Below you will find a two-part discussion about problems Microcomputer Services has observed with certain models of Megahertz PCMCIA modems for the PC and the Macintosh when trying to connect with our large modem pool at 346-6520. This issue became important since Megahertz generally makes very good modems at a very attractive price. We saw an estimated 20+ customers in the span of a few days in January, 1996 who were all having problems connecting. For all the details read on...

Megahertz has released a new model of the CruiseCard for the Macintosh. This model contains an extra jack for cellular phone support. The model is the CruiseCard XJA3288. Megahertz told us that the XJA2288 (the problem modem) will not be updated, but that the XJA3288 contains a different chip set than the XJA2288. We have not seen one of these modems in our group, but our suspicion is that they will work correctly. Please keep this in mind while reading the following report.

Here is the first follow-up on the Megahertz modem issues which we have seen at Microcomputer Services in the Computing Center. Also, in case people are wondering, these are *very* popular modems. We have seen six of them just today - all with connection problems. The Microcomputer Purchase Program is not selling these modems due to problems that have been observed.

THE ISSUE

Certains Megahertz PCMCIA modems are not capable of negotiating a connection with US Robotics Quad Rack modems. The UO uses this type of modem in some of its modem pools, particularly 346-6520 - the largest, single modem pool. The modem will either begin to connect and then emit a oscillating squeal, or upon connection the modem gets to "Carrier" and then drops the connection. US Robotics is the parent company of Megahertz. Megahertz has admitted to this problem and appears to be trying to resolve the situation.

MAC AND PC MODELS INVOLVED

On the PC the Megahertz XJ2288 and CC3288. On the Mac the Megahertz CruiseCard or XJA 288.

These three modems are all functionally equivalent.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND OUT

If the Megahertz modem contains a ROM revision of "AC" then it appears to be possible to resolve the connection problem. If you go to the ftp site

ftp.mhz.com

login as "anonymous" with userid of "yourUserid@oregon"

and download the file

pubflashv34ac00e.exe

You can then do a software "flash" upgrade of the Megahertz modem. This can *only* be done on a PC. Megahertz is working on a Mac software flash upgrade program, but it is currently not finished. This program should only run on a Megahertz modem with ROM revision "AC". Finally, this should only be done with a true Megahertz modem. Other vendor OEM versions of the Megahertz modems (there are many) may or may not work with the flash upgrade software. The user *must* call the original vendor and find out if they can use the flash upgrade. In some cases using the Megahertz flash upgrade on another brand of modem can cause the modem to become inoperable.

If the Megahertz modem contains ROM revision "AA" then you can improve your connection capability, but it appears you will not be able to connect to 346-6520. The flash upgrade file for the "AA" modems is at the same site and is

pubflashv34aa01m.exe

To upgrade a modem you should place the file in a temporary directory (this goes for both ac00e.exe and aa01m.exe), type the filename a the DOS prompt and then read the README.TXT file for exact instructions on upgrading the modem. The README.TXT file contains some *very important* tips and information about doing the flash upgrade.

NOTE: You can do a flash upgrade on a Mac Megahertz modem by placing the card in a PC. Megahertz said that this is an acceptable method.

There is an "aa01n.exe" file which is currently called "optional" by Megahertz (it may still be in testing). We have not tested this flash upgrade at this time.

RESULTS OF FLASH UPGRADING

We have only been able to look at a few Megahertz modems. So far, what we have seen shows that modems with the "AC00E" ROM revision work on all the UO modem numbers without problem. Modems with the AA01M ROM revision work on 346-2150, 346-5975, 346-3565, but not 346-6520. This is rather problematic as this is the primary modem pool number. We tested both the Mac CruiseCard and the PC XJ2288 models with ROM revision AA01M on 346-6520 and both modems failed in the same manner.

FUTURE EXPECTATIONS AND OUR RECOMMENDATION

As we get more exact details on what is happening with the "AA" ROM revision modems we will post them to this group.

At this time Microcomputer Services does not recommend the purchase of a Megahertz XJ2288, CC3288, or CruiseCard for the Mac *unless* the user can first see the ROM revision of the modem or the person selling the modem can guarrantee the ROM revion to be at least AC00E.

Since US Robotics is the parent company of Megahertz we assume that this problem may be resolved in the near future. Also, modems made before October 15, 1995 (or thereabouts), or the Mac CruiseCard are the only Megahertz models containing the AA ROM revision. PC Modems made after October should have a ROM revision of "ACxxx." Finally, as the older Megahertz modems are sold we assume that all the newer modems will come with the latest ROM revision and function out of the box. This has not been verified, as of yet, for the Mac CruiseCard (XJA 288).

OTHER OEMS AND THE MEGAHERTZ XJACK PCMCIA MODEMS

You should be aware that Megahertz has contracts with many companies (Hayes, Toshiba, US Logic, etc.) to allow them to use their XJ2288 modem with slight modifications. Any modem which contains the XJACK feature may actually be a Megahertz in disguise since they have the patent on this device. Customers should ask to see the back of the modem and look for model numbers like XJ2288, or check the ROM revision and company information using the AT command "ati3," and "ati6" (see below). If the modem is a Megahertz XJ2288 with a ROM revision of "AA," then, at this time, we do not expect it to work with 346-6520.

