Baudman's May Q&As

Does AT&T modem support V.FC?

Date: 30 May 1995 17:04:55 -0800
To: bretting@cybersim.com
Subject: AT&T modems & V.fc


Greg:

Greg> In article <4250USEABFKUGWRGFX@nascom.com>, wirehead@nascom.com wrote:

Greg> >True--the AT&T is backward compatible with V.FC.                     

Greg> No it isn't.  I'll say it again; modems based on the AT&T chipset do 
Greg> _not_ support V.FC - period.  

Not all AT&T modems use the AT&T chipset.
The Dataport Express modems use the *Rockwell* chipset and therefore
they do support V.FC.



Does Bauman have a anonymous FTP site ?

Date: 25 May 1995 15:02:13 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
To: "Aaron Elkiss" 

Aaron,

There is no such FTP site.  I would suggest contacting Zoom directly.

--Baudman
________________________________________________________

bh459@yfn.ysu.edu (Aaron Elkiss) sent the following
comment about The DCD's WWW server:

------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Baudman: Where is an anonymous FTP site where I can
get the latest version of winDAPI.dll so that I can
use the RPI in my Zoom 14.4 PC?
the version with Procomm Plus version 2.0 is corrupted
and the version with comIt is buggy.


Can a modem and a TTY connect and talk ?

Date: 25 May 1995 14:59:51 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
Subject: FW: WWW comments (Forms submission)
To: "Connie Jewell" 

Connie,

All you need is an external serial modem.

--Baudman
________________________________________________________

jewell@mail1.ciwemb.edu (Connie Jewell) sent the following
comment about The DCD's WWW server:

------------------------------------------------------------
Is it possible to make a modem and a TTY connect and talk to each other?


Will there be a COM driver for OS/2 using RPI ?

Date: 25 May 1995 14:58:24 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
To: "Timothy Healy" 

Timothy,

At this point in time, Rockwell isn't working on anything like this.

--Baudman
________________________________________________________
To: baudman@nb.rockwell.com
From: Timothy J. Healy on Wed, May 17, 1995 1:23 PM

Baudman,

        Is Rockwell (or anyone) working on COM drivers for OS/2 Warp
that will provide V.42bis and MNP5 using RPI? 



RPI and WinSOCK

Date: 25 May 1995 14:55:47 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
Subject: FW: WWW comments (Forms submission)
To: "Mike Bourne" 

Mike,

I'm glad you like my new website.  Let me know if you have any
suggestions regarding what you would like to see added. 

BTW, the new RPI driver will work with WinSOCK as long as your winsock
driver talks to a standard Windows communications driver interface. 

--Baudman

________________________________________________________

bourne.1@osu.edu (Mike Bourne) sent the following
comment about The DCD's WWW server:

------------------------------------------------------------
Hi,

Love what you have setup, I'm going to point all my users
here :).

Question, the new RPI drivers shipping in June will these 
work with TCP/IP packages like the Trumpet Winsock or will
they just be for asynch comm products.

I have talked to people from Rockwell in the past and they
indicated to me that RPI was not really designed for 
TCP/IP.

Thanks and keep up the good work!


Good Voicemail/Fax software that will work with the Zoom 14.4VFP ?

Date: 23 May 1995 11:39:59 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
To: "Bob Boatright" 

Bob,

I would suggest you try contacting Smith Micro or Cheyenne Software
(BitFax) to see if they have Win95 software. 

--Baudman
________________________________________________________

BBCompServ@AOL.COM (Brian Boatright) sent the following
comment about The DCD's WWW server:

------------------------------------------------------------
I am having trouble with my Zoom 14.4VFP Modem, I am 
running Windows 95. And I am having serious trouble making
the VoiceMail System work. I have E-mailed GlobalVillage the
makers of the software (FAXWORKS) I use and they are no help.
Do you know of any Good Voicemail/Fax software that will
work with the Zoom 14.4VFP, I believe it has a Rockwell
chipset.
Thanks for any info,
Brian Boatright
E-Mail: bboatrig@grits.valdosta.peachnet.edu	


DOS TSR for V.42bis/MNP5 ?

Date: 23 May 1995 11:34:03 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
To: "Eduardo Lalo" 

Eduardo,

Although we do not have any plans for a DOS TSR to do V.42bis/MNP5, we
are currently working on an improved driver for Windows. 

--Baudman
________________________________________________________

lalo@mail.internet.com.mx (Eduardo) sent the following
comment about The DCD's WWW server:

------------------------------------------------------------
If you are developing a TSR to implement V42 and MNP with any comm
package, my questions are:

	Will it be FREEWARE?
	Will it be shareware??

