Re: Best way to choose modem for dialup?

Gary A. Edelstein wrote:

On Sat, 07 Apr 2007 04:10:57 GMT, Gus <spamsucks@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

I have dialup service that basically no longer works. It seems Verizon
made changes to the copper wire down the road, they put in a smaller
diameter I am told. Since then my service has dropped off dramatically.
Data communications seems to work, stop, work, stop, but mostly "stop".
I get SNR(dB)45 with Hyperterminal testing the line (I know it's not a
very accurate measurement) then it drops to SNR(dB)19 so there is a lot
of noise.

Verizon checked out the lines and basically said there is nothing they
legally have to do, you're only entitled to voice bandwidth phone
service, stop bothering us. I was also bluntly told that since FIOS is
coming to the area (eventually) they have no intention of spending money
fixing up the wired service. Basically that are saying that everyone
will eventually have to switch to the more expensive FIOS, like it or
not, if you want anything other than voice service.

Since I'm over 20K from the CO and I cannot get DSL, can I do anything
with the modem to get the most out of my dialup until Verizon brings in
FIOS (and empties everyones bank account)? Which internal modems look
better for holding a connection with so much noise and whatever others
problems they may encounter? Good ole Win95 is used on the desktop and
occasionally 2K on a laptop. Desktop modem needs to be Win95 compatible.
Zoom 2920, Sterling, US Robotics, Creative Labs, store brands? TIA

They have to provide acceptable voice and fax capabilities. You could
complain the line is too noisy for voice and needs to be quieter. You
could also claim the line is too crummy to support faxes you are
trying to send.

I did. The almost verbatim quote I got was, according to federal
standards we do not have to provide you with more than voice bandwidth
service.

http://www.hal-pc.org/~wdg/56k.html "VOICE grade telephone line" It
meets the minimums. Yesterday I couldn't surf the net, connected but not
much else. Today I can marginally surf, hourly disconnects though. Other
days things work fine for 5 min's then they stop, then they work, then
they stop. I'll check out other phone service providers on Monday maybe
I'll get lucky and find one that can help.

Before investing in a new modem, consider an added setup string to
disable V.90 and only connect with V.34. That may be more solid, if

I've looked for info on what to do, never found anything that I
understood. What do you advise?

the modem is now making a lousy V.90 connection that can't be
maintained. If you don't know how to do this, post the make and model
of your modem(s) and we can tell you how in Win95 and Win2K.

US Robotics V.92 Fax Win Int model 5699B Worked fine last yr until
Verizon made the changes. Actually all my previous yrs of internet
dialups worked on all PC's and modems until last yr's changes to wiring.

If the modem is already connecting at V.34 due to line conditions or
the model doesn't support V.90, then there may not be a lot you can do
except to limit the connect speed further, even with a new modem.

Agreed. I've set the max speed to 19200 to see if that helps. Haven't
noticed any change.

Modem performance is extremely variable and hard to predict. Some
models deal better with certain line conditions than others. I'm
unaware of any studies or lists that show which models do best with
certain line conditions.

Gary E
.

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