HOW TO TELL WHAT ROM REVISION THE MODEM HAS

If you use a terminal emulation program such as Terminal, Kermit, Z-Term, Microphone, etc. you can type -

ati3

in the terminal window. The modem should respond with the current ROM revision. If the modem has not been upgraded, or was not recently purchased, then you will see either "Rev. AA," or "Rev. AC."

If the modem has been upgraded then you will see "Rev. AA01M," or "Rev. AC00E."

WHAT'S UP WITH 346-6520?

This modem pool contains digital phone lines. Our other pools contain analog lines. Even though most of the UO modems are US Robotic modems, the digital phone lines appear to cause the problem. In December we spoke with Megahertz and they indicated this was the reason why we could not connect to the 346-6520 modem pool using the Mac XJA 288 modem. This is a failing on the part of the Megahertz modem.

We have heard back from Megahertz about their PC and Macintosh PCMCIA modem cards. Once again, the specific cards that this discussion relates to are the XJ2288, CC3288, and the Macintosh CruiseCard. All of these are 28,800 baud modems.

The issue is that with specific revisions of these modems it is not possible to connect with our US Robotics Quad Rack modems in the 346-6520 modem pool (this is the large modem pool). The specific reason for this problem is that these modems are on a digital switch which causes them to emit a slightly different connection tone. Some Megahertz modems cannot modulate correctly to complete a connection in this case.

UPDATED INFORMATION

The current shipments of the XJ228 and CC3288 modems are shipping with firmware revision AC00e. This means that these modems are using a different chip set (data pump in "modemese") than modems shipping with firmware revision AA0xx. If the modem contains firmware revsion ACxx then it can successfully negotiate a connection with all of our modem pools. If the modem contains firmware revision AA001m then it can connect with all the modem pools *except* 346-6520. There is no fix to make a Megahertz modem with firmware revision AA connect with our large modem pool.

Furthermore, to get a modem with firmware revsion AA to connect to 346-3565 (our much smaller 28,800 baud modem pool) the user must first do a "flash" upgrade of the modem's ROM to the current AA01m revision to negotiate a succesful connnection (note: any revision AA0xx seems to work).

Internally the newer XJ2288 and CC3288 modems are called the XJ2288i and CC3288i, but this is not stated anywhere on the modem or the box. To insure that the modem will work with our 346-6520 modem pool the user must first setup the modem on a machine and in a terminal emulation program issue the command "ATi3" to see the current firmware revsion. If the modem has been on the shelf for sometime it may be one of the "AA" revsion modems.

On the Macintosh the CruiseCard *ONLY* ships with firmware revision AAxxx. This means that in no case will the CruiseCard be able to connect with the 346-6520 modem pool. Megahertz has stated that they think that they will ship the CruiseCard with the AC firmware revision in the near future.

WHAT USERS CAN DO

I was told by technical support at Megahertz that both the CC3288 and XJ2288 modems will work just fine on the Macintosh. The only problem being that the user will not have the Macintosh software for the modems. The technician told me that a user can purchase one of these modems, call the Megahertz parts department at 1-800-846-2233, and request part number sf177s. The user should just tell them that they got the PC disks with their modem instead of the Mac disks. The technician thought that they would ship the user the Macs disks for free. We will try to make the Mac Megahertz software available on CC Public Domain in the future.

WHAT WE RECOMMEND

As you can see using a Megahertz modem at this time could cause quite a few support headaches. We *do not* recommend the purchase of Megahertz XJ2288, CC3288, or CruiseCard modems until Megahertz has been shipping the these modems with firmware revsion AC00x for some time. Users run the risk of purchasing an older modem which will not work with the 346-6520 modem pool.

On the Macintosh we do not recommend using the PC modems with the Mac unless the user knows and understands the issues. Furthermore, they still run the risk of getting one of the older XJ2288 or CC3288 models which may not work. The company, Megahertz, *might* be willing to swap modems, but we did not get an answer on this. Megahertz can be reached at 1-801-320-7777.

ONE FINAL GOTCHA

As stated earlier, Megahertz makes modems for many manufacturers and has the patent on the XJack. If you purchase a 28,800 baud PCMCIA modem with an XJack there is a good chance that it is really an XJ2288 in disguise.

You should check the ROM firmware on the modem using the ATi3 and ATi5 commands before purchasing. We have seen 3 separate XJack modems that were all XJ2288's in disguise. Two of these modems had firmware revsion AAxxx and did not work on 346-6520. The other modem had revsion AC00e and worked fine. Users should always look at the modem they are purchasing to see if it says XJ2288 or CC3288 or some substring in fine print. Finally, if you plan to do a "flash" upgrade on an OEM modem which is not a true Megahertz modem, then you should contact the original manufacturer to find out if this is possible or safe. Megahertz stated that, in some cases, the user can render a modem inoperable if they use the Megahertz flash updater on a non-true Megahertz modem.

Hopefully this issue will resolve itself in the next few weeks or months as the AC00e firmware revsion becomes the prevalent model available. Currently, we do not see a resolution on the Macintosh side until Megahertz ships the CruiseCard with the new firmware revsion. From what we have seen Megahertz is one of the better modems around (minus this glitch) for the price, thus they are very popular.

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