[vcf-midatlantic] Help me remember my first modem

[Neil Cherry]

On 12/24/21 9:22 PM, John Heritage via vcf-midatlantic wrote:
> I'm trying to find a picture of my first modem online, and can't seem to
> find one..
> 
> I remember my first modem (I was ~ 7 years old or ~ 1983-1984 when we first
> got it, but had it for years later) being a 300 baud "Bell" modem.  I
> *believe* it had an acoustic coupler, but it *might but I do not remember
> needing to use it to initiate connections to BBSes at the time.  I'm not
> sure if there were hybrid modems where they still had an acoustic coupler,
> but also supported auto dial of some kind.
> 
> My memory also tells me it was a black modem, rectangular (metal?)
> exterior.  I think the modem might have said "Bell Labs" rather than just
> Bell on the front.  I'm also 95% sure that the modem ..  disappeared ..
> from Bell thanks to a family member who worked there/at AT&T (and also was
> an Atari 800 owner like us).  We attached this modem (and later modems) to
> an Atari 850 interface, so it had a standard serial interface.
> 
> Lastly, I'm certain it was *not* a Bell 103 modem - which would have been
> positively ancient by the early 80s, but some other design from Bell.  Or
> at least not an original appearance one..

I recall the Bell 300 modem (non-acoustic coupled). It had a AT&T Bell logo
on the front. So either Commsphere or Dataphone, probably Dataphone. I think
it had 103 on the front. Black plastic front, rest of it was metal and an
external 48v DC power brick, 2 screws on the brick. I can't recall if the
modem had screws or was hard wired. I do recall a DB25, male I think.

-- 
Linux Home Automation         Neil Cherry       ncherry at linuxha.com
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