dial up users

[bigbugga]

Thought this would be of some help to others who like myself have a dial up system still.

The Internet Assistance Program is a free service set up by the Commonwealth Government and Telstra, and aims to ensure dial-up users have a speed of at least 19.2 kilobits per second.
www.iapselfhelp.com
, take a data speed test, and follow the step by step instruction s to improve your connection.
Technical specialists are available on 1800 427 757.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

me a bit sceptical!

19.5kb per sec?

maybe for a milisecond on connection,,,


ok,, will do test.

[fernockulated]

:?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

nothing new here,,,,,

19.5 would be nice,,,


5.5 would be nice,,,
4-5 is nearly normal.

[fernockulated]

:? now its working again, so will do this while i can!am confused that inc. said toset modem at 56000, but that site(bigpuddle) said to set it at 115000, so did that and now runs slightly better, as for the rest of it i couldn't be bothered getting on and off the net to diagnostic this thing, so.......is good for now!!! 8)

[incisor]

Originally posted by fernockulated
:? now its working again, so will do this while i can!am confused that inc. said toset modem at 56000, but that site(bigpuddle) said to set it at 115000, so did that and now runs slightly better, as for the rest of it i couldn't be bothered getting on and off the net to diagnostic this thing, so.......is good for now!!! 8)

inc said set maximum speed/port speed it to 57600.

warning long winded but hopefully insightful info follows....

for a start lets get a little fact into my argument.

i have been using modems since the days when you had to build your own so i have a better understanding of them than most people.

i live in a semi rural area with a history of utterly abysmal phone lines.

telstra once tried to prove me wrong on this particular point.

they didnt

and i have a 50 pair cable at my front garden that goes nowhere or did last time i looked.

their tech staff still can not understand the difference between a baud rate and a bit rate, which is what this is really all about.

why did inc said set maximum speed/port speed it to 57600bps.

most of the following relates to PC based computers not MAC's or Atari's or Suns etc, they are not interrupt driven.

it is setting the speed your computer talks to your modem at, NOT the speed your modem talks to the other modem at, although under certain conditions it can increase connection speed, but usually thruput over that connection over a period of time will be lessened.

if you live more than 1 klm OR closer than 50 metres from your telephone exchange you will suffer degraded service speeds due to line voltage drops and or shadowing, no if, no buts, it is physics, and can not be overcome without something to influence line voltage characteristics.

if you have a PCI internal modem or a USB modem or PCMCIA modem then 99% of the people running it will actually be running a software modem emulator which bends the following rules a little bit depending on the programming of the emulator.

if you have a normal external modem it uses a serial port to talk to your computer.

most modem computers use a serial port using a 16550 UART with has a 16 byte FIFO buffer (FIFO = first in first out) !

that little FIFO is what give you the ability to use your computer while it talks to another device over the phone line.

While the computer services the other tasks it is doing it stores up to 14 bits of info reliably in the little buffer, it then writes this data to the program using the com port, in this case the connection to the net, and you cannot access the hard drive for reads or writes while it does it....

penny starting to drop?

115,200 bits per second ..... hmmm how many times has your computer got to fill and empty that little buffer of 14 to acheive 115,200 of the suckers in a second.

under windows even in windows xp it has real problems doing it reliably.

linux, os/2 and most other operating systems have serial drivers which can cope at that speed much better but not perfectly.

57,600 is the next speed down available to you.

that takes half the load of the serial port fifo.

BUT

is still fast enough to service the data coming and going in that buffer of 14 in the FIFO at the connect speeds (baud rate) that the average user gets unless you have a very slow hard drive.

test it out yourself.

set your port speed to each setting and try downloading a large amount, say 30 odd mp3's from your favorite site at each setting.

speed isnt everything .... reliabilty is when it comes to internet and serial comms.

you are losing about 15% of your thruput in protocol control and tcpip packet control.

if you have your port speed at 115,200 you WILL be losing packets of info, and your modem and software will need to download some data at least twice and sometimes more to keep control of the data flow.

add a noisy or less than perfect phone line into the equation and the overhead can quickly double or treble, so your internet slows down.

do yourself a favour ignore the 115,200 port speed setting, move it down to 57600 and your internet WILL become quicker because the data thruput will be higher because lost info will be less.

if you have a mac, you will also see improvements if you drop your port speed or turn off v.90 altogether but for other reasons.

