Re: gEDA-user: OT: Single-chip modems?

[Randall Nortman <geda-lists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Tue, Feb 07, 2006 at 10:55:05AM -0500, Dave McGuire wrote:
> On Feb 7, 2006, at 10:36 AM, Randall Nortman wrote:
> >I apologize that this has nothing to do with gEDA, but you folks have
> >been very helpful with this sort of question before.  I would like to
> >add a modem capability (telephone line, not broadband) to my embedded
> >microcontroller device.  I could connect an external modem to a serial
> >port, but that's an expensive and bulky solution.  I'm sure there are
> >chipsets out there for doing this sort of thing -- just a chip that
> >talks to a UART (or I2C/SPI) on one side and talks to the phone line
> >on the other, and handles as much of the dialing and negotiation
> >process on its own as possible.  Preferrably, it would require a
> >minimum of external components, and be cheap.  I'm not particularly
> >concerned about speed, though 24kbps or better would be good.
> >Through-hole or SMT is fine.  Any ideas?
> 
>   I know Rockwell makes one, and Cermetek has made encapsulated modem 
> modules for years but I've not seen either of them for quite a while.  
> The one that jumps out at me right now is the modem line from Zilog.  
> More info can be found here:
> 
>   http://www.zilog.com/products/family.asp?fam=206

The Zilog chips are only 2400bps, which is OK I suppose.  More
importantly, nobody seems to stock them, and the minimum order
quantity is 100+.  Anybody know how to get these in smaller
quantities?

Rockwell seems to now be called Conexant, but I can't find a
distributor for them, at least not with a quick search.  I'm guessing
they do large volume only.

Cermetek looks interesting, but nobody seems to carry them.  (They
claim Arrow and All American do, but I can't find any Cermetek stuff
in their online catalogs.)  Their pricing seems to be on the order of
$50+ per unit, which is outrageous.  I can buy an external RS232 modem
for less than that.

Thanks,

Randall