	Because if you'll be selling this via the modem vendors, for me
for example, will be easier to buy another modem (with the "right" chip
that implements V42 in hardware), because here in Mexico we don't have
much access to stores that sell software... must of them sell hardware
and very popular software (like ms-office and others) they don't sell
comm pack, here because we don't have many BBS, BUT we do have Internet
access (via WINSOCK)... 

	SO, I need this software, but i (and i think many others) preffer it to be
Shareware or free...

(it will only work with Rockwell modems)

				Thanks a lot...



EQM explanation for FAQ

Date: 19 May 1995 09:42:07 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
Subject: FW: EQM explanation for FAQ

_______________________________________________________________________________
To: baudman@nb.rockwell.com
From: Palm Stephen on Thu, May 18, 1995 2:53 AM
Subject: EQM explanation for FAQ

_______________________________________________________________________________
From: dan@supra.com (Dan Moore)
Subject: Re: Supra: line quality from at%%q command?
Date: Fri, 5 May 1995 16:21:33 LOCAL
Organization: Supra Corporation

In article  burked@eskimo.com (Burke Dykes) writes:
>I'm having a problem interpreting the results of the at%%q command with a 
>Supra v.34 (1.2.02):
>Does the value represent some sort of ratio of line noise level to the 
>tolerable noise level?  Or is it simply some sort of arbitrary number?  
>The first possibility might explain the difference between the value when 
>in v.32 and v.34

        The %Q command reports the instantanious EQM (eye quality 
measurement) of the connection.  Exactly what this means varies with the 
protocol being used by the connection.   In non-trellis code modes it is the 
square of the error vector and represents the average signal energy in the 
error component.   Basicly this is the square of the radius of a point in the 
signal constellation (eye pattern).  In trellis code modes it is the minimum 
trellis path length. 

        EQM is not so much a measurement of noise on the line, but a 
measurement of the magnitude of the errors being caused in the signal 
constellation.   The constellation errors can be caused by many things, noise, 
limited bandwidth, etc.  Small errors in the signal constellation will not 
cause errors in data transfer.  Errors in data transfer occur when the signal 
constellation errors are large enough that two signalling states begin to 
overlap.  When this happens either an error correcting protocol (eg. LAPM) can 
be relied upon to fix things or a lower data rate with a simplier 
constellation can be used.   If only an occasional data error occurs then 
trusting LAPM is the best choice, this lets data transfer at a higher 
average rate.  But if lots of data errors are occuring then more time may be 
lost in retransmissions by LAPM than is gained by the higher data rate, so 
decreasing the data rate will result in higher throughput.  At the higher data 
rates a limited amount of signalling state overlap is expected even on perfect 
lines (in other words don't use V.34 without error correction, you won't like 
what happens otherwise).

        Since the meaning of EQM varies with protocol you can't really compare 
values between different types of connections.   So while lower numbers are 
always better than higher numbers, an EQM of 10 on a V.32bis connection is not 
comparable to an EQM of 10 on a V.34 connection.

        VFC and V.34 may have fairly high EQM values (10 to 30) on a good  ****
connection.   V.32bis typically has EQM values below 15 on a good connection.  

--
Dan Moore
Supra Corporation

_______________________________________________________________________________

From palm Mon Apr  3 22:05:39 1995
To: rsamshe@rsa.ericsson.se
In-reply-to: Mattias Heinze's message of Mon, 3 Apr 1995 14:44:26 +0200
Subject: EQM

** > "Mattias" == Mattias Heinze  

Hi:

Mattias> I wonder if you can help me with following issue: I have a
Mattias> question about EQM (Eye Quality Measurement). I only know
Mattias> that a low EQM value indicates good line quality and vice
Mattias> versa. Is it a standarized measure or does i vary between
Mattias> different manufacturers? 

I believe there is some variance among manufacturers.

Mattias> Does it depend on group delays, attenuation or echoes, or is
Mattias> it a combination of all of them?

It depends on many things.
Also, even if you knew values for all of the items you listed above,
EQM would not be directly proportional... in generally
it would converge to a value over time... but that convergence
would depend on the quality of the algorithms in the modem.

Mattias> Is there any way to make a diagnosis of the line quality
Mattias> considering the EQM value? 

yes, but only in vague terms.
Also given a certain EQM value, there is now way to extrapolate
what the particular impairments or their values are.

Mattias> I am also interested in litterature/contact persons related
Mattias> to this topic. Thanks in advance.

Below is some details info from our designer's guide.

regards, kiwin


-------------

Here is some text from the 288 Designer's Guide.
Note that the Functions/Addresses described can NOT be accessed from
the computer interface.

-----------------------

Function 46:	Eye Quality Monitor	Acc. Method: 4	Addr.: 20C

In V.32 4800 bps, V.29, V.27, V.22 bis, V.22 and Bell 212A modes, EQM
is the filtered squared magnitude of the error vector. However, for
all TCM modes (V.34, V.FC, and V.33 modes, and V.32 12000, 9600, and
7200 bps modes), EQM is the filtered minimum trellis path length (or
metric). This gives a better indication of signal quality for trellis
modes.

