I am not sure where to post this. But since I will be using this with Mandrake 10.0 Official then I thought I would start here and the post can be moved if necessary.

My questions is this. Can I use an external US Robotics 28,800 Fax modem v.34/v.32 to connect to the internet or is it just for fax's. If so does anyone have any idea if this works with Mandrake 10.0 Official, have you had any experiences positive or negative with it?

Also I bought this at a yard sale, for a dollar, LOL. So I have no idea if it even works. It didn't come with a power supply so I am going to use my universal one with it for now. The problem is I have no idea if it is 9v, 12v, or something else. Not to mention that I have no idea what the polarity is. Anyone have any info on this or know of a place to get info?

You see this post fits into three different catagories, lol. Mandrake, linux hardware and general.

Thanks for the help.

Edit: I should also add that besides for winmodems I have absolutly no experience with dial-up modems.

Webwolf

Ok, I am slowly getting there. It seems that I can use this to get online. Also it appears that it may work with Mandrake. I also plugged it in quickly to see what volts it is. 12v. Now the problem I am having is that I have tried both the negative and positive polarity, and the both light up the modem. I have it on briefly and I don't want to fry it so I am still stuck on the polarity issue.

From what I understand, an 28.8 external modem will probably work better then a 56k winmodem. even if it is a bit slower.


Webwolf

webwolf70; check all surfaces on modem card for indication of + or -, that will indicate polarity . unsure which is which + positive & - negative. also
the cable for device should be color coded or marked +/- some where check
that out too. to be safe (if u have or borrow meter) check with that for polarity. hope this helps!

I have both a US Robotics 14.4k fax external modem and a 56k external fax. The 14.4 requires 9.2V at 400ma AC psu, the 56k one requires 9V 1000ma AC psu. Hope that helps

Thanks. Usually right around the area you plug the adapter in it will tell you the polarity and other info. This is the first time I have not seen it where it was suppose to be, lol. There are no color codes on the outside. So I am going to take it apart latter today or tomorrow and see if there is anything inside. They probably did this to ensure that one buys replacement parts from them only. The modem was made in 1995 so it is a bit old. I just want to see if it works, lol. It would be nice to have a modem I spent a dollar on get me online for most stuff using Mandrake. The bigger files and downloads I can still use my winmodem in suse or XP(If I re-install XP that is.)



Webwolf