Modems....

MulletMullet Join Date: 2003-04-28 Member: 15910Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">for a 56ker</div> I just finished making my new computer, and everything works pretty well except for the f-ing modem. When I do internet speed tests, I get like 5kb down and 5 kb up. I have all the latest drivers and i've tweaked everything and nothing works....

Does anyone know of some good 56k modems? My old one was an AOpen and that was pretty good....this US Robotic POS sucks....

Help?

Comments

  • Fro5tyFro5ty Join Date: 2003-09-26 Member: 21238Members, Constellation
    You get 5kb up AND down? I was lucky to stay around like 3kb both ways with mine. Just be happy man... And it might not be your modem, may be your phone lines.
  • ElvenThiefElvenThief aka Elven Thief (ex. NS Programmer) Join Date: 2002-11-15 Member: 8754Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    You're getting good speeds for that modem.
    The 56k is kiloBITS - your 5 k is kiloBYTES. There's a factor difference of 8 + the overhead for tcp/ip.
    What you're probably realy looking for is what speed your computer says you're connecting. If it's > 45k on connection, you're complaining over the best speeds you're going to secure on that connection.
  • CronosCronos Join Date: 2002-10-18 Member: 1542Members
    edited May 2004
    Errrr...

    56Kpbs

    Thats Kilo <b>bits</b> per second.

    Divide by 8 to get BYTES per second, thats your modems top speed under ideal conditions.

    US Robotics modems are in fact amongst the best, I have fond memories of d/ling 3 GB in a single month on that old baby, still got it in fact and it still works (though I am on cable now).

    And despite it accidentally getting thrown against and partially through a wall, the modem keeps on keeping on...

    //me huggles modem

    [Edit]

    Damn you E-Theeph for beating me to it! Damn you to hell!

    ...
    ...
    ...

    <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • antifreezeantifreeze The guy with the goods&#33; Join Date: 2003-05-12 Member: 16232Members, Constellation
    having to shovel coal into theback of them is it bit inconvinient dont you think <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • UltimaGeckoUltimaGecko hates endnotes Join Date: 2003-05-14 Member: 16320Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Cronos+May 18 2004, 03:41 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Cronos @ May 18 2004, 03:41 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Errrr...

    56Kpbs

    Thats Kilo <b>bits</b> per second.

    Divide by 8 to get BYTES per second, thats your modems top speed under ideal conditions.

    US Robotics modems are in fact amongst the best, I have fond memories of d/ling 3 GB in a single month on that old baby, still got it in fact and it still works (though I am on cable now).

    And despite it accidentally getting thrown against and partially through a wall, the modem keeps on keeping on...

    //me huggles modem

    [Edit]

    Damn you E-Theeph for beating me to it! Damn you to hell!

    ...
    ...
    ...

    <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    How do you accidently 'throw' an electronic device partially <i>through</i> a wall?


    56k around here gets around 2.5kb/s so I think you should be pretty happy with 5. If I remember, there's 8 bits in a byte and 1024 bytes in a kilobyte...or something around that. Cable beats down the 56k <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->. ~500kilobytes/s downloads (unless it's from microsoft or something, then you get the crazy 1mb+/s downloads.
  • Walking_TargetWalking_Target Join Date: 2003-11-11 Member: 22552Members
    Since everyone now seems to have BB ( or most do) the 56k has been under estimated , those who know how to play on them can often own any BB purely because the BB is having trouble trying to kill someone who to them is lagging every second. And 4 kb up and down is avg for a decent modem so be happy.
  • CyndaneCyndane Join Date: 2003-11-15 Member: 22913Members
    Yeah.. 5KB up and down on a 56k is quite good, if you want better umm.. well I won't state the obvious. I know I used to get anywhere from 4KB to 12KB on mine depending upon the site/connection/(ISP's temperment).

    Since the last question.. how does one "accidentally" throw a modem through a wall?
  • MrGardenHoseManMrGardenHoseMan Join Date: 2003-03-29 Member: 15020Members
    edited May 2004
    <!--QuoteBegin-Walking Target+May 18 2004, 09:34 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Walking Target @ May 18 2004, 09:34 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Since everyone now seems to have BB ( or most do) the 56k has been under estimated , those who know how to play on them can often own any BB purely because the BB is having trouble trying to kill someone who to them is lagging every second. And 4 kb up and down is avg for a decent modem so be happy. <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Heh that's so true, i remeber when i decided to play NS on my brand spankin new dsl modem. I was surprised how much better i was actually playing, but alas now i'm just another bredband user who can't aim. I should try playing through a 56k again just for shts and giggles.
  • CronosCronos Join Date: 2002-10-18 Member: 1542Members
    To answer the question of how a 56k modem gets partially launched through a wall...

    It was at night, about 2 AM. The time was summer, and I was sitting sweating at the keyboard (you know, one THOSE nights). Anyway, as I was typing away at something or other, I felt something brushing my hand. Taking my eyes from the glare of the computer monitor, I looked at my left hand... to find a huntsman 2/3 the size of my hand crawling on it.

