PCMCIA dial-up modem with Knoppix

[moon]

I have a pcmcia 56k modem in my laptop. I have configured KPPP and it will connect to my isp and I can use the internet normally. What I notice is that I cannot hear the dialtone or dialing notes while the modem is dialing. When I use the modem in Windows XP (same computer) I can hear the tones when making the connection (the notes sound like they are coming from the speakers as opposed to the card itself). In KPPP Setup I have the volume slider all the way to the right (max). Here is what appears in the terminal when dialing.

ATZ
OK
ATM1L3
OK
ATDT4366318
CONNECT 115200

I can go to Windows and type the exact same commands into Windows HyperTerminal and I am able to hear the dialing tones. I know that a lot of people would be happy with no dialing noises but I would just like to know that everything is working properly.
Here are the model numbers of the hardware. If any other info would be helpful, let me know.

modem - Zonet ZFM5600CF 56k V.92 pcmcia modem
laptop - Toshiba Satellite A105-S4334

Sincere Thanks,
Bill Moon

[Harry Kuhman]

modem - Zonet ZFM5600CF 56k V.92 pcmcia modem

Well, the good news is that this is considered a hardware modem, not a winmodem, so it should work well with Linux.

You say "(the notes sound like they are coming from the speakers as opposed to the card itself)". Back in the dark ages when I used a modem, I too liked to hear the dialing sequence until the modem actually connected, helped avoid a lot of problems. But from what you say above the modem might not have a transducer built in. One test that I would do would be, in windows, to attach a headphone or external speaker to the computer, so that you can be certain if the sound is coming from the card or from the speaker. If it's coming from the speaker then it might be that the windows driver for the pcmcia card has special coding to route the audio for you to the speakers, which may make this a more complex problem. If the sound is coming from a transducer in the PCMCIA card then it certainly should be available under Linux also. (Normally the command ATM1 puts an AT type modem into "audio until carrier detected" mode.)

[Harry Kuhman]

A little searching shows that the 32 bit PCMCIA spec provides for Card Audio Out on pin 62 of the PCMCIA card. So if it turns out that the audio is coming from the speaker rather than from the card itself, it might just be a matter of making sure that input was enabled and not at zero volume in the mixer. Exactly how to do this I'll leave for someone else, as I've never gotten along very well with Linux audio problems.

[moon]

Thanks for the input. I don't have any earphones but the right speaker is on the diagonally opposite corner of the computer from the pcmcia socket and when I put my ear right down on the speaker I am 90% sure the sound is coming from the speakers when dialing up in Windows.

I posted this same question to the tech support dept of the modem manufacturer but since it's Friday I probably won't get a response until next week sometime. If they say anything pertinent I will post it here.

In the meantime, I'll fool around with the Linux mixers and anything else I can find in the sound system.

Thanks,
Bill Moon