4B, 8 GB RAM, 500GB SSD.ã>ã> Any suggestions?ã>ã> Tnx es 73, deã> Ted, K4TMLããtry wvdialconf and wvdialã---ã þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.netã

On Mon, 30 Jan 2023 10:48:25 -0800ã"Ted Long" <ted.long@VERT> wrote:ãã> Re: USR USB Modem woesã> By: Digital Man to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 01:01 pmã> ã> Problem solved...finally!ã> ã> ã> Got it licked, Rob!ã> ã> Went back over the few docs I could find online for the modem, andã> carefully re-read all the manpages for the getty programs. Thenã> removed all the getty stuff, reinstalled minicom, and compared theã> /etc/.config files with everything i had printed out from theã> previous installation. Then I noticed some fine print in the onlineã> docs for the modem..."some UNIX systems capable of assigning virtualã> serial ports may identify the modem as /dev/ACMn, or /dev/ttyACMn",ã> So I changed the serial port ID to /dev/ttyACM0. The modem shot "OK"ã> right back. Got a friend with a modem to call the BBS phone line, andã> he was able to connect at 56k down and 28.8k up. Now comes the funã> part...setting up Synchronet, loading some files, and getting SMTP,ã> QWK, and DDNS working. Thanks for the help, all! I'll probably beã> bugging sysadmins with silly noob questions as work on the BBSã> continues.ããI missed the bit where you said you were running getting. You don'tãwant to do that on a dial out tty. getty provides the login prompt andãinterface to the authentication system. If you're trying to dial out itãcould see that as a login attempt and start writing all over yourãdialout.ããGlad you got it working anyway.ã-- ãEnd Of The Line BBS - Plano, TXãtelnet endofthelinebbs.com 23ã---ã þ Synchronet þ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.comã

On Mon, 30 Jan 2023 10:48:25 -0800ã"Ted Long" <ted.long@VERT> wrote:ãã> I'll probably beã> bugging sysadmins with silly noob questions as work on the BBSã> continues.ã>ããnone of us got where we are without asking noob questions, even if itãwas into Google or asking the manual for answers.ã-- ãEnd Of The Line BBS - Plano, TXãtelnet endofthelinebbs.com 23ã---ã þ Synchronet þ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.comã