    In utter horror, I got up, trying to get it off. My hand, in my frantic and rather apoplectic fit, met with the modem and made a sizable dent in the wall (with spider guts mashed all into it).

    The sucker bit me a bit, thank god huntsmans are NOT poisinous. I applied a bit of savlon and put some band aids on the bite and it healed up sometime later.

    Moral of the story?

    Keep an eye on your hands at all times. Especially at night <!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • MrGardenHoseManMrGardenHoseMan Join Date: 2003-03-29 Member: 15020Members
    Haha, i've found a spider crawling through my keyboard (no larger than a fingernail,) and some other creepy crawler before, scared my shitless though. I guess that's a good sign to clean up all this crap.
  • MulletMullet Join Date: 2003-04-28 Member: 15910Members, Constellation
    nonono, I don't actually download at 5kb per sec, that's my connection speed. As in 5bps, instead of 28bps or 56bps.

    I'm only downloading at about .7kb a second and it's painful.....I don't know why the hell its doing this. When I first connect to the internet, its fast for like 1 minute. If I were to load 2 pages at once, my connection just times out and I have to reconnect....

    So back to the original question....good modems?
  • CronosCronos Join Date: 2002-10-18 Member: 1542Members
    It still may not be the modem, not directly...

    I'm not sure of this, so bear with me.

    Check the default connection speed of your modem in it's settings through the control panel or through the device manager. If it's not at the maximum (it should be a sliding bar I believe), put it there, apply the changes and restart if necessary.

    Also, whats your location? Location may have a huge bearing on connection speed. Suburbs will generally get better connection speeds then out in the wilderness (<!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->) and the CBD will definitely get better connection speeds then the suburbs.

    If it's not THAT it may even be your ISP. Some ISP's are simply put, crap. If your with AOL, you get what you deserve really. But if your with a respectable ISP, try ringing them and asking them for support.

    If your convinced that it is the modem, you can test by unplugging it and throwing it in a friends computer and comparing against his average connection speed. If it shows consistency (the modem being slow) then (provided it's under warranty) you can probably take it back and get it replaced/refunded.

    Hope this helps.
  • MulletMullet Join Date: 2003-04-28 Member: 15910Members, Constellation
    Its a US Robotics (product name : USR569B) and it's the slowest modem I've ever had, and it cost me 40 dollars! It would be fast for about 1 minute, then it would just stop working. I would only download at about .5kb a second and if I had 2 browsers open, I'd have to reconnect. So now I'm back to my old AOPEN FM56-PM, which is about 4 years old. With this I can load as many pages as I need to and it downloads at a steady 3kb-4kb a sec. I tried updating all the drivers for the USR modem and NOTHING seems to work...All the settings are correct too. (max bps set to 1120 or whatever it is, and i've tried it just on 56).

    that's what I posted at a computing site.....maybe that will sum some things up. It's not my location or anything because now I'm using my old modem and everything works uber sexy. Im just **** because this US R. modem cost me friggn 40 dollars and its the slowest thing ever.

    Should I just stick with AOpen? Or should I just buy the same kind of modem for the computer....<!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • MrGardenHoseManMrGardenHoseMan Join Date: 2003-03-29 Member: 15020Members
    Return it or replace it. US Robotics is top notch hardware, you just got a lemon that's all.
  • ElvenThiefElvenThief aka Elven Thief (ex. NS Programmer) Join Date: 2002-11-15 Member: 8754Members, Retired Developer, NS1 Playtester, Constellation
    edited May 2004
    Before you return it - is it a v.92 modem?
    I work for an ISP where people often run into this problem, especially brand new v.92 modems.
    Most often, the slow speeds and erradic disconnections comes from either real crap v.92 programming (BCM v.92 modems are probably the worst, followed by Smartlink v.92 modems) and they don't hold a good connection at the v.92 protocol. However, it also happens if the ISP you're dialing into only supports up to the v.90 protocol.

    Your best bet is to try an initialization string on it, if it is v.92. The following init string will disable v.92 and make your modem work in v.90 mode - it often fixes bad connections on new modems.
    For WinXP, go into control panel -> (printers and other hardware, if you're in category view) -> phone and modem options -> modems tab -> highlight the US Robotics modem and press properties button -> go to the advanced tab in the properties window.
    There, under "extra initialization commands", enter in " +PIG=1 +PMH=1 +PQC=3" without quotes
    Link from USR's site to back that up: <a href='http://www.usr.com/support/doc-popup-template.asp?url=s-win/s-win-docs/v92faq.html#five' target='_blank'>http://www.usr.com/support/doc-popup-templ...92faq.html#five</a>
    You don't need the "AT" part of it, however.
    I'd give that a try before you return it, or contact your isp to make sure they have v.92 support.

    Otherwise, if it's a v.90 modem, try upgrading firmware or drivers. Otherwise, you're screwed.


    edit - also, to note. The difference between v.92 and v.90 is upload speed (download is still 56k), support for "modem on hold" and a type of quick connect.
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