dial up 56 K modems.

[Lemon law]

Like many living in a rural area and waiting for affordable broadband, I am presently limited to a dial up 56 K modem.

And from experience, I firmly reject the hypothesis that all modems with similar standards perform alike. Maybe all 56K modems can deliver full speed in a no line noise situation and all would really fail badly in a high line noise situation, what is important is which specific modems
can function best in a moderate noise situation with the only thing that matters if download and upload through put.

I presently have three different V92,V44 used modems I am now comparing. Basically the OS is the same, the ISP is the same, the phone line is a rough constant although it can vary second by second in line noise. Over multiple tests it will average out. In short, the only real
variable is the modem itself. All modems updated to latest driver.

Modem 1. Initially connects at 52 K almost always. On a good day it will deliver a throughput download of 46.5 K and an upload at 21.5K. Does not tend to fall to much much lower speeds when line noise increases and recovers fast when line noise reduces.

Modem 2. Initially connects between 44-45.2K. On a good day it delivers 42K down and 21.5 up. When line noise rises speed really drops and it recovers speed slowly.

Modem 3. Initially connects at 36-40K. On a good day throughput is 29-35 K and less than 20K up. I did not test this modem for speed of recovery.

And sadly, modem #1 due to some driver problem will not install ion the computer I need it on but works well as an backup modem on another computer.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I am in the new modem market and looking for a modem that will give me the best possible throughput. What I can't find on the web is any descent comparative tests of competing brands of modems. Advertising hype exists in profusion and I can't just buy and try every modem in existence until I find the fastest for my given phone line. Nor does there seem to be any modem forums where one can get any replies. ( I have a fairly fast
computer with a dual core processor, plenty of gigahzs, a fast system bus, and a gig of memory. I put all options on the table in terms of external, internal, win modem, a controller based modem, or a soft modem. A fireware based modem is the only thing I can't easily use because I have no firewire ports.

Can anyone point out some quality links or offer some verifiable advice that does not amount to more hype. I am a big believer in the hypothesis that one knows little until one can put a verifiable number on it.

 

[Timecop1967]

You could go to satellite broadband. Satellite isn't cheap but dialup is almost unusable anymore except basic text messages. I've had good luck with the U.S. robotics courier modems in the past....now they are collecting dust in my closet.

 

[Lemon law]

After 29 views its at least refreshing to get at least one reply.

But for one possibly insane reason or another I have already decided against going satellite which will require unfordable rates, a $500.00 upfront investment wasted when I do get affordable broadband at some future date, with either wimax or dsl being my best future hopes.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I am still asking the 56 K dial up question. And not collecting dust is a USR modem, which is my modem #2 example, and is and remains a decidedly inferior choice even compared to modem #1. Its really hard to believe there have been no advance in 56 K modem technology in five years.

 

[Zepper]

Don't give up on looking for broadband service. There are lots of options out there, who knows when one might pop up in your area. My modem is one that was made by the Accent Communications div. of DLink for Office Depot (external RS-232) and it's the best modem I've ever had. It has all the features: fax. data, voice, spkrphone and comes with the needed cables. No longer sold, but sometimes they turn up on fleaBay. Unfortunately I've got DSL now and it doesn't work for crap on a DSL filter. I guess I'll have to have a second line so I can get my investment out of it. Anyway, it is model no. OD-EMS-100.

Where are you located? Geez Lemon, over 7000 posts and still haven't completed your Member Profile - there are two tabs... Then I wouldn't have to ask and wait for you to answer this question and you may have had info on a broadband possibility in your area right in this post instead of the next.

.bh.

Oh, and happy Christian Passover one and all.

 

[Lemon law]

I am always looking for affordable broadband all the time. I am just a few miles out of range as it is now with one WImax type company. What really angers me about AT&T is their refusal to give a timetable for dsl. I do not know where the AT&T loose lip sink ships secrecy comes from, but I don't want to be in the position investing a bundle into proprietory technology and a long term contract when I don't know when affordable broadband will come. So the AT&T secrecy disturbs me greatly, if anyone know an AT&T exec, please give them a dope slap on my behalf.

In terms of the Zepper accent modem recommendation, I will check that out on the used market. But the feature set like voice mail and speaker phones is not an inducement because my criteria is only the most data data data I can through a small pipe in unit time. But I do ask Zepper if he ever bothered to measure the data rates in comparison to other modems.

Nor can I say I have a good understanding given all I have tried to read, regarding why some modems do better than others in getting more data through the same sized tiny pipe in a unit time. And when the potential is so small every little kilobit a second matters. Worse yet, I share the connection with my wife in a small ICS lan.

 

[Zepper]

It's all about filtering and signal level. Some modems have settings for sensitivity that you can add in the setup string. Only trouble is finding out what the heck they are, as getting reference material out of these companies is a PITA. When I called Accent, the CSR on the other end acted as if he had never heard of an AT command reference...

Yeah, I don't go much by features either, but I have software to do in-house voice mail, so it didn't hurt that voice was included. I got the best and most reliable connections here than with any of the other modems I tried. Granted, I didn't try USR as they had always been too rich for my blood, but I have tried several models of Zoom, Creative, ActionTech, BestData, etc. As well as no-name with several different chipsets.

You still didn't tell me where the heck you are - are you hiding from the law?..

.bh.

 

[Lemon law]

OK Zepper, I confess, as a critic of GWB&co. I am indeed laying low and in an undisclosed location. If GWB ever reads what I say about him on P&N, its waterboarding for me at a minimum.

