I have a 56K modem but I only connect and download at 31K at the most please help!!

[CtK]

its an USRobotics Sportster 56K Ext

im running WinXP Pro
i already have my port settings for 115200 and the flow control on hardware

if u need any more info let me know
my specs are below
thanks for the help!!

 

[MattCo]

Have you ever connected at a higher speed with at your current location with other PC's, operating systems, modems, etc?

In some areas the phone lines are not good enough to support 56k connections. I think the phone company is only required to guarantee at least 26,000 kbps.

-MC

 

[CtK]

nope and that sucks
i think thats prob the reason why i cant get DSL!!!

 

[MattCo]

That was how it was at my old house. I thought it was my modem until I bought a laptop. It would connect fine elsewhere, but when I came home it was 26.6k.

Sucks.

-MC

 

[stevewm]

Welcome to the not so wonderfull world of modems!

There are several things to keep you from getting 56k v.90 connects:

Line Quality.

Number of digital to analog conversions between you and your Central office, v.90 can go through a MAX of 1 with reduced speed, any more and the modem will switch back to the old v.34 (33k and lower) If your getting good v.34 connects (and 31k is pretty good) this is most likely the case. And its definately the reason for no DSL, DSL has to be on a straight copper line, there can be no D/A conversions and your out of luck if your more than 3 miles from your Central Office.

Some modem chipsets handle adverse line conditions better than others. In my experience Lucent based winmodems with at least version 6 or higher drivers handle bad line conditions better than most modems I've seen including hardware modems. Rockwell/Conextant based modems are a complete joke and should be avoided (espcially the HCF line). They don't do a spectacular job with good lines and barely work at all on bad ones.

Your local phone company is only legally required to guarantee you at least 14,400bps for FAX/TDD transmission purposes.

 

[Mem]

Rockwell/Conextant based modems are a complete joke and should be avoided (espcially the HCF line). They don't do a spectacular job with good lines and barely work at all on bad ones

Wrong!!!! I`m using an Elsa 56k HCF modem and get 48k to 49.2k connection speed all the time in WinXP,infact I also have a hardware based Diamond SupraExpress modem in my other PC and there`s no difference in gaming or connection speed between the two,you`ve already pointed out that the quality of the phoneline is crucial to the maximum connection speed plus using and trying different ISPs also helps.

Remember HCF modems are the ones that have a dedicated DSP to take the load of the CPU,while with HSF modems the work is all done by the CPU.

 

[stevewm]

I'm well aware that a HCF modem is basically a hardware modem, its only missing its controller.

And did say in my experience.

I've owned 2 rockwell based HCF modems, they disconnected constantly, even when I limited the connection speed to 40k!. The only way to stop the disconnects was to disable v.90! I now own a Lucent based modem, which works perfectly, connects at 49k with 5.8k downloads and no disconnections.

At the store I work at we used to put rockwell HSF and HCF modems in the systems we built. (hey, they where cheap!) Nearly every one of the customers whose systems had HCF modems came back to the store to complain about disconnections, sub 56k download speeds even though they had 48k+ connects and constant "hangs" while surfing. We suggested they install the new version of Conextant's generic driver which didn't help in the least bit. We also tried having them limit connect speed (AT +MS= command) which did help with the "hangs" and improved throughput speed for some but didn't help the disconnects. In the end we ended up swapping the modems with a generic Lucent winmodem using Lucent's generic drivers. All the problems went away when we did this.

 

[CtK]

ok so what type of modem should i get and try out to see if it will let me connect a little bit better till i can get bellsouth out here to add a new phone line

 

[CtK]

i tried AT+MS=90 and it wont even let me connect to my ISP??

why is that??

when i query the modem in the diagnostic tab it gives me this
AT#CLS=? COMMAND NOT SUPPORTED
AT+GCI? COMMAND NOT SUPPORTED
AT+GCI=? COMMAND NOT SUPPORTED

all the time
even if i dont use the strings??
what does those thing mean??

please help

 

[Mem]

ok so what type of modem should i get and try out to see if it will let me connect a little bit better till i can get bellsouth out here to add a new phone line

CtK ,you can try the new U.S Robotics Performance Pro v.92 Modem (PCI hardware modem) ,
Review here ,I do think it`s probably your phoneline however you can try a better modem to rule out all possibillites.


stevewm,true everybody has difference experience with hardware but I`ve no disconnect problems like you or your customers have had, in the end it`s what works best for you.

