I use my Duo 280 with CompuServe when traveling in Europe and normally have
no problem obtaining a modem connection using a standard Radio Shack
adapter between the hotel room wall jack and my modem.  On our most recent
visit, however, when we checked into a favorite small hotel in Germany we
found  that the venerable old PBX had been replaced with an ISDN-supported
system with fancy Siemens phones in each room.  During this changeover the
standard 'old' German wall jacks had been replaced with RJ-11 appearing
jacks which meant that my Radio shack adapter cable would no longer work
and, I guess, there would be dangerous (to the modem) voltages at that
point, anyway.

Further inspection revealed a module with a jack affixed to the under side
of the phone which was labeled "ISDN Converter."   Figuring this was the
way to get my analog modem output into the system, I connected my RJ-11
modem plug to that jack.  Alas, no dial tone.  The jack is physically
identical to the U.S. RJ-11 in that the plug goes in, clicks, fits, etc. 
However, no connection.  

My presumption is that the "pin-up" used by the Germans is different from
that used here.  In other words the connection is not going  to the two
center conductors of our standard modem cords, hence no electrical
continuity.   This is reinforced somewhat by a conversation with a Dutch
telecom type in Amsterdam a few years previous who advised that they used
the black and red wires as the active pair while we... as we all know...
use the red and green wires in the boxes.  Maybe the Germans do that too?

Has anyone had an experience with this and come up with a fix?


Jack Corcoran
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