Modems and Lightning Strikes

[thanser]

My modem fails to hear a dial tone after these ferocious storms in Northern
California this past weekend. The PC was unplugged from the AC outlet, but
the phone line was left connected to the modem.

The phone lines are working (voice, that is), and we can get a dial tone
just fine. But if you try to dial up to the ISP, the modem can't detect a
dial tone, as the error message indicates.

Are modems particularly susceptible to lighting strikes? If the phone lines
are working, why all of a sudden can't the modem dial up to the ISP? Any
other way of testing this modem?

Tech support for this local ISP is of no help, either.

Anybody ever have problems like this?

Thanks!

 

[woodie1]

In device manager remove the modem and reboot.

 

[GR8Madmax]

Had the same problem with my Intel Ham v.92 modem recently. We didn't have any lightning
strikes in the area recently but the modem simply refuses to acknowledge a dial tone. I tried
pretty much every thing but couldn't get the modem to work. I just got a .92 modem from
newegg for $14 shipped and it works fine.

 

[Dulanic]

I had the same problem with a modem before, after a big lighting strike it just wouldnt detect the dial tone anymore. Ended up it fried the relay that activates the phone line (picks it up) I just had a spare modem laying around and soldered on one of it 🙂

 

[Stealth1024]

Try reversing the polarity of the incoming phone line to the modem.

The modem (and most touch tone phones) use a diode bridge to correct for polarity problems (so it doesn't matter which way the wires are hooked up) and most likely just one side of this circuit was fried by a surge.

 

[sandorski]

I know someone who lost 2 modems one summer because of lightning. Yes, modems don't like lightning! 😀

 

[Dean]

Try adding in init string of X3

It will force the modem to dial without looking for a dialtone....if you end up getting a no answer error, consider your modem toast

Dean