So far I have received only two positive reports.

" Mike,
I was looking forward to the new release from Momentum. Their SmartPorts 5.0..It was a disaster from the word go after installation. The long and the short of it ( I will spare you the grimy details) I had to initialize my hard drive after SmartPorts did its thing...Could you ask around or post this situation to see if this is isolated with my configuration or is it more widespread...?
Thanks
John Garde "

7/24/98 - A satisfied customer: Gerald Lunn writes he's had better results:

" Mike,
I have been using a PortDoubler for 2 months or so with 2 printers on my Printer port and have been very pleased witht the results. I have been using Printer Switch (Brookline S/W) also in conjunction with the PortDoubler. My 2 printers are an Epson Stylus Photo and a HP DeskJet 855. I do not need to use the CHooser at all - I just do a Print command and the Printer Switch window comes up. I do the selection between printers and go straight through from there. It works like a charm and I have been VERY pleased with the product in this application.

Because of this I bought a second PortDoubler to use on my Modem port for my modem and a simple Midi keyboard. Here I was not so lucky and after several tries I have not been able to get the combination to work. Both modem and keyboard work OK on Port 1 but both refuse to work on Port 2. I have tried using PortJuggler instead of PortDoubler S/W as recommended by Momentum but still no luck. Still trying! The printer thing really works well though, so I do have some success to report!
Gerald Lunn "

7/23/98 - A Simpler/Better alternative? Michael Vuksta wrote with a story of a simpler alternative to Port Juggler:

" Two years ago I thought about buying a PortJuggler.They seemed a bit pricey and dicey back then. A year later KeySpan's PCI Cards didn't get rave reviews something about non-Commmunication Toolbox compatible devices not being able to be connected.

Something about each of these products made me nervous (I've gotten burned on fabulous-sounding devices before). Switch boxes always seemed dumb to me because you needed to restart

About 12 to 18 months ago Bottom Line had a special for a 3-position serial cable by TECHsessories for just $24.95 (They eventually sold for $36.95)

I purchased two and connected them to my printer and modem ports. I velcroed (is that a word?) one to either side of my PMac 9500 and have a Glabal Village Teleport Platinum, a Wacom Tablet, and a Farallon AirPath infra-red device on the printer port. The modem port has a BitSrfr Pro ISDN modem, a phonenet adapter network, and a serial cable for my PDA and Digital Camera. All I need to do is slide a switch (no restart, no software setup, just plug and play and the selected device works perfectly everytime.

Hmmm-mmm. Infinite serial devices!!!!!!!! I wonder if they can be chained!!!!!!!

I didn't find them listed at BLOL's current site, but APS now has them listed on their site (along with a picture).

3 Position Serial Switch Cable $39.95 107029

Using these devices, you can select which device will be active by the flip of a switch or push of a button. Use one of these devices to seamlessly switch between your serial printer, scanner, digital camera or other Mac compatible serial devices. Not for use with PowerMac 7100.

(I guess the three extra bucks are for the leds, which weren't on the early TECHsessories model.)
Michael Allen Vuksta for Allen Design "

7/22/98 - The latest feedback on Port Juggler:

" Mike,
I am saddened to see that the Power Port Juggler doesn't seem to work any better than the original Port Juggler. I recently purchased a Epson Stylus Photo EX to provide color printing augmentation to the HP LaserJet. So I was hoping that the new Juggler actually worked. The first time I tried a Juggler was in December 1995 and just about went mad trying to make it work. I finally returned it to the dealer who didn't want it back. We were just one or two angry words away from my throwing it on the floor and stomping it to pieces. The Photo EX appears to be very sensitive to the manner by which I connect it to either the printer or modem ports.

Since it runs at 900 kbps, the cabling and connections have to be very very correct. In order to maintain the integrity of the data (signals), the cabling must maintain the characteristic impedance. Any mismatches will corrupt the data signals. I tried placing the A/B Switch Box in series and the Printer will not work with this configuration. I opened up the box to find that the wiring is correct but consists of simple point-to-point connections. Hence, there is no "controlled" characteristic impedance. Not all stratight through cables will work either. So I doubt that Momentum can make the Epson Photo EX work with any version of a Juggler outside of laboratory conditions.
Bill Procopio "

7/9/98 - SmartPorts 5.0 Update Tip:

" I had no troubles with the SmartPort update once I removed unused printer drivers from the Extensions folder. It seems that some of them were selected to the various serial ports and this was messing with the SmartPort installer.
Rick Kirmil"

7/7/98 - Troubleshooting Tips:

" hey Mike,
Congrats on the PowerBook, I'm so proud to be a part of a community whose spirit is represented in your efforts with the site and the appreciation it inspires.

Some updates on my wrestling with SmartPORTs and Mommentum's Power Port Juggler.

I managed to get Sam from tech support on the line and he admitted that there is a faction out there that has much trouble with the Port Jugglers and its software. It would seem they have been more vocal than the portion of customers who have had happy experiences with the product.

