Very Computer

Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems,microsoft.public.win98.comm.modem
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2000 5:53 AM
Subject: Re: May Have a Line Noise Problem -- Is There a Line Noise Test Web
Site?

> > HP Pavilion 8670c -- PIII 600 MHz 128 MB

> > The box, new last July, came with a Connexant Softk56 PCI modem twinned
on
> a
> > "Chameleon" board with the PC's sound chips.

> > The problem mainly is difficulty connecting (2-3 tries, sometimes more)
> > followed by line drops 10 minutes or more later.  Each new call costs me
a
> > nickel, and over a month that adds up.

> > This evening, when I was able to connect, it was as low as 13k (I
> > disconnected on seeing how slow it was).  Right now it's 44k, which is
> > acceptable.

> Sounds like your line is unstable or you have problems with some, not all,
> of teh ISP's modems.

Or sunspot activity?  I've just posted a query on that.  BTW, I stayed
connected for 10 hr. yesterday at 45,667.

> > Since I used TweakDUN to set my MTU at 1524 bytes (default for Ascend
> front
> > ends -- my ISP tech help didn't even know what an MTU was, so I had to
> > search the net for the info), I've sometimes connected as fast as
46,333.

> Changing your MTU has no effect on the modem's ability to negotiate a
> connection speed or even a connection at all.

Well, something boosted the max speed I've seen.  And supposedly it improves
the throughput rate.

> Your problem may be improved by trying various upper limits to the speed
teh
> modem connects at. This often helps but may not in your case since your
> connect speed varies so much. Start with a max speed of 44000bps  and work
> downward if that doesn't help you get more stable connections. The command
> to do this is the +MS= command. Information on how to use that command can
> be found at www.808hi.com in the troubleshooting section under Limiting
your
> connect speed.

Great, thanks for the tip.

> > Back to the case at issue.  The connection/drop problem has gotten worse
> > lately.

> > 1.  Is there a seasonal effect on line noise?  The only new noise source
> > that I can think of is my three-year-old warm-air furnace, which has a
> large
> > blower.  Just had another line drop while the furnace was running ...
> Hmmm.
> > Now reconnected on second try at 28,800, which I'll ditch and try again.
> > Furnace off.  Now connected on first try at 45,333.  Sheesh.

> > It is gas-fired and has an electrical arc igniter, I believe ... and
arcs
> > put out radio noise (in fact in the beginning, radio transmitters used
> > spark-coil arcs).

> > ( Next morning -- I stifled my dial tone by pressing a random number on
> the
> > phone keypad and could hear a faint crackling sound, even with the
furnace
> > not running.  Half an hour later it was gone.  This is VERY frustrating.
> > What if the telco technician can't hear it? )

> Report intermittent audible line noise. Describe the sound as best you
can.
> Try to call in the report while the crackling is there.

The next time I hear it, I'll call them.

> Since you seem to notice a relation between the new furnace fan and the
line
> noise, check your phone wiring and see if it crosses any electrical
wiring.
> If it does, that may be the source of the problem. If the new furnace
> required the installation of new electrical wiring, the person doing the
> work may have caused a problem by running the electrical wiring alongside
or
> across the phone wiring or damaged the phone wiring in the process.

The line from the telco box to my bedroom runs outside of the house and is
partly shielded by aluminum siding.  I had a problem a year ago on this jack
of loud static, which they came out and fixed.

> It may have been coincidental to something else, though. If the modem
shares
> the line with other devices (answering machine, fax machine, other
phones),
> remove them from the line and see if that helps.

No fax.  Only one other phone, in the living room -- a cordless.

> > 2.  Is there some Web site where I can test for line noise?  AmeriWreck,
> my
> > telco, charges about fifty bucks for a house visit.  And they are busy
> > peddling their DSL service, which had been low-rated on
www.dslreports.com
> .

> You can bypass your inside wiring by moving the computer to a window near
> the telco interface box and running a phone cable direct to the test jack
in
> the box.  So far as I know, there is no way to test for line noise online.

I'm going to try your suggestion of a direct cable to the test jack.   I've
already had a looksee inside the box.

> > 3.  Can anyone advise me about SHIELDED phone wire?  In my component
hi-fi
> > buff days I used shielded cables to exclude stray noise on the preamp
> > inputs.  Since only two wires are needed for a phone connection, maybe
> > ordinary shielded 2-conductor between the telco box and my wall jack
would
> > decrease line noise that might be picked up by unshielded wires.  Anyone
> > have any experience in this?

> You could switch to shielded and you could try re-cabling with CAT3 or
CAT5
> telephone cable.

CAT3/5 -- That's the phone hookup wire?  Does Radio Shack carry it?

Of course if this is sunspot related, the noise would be mainly picked up on
long lines from the telco CO.

> > FWIW, I am 10,300 ft. from my telco central office.  The phone lines
from
> my
> > house have to pass over/under an electric commuter railway line to get
> > there.

> Are you copper all the way or do you ride a SLC? If it's all copper, there
> is plenty of room for problems that could include:

> Damaged insulation
> Bridgetaps (or halftaps)

> or a variety of other problems.

I don't know -- what's a SLC?

