56K recommendation?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ron
  • Start date Start date
R

Ron

Unfortunately I am still on dialup, but would still like to get a modem that
dials and connects faster than a typical US Robotics modem. It would be nice
if the pages were a bit faster too.

Can anyone recommend any particular models or brands?
 
Spend your money on DSL...


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But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.
some support
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| Unfortunately I am still on dialup, but would still like
to get a modem that
| dials and connects faster than a typical US Robotics
modem. It would be nice
| if the pages were a bit faster too.
|
| Can anyone recommend any particular models or brands?
|
|
 
In Ron <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
Unfortunately I am still on dialup, but would still like to get a
modem that dials and connects faster than a typical US Robotics
modem. It would be nice if the pages were a bit faster too.

Can anyone recommend any particular models or brands?
Click to expand...

My current is fairly decent:

Name Intel(R) 537EP Modem

My ISP has image/text compression software that speeds up my load speeds (it
doesn't really improve the connection but it does make it so that you
download less information - quite a bit less) and that's been pretty good.

Galen
--

"You know that a conjurer gets no credit when once he has explained his
trick; and if I show you too much of my method of working, you will
come to the conclusion that I am a very ordinary individual after all."

Sherlock Holmes
 
consider disabling eye candy in the web browser.
eg
disable animations / avi's
disable graphics (ok, big drop)
get a firewall product that will block advertising sites.
go halves with a good neighbour and setup a WAN with DSL.

the USR modems do connect about as fast as any... there are ways this can be
sped up, but the shaving is marginal.

run antispyware to make sure you have no scumeware...
 
US Robotic modems are the top of the line in 56K modems. Just stay away
from most Winmodem units as the modem control software is stored in your
Windows. Winmodems are subject to the "speed" on which it accesses its
control so it is affected by the speed of your Windows.
 
A client of mine had a connection speed of 26.4.. replacing the line from
computer to phone jack took it to 50.6..

USR modems are the best, and hold their connection better than most..
 
1) Your modem is PROBABLY just fine - what connection speeds are you
getting? At login time it should tell you in the "baloon" popup, and you
can read the modem log after logoff to see what kind of rates you're
getting, and if the data rate was renegotiated or "fell back" during the
session.

If you're not getting a good 45K or better, it's probably your phone line.
Check w/ your ISP to see if there is an alternate phone number, and try
them all. Mine has a 1-500- number in our area, which is a special
non-toll exchange that connects me directly to their modem pool w/o going
thru the local switches; I get a 49K connect always, versa a 35K connect
calling the local number. [This works w/ my ISP because they actually
contract out their modem pool "needs" to verizon, my local phone provider.
Many ISPs do the same sort of thing, ask.]

[One newbie mistake: be sure that the modem's PORT SPEED is set to 115K or
higher. Many assume since it's a 56K modem they should set the port speed
to 56K. No, the modem talks at up to 56k (modem to modem) but since the
data passed can be compressed 2-to-1 or more, once it gets into your
machine and is decompresed the modem needs to "deliver" the data at a
faster speed in order to not back up. Virtually all driver setups do set
the port speed to 115K, but unknowing users sometime set it back to 56K,
thinking they're doing the right thing. (w/ "soft" modems (the $10
variety) this doesn't really matter, since the ports are virtual anyway).]

2) Take a look at Privoxy (ww.privoxy.org). It's a web proxy that you
install on your machine and tell your browser to "go thru". It filters
out browser requests for most ads and other junk, thus reducing the number
of things that it has to wait for from the server - hence pages are built
much faster. Really does help w/ dial-up speed. And its filters also
protect you from java/javascript "baddies" and other types of HTLM/web
site "abuse", making surfing much safer.

Privoxy CAN BE very technical, but its default setup works great right
"out of the box", you do not need to dive into its complexities at all
(unless you want to - it is HIGHLY configurable). Read the getting
started stuff, do the install, and you're off. And its handy tray icon
allows you to enable/disable it w/ a click, so if you do visit a site that
the filter "breaks", it's very easy to disable Privoxy and simply reload
the page. But, 99% of sites display just fine, and AD FREE!!!

3) DU Meter can be a very valuable tool for monitoring the bandwidth
usage of your modem. It presents a real-time graph of upload/download
rates - very useful for keeping an eye on transfers and for knowing
almost instantly if your modem changes rates.

http://www.dumeter.com/
 
US Robotic modems are the top of the line in 56K modems. Just stay away
from most Winmodem units as the modem control software is stored in your
Windows. Winmodems are subject to the "speed" on which it accesses its
control so it is affected by the speed of your Windows.
Click to expand...


Get an external USR V.everything modem cheap on ebay. $30 the last
time I looked. Make sure you get a recent one that's 58kb and not one
of the slower versions. The best modem ever made.

There is a fair chance your connect process can be sped up some by
tweaking your modem to try the one your ISP expects, first.
 
Ron said:
Unfortunately I am still on dialup, but would still like to get a modem that
dials and connects faster than a typical US Robotics modem. It would be nice
if the pages were a bit faster too.

Can anyone recommend any particular models or brands?
Click to expand...

Brand is not as important as:

V.92 compatibility. It may get you a better connection than V.90,
especially if connecting with another V.92.

Flashable/upgradable firmware rather than "Winmodem." If it is compatible
with DOS, Linux, etc, it is likely a firmware implementation; if it "requires
Windows," it's a software implementation.
 
Ted,

Just out of curiosity, why is the Intel 536 Chipset so good?

Approximately how long does it take to sign in to the internet using this one?
 
Ryan said:
Ted,

Just out of curiosity, why is the Intel 536 Chipset so good?

Approximately how long does it take to sign in to the internet using this
one?
Click to expand...

Tried several different, inexpensive modems and the 536 seemed to work the
best. They like to call it Hardware based because it uses a DSP chipset
but it is really a controlerless modem. Myself and others have installed it
on several computers with good luck. Signing in depends more on your ISP
and the equipment used there.
 
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