Cracking Open the Eicon Diva ISDN Modem
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The many tabs
The many tabs
Who remembers ISDN? Back in the day, some said it was a good alternative to dial-up Internet, in which you could get blazing fast speeds of up to 128k or so. Still others mutilated the Integrated Services Digital Network acronym into abominations such as: It Still Does Nothing, Innovations Subscribers Don’t Need, and I Still Don’t Know – I am partial the first one.
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In my opinion (this IS an opinion column, isn’t it?), ISDN was indeed an excellent alternative to 56k dial-up when DSL was not available, but not for the feint of heart. Its configuration options left most mainstream users frustrated at best, with options including SPID’s, and U/T/S/R type interfaces. Some of the old-timers here at work have said that ISDN would have been the standard like DSL, if they would have been able to make it work.
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Alas, ISDN, while still useful in some business circumstances, has gone by the dusty consumer wayside along with dial-up, Beta tapes, and LP albums.
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Hence we have cracked open a fine ISDN specimen, an Eicon Diva T/A. Eicion, a Canadian Company, is now known as Dialogic, and still makes similar equipment as well as dabbling in VoIP.
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In this first frame, I show the GUI configuration tabs for the Diva. For most IT folks, it would not be too intimidating, but a bit too much I think, for users.
nnYou’ll probably need to view full-size if you want to be able to read it.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Shiny and new
Shiny and new
Our brand-new, still shrink-wrapped Diva box. I love opening a new package.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Diagram and more
Diagram and more
The back of the box – notice the “CNET Editors Choice award”. Did you vote for that Mark? Ah, but you just a babe then…
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
What can Diva do for you?
What can Diva do for you?
Here we have some highlights of what the Diva can do including Windows 95 support, and a SPID Wizard! I think some kids in school used to call me a SPID wizard.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
What the -?
What the -?
What the hey!? No USB cable? And what is that fat cable with the huge ends? A…A serial cable?
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Serial ports just won't do
Serial ports just won't do
Interesting little blurb here that came with the docs – takes you back a bit.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
To go with your desk calender
To go with your desk calender
Also with the docs came this handy little reference card. If a technology needs a desk reference card…
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Neat little package
Neat little package
The box itself came wrapped in a tidy little package – I thought it was significant because most units today just come in a plastic bag.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Power on Scotty!
Power on Scotty!
Our Diva out of its protective shell and 12v lights it up. Notice the multitude of activity lights. Again – okay for some, but too much for mainstream users, who just want their internet to “go”.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Business end
Business end
The backside is dominated by the serial port. I was interested to see that they used an RJ45 jack for the ISDN, when a RJ 11/12 would work?
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Shielded from the force
Shielded from the force
Upon opening it up, I noticed a curious little plastic shield. What could be in this that requires a shield?
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Blown cover
Blown cover
Once removed, it appears that the same screws that held it together, held the main circuit board in place.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Nice design
Nice design
The LEDs for the device are mounted directly to the board, and line up neatly with slots in the case – eliminating any extra assembly and parts.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
The shielded one
The shielded one
This tiny transformer must have been what the shield is for, though I have a hard time believing that it put out that much heat AND that the tiny plastic shield would really DO anything to deter it.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Behind the curtain....
Behind the curtain....
In the red box we have what amounts to a couple of modems with Lucent chipsets – a very common arrangement. On the right, in green, appears to be our power supply. And the “CPU” looks like a Motorola chip.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Curious pair
Curious pair
Thought I’d compare the cable that they provide with the unit – RJ45 on one end, and RJ11 on the other.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Serial cable of days gone by
Serial cable of days gone by
Since there isn’t really much to the unit itself, I thought I’d crack open the serial cable, as it looks like they may be using a custom pinout, judging by the clip-together ends.
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
Exposed cables
Exposed cables
Looks like the typical pins here – nine of them. Also a nice little soldering job here – not done by a machine.nn
Photos taken by Drew McBee for u00a9 TechRepublic.