> > 4.  Sometimes I get in to the "Connected to remote computer. Verifying
> user
> > name and password..." part of the handshake and after 20 sec or so, my
> modem
> > throws up its little hands: "Failed to connect to remote computer.
Unable
> to
> > establish a connection."  What gives here?  Is it possible to INCREASE
the
> > timeout length?

> Yes, but the above would probably not be affected. What the above
indicates
> is usually a failure at the ISP (router failed to find a link) or a login
> failure. It does not directly indicate a line or modem problem.

Yeah, so it's the ISP's fault.  Man, lots of variables in play here.

> > 5.  Regarding 4., is there anything to be gained by buying a modem from
> the
> > manufacturer of my ISP's rack modems?

> That simply reduces the chances of inter-operability problems.

Well, I think I'll ask what brand they use.

> > 6.  I would buy a hardware-based modem, not a Win modem.  What are the
> > issues of internal PCI vs external serial port vs external USB?  I have
> two
> > empty PCI slots.

> There are no issues of any significance. The primary issues are between
very
> cheap Windows modems vs hardware modems.

Well, I have a cheap Winmodem.  Are some brands of controller-based modems
more tolerant of line noise?

Thanks, Hooda!  I appreciate all this.

Best,

Interferon

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> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Hooda Gest" <be@one_with.com>
> > Interferon <Repl;y...@This.NG.Please> wrote in message
> > news:3a2c07c0_3@virginia.uncensored-news.com...
> > > HP Pavilion 8670c -- PIII 600 MHz 128 MB

> > > The box, new last July, came with a Connexant Softk56 PCI modem
twinned
> on
> > a
> > > "Chameleon" board with the PC's sound chips.

> > > The problem mainly is difficulty connecting (2-3 tries, sometimes
more)
> > > followed by line drops 10 minutes or more later.  Each new call costs
me
> a
> > > nickel, and over a month that adds up.

> > > This evening, when I was able to connect, it was as low as 13k (I
> > > disconnected on seeing how slow it was).  Right now it's 44k, which is
> > > acceptable.

> > Sounds like your line is unstable or you have problems with some, not
all,
> > of teh ISP's modems.

> Or sunspot activity?  I've just posted a query on that.  BTW, I stayed
> connected for 10 hr. yesterday at 45,667.

> > Changing your MTU has no effect on the modem's ability to negotiate a
> > connection speed or even a connection at all.

> Well, something boosted the max speed I've seen.  And supposedly it
improves
> the throughput rate.

> The line from the telco box to my bedroom runs outside of the house and is
> partly shielded by aluminum siding.  I had a problem a year ago on this
jack
> of loud static, which they came out and fixed.

> > It may have been coincidental to something else, though. If the modem
> shares
> > the line with other devices (answering machine, fax machine, other
> phones),
> > remove them from the line and see if that helps.

> No fax.  Only one other phone, in the living room -- a cordless.

> I'm going to try your suggestion of a direct cable to the test jack.
I've
> already had a looksee inside the box.

> > > 3.  Can anyone advise me about SHIELDED phone wire?  In my component
> hi-fi
> > > buff days I used shielded cables to exclude stray noise on the preamp
> > > inputs.  Since only two wires are needed for a phone connection, maybe
> > > ordinary shielded 2-conductor between the telco box and my wall jack
> would
> > > decrease line noise that might be picked up by unshielded wires.
Anyone
> > > have any experience in this?

> > You could switch to shielded and you could try re-cabling with CAT3 or
> CAT5
> > telephone cable.

> CAT3/5 -- That's the phone hookup wire?  Does Radio Shack carry it?

> Of course if this is sunspot related, the noise would be mainly picked up
on
> long lines from the telco CO.

> > > FWIW, I am 10,300 ft. from my telco central office.  The phone lines
> from
> > my
> > > house have to pass over/under an electric commuter railway line to get
> > > there.

> > Are you copper all the way or do you ride a SLC? If it's all copper,
there
> > is plenty of room for problems that could include:

> > Damaged insulation
> > Bridgetaps (or halftaps)

> > or a variety of other problems.

> I don't know -- what's a SLC?

> > > 4.  Sometimes I get in to the "Connected to remote computer. Verifying
> > user
> > > name and password..." part of the handshake and after 20 sec or so, my
> > modem
> > > throws up its little hands: "Failed to connect to remote computer.
> Unable
> > to
> > > establish a connection."  What gives here?  Is it possible to INCREASE
> the
> > > timeout length?

> > Yes, but the above would probably not be affected. What the above
> indicates
> > is usually a failure at the ISP (router failed to find a link) or a
login
> > failure. It does not directly indicate a line or modem problem.

> Yeah, so it's the ISP's fault.  Man, lots of variables in play here.

> > > 5.  Regarding 4., is there anything to be gained by buying a modem
from
> > the
> > > manufacturer of my ISP's rack modems?

> > That simply reduces the chances of inter-operability problems.

> Well, I think I'll ask what brand they use.

> > > 6.  I would buy a hardware-based modem, not a Win modem.  What are the
> > > issues of internal PCI vs external serial port vs external USB?  I
have
> > two
> > > empty PCI slots.

> > There are no issues of any significance. The primary issues are between
> very
> > cheap Windows modems vs hardware modems.

> Well, I have a cheap Winmodem.  Are some brands of controller-based modems
> more tolerant of line noise?