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.

Any suggestions?

Tnx es 73, de
Ted, K4TML

Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: Ted Long to All on Sun Jan 29 2023 12:55 am

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.

What does lsusb show?

Also what does syslog show when you plug it in?


...δεσ∩

---
■ Synchronet ■ AnsiTEX bringing back videotex but with ANSI

Ted Long wrote to All <=-

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.

What OS is running on the Thinkpad?

Some of those type of modems are what used to be called "Winmodems", and
only work with Windows.



... Daddy, what does "now formatting drive C:" mean?
--- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
■ Synchronet ■ Palantir BBS * palantirbbs.ddns.net * Pensacola, FL

Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: deon to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 10:58 pm

Thanks for the response

Hotplug is detecting the modem....(cutcutpaste...)

Bus 001 Device 006: ID 04c1:3021 U.S. Robotics (3Com) 56k Voice FaxModem Pro

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 to
an 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.

What should I try next?

73 de K4TML

Re: Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: Gamgee to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 08:56 am

Windows 2000 Workstation....it's a full-tilt hardware modem.

Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: Ted Long to All on Sun Jan 29 2023 12:55 am

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.

Any suggestions?

If it's an external modem (sounds like it is), it should work with anything. Perhaps double-check the DTE (baud rate) configuration for the port?


Sending "AT\r" alone is a good test.
--
digital man (rob)

Rush quote #11:
Struck between the eyes by the big time world, walking uneasy streets
Norco, CA WX: 54.1°F, 73.0% humidity, 0 mph E wind, 0.00 inches rain/24hrs

Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: Ted Long to deon on Sun Jan 29 2023 11:35 am

Thanks for the response

Hotplug is detecting the modem....(cutcutpaste...)

Bus 001 Device 006: ID 04c1:3021 U.S. Robotics (3Com) 56k Voice FaxModem Pro

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 to an 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.

OK, what device is the comms program using to talk to a "modem"?

If 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.


...δεσ∩

---
■ Synchronet ■ AnsiTEX bringing back videotex but with ANSI

Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: Digital Man to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 01:01 pm

Problem solved...finally!


Got it licked, Rob!

Went back over the few docs I could find online for the modem, and carefully re-read all the manpages for the
getty programs. Then removed all the getty stuff, reinstalled minicom, and compared the /etc/.config files
with everything i had printed out from the previous installation. Then I noticed some fine print in the online
docs for the modem..."some UNIX systems capable of assigning virtual serial ports may identify the modem as
/dev/ACMn, or /dev/ttyACMn", So I changed the serial port ID to /dev/ttyACM0. The modem shot "OK" right back.
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.
Now comes the fun part...setting up Synchronet, loading some files, and getting SMTP, QWK, and DDNS working.
Thanks for the help, all! I'll probably be bugging sysadmins with silly noob questions as work on the BBS continues.

73 de,
Ted K4TML

Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: deon to Ted Long on Mon Jan 30 2023 08:26 am

See previous post to Rob. The system wanted a wierd port ID..../dev/ttyACM0...before it would talk to the modem. But it's working fine
now....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.

Thanks for the help!

73 de, Ted K4TML

Re: Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: Gamgee to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 08:56 am

Ted Long wrote to All <=-

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.

What OS is running on the Thinkpad?

Some of those type of modems are what used to be called "Winmodems", and only work with Windows.

... Daddy, what does "now formatting drive C:" mean?

Winmodems used a digital sound processor to generate tones, and relied on software to work.

Back in the dialup days I set up a dial on demand server/ router with a
modem that had a DB25 port. This was being done with a lightweight linux distro called Coyote linux, but the most important thing was selecting the por t being used. It was like that in the DOS days. An external modem is just that - an external device the PC doesn't have to detect or see. It is
assumed it is there to accept send and receive requests. If you're
connecting via USB I imagine you should see a connection if you list usb devices.

---
■ Synchronet ■ The Cave BBS - Since 1992 - cavebbs.homeip.net

Re: Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: Moondog to Gamgee on Mon Jan 30 2023 02:51 pm

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 :>)
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.

On Sun, 29 Jan 2023 00:55:14 -0800
"Ted Long" <ted.long@VERT> wrote:

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.

Good to see this is working, unfortunately, if I had seen it sooner I
could have got you going right away. These USB modems create ttyACM
devices. This starts for abstract control model.

minicom -D /dev/ttyACM0 would have got you going, assuming the right
baud rate. I have a USB powered hub with 4 of these USR3637 modems. As
far as I can tell they're softmodems. Interesting they're no longer
available in the US or Canda but are for sale in EMEA, which is
annoying.

They're connected to an 8 port Grandstream ATA. 3 are for user dialin
using either a UK local call or US Dallas phone number, the 4th is for
me to do dialout and extension to extension connections for testing.
--
End Of The Line BBS - Plano, TX
telnet endofthelinebbs.com 23
---
■ Synchronet ■ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com

On 2023-01-29, Ted Long <ted.long@vert.synchro.net> wrote:

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.

Any suggestions?

Tnx es 73, de
Ted, K4TML

try wvdialconf and wvdial

On Mon, 30 Jan 2023 10:48:25 -0800
"Ted Long" <ted.long@VERT> wrote:

Re: USR USB Modem woes
By: Digital Man to Ted Long on Sun Jan 29 2023 01:01 pm

Problem solved...finally!

Got it licked, Rob!

Went back over the few docs I could find online for the modem, and
carefully re-read all the manpages for the getty programs. Then
removed all the getty stuff, reinstalled minicom, and compared the /etc/.config files with everything i had printed out from the
previous installation. Then I noticed some fine print in the online
docs for the modem..."some UNIX systems capable of assigning virtual
serial ports may identify the modem as /dev/ACMn, or /dev/ttyACMn",
So I changed the serial port ID to /dev/ttyACM0. The modem shot "OK"
right back. 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. Now comes the fun part...setting up Synchronet, loading some files, and getting SMTP,
QWK, and DDNS working. Thanks for the help, all! I'll probably be
bugging sysadmins with silly noob questions as work on the BBS
continues.

I missed the bit where you said you were running getting. You don't
want to do that on a dial out tty. getty provides the login prompt and interface to the authentication system. If you're trying to dial out it
could see that as a login attempt and start writing all over your
dialout.

Glad you got it working anyway.
--
End Of The Line BBS - Plano, TX
telnet endofthelinebbs.com 23
---
■ Synchronet ■ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com

On Mon, 30 Jan 2023 10:48:25 -0800
"Ted Long" <ted.long@VERT> wrote:

I'll probably be
bugging sysadmins with silly noob questions as work on the BBS
continues.

none of us got where we are without asking noob questions, even if it
was into Google or asking the manual for answers.
--
End Of The Line BBS - Plano, TX
telnet endofthelinebbs.com 23
---
■ Synchronet ■ End Of The Line BBS - endofthelinebbs.com