Novation, Inc., is an early modem manufacturer whose CAT series were popular in the early home computer market in the late 1970s and early 1980s, notably on the Apple II. The Hayes Smartmodem 300, introduced in 1981, helped kill off Novation and many other early modem companies over the next few years.
The original Novation CAT
The Apple-CAT II modem, along with Com-Ware II software and Advanced Programming Information manual.
The Apple-CAT II 'Expansion Pack'
A modulator-demodulator or modem is a computer hardware device that converts data from a digital format into a format suitable for an analog transmission medium such as telephone or radio. A modem transmits data by modulating one or more carrier wave signals to encode digital information, while the receiver demodulates the signal to recreate the original digital information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded reliably. Modems can be used with almost any means of transmitting analog signals, from light-emitting diodes to radio.
Acoustic coupler modems used a telephone handset as the audio medium, with the user dialing the desired number and then pressing the handset into the modem to complete the connection. These systems generally operated at a speed of 300 bits per second.
Collection of modems once used in Australia, including dial-up, DSL, and cable modems
TeleGuide terminal
The original 300-baud Hayes Smartmodem
