>I do have `modem' in /etc/ppp/options, and still pppd only once in a
>blue moon notices the CD drop.

You don't have "local" in /etc/ttys for that line, do you?  If so, then CLOCAL
will be set for that line and SIGHUP won't be sent.  "modem" should clear that,
but I don't know if it will (if you have "softcar" in /etc/ttys, then it will
never work).

The only way I could get the whole thing to work was to change pppd to open
the tty device with O_NONBLOCK, and remove "local" from /etc/ttys.  Now my
pppd always notices when the line drops.

--Ken