Q. I am the proud owner of an Amstrad CPC464 and am interesting in connecting my computer into a mdoem but I am having trouble deciding which modem is the best for me. I don't want to pay more than £150.

What I want is 1200/75, 75/1200, 600, and 300/300 baud, with half or full duplex. An auto dial or auto answer option would also be great. I also need some software to run the system.

Damian Mullan
Forest Gate, London

A. To run a modem on the Amstrad, you need three things - an RS232 interface, a modem, and some software to run the system.

There are a couple of interfaces available at the moment, one of which will be reviewed in the very near future in PCN. Made by RSX systems, it provides a complete RS232 with software to drive a printer and a terminal with baud rates from 50 to 19200.

RSX will be producing an updated version with VT100 emulation and file transfer capabilities in the near future.

As far as modems go, there are any number to choose from, depending on how much you want to pay. The Minor Miricals WS2000 at £149.95, and the Pace Nightingale at £159.95 both meet your requirements.

Of course, if you are willing to wait a while, the Demon (formerly Unicom) modem may soon be available, with software, for less.

The only modem that is currently available for the Amstrad as such, is the Protek at about £90, including software and interface. Its drawback is that it runs a only 1200/75 baud.