[fernockulated]

:? :? :? :? :? :? :? lost me after "warning could be long winded"
dont get me wrong , not picking on you inc just totally confused!
now even more so, so is back at 57600,whatever!!!!as long as this damm confuser works i dont really give a ****!!!! :? 8O

[incisor]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift
nothing new here,,,,,

19.5 would be nice,,,


5.5 would be nice,,,
4-5 is nearly normal.

and is excelllent thruput on a cheapish 56k modem.

do not confuse thruput with connection speed.

most people connect at about 4200bps or below

theoretical maximum thruput is 5.2k

you lose about 15% in control overhead, ppp and tcpip

you get some of this back using the built in compression in the modem. usually the better the modem, the better the compression the better the speed.

anything above 4k is a good download speed.

use a $600 USRobotics courier modem on the same connection and it will compress that well that you will get 5k+

[incisor]

Originally posted by fernockulated
:? :? :? :? :? :? :? lost me after "warning could be long winded"
dont get me wrong , not picking on you inc just totally confused!
now even more so, so is back at 57600,whatever!!!!as long as this damm confuser works i dont really give a ****!!!! :? 8O

i thought it might.

just imagine you are filling 14 paint tins the logic might work for you then style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif

[fernockulated]

:evil: what really annoys me is that our normal conxion speed is 31000-32000, but occasionally can jag a 44000 , problem being it only lasts about 30 seconds then dies or sometimes it doesnt even start runningor "ghosts", my question is , is there anything that can be done about it other than changing isp's?

[incisor]

Originally posted by fernockulated
:evil: what really annoys me is that our normal conxion speed is 31000-32000, but occasionally can jag a 44000 , problem being it only lasts about 30 seconds then dies or sometimes it doesnt even start runningor "ghosts", my question is , is there anything that can be done about it other than changing isp's?

if your average connection speed is below 38400 then use 38400 instead of 57600 and reliability will improve that little bit more as a general rule.

in most modems that will kill v90 and drop you back to v34 which in many cases (but not all) is a good thing.

the problem is not your isp, it is the physical characteristics of your phone line and the quality of your modem.

put a maestro woomera modem (around $300) or a USRobotics Courier (around $600) on your line and you will see improvements commensurate with the price of the modems.

or try droping the port speed to 38400 to see if that increases reliabilty.

[fernockulated]

:roll: am using a swann speed demon, 'spose now youre gunna tell me that it is a piece of c**p! :roll: it does the job, more than likely it is the lines that are the problem style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad.gif

[Pedro_The_Swift]

How did you know my modem was cheap?

it is though,,
First one i owned ('98, stop laughing Inc,,) was a $100 dollar one,,
after the first lightening strike I coudnt see the value in another $100 modem, so a series of $25 dollar ones eventuated.

but,, if I spend 5 times the amount, I dont get 5 times the performance,,

any reccommendations on brands?? Incisor?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

luv that location Ferno!!!

[fernockulated]

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif yours is a good one too, just thought i mite explain my situ a little better!! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[incisor]

ferno, whingeing wont help you one way or the other ....

you have bad lines and you will need a better quality modem to overcome that handicap.

by cheap i mean any modem under approx $200 ......

