Re: [newbie] a good modem
On Mon, 19 Jul 1999, you wrote: Actually I have two pieces of equipment here. The Cisco AS5200 (with Rockwell chipset Mica modems), and a Lucent Livingston PM3A with the Lucent chip digital modems. Interesting. We use an Ascend device here to answer the phones (MAX TNT) and we consistently get WORSE connection speeds with USR modems than we do with ANY other brand (typically the BEST speed for a USR X2/V.90 is about 28.8.) [clip] I am glad you seem to have better luck than I do. Some of this is Telco equipment sensitive, but I thought I would pass my ISP experiences along. By the way...other Alaskan ISP's report exactly my same results. I don't know why, but the connect speeds are MUCH better for our customers with the Non-USR/3Com equipment. For this reason we recommend non-USR equipment. I know many of the "national" ISPs have used USR for their 56k server modems, but we didn't go that route. I suppose the best advice would be to find out what the ISP the gentleman would be connecting to recommends and go with that. :-)
Re: [newbie] a good modem
On Tue, 20 Jul 1999, John Aldrich wrote: On Mon, 19 Jul 1999, you wrote: Actually I have two pieces of equipment here. The Cisco AS5200 (with Rockwell chipset Mica modems), and a Lucent Livingston PM3A with the Lucent chip digital modems. Interesting. We use an Ascend device here to answer the phones (MAX TNT) and we consistently get WORSE connection speeds with USR modems than we do with ANY other brand (typically the BEST speed for a USR X2/V.90 is about 28.8.) [clip] I am glad you seem to have better luck than I do. Some of this is Telco equipment sensitive, but I thought I would pass my ISP experiences along. By the way...other Alaskan ISP's report exactly my same results. I don't know why, but the connect speeds are MUCH better for our customers with the Non-USR/3Com equipment. For this reason we recommend non-USR equipment. I know many of the "national" ISPs have used USR for their 56k server modems, but we didn't go that route. I suppose the best advice would be to find out what the ISP the gentleman would be connecting to recommends and go with that. :-) Well here in the Albequerque, NM area most of the isp's do not use USR equipment but then neither does the gentleman you have been talking with. Like him though, many isp's in this area have found that usr modem's used by the customers seem to connect to them more reliably. Not necessarily the fastest, but the most reliably and consistantly. I know that here we have some rather bad connection rates in general, alot of outdated equipment thrown together by US West in what has to be the worst communications sysstem I have ever seen. So a robust modem is needed here, one that is bullet proof more than a speed demon. Perhaps in his area it might be the same, as it is in many parts of the country. I do agree that the best source might be the person's isp, profided they have bothered to keep any records of connection rates and modem brands and chip sets. Around here, the Rockwell chips do not perform well, I have tried several for my wife and myself with terribal results. Now she has a usr v90 and does much better, and I plan on getting either a usr or a lucent chipset modem for myself. This rockwell set modem I have, a Diamond Supra, really does'nt make it in this area. So, I guess it all depends on where you are, and what the phone company is using, as much as what your isp has. John Love [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: [newbie] a good modem
On Sun, 18 Jul 1999, you wrote: who here knows of a good modem for linux. thanks, jerrud (ps- my dsl line wont be coming for 6 weeks thats why i need a modem. grrr analog :( Almost any NON-HFC/WINMODEM will do you well. External is great, as then you KNOW it's not a "winmodem." Supra makes a pretty nice 56k modem (SupraExpress 56i is what I have, and it doesn't require any "extra" software to use it, unlike the SupraMax 56i.) Best rule of thumb: if it's a PCI modem, forget it. :-)
RE: [newbie] a good modem
An earlier message said: Diamond is having a clearance on several SupraExpress Modems, both internal and external. The external is under $50. http://www.diamondmm.com/products/current/clearance.cfm Bill -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, July 18, 1999 8:52 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [newbie] a good modem who here knows of a good modem for linux. thanks, jerrud (ps- my dsl line wont be coming for 6 weeks thats why i need a modem. grrr analog :(
Re: [newbie] a good modem
Bill Moshier wrote: An earlier message said: Diamond is having a clearance on several SupraExpress Modems, both internal and external. The external is under $50. http://www.diamondmm.com/products/current/clearance.cfm I am sure the modem will work, but Diamond modems are made with Rockwell chip sets. This is not really a good choice; they are the cheesiest of cheesy chip sets. Alas, they are used in 90% of all modems. The US Robototics would be a better solution. Problems with the Rockwells include: dropped connections, variable and inconsistent connect speeds, poor negotiation of V90 protocols, poor throughputamong others. This is not to say you will have all these problems, but as an ISP with hundreds of customers on line I can tell you that the Rockwells are not the best choice. As long as you are shelling out some bucks, I suggest you opt for a USR-chipset modem, or even a Lucent-chipset modem, and you will be a lot happier. -- Ramon Gandia = Sysadmin Nook Net http://www.nook.net [EMAIL PROTECTED] 285 West First Avenue tel. 907-443-7575 P.O. Box 970fax. 907-443-2487 Nome, Alaska 99762-0970 == Alaska Toll Free. 888-443-7525
Re: [newbie] a good modem
