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I like it! TBH, I don't think you'd even need to modify the esp_slip_router firmware in any way (although it'd be easy enough to do if you wanted to). From the client IP (PowerBook), you can telnet into the module unauthenticated on port 7777 and set the SSID / PW, show connection status and...

Huzzah, my boards arrived! I assembled two without issue aside from the diameter of the through-holes for the ESP8266 headers being a bit tight.  More importantly, upon install in my PB180 test mule, everything lines up perfectly! I built the following little 6-pin FTDI to RJ-11...

Very helpful information @Trash80toHP_Mini and @Challenger 1983. Interesting question about the internal modem and whether or not if functions when docked. I don't see any reason it couldn't from a hardware standpoint, but would be very surprised if it's selectable when docked. I've been...

Perhaps, but I'm not so sure. I think the full size and mini docks have their own modem hardware that allows for docked modem use even if the Duo connected doesn't have a modem installed. I'd have to crack open my minidock again to confirm, but I recall being surprised that it had what appeared...

I made some progress here today. Turns out I had both software and hardware problems preventing the Franken-Modem from powering on. The former was the result of not having the Express Modem drivers installed, without which, even though there's an option to select "internal modem", the Duo...

I don't think so, by virtue of that Rockwell modem ASIC, at least all five PB 1xx and Duo modems I own are true hardware modems. See, that's why I think what I'm seeking to accomplish here might be possible. Everything else notwithstanding (i.e., where the UART lives in the Duo, what else is...

I think you're overlooking the importance of being able to FTDI into the ESP8266. That unit is going to have to run an OSS package called esp_slip_router, and without the RJ-11, any updates or changes would require cracking open the Duo and connecting to it via an internal header. Plastics are...

Usable for communicating with the ESP chip, yes. Usable for connecting to the PSTN via an analog phone line, very much no. Doing the later, with its 60-90vac, would cause very bad things to happen :)

When I previously expressed interest in developing an ESP8266 wifi modem replacement for the Duo, @techknight correctly pointed out that the "modem" board on the Duo serves other purposes (e.g., the power switches) and the much larger connector isn't just a glorified RS-232 port. Furthermore...

Inching closer! I was able to get CTS / RTS flow control working between the two UARTs and esp_slip_router / InterSLIP. To my complete lack of surprise, it's a bit slower, and at only 57,600, I think I'd rather just deal with the occasional re-transmit. Probably not something I'll use, but hey...

I think you're unlikely to achieve a satisfactory outcome by purchasing a replacement, whether or not it's intact. The plastics have become brittle with age, and regardless of current condition, are unlikely to hold up. Case in point, I recently purchased a lightly used 180 for some prototyping...

W00t! The above outlined solution worked with a pull-up resistor on the PB Tx line (Rx is actually pulled high by the PB, in contradiction to what I cited above). Communication to the ESP module via the internal RS-232 port established! In other good news, I'd been operating under the...

The way I understand it, the OS via Power Manager references values stored in PRAM (how they get there initially I don't know. OS? ROM?) to determine how it responds to various voltage conditions. After further observation, in the case of my Duo 280c, it warns at 11.4v, indicates the pack is...

Using one of the now 3 Global Village modems in my possession (after first verifying I could communicate with it unmodified of course), I cobbled together the following test unit: Good news: There's no fancy Modem / PowerBook initialization communication that needs to be duplicated, nor is...

Reach out to Inertial Computing (they're active on the forum). They may or may not still be looking for beta testers for a potential v5.5-based replacement to the out-of-stock (out of production?) previous PowerBook edition.  Such a device, hypothetically speaking of course, might appear as...

I've been working on this in fits and starts, time allowing. I created a little ribbon cable with the 20-pin AMP 104652-2 connector on one end to facilitate online testing (shown here connected to my PB180): and built a functional representation of the proposed circuit on a breadboard...

Whoops! I forgot all about it TBH. Glad you identified the culprit!

Yes! I'm using an LT1494 to that end (see above schematic). Issue is that in order to keep the voltage drop low across the sense resistor, I've reduced it to .01ohm, at which point I have to push a fair amount of current through R3 for the opamp to detect it. As originally conceived, that...

Another week on with a bit more experience using the pack under my belt, I'm not quite satisfied. The voltage drop across the diode and R1 has the notebook complaining about low power. Apple's published figures for "charged voltage" are just wrong. I think they must have meant nominal. I've...

I hear ya! I went from zero, to 1, to 3 PowerBooks in a hurry myself. The 180, even with it's screen issue, is usable and is currently my wifi modem hack test mule. Much as I'd like to keep both 180cs in working order though, I'll likely part one and combine them into a single, very nice example...