 

[CtK]

thanks Mem but how about a external one??

 

[Mem]

External one,well you can`t go wrong with the U.S.Robotics 56K* V.92 External Faxmodem .

Please note

*Capable of receiving downloads at up to 56 Kbps and sending at up to 31.2 Kbps. Actual download speeds you experience may be lower due to varying line conditions. Maximum download speeds in the U.S. and Canada are limited to 53K, due to regulatory limits on power output. Requires compatible analog phone line and server equipment.

**The new V.92 enhancements (such as Modem On Hold and ICN) may not immediately be available with all ISPs. Contact your ISP to find out when they will be updating their servers to include V.92 technology. U.S. Robotics modems featuring the new V.92 enhancements are backward compatible and will negotiate the highest possible speed when connecting to an ISP.

So you may not get an improvement with download speed.

 

[woodie1]

Before you spend money on a new modem pull the plug on every phone/device you have on your phone lines and then check your connect speed. If your speed increases it is one of your phones. I had a cheap phone that kept my connection speeds low too. Threw it away and I get 50,600 connections.

 

[pigseye2]

Here's another idea before you go buying a new modem. Go to the phone box outside of your house and connect a good phone wire and receptacle directly to the box. I temporarily disconnected the other wires so there was only one connection point. Then connect a PC to the new phone connection and test it.

I lived in an old house that had bad phone wire. When I ran new phone wire from the outside box to my PC, I had more stability and faster connections.

Good luck,

Pigseye

 

[justinstraub]

is it true the phone company has to guarantee 26 Kbps, my friend only connects at 24 Kbps, could he make the phone company upgrade the lines?
justin

 

[Doh!]

Test your modem before throwing your money away. Put it in a friend's computer & see if it connects any faster. It could be the phone line or the ISP. By the way, you do have a 56k service w/ the ISP, not 33.6K service, right?

 

[Californican]

Many factors affect line quality.

To start, FCC regulations only let you connect at 53k, MAX. If you connect at a higher speed you could be in a lot of trouble.

Also, does your computer say that it connects at 31k? (eg. In Windows XP, it tells you you're connected at 49.2kbps). In other O/S's, it tells you the speed that the modem connects with THE COMPUTER.

You may in fact be getting a decent connection. What are your kbps transferred? If you're getting around a 4-5.6 kbps download, you're fine.

 

[corkyg]

Don't fuss at your modem too much - your problem is your phone line. If you can't get DSL, you are evidently too far from the swtich point. It ain't gonna get any better, and the phone company ain't gonna do anything about it. I have that situation here in Tucson - we have the dirtiest lines in the world. Some people get 49 and 50 - I get 28 to 34. That is why I got cable Internet as soon as Comcast made it available. A good external hardware modem will help a little - mostly to stay connected, but don't expect drastic improvements.

I see these variances regularly when I travel. In a small motel West of Amarillo, TX, I connected at 50! Then in a Ramada Inn in Tulsa, OK, the best I could get was 16 - average 12. These variances are all due to telephone switching equipment and lines. Someday our prince will come - Prince Wireless, that is.

 

[MWink]

I've found *NEWER* USR modems to be VERY bad with noisy lines. They tend to always have the worst connect speeds even with pretty good lines. I've had excellent luck with Creative/DSI V.90 modems (NOT V.92). For some reason I have had terrible luck with V.92 modems. I've used 3 (Creative PCI V.92, ActionTec V.92, and PCTel V.92) and all except the PCTel have been nothing but trouble (not to mention the poor connect speeds). The PCTel is the only one that worked properly and connected at least as fast as a V.90.