Tales from the Trip

It's a poor worker who blames his tools. On the other hand....

Raphael Needleman

January 9, 1995

Boston, Massachusetts. I'm setting up my new Boston apartment, and the Nynex guy who was here to install a second phone line has just left. I need to get my E-mail. So I run a phone cable from my modem to the wall outlet, add the right phone numbers to my communications program, click on the send/receive button, and walk away. Easy.

At BYTE's far-flung bureaus and at most hotels, it's the same story. Those little RJ-11 phone jacks are a conduit for my communications back to the BYTE home base in Peterborough, New Hampshire. Thanks to E-mail, my portable computer, and a PCMCIA modem, I'm never out of touch for very long. My traveling road kit consists of a Dell Latitude XP with a Megaher tz X-Jack modem, a six-foot phone cable, a phone-line splitter, a small Swiss army knife, and a Mini Mag flashlight, all packed into a single briefcase. It's a little too heavy for my shoulder, but it contains everything I need to connect from almost anywhere--and I even have some room left in my case for papers and magazines.

However, I've had a few experiences when the basic road kit wasn't enough. So I've been gradually adding gizmos to the bag over time, as well as keeping a log of tips and tricks I've learned on my trip down the data highway.

January 16, 1995

United Airlines flight 33, Boston to San Francisco. I notice that the seat-back phones have RJ-11 jacks. I plug in and try to connect. No joy. After a dozen different combinations of computer-dialed and manually dialed credit-card and access-code combinations, I call for help. I ask the AirPhone operator, "Do these phones work with modems?" The response: "They will very soon, sir." Unfortunately, not before I la nd.

Fortunately, the gentleman sitting next to me is in the printing business. We have a delightful discussion about the future of magazine publishing.

Lesson learned: The presence of an RJ-11 jack does not guarantee a usable phone line.

Later that day. Washington Square Inn, San Francisco. A typical hotel experience. The phone in the room doesn't have a modem port and the phone cable is stuck--the little tab on the modular plug has been snapped off. I have two options: Use the Swiss army knife to pry the cord out of the phone, or crawl under the bed and try to connect my computer to the phone jack on the wall. I opt for the latter. I plug the splitter into the wall, then plug both the phone and the modem into it. In ten minutes, I'm sending E-mail. No problem.

Lesson learned: Modern hotel design dictates that the phone jack shall be placed in the darkest, most inaccessible place in the room. Bring a small flashlight.

January 18, 199 5

San Francisco International Airport, United Airlines Red Carpet Club. The yearly fees to this little oasis are worth it. The lounge has an entire wall with little cubicles, each equipped with its own phone, modem jack, and AC power outlet (hidden above the desk, under the fluorescent light). All I have to do is program my dialing string with my phone card number, and I'm in business.

Lesson learned: Airline clubs are worth the money because they have phones with data jacks. Sign up for one.

January 31, 1995

IBM's conference center in Raleigh, North Carolina. During a break in a seminar on ATM, I go to the phone bank. There are several Rolm phones with standard RJ-11 cables plugged into the wall. I disconnect one and plug in my old but trusty Megahertz X-Jack modem. But when I try to dial, I get nothing, not even a dial tone. Hmm. Maybe it's a nonstandard phone line. No big deal, I can wait for my E-mail.

Later that night, at my hotel, I can't get on line. "No dial tone," says the modem. I try everything, but it's no use. My Megahertz has gone to the great bit-bucket in the sky. Apparently, plugging the analog modem into the digital Rolm system earlier that day was not a good idea--the higher voltage of the digital system blew out the Megahertz dialing relay.

Fortunately, an associate lends me a PCMCIA modem (a Gateway Telepath). It works just fine; I don't even have to tell my communications programs about the change. When I get back to the office, the nice folks at Megahertz send me a replacement X-Jack modem, this one with the new "digital line guard" feature to protect it from high-voltage melt down.

Lesson learned: Don't plug your analog modem into a PBX system.

February 2, 1995

Northwest Airlines flight 727, Boston to Minneapolis. This plane has seat-back phones that look newer than the ones I tried on United, and they have an encouraging label stuck on them: "This phone modem-compatible." I t takes me about 15 minutes to come up with the right combination of access and dialing codes, but it works. I'm doing E-mail from a plane! True, I have wires and credit cards strewn all over the tray table, and I'm spending $2.50 a minute to exchange messages with people who could very well wait another 3 hours to hear from me. But next time I have to dash off a message from the air, I'll know how.

Lesson learned: E-mail from an airplane is expensive and complicated, but on the right airline, it actually works.

February 7, 1995

Hyatt Regency, Irvine, California. The phone in my room has a modem jack (a plus), but there's an ominous placard on the desk: "Modem and computer users: For best results, set modem speed to 1200 baud." Sure enough, I can't connect at faster speeds--the hotel's digital phone system apparently compresses the signals and ruins high-speed modem tones. What's worse, the Hyatt's phone charges are outrageous, which means that for every minute I w aste running at 1200 bps instead of 9600, I'm spending a fortune.

Lesson learned: Avoid the Hyatt Regency in Irvine.

February 9, 1995

San Francisco International Airport, Gate 89. This is the farthest you can get from the Red Carpet Club and still actually be in the airport. Naturally, most of my San Francisco flights leave from here. My flight is delayed for maintenance reasons, but we're advised not to stray from the gate; the plane could board at any minute. Nearby is a futuristic AT&T 2000 pay phone with a keyboard and an inviting little blue RJ-11 jack. I have to try it.

I perch my Dell Latitude on top of the phone and get to work. Half an hour later, after perfecting some carefully orchestrated acrobatics that involve lifting and replacing the handset and pressing the right buttons at the right times, I finally make a connection. Meanwhile, the airplane mechanics are still waiting for a part.