99% of all modem under $200 normal retail i have come across have the same chipsets (3 basic types actually), but have different bios and cases etc, so the basic infrastructure is the same.

dearer modems ie ones dearer than $200 have better line holding and compression because they use better components....

you are dealing with a device that changes data to a whistle so that another device at the other end can turn that whistle back into the same data. if anything alters that whistle then data is lost or the line is dropped if it happens repeatedly in a short amount of time.

dearer modems have much better amplfiers and recievers so that they can tolerate signals a bit further out of spec.

stuff like maestro woomera and dynalink rural modem are made for people like you ferno because they can alter their internal setup to suit your crappy lines.

there is a USRobotics Sportster at around $200 that is also very good but doesnt have the specs of the woomera or rural modem.

you get to either pay the price in phone bills from dropped lines all the time or pay a bit more up front and not have the dropouts.

[harry]

8) oooh, ah um, so when my xp says connection speed is 49 thingys, is that ok ? or should i just go and seek another topic?
8) harry

[incisor]

that connection speed is great if it stays connected and you dont get slow transfers.

wish i could get that sort of speed on my lines style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif

[harry]

8) well dave it says 50.6 kbps right now, so i'm happy

[fernockulated]

:roll: not really whinging(much!!)just getting a little ticked off when everytime i jag a 44000 it turns into a dud connection, and sometimes it takes about 4-5 times to actually get on-line!other than that everything else is "tickety-boo!!" style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif 8)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Just on that last remark of ferno's Incisor,,
can you get dud connections??


every so often I get a connection but nothing else, no emails, no internet
??????

I dissconect and recconnect and everythings normal,

[incisor]

those connections are the ones the modems never get sorted.

nothing comes thru because they are continuously attempting to recover from the previous bad packet of info that came thru.

at about the point where your internet software tries to send your username and password to auth your ppp connection, the modems are trying a retrain to see if they can improve connection speed, if your line is a little sad that retrain takes ages. add to that that many cheaper modems cannot perform a proper retrain and just throw their hands in the air and go have a nap.

you can normally program your modem to not try retrains once connected, if this is a persistent problem.

the commands to do it vary from modem to modem so you need to browse your manual, if you get one ...

then you get the problems caused by equipment in the telephone exchange, tho that isnt the problem it used to be due to the newer designs and equipment.

i once spent a week diagnosing a problem modem fax setup and it ended up being a technicians clip left on a relay in an exchange....

and i wonder why i have grey hair.........

[fernockulated]

:roll: isnt technology a grand and wonderful thing?

methinks paper and pen is sometimes quicker!!!!!!!! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif :wink:

[incisor]

cost you a fortune in pens and stamps mate... thats why we use this stuff style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif

[fernockulated]

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif oh well, **it happens!!!!! :roll:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

just to take up Incisors last comment about "using this stuff"


At my current place of employment, ( a small Shire Council south of Maryborough) I have been searching for the 2003 truck plant equipment records, {because of Assets Registers} I did eventually find them,, in a folder, as 64 seperate word documents printed out,,, . NO copy kept on the server,,,,,,,,


This type of crap is unbelievable,,,,

[VladTepes]

You in Tiaro shire then, are you :?:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

or Woocoo :?:

[VladTepes]

Aaahhh. Woocoo.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

or kilkevan :?:

[bigbugga]

Evasive type of fella aint he Vlad???

[incisor]

BB> I was so poor growing up ... if I wasn't a boy ...I'd have nothing to play with.


now that statement fills in a few blanks........

[incisor]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift
or kilkevan :?:

let me know when you make it to woolooga

nice little pub there, be worth a drive up style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif

then a sojourn to the bridge by the side of the road at battle creek...

[bigbugga]

Originally posted by incisor
BB> I was so poor growing up ... if I wasn't a boy ...I'd have nothing to play with.


now that statement fills in a few blanks........


Really, might explain why I have to sqint to see the screen now :twisted:

[VladTepes]

Originally posted by bigbugga
Evasive type of fella aint he Vlad???

Yep, he sure is. Still, I'm sure he fits in better that way in the Wide-Bay Burnett. They all have something to hide.