Sam talked me through one troubleshooting procedure not mentioned in the manuals:

disable the driver software through Extensions Manager or simply remove from the Extensions folder and restart.

Plug the device that is having trouble with the Port Juggler (or more accurately, the device that Port Juggler is having trouble communicating with) into Port 1. With no software installed , port 1 defaults to a pass-through port and the Port Juggler should be 'invisible' to the device.

In my case, both the modem and the Epson Stylus Photo EX were not being seen well by the Port Juggler. The modem (a Global Village x2) kept dropping the line and the Epson printer software never recognized the installed printer.

Sam concluded that the Port Juggler was introducing too much resistence between the Mac's serial port and the device. His advice was to call Momentum directly to obtain another Port Juggler for testing to see if the resistence would be less with another box. This strikes me as a rather haphazard way of eliminating the problem, rather like opening cases of cereal boxes to find a prize.

Sam assured me that Momentum was able to get an Epson Stylus Photo EX to work with the Port Juggler. I have my doubts about this claim since the printer was only shipping within the last month or so.

I will see if perhaps the new version ofthe port juggler box which Momentum has dubbed "Q" has less resistence and will be the ticket to my problems. I remain ever the optimist.

I will keep you up on the progress of this project.
Regards
Malcolm Kwan "

" Mike,
I have a Performa 6200 running OS 8.1 with a LaserWriter LS and Epson Stylus Photo connected with Port Doubler. When I was using PortDoubler 4.8.3 I could switch successfully between printers. Couldn't access Epson's Utility extension - but I could live with that. Since installing their new Smartports 5 I am having trouble with my Epson printer. (The LaserWriter works just fine.)

Upon startup I can select the Epson in the chooser and it prints. If I then select the LaserWriter as my printer I can't switch back to the Epson - It prints a few lines and goes crazy. The only way I can use the Epson again is to restart and reselect it. I'm not happy about this workaround (which took me the better part of a day to work out). I hope they plan to fix this sometime in the foreseable future.

Thanks for the feedback page. Was glad to find that this is not just MY problem.
Jacqueline Simoneaux"

" John,
I downloaded the Smartports update yesterday and had an experience opposite of yours, i.e. nothing happened at all. The installer never moved past the first screen where it tells you to hook up the PortJuggler. Weird. If you figure anything out I'd appreciate an heads-up about it.
Michael Langlois "

" Hey Mike
I've been struggling with Momentum products since the first Port Juggler came out. That box is gathering dust somewhere because Momentum tech support never was able to suggest working solutions.

When I upgraded my system to a G3, I also added an Epson Photo StylusEX color inkjet to my system that currently includes an Apple LaserWriter 4/600 and a Global Village x2 modem.

I bought a PowerPort Juggler and installed the software and got no satisfaction with the then current 4.7.3 version of the driver software. The PPJ never got the Epson printer working, although the modem worked fine. Tech support suggested a different configuration for device connection (which was a compromise in terms of my work flow) but this "work around" resulted in crippled AppleTalk and conflicts with ATI video drivers (essential on the G3s).

The only options offered by Momentum were to return the Port Juggler for a refund or wait for their long delayed version 5 / Smart PORT upgrade.

After a false start & week long delay from announced release dates on their website, the upgrade was finally released.

The driver software is better behaved in terms of not conflicting but it still does not allow me to print to the Epson printer.

It has been incredibly frsutrating dealing with Momentum's outsourced tech support. Their limited repatoire of workarounds (return & refund or wait for the next upgrade) is a joke. They promise seamless port arbitration and never deliver. I've wondered if other users have had any success with their product.

I've offered to help beta test their software since I realize that the Epson printer I have is very new and it's driver software is also new. Also G3 systems are relatively new too. No response from Momentum. I'v yet to receive their promised email announcement about when the version 5 upgrade will be available.

I would love to be proven wrong about Momentum and the Port Juggler. I believe in the cool tech opportunities that the Mac platform offers and I really would like to see an elegant solution that is Mac based rather than clunky PC originated switch boxes.

I will be making another call to Mometum tech support next week (ever the optamist) and will keep you informed.

Thanks for all the great work, regards to Kay.
Malcolm Kwan "

" HI Mike,
same results as Michael's, nothing happend at all. Or better I do see two extra ports, SmartModem and something else, but the PowerPortJuggler is installed to the printer port and the only device working (connected to the PortJuggler) is the Laserprinter. My 8500 is upgraded with the RailGun G3 card and has the Initio Miles installed. Don't know whether that matters.
I'll try some more things.
Thanks.
Klaus B. Piontek, Ph.D. "

" Mike:
I installed the Smartports 5.0 software on my 7500 (I have the PortDoubler) using the printer-ready version. Everything works exactly as advertised. Finally, Momentum gets it right...[I'm not so sure based on the above ;-]
Ishan Bhattacharya "