On Sep 8, 2004, at 1:05 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Have you heard of Star Bandhttp://www.dslreports.com/reviews/1652?r=1
The reviews generally seem good and I believe they have been bought out after bouncing around owners for a few years.
On the new modem the 481: 500 down had been promised but talking to installers you can see downloads higher then that. Uploads are slow 100-150. The 481 comes with the modem and the router built together.
StarBand it is. The pole is set and the equipment arrives Tuesday, I have read the reviews on dslreports as listed above
the bummer is the guy in Valley Center is about 20 miles north as the Hawks fly. I have read over and over make sure you have a good tech put it up. Well the guy I bought it from recommended another guy as the best installer in San Diego, well that's cool, except now the salesman is aligning it. I had to take him on the side of the hill where I want it and he looked like he never dug a hole or was pissed because his loafers were going to get a little ice plant on them. Grumbles where is the water, it was 8 feet away on a hose bib that off the sprinkler line. I have a guy who helps run the place and he started digging the hole and the guy just watched and then bitched because his little nail would not clear a rock in the hole. He drilled through once to add a wimpy nail for the cement to hold on to so the pole does not rotate. I suggested we drill and place another piece of metal through the pole to prevent the pole from moving. If you drill through one way and then drill through the opposite way you make a X on the pole and then the cement has a bit more to hold on to and helps the pole keep from slowly getting sloppy in the cement after a period of time. Well that was not the way he did it. So far installation a 2
I don't really know much about Starband. They filed for bankrupsy back in 2002. I think their primary owner is Gilat Satellite Networks.I read somewhere in the late evening they were bought out no notes on who and they "supposedly" have come up with a way to overcome the latency issue and plan to use the Sats for internet and phone service and that will be their big money maker. I don't sell these, own stock or really care just as long as I can go faster the 28K AT BEST!!!!!
That DSLR thread is an interesting read. Pros and Cons.Yes there are, but I think I gleaned that most of the people who had problems where city dwellers, again no holding my feet to the fire on this quote, maybe it's if your out in the bush, your just used to problems. I have Dish Network in Alaska about 60 miles outside of Los Anchorage and they do fine, except I am going to buy one of those tuners the installation crew has. It gets a little windy sometimes 80 to 90 and since a fire about 8 years ago that burned about 3,600 acres and 360 house we really get toasted when the winds come down the the Glacier, that will push them off. Of course he mounted them on a pole so high that only a goose or a loon would get up there and 4 spinal fusions are enough for me.
Personally, I'm a speed and reliability addict. I don't game, but I get hopping mad when my service is down or slow. The lag and weather issues of satellite service would drive me insane.As I have read and sure will report, it is not so much a lag as it is the page loads in a second or 2. Now your talking to someone who went crazy when I got 500 from our DSl carrier in ALASKA. Hey SBC, Hear that......
I can't believe I am in San Diego and can not get broad band
The need for speed. :) Bonded V.90, ISDN, xDSL, T-x, Cable, Satellite...
This is the real yellow in the snow, I can get DSL, I had the telco guy from SBC out here, we had phone problems, he was a happy guy and climbed the pole to fix the phone. I asked him, check to see if I can get DSL, ya no problem you can get DSL, it's singing real good, but they, SBC, will have to send a tech out here to test it. He asked if I did a online check to see if I could qualify for service at this location, I did and it said no. They use the same check you did to see if you qualify, so make sure you get them to come out, he could not do anything as he was telco Dept. of SBC. I thought great I am in.How close to your home are high-speed services available?
Called SBC, we are sorry, we show you are outside of our coverage area, yes I know, but I had a SBC tech out here and he told me I could get the signal. WELL, he should not have done that, what is his name and the job order, ahh I forget, but he was a good man and fixed my line so I could have phone service. So can you send a tech out here? "let me transfer you".
I went to singapore and around the world where the speak from cards in about 6 phone calls but they were honest about not understanding my DSL line in singapore.
Finally a lady who was coughing and sounded like she smoked 40 packs of lucky strikes a day and was putting one out in a old coffee cup said, kid, SBC has used up it's 50% capacity on the line, so we can not hook you up, cool, then another company can, yes they can, the 50% open line is for competition well thank you. OK well lets see who is in the book...
Problem is anyone wishing to use SBCs lines must use SBCs line check, which is the same check that SBC uses. So it still comes back as too far from the station. I said I will accept lower then advertised speeds, I will sign anything you want. I will give you a year contract paid in full ahead, please...
I know I am 500 feet more from the substation then they want, they first said 21,000 feet is the max , then came back and said 18,000 is the minimum. I know 21,000 is true from the past attempts to get DSL. Before SBC took over Pac Bell DSL was available and I am 21,500 feet from the station.
The big fad these days is for neighbors to build their own "neighborhood ISP"... Find a close-by small business (store) that can get business-grade services, then run a hop to your home (wireless, fiber, cat5, etc).... Lotta work, butI am in a area where 2 acres are the minimum to build a home so that would be a good plan in a close neighborhood but not here. I am 1000 feet from my the next house. One guy told me about a company called Ricochet which in certain cities S.D. is one the put little cell receivers on top of poles and you can get service that way. It is another company that has been bought and sold a few times.
sometimes worth the effort. Sometimes local ISPs are willing to help out.
DSL anyway but accept the slower speeds. ...I had 120 Kbps DSL for a while, from Verizon. :)I begged, I promised them $24.00 and a bag of beads, SBC would not budge and every other company I spoke with said if SBC said no then we can not go, because SBC is the installer for the competition.
- Dan.
I will report back and do a DSL report, the arrogance of the installer is always a bad sign. I like people who explain and teach me things. When he came up in his little tiny car with a shovel and 3 bags of 90# concrete, it about bottomed out the car, you get the idea the outlet made him come out as they get $300.00 and extras, to install, good thing I had a wheel barrow I have no idea where he would have mixed the concrete. He put a 6 inch magnet level on the pole and said I will be back in 2 hours can you check to see the pole is level. Sure I can, you don't need to come back, trying to be nice, they guy lives probably 10 miles or more from here. Well I need my level, I said what does it cost, "5 bucks" OK I will give you 5 bucks just so you do not have to drive back, it was after 5 on Friday. Well the level then was more like 10 bucks, I guess I should have said ok see you in 2 hours, trying to be good to my installer I gave him 10 bucks.
Any good ideas, anything the installer should do or should not do, please feel free to speak up. I have till Tuesday and my confidence is waning. Their connecting me with the modem and router all in one unit, called the modem 481, so should be pretty easy.
Thanks for the comments and ideas, any others appreciated, hope the installer knows what he is doing, I asked how many he has installed, he got a little edgy and said, I have done plenty, 20 or 25. just a little worried as it will be a grand to hook up.
Thanks Geoff
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