[plug] baud rates and modem dropouts

[Denis Brown]

On the matter of repeated and frequent modem dropout...

Watch out for early T200 style Touchfones from Telstra.  They required
energy from the 'phone line every so often (I thought it was about 20
minute intervals, maybe more frequently) to recharge the dialer memory
"keep-alive battery".  Apparently the magnitude of the current draw was
sufficient to cause modem dropout.  That aligns well with a previous
correspondent's suggestion.  The soliution is to complain to Telstra and
have the 'phone replaced at no charge because "the memory dialer won't
retain any numbers I enter into it."  A friend of mine had this dropout
problem caused by an older-style T200.  They can be recognised by a
"membrane"-like number pad where the new models have discrete keytops.

Another possibility is that the new multiplexed system which Telstra is
installing in the suburbs won't support modems too well.  Look out for
little green boxes near the footpaths about 30 cm square and a metre tall.
Has there been some major Telstra activity anywhere between your residence
and the telephone exchange, recently, which might signal a change from
dedicated copper to fibre(?) multiplexed lines?

Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Denis