View Source: WinModem - Waikato Linux Users Group

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A overglorified SoundCard masquerading as a MoDem. The hardware consists of little else than a [DAC]/[ADC], whereas the actual signal processing logic is performed by the host computer's [CPU]. The software masquerades as a "driver", which is generally available from vendors only for MicrosoftWindows.

Fortunately there are increasingly more WinModem drivers available for [Linux]. Supported MoDem~s get affectionately called [LinModems | http://www.linmodems.org/]. Beware though, there are only few of these among the WinModem~s.

[Intel] now has a supported WinModem chipset ([DSE] sells MoDem~s based on these) and because they have both MicrosoftWindows and [Linux] drivers [Intel] calls them HaM, "Host-accelerated Modem". How a 56K WinModem is "accelerated" in comparison to a 56k hardware modem isn't entirely clear; this appears to be MarkeTroid speak.

The MWave WinModem in [IBM] ~ThinkPad~s is also supported. [IBM] released the driver under [GPL], so it has made its way into the official [Kernel] source tree.

By far the most common WinModem~s (at least in NewZealand) are ones based on Conexant chipsets. For a long time there was no way at all to get any of these to work in Linux, but at some point [they released Linux drivers | http://www.linuxant.com/drivers/].

If you want to get a new MoDem for a [Linux] and would like to avoid the cost of a hardware MoDem, DanielLawson recommends a Lucent or Agere compatible chipset based WinModem, after good experience with a Lectron I56LVP/F4 ($32 as of May 2004) that runs fine with the [ltmodem drivers | http://www.physcip.uni-stuttgart.de/heby/ltmodem/]. If the binary [Package] doesn't work for you, get the source package and follow the instructions, there's a couple of scripts you can run which basically automate the whole installation.

Some modern distros include drivers for the more common WinModem~s.

! See also:

* [Linmodems | http://www.linmodems.org/]
* [Linmodems support | http://linmodems.technion.ac.il/]

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CategoryHardware
4 pages link to WinModem:
Last edited on Wednesday, September 7, 2005 8:04:26 am by AristotlePagaltzis
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