Re: Communicating with USB Modem
On Sat, 09 Oct 2010 17:28:31 -0400, Hal Vaughan wrote:
> On Oct 9, 2010, at 4:22 PM, Camaleón wrote:
>> I can give you at least one reference (the manufacture's tech. specs):
>>
>> ***
>> http://www.agere.com/docs/PCS_Catalog_052606.pdf
>>
>> (page 5)
>>
>> – SV92U2: USB 2.0 device controller, 48-pin TQFP Stack Bus
>>
>> (...)
>>
>> OS support: Win98SE/2000/ME, WinXP, WinXP 64-bit, Vista (Native
>> Support), and Linux
>> ***
>
> I see that, the one thing that is discouraging me is that, while I know
> they are talking about the chip, the pictures are of PCI modems, not the
> USB ones, and I think mine is later. (They show a USB modem on page 5,
> but different form factor than mine.) Still, mine may work.
Yep, if you carefully read that doc, it seems the shape of the device may
vary:
***
- Reference design will include board, connectors, USB cable,
and plastics
- Three different form factors
***
>> If that is indeed your device, don't give up so easily :-) Just try
>> with "sl-modem" drivers or ask LSI/Agere for advice, it could work.
>
> I tried the page you linked to, which had a link to the site with
> drivers, but that 2nd site is all blank web pages -- still looking for
> the sl-modem drivers. Did I miss a link? That's possible. (The dead
> link is: http://www.smlink.com/. It's from the last paragraph of that
> page, the only section that covers Linux there.)
Oops, sorry. I thought I already told you "sl-modem" drivers are
available under debian "non-free" repo (lenny, squeeze, sid):
http://packages.debian.org/lenny/sl-modem-daemon
:-)
>>> I've already ordered one from NewEgg that has several reviewers saying
>>> they're using it on Linux.
>>
>> When it comes to modems and linux, the only way to hit the right device
>> is by using a RS-232 modem. No drivers needed and straight-forward
>> setup for all kind of services (dial-up connection, fax facility...).
>>
>> Yes, yes... I know. Serial port is a scarce resource in modern
>> motherboards and n[eo]tbook computers ;-(
>
> A little backstory here. My small business mines data, and a lot comes
> from some dial-up systems where you can get passwords, but most people
> ignore them now since they're harder to deal with (therefore, if you're
> bigger, less lucrative, if you're smaller, good money). I have a US
> Robotics RS-232 running on the main system now and I have another that
> was brand new, that I pulled out and tested, then put back in the box.
> I guard those modems carefully. They work and I know they work.
>
> But an idea hit me this summer. I haven't been programming in about 3
> years (I'm a screenwriter by passion, so I've been doing that). This
> idea that hit me would take several months of programming and it'd be a
> game-changer for me in terms of income from the data mining. But to do
> it, I have to decentralize, which means instead of having one computer
> here doing dial-up, I'd have to put a computer in each client's office
> and have it do dial-up there. I won't get into all the reasons and
> thinking behind what I'm doing, but, in short, I want what's in their
> offices to be as simple as possible and to be a black box. I do not
> want them hooking up a keyboard or monitor to it ever. I don't even
> want them to think of it as a computer, EVER! So I'm looking not at low
> end as in cheap, but as in saving money and still getting a good
> embedded system. Each system will need a modem and I'll keep backups
> (of the computer and modem) on hand, ready to ship when needed.
I see... It's quite difficult to keep the track of manufacturers making
cheap and linux friendly devices. One has to perform a big search in the
web (reading forums, mailing lists, asking users to get accurate
feedback...) to find out what USB modems (chipsets) play fine with linux
distributions.
> I have used a USB-to-RS-232 converter with success for a FOSS project to
> control an HD radio (http://halblog.com/hdradiocontroller.html), but an
> RS-232 modem is more expensive and the converters are expensive, too,
> putting the price per modem well over $50 each.
>
> I've ordered a Rosewill that looks good. It costs more than the one I
> have now. I'm going to try any drivers I can find for this one, but
> considering the price of the other one, with shipping, is $30, if the
> drivers don't work and the manufacturer doesn't help, I'm not going to
> knock myself out over this one. I can always use it on a Windows
> machine and use that system for testing (to have my other ones dial in).
>
> As it is, though, considering how cheap these are (this one and the
> replacement people have tried on Ubuntu), I think spending more than a
> few hours on this one might be a diminishing return. Still, if all it
> needs are drivers, then I'll be happy with it!
O.k. I also think geting an USB modem to work should just be plug and
play and no needing to mess with drivers at all. But it could worst:
there are some embedded modems (those you can find in notebooks) that
lack of any driver and they render completely useless.
So, trying the driver (provided that there is one) is worth a try. If
they do not work, just put the Agere modem into another machine as you
said or give it to a friend who can make profit of it :-)
> Thanks for the input and I'll look for the drivers and see if I can get
> them working. I'll let people know what I find out in the long run on
> this.
Whatever USB modem you finally can put into work, just tell us. That
information it can be very useful for other users looking for a similar
solution :-)
Greetings,
--
Camaleón
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