Usually a second head. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif






Ooops. Just realised there are a heap of good folk from Bundaberg on this forum. You Bundabergers (Mmmmmm, Bundabergers, tasty!) can disregard that comment. I've been there. I know you don't have two heads. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif Eleven toes can't be normal, though.

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[Pedro_The_Swift]

confucsious say---
better to have two head one mind
than one head many mind.

I thinks theres something in there for all of us,,
especially u Vlad,,



good ole confucious,,,

[bigbugga]

Confosion say to balding man.


The more hair you loose the more head you will get :twisted:

[fernockulated]

:roll: confushus say;better to keep mouth shut and be thought a fool
than to open it and remove all doubt! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[VladTepes]

I wonder how that Confucious guy ended up.

Do you reckon they killed him coz they got sick of all his yapping and moralizing :?:

I might have done. :twisted:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

*me makes mental note to sit quitely around campfire when Vlads around,,*

[VladTepes]

Campfire ?

Brilliant idea !

Now were coming into winter (well, for us Queenslanders) we should have a SEQld get together and have a good ole fashioned campfire.

All we need is someone to host it.

Perhaps someone with a bit of land.

Someone that lives in a BIG shed, for example.... style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

[Pedro_The_Swift]

lots of people with sheds,,,
we need one that likes landies AND has a shed,,

[fernockulated]

8O are you talkin to me :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?: :?:

'cos i resemble those remarks :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!: :!:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

YES!
you do.
Ferno.

[fernockulated]

:roll: there is a couple of places close by here(nat.parks)that have good amenities, not a lot of level ground around here for camping, and amenities are how would you say, not quite five star!

[VladTepes]

Originally posted by fernockulated
:roll: there is a couple of places close by here(nat.parks)that have good amenities, not a lot of level ground around here for camping, and amenities are how would you say, not quite five star!

Mate "close by here" sounds good.

And 5-star ? What do you take us for ? Some kind of softc***s ?

4 1/2 stars will be fine !

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Originally posted by fernockulated
:roll: there is a couple of places close by here(nat.parks)that have good amenities,


Sounds like a bit of research is needed hey Ferno,, 8)

Dont be shy asking for help,,, :wink:

[fernockulated]

<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">HELP!!!!!!</span>



had a nice big bonfire yesterday, had about 9-10 trees removed from our ten acres last week , and started to do the big clean-up, on the first tree, only 8 more to go!!! :roll:

[bigbugga]

Originally posted by fernockulated
<span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:100%">HELP!!!!!!</span>



had a nice big bonfire yesterday, had about 9-10 trees removed from our ten acres last week , and started to do the big clean-up, on the first tree, only 8 more to go!!! :roll:

I will bring the marshmellows ok :wink:

[fernockulated]

:roll: better make sure you have a looooooonnnggg stick , cause the fire gets veeeeeeery hot 8) style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[bigbugga]

Originally posted by fernockulated
:roll: better make sure you have a looooooonnnggg stick , cause the fire gets veeeeeeery hot 8) style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

Ok then I will bring Pedro and use him as a heat sheild, that should work :twisted:

[fernockulated]

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Hey :!:
I resemble that remark :!:

I work much better when fully primed 8)

[fernockulated]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift
Hey :!:
I resemble that remark :!:

I work much better when fully primed 8)

just dont breathe on the fire unless it's going out! 8O



















better ask it where its going as well!!!!!!!! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[Pedro_The_Swift]

probably not old enough to be going out by itself,,
will have to chaperone 8O

[fernockulated]

:roll: it is going to a house warming, bring your own fire!!! style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[bigbugga]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift
probably not old enough to be going out by itself,,
will have to chaperone 8O

RIGHT thats it, bad pun police to Pedros place NOW :twisted:

[VladTepes]

Speaking of fire.....

"The ability to cut steel with fire. It's what seperates us from the animals."

