Noisy modems

[NeXT]

So I'm trying to connect to a BBS in washington state ( (425) 822-5251, User: backup, Pass: backup) using my Vic-20 but I'm having no luck. I ended up testing how good my modems (Model 1600 VicModem and model 1650 AutoModem) were by dialing them into my second home line and talking to them with a 300 baud acoustic coupler and while I can hear them making the "originate" tone, it sounds muffled and distorted and my coupler thinks the two modems are either not there or they are sending stuff. The VicModem is the worst as 9/10 times the coupler won't pick it up at all as the connection is too dirty.
Any ideas on what's going on?

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Trying to watch the ASCII art, eh?

Yeah, I wanted to connect with an old machine, too. Sadly, I don't own any Apple II-compatible modems... (My only external modem is a Macintosh modem with built-in mini-DIN-8 cable, and I don't have any mini-DIN-8 female to anything cables.)

 

[NeXT]

Well with a maximum baud rate of 1200 baud it just screams to be tried out on some of the more older hardware.

 

[MrRobot]

Make sure your modulator/demodulator unit is certified by AT&T (there are a lot of modems out there that aren't certified for use with telephone lines, like Hayes and US Robotics). Does the BBS you are trying to connect to support 300/300 baud operation? A standard for 1200/75 baud operation exists that isn't compatible with VicModem. Are you running proper software for your Vic-20 to send and receive data through a modem connection?

For proper operation of a vintage modulator/demodulator, please refer to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9dpXHnJXaE