Lesson learned: AT&T 2000 public phones have conv enient modem jacks, but using them is decidedly inconvenient.

February 13, 1995

Philadelphia airport, USAir terminal, between flights. This place is a dump. The run-down terminal has peeling paint, no coffee shop, no airline club, and none of the magic AT&T 2000 phones. But I've been on airplanes all day, and I have another long flight in front of me. I need my E-mail.

Fortunately, on this trip I'm carrying an Apex Mobile Plus Cellular-compatible modem instead of my Megahertz. I connect it to my Oki 1150 cellular phone and dial up the home office in a snap. This modem interfaces perfectly with the phone and can double as a land-line modem when I'm near a phone jack.

Lesson learned: Cellular modems are a great backup to regular land-line connections.

Later that day. USAir flight 2451 from Philly to Burlington, Vermont. This plane has a very intriguing setup: a smallish LCD panel mounted on the seatback and a groovy little phone h andset in the seat. In addition to the usual phone keypad, the handset even has an alphanumeric keypad and an RJ-11 jack. But the LCDs are discouragingly blank and the system isn't turned on. When I pull the handset out of its holder, a bright orange wire pulls free of the phone. When I land, I kiss the ground.

Lesson learned: Carry a soldering iron on USAir.

February 15, 1995

Jack Daniels Motor Lodge, Peterborough, New Hampshire. I often stay here when I'm working at BYTE's headquarters. But since my last visit, the JD has replaced its phone system with some awful new digital setup. My Megahertz won't function.

Just for kicks, I run back to the office and grab a product I've had for a while: the Konexx Model 111 handset adapter. It installs between the phone's handset and the phone base, and also plugs into my modem. But I still can't get the computer to dial for me; I have to dial the phone manually. It seems that cc:Mail supports manual dialing quite nicel y (it sets up everything for you and even flashes a message on the screen reminding you what number to dial), but my other programs don't. I have to enter a new dialing string (ATX1DT) that tells the modem to just pick up the phone and wait for a connection. Then I have to dial all the access numbers myself. Too much work!

Lesson learned: With the help of flexible comm software, a handset adapter can thwart an innkeeper's nefarious plans to lock you out of his phone system.

March 6, 1995

Mulligen, Germany. Several BYTE staffers are staying in a small guest house for the duration of the CeBIT computer show this week in Hannover. There's only a single phone for 17 of us. A bad start to the week.

After examining the guest house's phone wiring, we find that the cable has a completely unfamiliar connection at the wall end, but a somewhat ordinary-looking phone connector at the other (the plug is the same size as an RJ-11, but has six contacts instead of four). I v olunteer to try it first.

I plug the phone cable into my modem. The modem's speaker emits a dial tone, but I can't dial out; the switchboard at the guest house doesn't seem to recognize American touch-tone signals. I try old-fashioned pulse dialing. That doesn't work, either.

Luckily, I've planned ahead: There's a Konexx Model 204 acoustic coupler in my travel kit. Remember the old 110-bps acoustic modems from the 1970s? The Konexx works on the same principle, but it uses Velcro straps instead of suction cups to attach its speaker and microphone to the phone handset. The maximum data rate varies, depending on the phone. I got 14,400 bps when I tried it back home on my office phone (an AT&T Merlin), but I'm getting only 2400 bps on the German guest house phones. Still, it works. Soon I retrieve my E-mail, and a line forms behind me for the use of the phone and the coupler.

Lesson learned: Acoustic couplers aren't obsolete. In a pinch, they'll let you get on line from almost anywhere. Wo rth carrying.

March 8, 1995

Hannover, Germany. At the CeBIT show, the BYTE booth has three phone lines: one for voice, one for fax, and one for data. The phones don't have RJ-11 jacks, and the wall has the same odd-looking connectors we encountered at the guest house. Fortunately, a resourceful but guiltless associate has swiped the required cable from a meeting room at a local hotel. (Memo to Hotel Latzen: Please send me the bill; I'll pay up.)

One end of the cable goes into the wall, the other into the modem. Suddenly I'm dialing out with no trouble at all--this phone line even recognizes American touch-tones. The only difference is that the German dial tone is different, so I have to set my modem to "blind dial" (the Hayes command is ATX1).

Lesson learned: It can be advantageous to travel with quick-fingered associates of low moral character.

March 13, 1995

Back at my office in Peterborough, New Hampshire. According to my schedule, I'll be in town for two solid weeks. It will be a welcome change of pace. While the traveling is both educational and exciting, my batteries are drained. And that's not just the ones in my laptop.

Final lesson learned: Plug and play is a joke, but if you have the wherewithal, you can get your E-mail from almost anywhere.

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WHERE TO FIND

Apex Data
 (cellular-compatible modems)
Pleasanton, CA
(800) 841-2739
(510) 416-5656
fax: (510) 416-0909


Dell
 (portable computers)
Austin, TX
(800) 289-3355
(512) 338-4400
fax: (512) 728-3653
E-mail: 
info@dell.com



Megahertz
 (modems)
Salt Lake City, UT
(800) 527-8677
(801) 320-7000
fax: (801) 320-6020


Oki Telecom
 (cellular phones)
Suwanee, GA
(800) 554-3112
(404) 995-9800
fax: (404) 822-2704


Unlimited Systems Corp.
 (Konexx couple
rs)
San Diego, CA
(619) 622-1400
fax: (619) 550-7330
E-mail: 
konexx@aol.com

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Raphael Needleman is BYTE's Editor in Chief. You can reach him on BIX or the Internet at rafe@well.com .