PEEK(100): WorldPort 1200 portable modem Reproduced by permission from LAPTOP USER magazine. All rights reserved. I've been playing around with the new WorldPort 1200 modem from Touchbase Systems lately. My 100 and I will never go back to 300 bps. The WorldPort 1200 brings me all the convenience and economy of 1,200-bps communications, but without compromising my laptop's portability as most external modems do. It's amazing that Touchbase was able to pack so many features into a package about the size of a deck of cards -- including an internal power supply! I upgraded my desktop computers to 1,200 bps long ago, and have come to take high-speed telecommunications for granted. So whenever I use my 100 for sending E-mail or accessing online databases I am surprised and frustrated anew at the snail's pace with which its internal modem communicates with the outside world. With the WorldPort 1200 and Model 100 I can carry my telecommunications terminal with me wherever I go, and I don't have to sacrifice functions. In fact, the little modem has more advanced features and ease-of-use functions than any full-size modem I've ever used. INSTALLATION It's almost laughable to discuss installation procedures for the WorldPort 1200, it's so simple to set up. The first step is to install a supplied nine-volt battery under a hatch on the unit, much like the hatch that covers the battery compartment on the bottom of a Model 100. Next, you may want to connect the modem to an optional AC adapter via a simple plug. If you don't use AC power, you can expect about 10 hours of connect time from a single alkaline battery. To connect the modem to the computer, slide its male DB-25 connector onto the matching female connector used by the Model 100's RS-232 port. The hood is wider at the top than it is at the bottom, so there's no chance of plugging the unit in incorrectly. Friction holds the modem in place; I've found the arrangement secure enough if I don't jiggle the computer too much. I tend to bang the keys pretty hard when I'm typing, but text entry doesn't create any problems for me. It probably won't for you, either. Finally, you need to attach the modem to phone lines. A six-foot cable is supplied; it plugs into the modem at one end and into the telephone company's modular jack at the other end. Alternately, you can communicate via acoustic cups -- but more on that subject later. OPERATION The WorldPort 1200 communicates with the CPU via the serial port, bypassing the computer's built-in 300-bps modem. Therefore, the Model 100's TELCOM program is unable to provide automatic dialing and log-on functions. The WorldPort 1200 must be operated manually. If you've ever tried to operate a Hayes or Novation modem manually, you know that it's easier said than done. Complex control codes are required to get the modem to take any action, and generally you just have to guess that the action is being performed correctly. Incomprehensible combinations of status lights blink at you in arcane modem-talk. Sometimes the modem detects a carrier signal and connects, sometimes it gets some other response and disconnects, and all too often you don't know or care exactly what happened, but you're sure you're not communicating with anybody. The WorldPort 1200 is easier to use by several degrees of magnitude. First, clearly labelled status lights let you know exactly what's going on at any point in a communications session. Better yet, the modem echoes plain-English status remarks on the Model 100's LCD during use. How plain is plain? How about ``Busy,'' ``Connect'' and ``No Carrier''? These messages make it easy to track the status of any call. To use the WorldPort 1200 with a Model 100, simply plug it in and enter TELCOM. There's no on/off switch to worry about; the modem automatically turns itself on when you send information to it. Set your STAT parameters to 57I1E to indicate that you want 1,200-bps communications through the 100's serial port with seven data bits, no parity, one stop bit and XON/XOFF protocol. Once your STAT parameters are set, press F4 to enter TERM. The WorldPort 1200 accepts the same control codes as 1,200-bps modems made by Hayes -- the de facto standard for modems. Commands are generally preceded by AT (for ``attention''). So to dial a number, type ATDT xxxxxxx (where xxxxxxx is the phone number). The D means ``dial'' and the T means ``tones.'' If your phone system accepts only the pulses provided by rotary-dial phones, the command string is ATDP. At this point the modem will dial the phone and connect you to the host. Follow your normal manual log-on procedures. I've used these steps successfully to log onto CompuServe and a couple of private bulletin board systems. In each instance the WorldPort 1200 performed flawlessly. If this manual procedure seems too complicated, you can always automate it with a little BASIC programming. A short BASIC program could duplicate TELCOM's Find and Call functions easily, exiting into TERM with a CALL to the proper address in ROM. Such a program is already available in Data Library 3 of the Model 100 Forum on CompuServe. It's called QHAYES and it works just fine with the WorldPort 1200 and other Hayes-compatible 1,200-bps modems. ADVANCED FEATURES If this were all the WorldPort 1200 did, it would already be worth its $199 suggested retail price. But Touchbase Systems built a number of advanced features into the product that increase its usefulness many times over. For instance, the modem is compatible not only with the Bell 103 and Bell 212A standards used in the U.S., but also the CCITT's V.21 and V.22 protocols. This means the modem can be used overseas. The unit offers complete auto-answer capabilities, meaning that an unattended Model 100 can record messages with a BASIC program containing the ON COM: command. With a little work, the 100 could actually serve as the base station for a bulletin board or electronic mail system. And the unit provides full-duplex communications at both 300 and 1,200 bps via acoustic cups. Since travelers often find themselves in hotel rooms and phone booths that lack modular telephone jacks, this is a key capability in a portable modem. It's also quite a technological trick; most full-size modems, even those costing hundreds of dollars, don't communicate at 1,200 bps with acoustic cups. Touchbase advises that use of acoustic cups reduces battery life to eight hours instead of 10. THE BOTTOM LINE The WorldPort 1200 comes with a two-year warranty covering defects and materials and workmanship. It's a solid little system; I've carried mine around loose in a briefcase and in my jacket pocket with no ill effects. It weighs just 6.5 ounces. The WorldPort 1200 was designed by the same engineers who created the TravelComm 1200, an earlier unit that lacked CCITT protocols, full Hayes compatibility, an acoustic cups option, and extended user status reporting. The same company still markets an internal 300-bps modem option for the NEC PC-8201. The unit I received for review is called a ``WorldLink 1200,'' and much of the documentation refers to the product by that name. The name has been changed to WorldPort 1200, probably for reasons having to do with trademark registration. But the two products are the same. Reviews you have read concerning the WorldLink 1200 are applicable to the WorldPort 1200; only the name has been changed. Editors get a lot of evaluation equipment shipped to them for review. Much of it never makes it out of the shrink-wrap. Of the rest, most gets used for a little while, written up and shipped back to the manufacturer. But I'm not giving up my WorldPort 1200 -- my check's in the mail to Touchbase Systems. I'm retiring the cable for my 100's internal 300-bps modem, effective immediately. The Touchbase Systems WorldPort 1200 is fully compatible with the Model 100, Tandy 102, Tandy 200, Olivetti M-10 and NEC PC-8201, as well as any computer that has a serial port with a DB-25 connector. At $199, it's a bargain. Contact Touchbase Systems, 16 Green Acre Lane, Northport, NY 11768, (516) 261-0423.