But humor aside, I live in a rural area near Kirklin, Indiana. ( about 35 miles North of Indianapolis) My zip code is 46050, my telephone exchange is 765-325-xxxx, and if you think you can find any broadband other than wildblue satellite, please feel froggie and do so. Take my word for it, I have tried and tried very hard. And don't go go gaga over fairnet llc, I am out of range for them. Right now sprint looks to be the most promising possible FUTURE wimax provider, but I can't even get sprint cell service because they have not bothered to build a tower anywhere near. My best future bet may be cingular, they have a tower only two miles away, but their prices are sky high. But with new TV frequencies due to open 3/09, who knows what the map will look like then.

The real bastards living in an undisclosed location are AT&T execs, who refuse to tell me when dsl will be available.

 

[Zepper]

Well, it looks like Clearwire doesn't have coverage there, sorry.

.bh.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Been a while since I used a modem, but as I recall, the best ones I ever had were a Motorola serial external (had to do an exchange upgrade when 56k was finalized) and a Zoom usb. Neither were the Winmodems that seem to be all that is advertised anymore. Each had full modem hardware.

A free utility that actually worked for improving throughput was TweakDUN. You could manually adjust the packet settings, but I usually just accepted the default recommendations when I ran it.

 

[Zepper]

Yes, the Motorola modem I had for a time was second only to the Office Depot unit, but they never upgraded past v.90 and I wanted to use features that required v.92. Unfortunately it wasn't easy to find an ISP that really suported v.92 very well. So if all you want is a reliable, fast connection and don't need v.92 support, then a used Motorola external serial modem would be another good choice.

Have you checked with On-ramp Indiana in Noblesville for info about high speed internet in your area? And there is ACCS, inc. in Frankfort. Looks like there may be a business opportunity in it. Maybe set up a municipal system. How about the local cable TV provider.

.bh.

 

[Lemon law]

To Zepper,

Thanks for looking but I had already contacted ACCS before and did again today. I am about 7-8 miles beyond their extreme range. As for on ramp Indiana, they seem to have no wireless options but offer dsl. But to get dsl, AT&T first has to upgrade the lines to dsl capable. I am about 18,000 feet as the road runs to the central switch and according to AT&T tech distance meters up to 25,000 feet as the wire runs. But their meters could be foxed by numerous splices.

To Jackschmittusa,

Thanks for the input on motorola serial modems. I downloaded the latest version of tweakdun but some catch 22 about it needing to download some additional VB6 file to download to complete the install leaves me presently frustrated. I have tried cablenut which does nothing to hurt or help my modem speeds.

 

[Zepper]

I can send you the VBRun file as an attachment to an email if you want.

.bh.

 

[spikespiegal]

Satellite isn't cheap but dialup is almost unusable anymore except basic text messages

Dial-up might be slow, but it's still my preferred means of kicking credit card transactions up to the bank, and light-years more secure than broadband.

 

[Zepper]

Hey Lemon,

I found some serial dongles for $2. to $3., but only one shows the pinout diagram. Need to get the right one for your mobo. Might be able to get one at your local Mom & Pop computer shop. They usually have boxes full of leftover, etc. parts.

So we need your pinout to get the right one, here's my mobo header's pinout (as an example):

DCD - 1 2 - RXD
TXD - 3 4 - DTR
GND - 5 6 - DSR
RTS - 7 8 - CTS
Ring - 9 10 - NC

/bh/

 

[Lemon law]

For what its worth, I got tweakdun up and running after Zepper got me a link for the VB6 I was not sure would work. Somewhat too early to tell without many multiple tests over time, but initial impression after setting a lower MTU and other similar fixes is the tweakdun does not help and does not hurt my modem throughput.

 

[Modelworks]

Have you tried modem bonding ?
Some isp allow it , some don't.
Basically requires two phone lines and two modems.


Oddly enough, but the best modem I found was one being sold at walmart for 17.00 a couple years back. Its got a lucent chipset, v.90 standard.

It works at my brothers where everything else has failed.
He can only connect at 26.4K or 19.2K .
I've tried everything there from zoom, us robotics, external modems, to all kinds of pci versions. The lucent based one is the only one that connects and stays connected. All the others routinely drop the connection.

It may be a winmodem but it works

 

[Lemon law]

To Modelworks,

At least I am not that bad off. But the fastest modem of the bunch I have is is the agere which was bought out Lucent. And the agere is not just a win modem, its totally a soft controller less el cheapie one to boot. But alas will not install on my new computer.

The rest of the modems update to the latest drivers ands stay connected. But still will not connect and keep a throughput as fast as the agere.

It sure sounds like your bro has a very noisy phone line. There are some line noise test you can run with a modem and hyperterminal----instructions at---

http://forums.modemhelp.net/in...e830a2754f274d2424f0c5

And he might also try his telco who may be willing to let him try another set of line pairs at the pedistal. It can make a big difference or they can all be uniformly bad. Some states require at least a 14.4 connection and if speed tests show they can't deliver, your bro may have some legal standing.

It always helps to be able to put a valid number on it. And one other piece of advice to shut the telco up, try connecting directly to the interface box straight to the modem, it eliminates house wiring and other connected devices as something they can blame. Telco rule #1--always blame the customer first.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Lemon law
To Modelworks,

At least I am not that bad off. But the fastest modem of the bunch I have is is the agere which was bought out Lucent. And the agere is not just a win modem, its totally a soft controller less el cheapie one to boot. But alas will not install on my new computer.

The rest of the modems update to the latest drivers ands stay connected. But still will not connect and keep a throughput as fast as the agere.

It sure sounds like your bro has a very noisy phone line.

Yeah, he is way out in a rural area.
The lines have to run over 7 miles to get to the nearest dslam, then it runs another 10 miles to get to the city itself.

He talked to the phone company about upgrading the area for dsl, but not enough customers.
No wireless and even cell phone coverage there is poor.
He doesn't want to spend the money for satellite.

So for now, he just tolerates it.
I have 10MB at home and when I use his pc I want to pull my hair out