On Mon, 19 Jul 1999, you wrote: I am sure the modem will work, but Diamond modems are made with Rockwell chip sets. This is not really a good choice; they are the cheesiest of cheesy chip sets. Alas, they are used in 90% of all modems. The US Robototics would be a better solution. I disagree... I've got a Diamond modem. Works great with INDUSTRY-STANDARD V.90 protocols. USR/3Com is NOT fully implementing the V.90 standard. They are keeping backwards-compatability with their X2 protocol. Basically, the best thing to do is find out which modems your ISP is using and buy one that's compatible with them. If they say they are v.90/X2-compatible, get a USR/3Com modem. If they say K56/v.90, get a Rockwell-chipset modem (Diamond, etc.) Lucent is a good choice as well. Most of the modems with the Lucent chipsets are K56-compatible V.90. Again, mostly go by what your ISP supports for the maximum compatibility. I work for an ISP here that does NOT support the USR implementation of V.90. Most everyone in this market went with K56/V.90 instead of the X2-compatible v.90. We have problems ALL the time with users who buy pre-packaged machines with USR 56k modems who wonder why they can't get above 28.8. Then I tell 'em that V.90 isn't necessarily v.90 and that USR's implementation is off just enough to cause problems with our dial-up servers. Problems with the Rockwells include: dropped connections, variable and inconsistent connect speeds, poor negotiation of V90 protocols, poor throughputamong others. This mainly occurs when trying to connect to a USR X2/V.90 server modem. :-) This is not to say you will have all these problems, but as an ISP with hundreds of customers on line I can tell you that the Rockwells are not the best choice. As long as you are shelling out some bucks, I suggest you opt for a USR-chipset modem, or even a Lucent-chipset modem, and you will be a lot happier. I really think it boils down to what his ISP is using. :-)
Re: [newbie] a good modem
John Aldrich wrote: On Mon, 19 Jul 1999, you wrote: I am sure the modem will work, but Diamond modems are made with Rockwell chip sets. This is not really a good choice; they are the cheesiest of cheesy chip sets. Alas, they are used in 90% of all modems. The US Robototics would be a better solution. I disagree... I've got a Diamond modem. Works great with INDUSTRY-STANDARD V.90 protocols. USR/3Com is NOT fully implementing the V.90 standard. They are keeping backwards-compatability with their X2 protocol. Basically, the best thing to do is find out which modems your ISP is using and buy one that's compatible with them. If they say they are v.90/X2-compatible, get a USR/3Com modem. If they say K56/v.90, get a Rockwell-chipset modem (Diamond, etc.) Lucent is a good choice as well. Most of the modems with the Lucent chipsets are K56-compatible V.90. Again, mostly go by what your ISP supports for the maximum compatibility. Actually I have two pieces of equipment here. The Cisco AS5200 (with Rockwell chipset Mica modems), and a Lucent Livingston PM3A with the Lucent chip digital modems. Both work much better with the USR consumer modems. Connect speeds are adequate in both instancesthe PM3 always seems to have a slight edge in speed over the AS5200. However, the flakyness of the connections is what counts. No problems with USR consumer modems (even the winmodems) or the Lucent LT Win modems. The troubles seem to be from the Rockwell based modems. There are all sorts of workarounds to the problems, but usually requires handholding on tech support for the customer to resolve his problems. The Rockwell modems have been pretty poor. Until the HCF came out, they had numerous bugs. The HCF is the best, but still has problems. In fact, the HCF has the feature that while it can be less buggy...when it decides its not going to connect its hard to tweak it to do so. Most pre-HCF modems give trouble, but configure easily to connect. The HCF, we have trouble one in ten times, but when there is trouble, they sometimes resist all attempts to make them work properly. Going to the customer premises with our laptop (Rockwell, but tweaked) and with an external 56K data/fax USR, usually results in a perfect connection. My conclusion, after several months of this sort of thing is that not all modems are created equal. And the Rockwell modems are much less equal! We are a small isp, and generally we visit over 99% of our customer premises to make sure all works okay. Most ISP's leave the customer to fend for himself and are not aware of the problems and difficulties. Andbefore you say so, my equipment here, both Cisco and Lucent is all K56/V90. We have no X2 stuff in here and do agree with you that X2 is not very good. The USR customer modems are not the fastest with us, but they are the most consistent best performer. It is my recommendation. Iw ould rather connect at 48,000 day in and day out, than be all over from 26,400 to 52,000 like the Rockwells. Also the Rockwells have the aggravating habit of showing 52000 connect speed but their thruput (verified by ftp download from my own site) is down to about 400 bytes per second. A hangup and reconnect usually fixes this. The USR's NEVER EVER have this problem. I am glad you seem to have better luck than I do. Some of this is Telco equipment sensitive, but I thought I would pass my ISP experiences along. By the way...other Alaskan ISP's report exactly my same results. -- Ramon Gandia = Sysadmin Nook Net http://www.nook.net [EMAIL PROTECTED] 285 West First Avenue tel. 907-443-7575 P.O. Box 970fax. 907-443-2487 Nome, Alaska 99762-0970 == Alaska Toll Free. 888-443-7525
Re: [newbie] a good modem
ye basic US Robotics 56k fax modem works fine for me, pnp and all. Make sure NOT to get a winmodem, choke, gag --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: who here knows of a good modem for linux. thanks, jerrud (ps- my dsl line wont be coming for 6 weeks thats why i need a modem. grrr analog :( _ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
