In October and November, our company purchased three USRobotics modems (external Sportster 14400). Two have already broken.

We need to purchase more modems, and would like to be able to stay with USR (because of cost and features), but really have to have an answer to the following question: What is USRobotics doing to improve their quality?

We have some other concerns as well, but these are relatively minor:

• The 40-character command buffer limit is inadequate and should be easy to increase. When will it be increased?
  In August, I was in the New Orleans Convention Center (during Hurricane Andrew), and needed 42-characters to dial my office modem. A 40-character command buffer is too restrictive. "Chaining" is not an adequate solution.
  
  
• The Fax software that accompanies the Sportster 14400+fax is inadequate. The user interface leaves a lot to be desired, and the software/modem often fails to correctly terminate a fax transmission. In short, the software is of "beta test" quality, at best.
  
  
• The Sportster 14400 often fails to make a connection (at any speed) with a Telebit T2500 and with a USRobotics Courier HST.

[Editors note: no record of any reply received, but we did send our broken modems to USR service, and they returned them as "fixed".]

Your equipment is junk.

I want to know how you plan to address this problem. Should our company ship you our three Sportster 14,400 and bill you for $350 * 3, plus $150/hour for our consulting time? We have wasted about 9 hours so far, trying to use your error-prone, defective, and break-down prone pieces of sh*t.

History:

• Modem s/n 0000810000685243 broke after a month of service. We sent it to you, you "fixed" it, and sent it back last week. The modem no longer works. We have disconnected it from the phone and RS232 lines. Every time we turn it on, we get a different set of LEDs on. Sometimes, AA is on, sometimes it is off. Since switch 5 is UP, it should always be on. Sometimes, OH is on, sometimes it is off. Your modem should *never* turn on OH upon power-on!

  (The modem was not placed on top of other equipment, and is an air-conditioned computer room.)

• Modem s/n 0000810000869289 broke after a month of service at an employee's home, apparently having a faulty power switch. We sent it to you, you "fixed" it, and sent it back today. The power switch now works intermittently.

• Modem, s/n unknown, cannot connect with many other non-Sportster modems at any speed. Your modem tries, but fails, often incorrectly reporting "No Carrier" (when, in fact, there was a carrier). This modem is currently sitting, unused, at an employee's home.

Please reply now, preferably with an RMA # we can return your equipment with, and a PO# we can bill you with.

[Editor's note: we received a phone call from USR, asking to repeat the problem report, and ship the modems]

Modem serial numbers:

• 0000810000685243 broke after a month of service. We sent it to you, you "fixed" it, and sent it back last week. The modem no longer works now.

• 0000810000869289 broke after a month of service at an employee's home, apparently having a faulty power switch. We sent it to you, you "fixed" it, and sent it back today. The power switch now works intermittently. (Note: mostly, it works)

• 0000810000842911, used with a PC, for dialing into various modems. Usually has problems connecting with non-Sportster modems at any speed. Your modem tries, but fails, often incorrectly reporting "No Carrier" (when, in fact, there was a carrier). One phone number to try is (408) xxx-xxxx (problem connecting 1 time out of 3), or (650) xxx-xxxx (doesn't talk, usually).

[Editor's note: we shipped them 3 modems]

We received our three modems back yesterday. I tested them this morning. At present, the status is: two work, one doesn't.

This is not good.

(I love understatements!)

Status:

• 0000810000685243 seems to work, although the last time we said that, it broke after one week of service.
• 0000810000869289 seems to work.
• 0000810000842911 powers up, but won't dial.

The power supply & modem combination has a short (or design flaw) that sends electric current out the "back" of the modem (via the DB-25 connector). In other words, you can get shocked by touching a plugged in (and powered OFF) modem. In addition, your computer equipment may be damaged.

[Editor's note: although easily reproduced by us, USR failed to reproduce, acknowledge, or fix this hazard.]

I noticed the above problem when I saw a spark while plugging in my PC's RS-232 cable into one of your modems. Subsequent experiments confirmed the problem. I tried all three modems, and all three exhibited the problem. I tried with the phone cable unplugged and plugged, and always saw the problem. I tried with the PC powered off, and still saw the problem. (In other words, I eliminated the PC and the phone line as potential problem sources, and I eliminated the possibility that a single modem was broken.)

So, we are left with three possibilities: (1) the power supply/modem combination is flawed; (2) the power supply is broken (although it does power the modem successfully) ... I only had one power supply available for testing; (3) all three modems were broken in the same way (that allowed 2 of them to function otherwise correctly).

What do you suggest we do now? Our company president wants me to ship all three modems back, and demand satisfaction of some form (Refunds, or upgrades to equivalent Couriers). I'm willing to let you make the first suggestion.

Dear Ms. Donile,

The enclosed Sportster 14,400 Fax modem is broken...

A G A I N

Although we've lost exact track of the *many* Sportster failures we've suffered in the last two years, one fact is apparent: the AC power switch design on this model is, to put it bluntly, sh*t.

This same modem has been previously "fixed" by USR for the same problem, and some of our other modem failures have also been related to the AC-power switch.

When fixing the enclosed modem, you will need to replace the power switch with the (apparently) better designed AC-power switch found in the newer Sportster models, or we will not accept the repair as being acceptable warranty coverage. If this necessitates replacing the entire modem with the newer modem, that's fine...and fair, given our history of problems with your modems.

P.s.: Attached is a copy of a posting our president made to the Internet last week. When apprised of the lastest modem failure, he said he would wait to see how USR handles the warranty repair before posting again.

[Editors note: posting lost, but it basically said: we now have a company policy covering modem purchases. It is: "No Sportsters"]

Updated: 95/10/20