Line troubles, internet.

[mdshunk]

I'm having problems with my phone line which I also use for the internet. I don't have cable available where I live, and I'm too many feet from a central office or SLIC hut to get DSL. DirectWay is way too expensive, so I'm stuck with dialup.

Whenever it rains, my internet speed slows way down. When it's windy, I also have slow speeds. If I dial in right after an incoming voice call has completed, I get a real slow connect speed (14.4, 19.2). Dialing in after an outgoing voice call has no effect on the internet speed, so I perceive that the higher voltage ringing has effects something on my line.

Here's my trouble, even on rainy days when my internet speed is really slow, I percieve no audible static on the line. I know all the special "phone man codes" to type in to quiet the dial tone and just put talk voltage on the line, and I never hear any audible static. I've had the phone company out twice about these slow internet speeds after the phone rings and on rainy days, and they give the usual response "We hear no static. We only give you a line good enough for voice calls".

Is there anything else I can do to compell them to pick a different pair on the cable coming down my road (or where ever else necessary)? It almost makes me consider sending 220 out the line (of course, I wouldn't do that).

[dznewz]

Several years ago we had terrible connection problems. Inability to connect to my ISP, dropped connections, extremely slow connect speeds (<9600 on a 28.8K modem), slow faxes, etc. Like you, we didn't have audible static. Our voice calls were fine, inbound and outbound.

We have two lines, one for voice and the other for fax and internet, and live out in the country. Our local loop is about 1.5 miles starting at the end of a fiber link from the CO about 12 miles away.

Before having Telco out, I rewired the data line direct from the SNI to the computer, running it across the floor. Nothing I did made any difference.

The Telco technician did some minor problems with out local loop: bad cable from the pole to the the house (substituted the spare one the original builder installed 25 years ago), an open bridged tap about one mile down the line (presumably our pair was previously used for a different house), and a bad loading coil (or something similar).

The problems remained unresolved.

Telco was not particulary receptive to my complaints, saying that I'd be charged something like $100 if the technician came out and didn't find any problems. So I thought I'd better be prepared.

Guessing that I had a digital problem, not an analog problem, I attemted to document the issue. After turning OFF the error correction feature in my fax machine, I faxed page of nothing but line after line of 10 point capital H's to myself.

The results were enlightening. Each row of H's started in the right place vertically on the page as well as horizontally. However, the H's almost zig-zagged down the page. Some horizontal bars were too short, some vertical bars were jagged, broken, shifted to the left, and sometimes missing entirely. The cumulative errors in the lines resulted in short lines, making the right edge of the page irregular. My interpretation was dropped bits on the digital side of our line. Analog noise on the line would not have caused *only* missing fax pixels, it would have changed white to black and black to white, producing visible noise on the fax page.

I called for service, and accepted the responsibility to pay the service fee if the tech didn't find anything wrong. The tech did the usual telco lineman checks and pronounced the line good. I explained that I thought it was a digital problem and gave him the faxed page of H's and the same faxed page from a good line, he said "well, I'm not trained in the digital stuff, but I'll get this to the right guy."

A few days later a different telco tech drove up the driveway and said everything should be fixed now. The digial-to-analog line card at the end of the fiber link was bad.

Took me two months to convince anyone at the telco that anything was wrong. Once the "right" technicican was dispatched, it took him two minutes to determine the card was bad, pull it out, and slide in a new one.

[mdshunk]

Hey! DZ! Good to see you back around the place.

I appreciate that story. You apparently know more about this stuff than I do. Just for kicks, I'll try the fax of a page of H's to see what happens.

I'd rather think that my problem is something more primitive like an open sheath somewhere, since it only acts up in the rain and after a call rings the line. Like you, I am served by about 15 miles worth of copper that originates at a SLIC hut way back in the woods.

[Jacksnap]

md..... what's the 'Senior Labor Inspectors Committee' got to do with your internet speed?
LOL.... Just joking! Seriously, I'd lean towards your modem giving you the trouble described. Do you know if you have a 'soft' modem or 'hard'(ware) based modem?
Also, your ISP using a modem standard (example V.90 V.92) not supported by your modem can cause slow speeds. Call your ISP (or check their home page) and ask what standard their modems operate on for dial-up. Also, re-check the TN you are dialing into. Usually you'll have a choice of access TNs. Those TNs usually connect with a different standard and you may be on the 'slower' speed modem. 'Soft'ware based modems are very picky and do not give consistant connections. 'Hard'ware based modems cost more but usually provide the fastest, most trouble free and most reliable connections. All considered, I'd target the modem (and you can trust me because I'm retired..LOL). Can you give me some info about the modem; mfg., model, etc.? And, please, please, please, don't tell me your ISP is AOL :eek:

http://www.funsport.it/fun/vignette/Verde/Informatiche/aol.jpg
Jack

[mdshunk]

My modem is a Lucent Win Modem. Don't know about model yet until I get a shovel and dig the computer out of it's hole. The driver is version 8.27. I suppose I could search the net for a patch or update in the mean time. I did contact the ISP (not AOL, a local provider I've been with for over 10 years), and got some different TN's. I've been using the same number since 2400 baud, but they tell me they've got the same equipment on all the numbers.

[dznewz]

We found it certainly makes a difference which dial-up number we use. On AOL we've got a choice of about 6 in our area.

My guess would be that it depends on where my CO is in relation to the CO for dial-up number, and what's in between the two CO's.

[Jacksnap]

Md, you have the 'soft'ware modem. As I said earlier, a 'hard'ware based moden is best. The difference is a soft moden, like yours, runs under whatever version of Windows you have AND the mfg's software. A hard modem has additional chipsets that enable it to make a connection without any software. The hard modems usually start around $40, but an average price at Staples, Office Depot or CompUSA would be $60 to $100; cheaper if you order online. There is two types of slots a modem fits depending on your motherboard; ISA and PCI. If your familiar with these terms, OK. If not, new boards (last 3 years) always have PCI slots and maybe 1 ISA slot. You'll have to determine what your slot is before ordering. It is best to use PCI slots. Stick with a brand name, US Robotics/3Com, Zoom, Hayes are some. Get one for interior of your computer. Just make sure it is not a 'win' or Windows based modem. If you have a local mom & pop type computer shop in your area, they would be the best place to get the right modem. I'm not saying for sure it is the modem, but you had mentioned something about after taking a call that the modem acts up (I'm quoting your post from memory) and that points to the modem. Good Luck!
Jack
P.S.; A modems worst enemy is lightning. I do a lot of computer work on the side and here in FL it's probably worse, but it is not uncommon to replace dialup modem cards 2 and 3 times in a season! They don't always 'die hard' on surge, sometimes still working but with diminished capacity... you know, like a mental case.. LOL :D

[mdshunk]

Cool. I have a customer who owes me a favor, and I'll have him jam in a new hardware based modem card. I do ocasionally run Unix on this same machine, but with a different (buggy) driver. The hardware modem would be better. For decades, I always used Hayes or USR. Heck, my first modem was an external 300 baud Hayes. The modem is in a PCI slot. A new hardware based modem would make the modem do better when I run Unix. Thanks.