The error vector formed by the decision logic can be used to indicate
relative signal quality. As signal quality deteriorates, the average
error vector increases in magnitude. By calculating the magnitude of
the error vector and filter the results, a number inversely
proportional to signal quality is derived. This number is called the
eye quality monitor (EQM).  Because of the filter time constant, EQM
should be allowed to stabilize for approximately 700 baud times
following RLSD going active.

The EQM value for the non-trellis configurations is the filtered
squared magnitude of the error vector and represents the average
signal power contained in the error component. The power is directly
proportional to the probability of errors occurring in the received
data and can be used to implement a discrete Data Signal Quality
Detector circuit (circuit 110 of CCITT Recommendation V.24 or circuit
CG of the RS-232-C standard) by comparing the EQM value against
experimentally determined criteria (Bit Error Rate curves). Figure 4-6
illustrates the relationship of the EQM number to an eye pattern
created by a 4-point signal structure (e.g., V.29/4800 bps) in the
presence of high level white noise. The EQM value is proportional to
the square of the radius of the disk around any ideal point. The
radius increases when signal to noise ratio (SNR) decreases. As the
radius approaches the ideal point's boundary values, the bit error
rate (BER) increases. Curves of BER as a function of the SNR are used
to establish a criteria for determining the acceptability of EQM
values. Therefore, from an EQM value, the host processor can determine
an approximate BER value. If the BER is found to be unacceptable, the
host may cause the modem to fallback to a lower speed to improve BER.

It should be noted that the meaning of EQM varies with the type of
line disturbance present on the line and with the various
configurations. A given magnitude of EQM in V.29/9600 does not
represent the same BER as in V.27/4800. The former configuration has
16 points that are more closely spaced than the four signal points in
the latter, resulting in a greater probability of error for a given
level of noise or jitter. Also, the type of line disturbance has a
significant bearing on the EQM value. For example, white noise
produces an evenly distributed smearing of the eye pattern with about
equal magnitude and phase error while phase jitter produces phase
error with little error in magnitude.

Since EQM is dependent upon the signal structure of the modulation
being used and the type of line disturbance, EQM must therefore be
determined empirically in each application.  A typical eye pattern
generation circuit is shown in Figure 7-7.  Note that the eye pattern
is not displayed when 2800 or 3429 baud is selected in V.34 or V.FC
modes. The use of precoding and shaping in V.34 and V.FC modes will
distort the eye pattern's appearance, even under ideal conditions.
The EQM value should be monitored in V.34 and V.FC modes to determine
the quality of the connection.



Note:  Many modem manufacturers only include the UPPER byte in
       their EQM report... so   300(hex) would be reported 3  


Function 69:	EQM Scale Factor (Gain)	Acc. Method: 3	Addr.: A29
         	EQM ARA Bias (Offset)	Acc. Method: 2	Addr.: 2A4, 2A5

The automatic rate adaptation (ARA) algorithm adjusts the data rate
based on the level of EQM. The algorithm is twofold, one being used
for initial train and retrain, the other for rate-renegotiation. In
both cases, ARA is enabled by setting the EARC bit (15:0), which
defaults off.

Upon initial train and retrain, the EQM is checked towards the end of
the training, just before the rate negotiation. The 4-point EQM is
compared against a table of values representing the necessary levels
to achieve the corresponding data rates with an EQM of around 2000h. 
Once the maximum achievable rate is determined, the CONF register is
changed to reflect the estimate, and is then used to suggest a data
rate in the following negotiations.

In rate-renegotiation, only the instigating modem implements the
algorithm.  The responding modem, as usual, indicates availability of
all rates. The instigating modem will attempt to go to a rate which
will result in an EQM of 1800h-3000h. To do that, it will check the
current EQM (at the start of rate-renegotiation), and change CONF
according to the following table:

EQM Before Rate Change	Rate Change
Above 3000h	Down 1
1800h-3000h	No change
 C00h-1800h	Up 1
 600h-C00h	Up 2
 300h-600h	Up 3
Below 300h	Up 4

The rates suggested in the rate-renegotiation will then be reflected the
CONF.


Rockwell microcontroller ROM code ...

Date: 19 May 1995 09:41:10 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
Subject: FW: Rockwell code


_______________________________________________________________________________
To: drosenzw@its.brooklyn.cuny.edu
From: Palm Stephen on Wed, May 17, 1995 2:49 PM
Subject: Rockwell code

** > "Doni" == Doni   

Daniel:

Doni> Thanks for the info... What is dependent on the ROM vs the chipset that 
Doni> you provide. In other words... my modem had a problem with v.42 - they 
Doni> said that the newer ROM which they have fixes the problem... I would 
Doni> think that v.42 is implemented in the Rockwell Chipset? Could you 
Doni> explain? Thanks...