[Pedro_The_Swift]

gee,, i thought it was the thumb operating the oxy valves,, 8O

[VladTepes]

Well you were wrong, weren't you.

[Pedro_The_Swift]

maybe,,
but I dont need my thumbs for these hand signals style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[VladTepes]

Lucky, coz when I see ya I'm gonna cut the bastards off....

Umm, did I say that out loud :oops:

Just to completely change the topic...

So...... when ya gonna visit, Pedro me old mate..... :twisted:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

gee's Vlad,, I dunno,,
no electrikery,
and suspect drainage,,,

I suppose it has to be closer to The Treasury than Pallas street :wink: style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif :!:

[VladTepes]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift
I suppose it has to be closer to The Treasury than Pallas street :wink: style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif :!:

:? what ? :?

[Pedro_The_Swift]

C'mon Vlad ,,
They dont call it Brizvegas for nothing,,,, :wink:

[VladTepes]

Yeah but the only Pallas street I know is in Maryborough.

And they do call it Brizvegas for nothing !

[fernockulated]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift
gee's Vlad,, I dunno,,
no electrikery,
and suspect drainage,,,


who's got no electrickery?
do they want to buy a good second hand diesel genny? :roll: style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[Timmo]

Queensland will catch up eventually.......electricity, afl, maybe even daylight savings one day.....

Great place to live though..... style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[bigbugga]

Originally posted by fernockulated+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(fernockulated)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-Pedro_The_Swift
gee's Vlad,, I dunno,,
no electrikery,
and suspect drainage,,,


who's got no electrickery?
do they want to buy a good second hand diesel genny? :roll: style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/b][/quote]

Yeah, now that planet Ferno has caught up with this morern techno stuff called POWER he can sell off the old smelly noisy thing.



NO NO NO I ment the Geni not the wife 8O

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Originally posted by VladTepes
Yeah but the only Pallas street I know is in Maryborough.


How do you know so much about the fraser coast Vlad?

[fernockulated]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pedro_The_Swift)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-VladTepes
Yeah but the only Pallas street I know is in Maryborough.


How do you know so much about the fraser coast Vlad?[/b][/quote]

i think you posted that info when you had that as your location!! :!: :roll:

[VladTepes]

Originally posted by Pedro_The_Swift+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pedro_The_Swift)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-VladTepes
Yeah but the only Pallas street I know is in Maryborough.


How do you know so much about the fraser coast Vlad?[/b][/quote]

That's for me to know, and you, umm, not to know. (for now at least).

It's so much more fun stringing you along.... style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif











Oh alright then....

Here's a few interesting facts:

My last name is Reed. There's a Reed Avenue in Maryborough.

My Landy came from Bundaberg. So does Rum. So I had two good reasons to visit. :wink:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Oh,,

left the nest to try your luck in the "Big Smoke" huh,,,
style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[VladTepes]

No I was born in the "big smoke" :!:

and I don't mean that cloud of soot I get every time I start the Landy style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

[VladTepes]

Originally posted by Timmo
Queensland will catch up eventually.......electricity, afl, maybe even daylight savings one day.....

Great place to live though..... style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif

Yes Timmo it is a great place to live, as you know by now. style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif

And we have plenty of daylight, what the hell would we be saving it for...

style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif to all you southerners style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif

[fernockulated]

just get up earlier for more daylight, simple!!!! 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8)

[harry]

8) bloody daylight saving,
why don't you friggin' qld people wake up?
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!
its actually good to get up at dawn, go to work and get home in daylight
daylight saving doesn't fade the curtains,
oh ok, pull the curtains closed in hot summer,
hide from the light, lazy bzzzzzssssssss.
or get up, friggin walk or jog then rip the boss off by getting to work knackerred
grrrrump
8) harry

[fernockulated]

trouble is that some bosses actually are a pack of mongrels , one i used to work for made us work later as i was carpet claening at the time so extra daylight gave us extra drying time so more jobs for the day , so still ended up getting home in the dark :evil: