I need a better quality ADSL modem

[The Green Bean]

Ive tried USR and netgear. Both give random restarts and drop IPs. The Aztech modem my ISP supplied to be never did that until it died. It maybe voltage fluctuation that maybe causing this. The modem remains synced but just loses its IP and restarts. This happens every 2 -3 days and on bad days every 5 mins.

Im sharing the ADSL on 10 PCs and its a pain in the arse when the problems occur so frequently.

Will a better modem be more stable?
Im looking to spend upto $250 if its guaranteed to work better.

 

[Viperoni]

It's probably a physical line issue vs. a DSL modem problem.


FWIW: I have a Dlink DSL-300T, and even with my very poor line downstream line quality, I was still able to maintain a maxed out download over 750 connections through bittorrents, rock solid, for hours.

 

[The Green Bean]

This is what the system log says

Jan 1 00:00:29 daemon critical pppd[461]: Received valid IP address from server. Connection UP.
Jan 1 00:00:28 daemon critical pppd[461]: PPP LCP UP.
Jan 1 00:00:26 daemon critical pppd[461]: PPP session established.
Jan 1 00:00:25 daemon critical pppd[461]: PPP server detected.
Jan 1 00:00:23 user critical kernel: ADSL link up, interleaved, us=640, ds=637
Jan 1 00:00:19 user critical kernel: ADSL G.992 channel analysis
Jan 1 00:00:16 user critical kernel: ADSL G.992 started
Jan 1 00:00:16 user critical kernel: ADSL G.994 training
Jan 1 00:00:15 user critical kernel: eth0 Link UP.
Jan 1 00:00:15 syslog emergency BCM96345 started: BusyBox v1.00 (2006.02.17-20:30+0000)

sorry for the messed up dates but this makes very little sense to me.

When the connection dies, I can't even access the router IP.

 

[The Green Bean]

Ok this is getting ridiculous. ADSL link is going down every 30 secs!!!

 

[cmetz]

The Green Bean, get your LEC involved and have them troubleshoot the line.

As far as I know, the best G.DMT modems out there are the Westell B90s and C90s. They can be gotten used on EBay for cheap. Westell's proprietary chipset does a bit better than everyone else's. Also, it's possible to get diagnostic software that can pull the ADSL signalling stats out of the modem, which helps a ton in troubleshooting line problems. The DSLAM should have the same kind of stats from the CO's perspective, but for most LECs it's impossible to get in touch with someone with the kind of access to actually check that info. So when you have that data on your end it can help you get a solution.