All of the control functions (AT parsing, error correction, data
compression, blacklisting, etc) are run on a microcontroller
with the code in an External ROM (FlashROM or EPROM usually).
The ACx chip is one such controller. 
The basic modem modulations are run on a DSP (the DPx chips)
but there again... most of it is just code. The DSP code
is in ROM inside the DSP chip since it is a lot cheaper.
A "complete chipset" is an ACx chip with an DPx chip.

The ACx controller does not have to be used... some OEMs pick their
favorite microcontroller (and pair it up with one of our DPx chips)
and writes all of their own control code from scratch.

The ATx chips are similar to the ACx chips, but some things like error
correction and data compression are not done on the microcontroller,
they are done on the host computer CPU.  This saves RAM (and ROM) on
the modem board (which are plentiful in the host computer) and the
modem cost becomes lower.

To fix your V.42 problem, the microcontroller ROM code was updated.
Rockwell provides tha basic code to go into the ROM... but vendors can
(and do!) modify, add, or delete code as they see fit for their product. 

regards, kiwin


Modem manufacturer might not have updated their modem design

Date: 19 May 1995 09:12:51 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
To: "Richard Litalien" 

Richard,

While we may have introduced an updated chip, your modem manufacturer
hasn't necessarily updated the modem design.  I would suggest contacting
Practical Peripherals directly. 

--Baudman
________________________________________________________
litalie@sna.com (Richard Litalien) sent the following
comment about The DCD's WWW server:

------------------------------------------------------------
I have a practical peripherals MC288Mt II v.34, it is my understanding
that you have updated the bite pump chip. Can you give me some
more information on this.

litalie@sna.com
------------------------------------------------------------
Server protocol: HTTP/1.0
Remote host: litalie.sna.com
Remote IP address: 204.119.128.51



The speed of a V.34 modem

Date: 19 May 1995 09:09:04 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
To: "Eric Lieb " <70214.501@compuserve.com>

Eric,

The speed of a V.34-based modem is dependent on line conditions -- with
an average line, you should expect speeds of no less than 21.6Kbps.  If
you are unable to reach speeds higher than 24.0Kbps, it is probably a
bad line. 

--Baudman
________________________________________________________

70214.501@compuserve.com (Eric Lieb) sent the following
comment about The DCD's WWW server:

------------------------------------------------------------
Hi: What is the average speed the V34 modem can handle in poor line
conditions?  Why can't I get a 28k connection on my R-Based modem?  (I
get 24k, 26k4 and 19k2 speed)
------------------------------------------------------------ 



Connecting to USRobotic modem...

Date: 19 May 1995 08:48:48 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
To: "Ron Schendel" 

Ron,

This sounds like it could be a modem problem, more than a chip problem.
I would suggest contacting U.S. Robotics, or try the comp.dcom.modems
newsgroup. 

--Baudman
________________________________________________________
rgs@nmia.com (Ron Schendel) sent the following
comment about The DCD's WWW server:

------------------------------------------------------------
Well Mr. Baudman, I'm impressed!  Question I recently bought a 28.800
with the Rockwell (Your) V.34 Chipset.  I am impressed, however I am
having problems connecting with my internet carrier on a consistant
basis above 16.800 once ina while 19.200 Carrier.  Yup, yu guessed it!
They have all USRobutic modems.  Any suggestions? 

Thanks, MIspelling on purpose! (-=:>



Setting S-registers value

Date: 8 May 1995 09:04:05 -0800
From: "Baudman" 
Subject: RE: [rcollins@mc.edu:  Modem Init String]
To: "Ron Collins" 

>How do you set the value of a setting in Stored Profile 0 and 1 that DOES
>NOT APPEAR in the Active Profile Setting?  For Example:  My Stored Profile
>0 and Stored Profile 1 settings include a value of S41:192.  I need to
>change this to S41:193.  When I try ATS41=193, I get an OK from the modem,
>but when I type AT&V, the profiles both still show S41:192.  The Active
>Profile, however, does not have an S41 in it.  Any help would be greatly
>appreciated.

>Thanks,
>Ron Collins

Ron,

The problem is not whether an S-register appears or doesn't appear in the
current profile of the AT&V display.  The problem is that we can't change the
bit mapped S-registers using the ATSxx=yy command.

Bit mapped S-registers should be changed only by changing the associated AT
commands (AT%C, AT%E, AT-Q in the case of S41).

To summarize if you do:

AT%C3%E0-Q0&W1
AT&C1%E0-Q0&W0

you will find that the stored profile 1 has a value of 3 for S41 and stored
profile 0 has a value of 1.

--Baudman