tajartale

Maybe the source is TOT. I'm also on TOT and have had general connection problems since mid-December with this specific problem not being able to access Gmail for the past several days (usually in the early evening and also right now 8pm Thurs). Usually google itself works, if not the main site, then one of the alternatives. But Gmail or any attempt to access google accounts, no dice.

My previous connectivity issue started when TOT jacked my speed up to 7m from the 4m I pay for, for no reason I can think of, in the middle of December. This resulted in virtually constant instability. Last week they lowered the speed back down to where it used to be and things stabilized for a while, except for google now timing out.

Since most people reporting this are on TOT and TOT has clearly been screwing around with their network since the beginning of the year, my money's on them.

Sure am happy they got the concession for mobile...

But seriously, I am happy, because I'm leaving Thailand for the awesome internet nirvana of S Korea. Well, there has to be sth to look forward to in Korea...

Was wondering if anyone knows what the guys are doing in these Chinatown shops who are hammering at what looks like a large ball and socket joint, are these part of tie-ends? I don't know much about cars, so was wondering how it works. Are they taking the joints apart? Putting them back together? Are these truck suspension parts? Some guys were taking apart a differential, but these other guys are hammering really hard at these things that look like part of the suspension. Are most of these shops catering to trucking or are all these parts going to be sold on in the general market? It always seems a little antiquated, walking past all these places, but they're plenty busy, even with floods.

Any info on what these small businesses are about?

Saw a kid in the park grab a flower off a bush and eat it the other day. Was wondering what this was? I think I remember the flowers were red (bright red) and trumpet shaped, longish. It was growing from the ground, on the curved road I think somewhere behind or to one side of Lumpini Hall.

And what does it taste like? Obviously, didn't try myself...

For past several days, have been unable to listen to anything out of this station based in LA. In the past, I often had problems with buffering, but now, when I try to load a program, I get a consistent 'Media Not Found' error from the Flash player.

KCRW says it's working on their end, so I was wondering if something changed recently over here or if there are any suggestions how to get this working again.

I still CAN listen to streaming music (with buffering interruptions) or live streams. Just no prerecorded programs.

***

In an unrelated note, TOT has lowered my upload speeds again. Is it worth bothering them about this? I mostly surf the net, but they're clearly not giving me the 500k promised (it says about 388 max on the modem). My local TOT repairman is a real creep, so I would prefer not to bother them with something they aren't going to fix anyway.

There is a remote air con control that can be fitted to many airconditioners. Cost about 1500 baht. A great improvement to the big old panasonic with fixed manual controls.

The remote unit covers most functions.

do you have any more details on this? i'm not sure i understand what you mean by 'remote air con control'...do you mean the remote control itself? the generic remote control i have doesn't have the ability to program temperature changes that i want.

is this what you were talking about or something else?

I was thinking of something like this: http://www.amazon.com/WIN100-Heating-Cooling-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B000E7NYY8

But this only works with an AC that starts automatically on being reconnected, which mine doesn't I don't think. Still, I thought there might be something similar available over here.

I have a simple AC unit that can be cut on/off or timed to cut on or timed to cut off, but not both. It doesn't have a proper 'DRY' cycle (not one that heats) or any 'AUTO' function to maintain stable humidity.

Since I'm not in a position to change this AC, I was wondering if there was some kind of inexpensive, external, programmable thermostat available I could wire in to the existing AC. I thought I'd seen something like that in another apartment.

What I'd like to achieve is the ability to program in for the AC to change the temperature around 2 in the morning when the outside temperature falls and the dewpoint and humidity rise. This way I don't freeze in the early part of the evening and won't sweat in the middle of the night.

Has anyone seen something like that?

My Thai isn't wonderful, so as much detail where to find as possible would be great.

I travel back to the U.S. periodically, and always buy medical travel insurance to cover me there (although my Thai medical insurance also includes some cover in the U.S.). The travel medical policy I buy also includes optional collision damage waiver coverage for a rental car, at a bit extra price. For a typical week trip, I think the medical part is about $50 and the car CDW is another $35 or so... total about $85 for one week's trip.

I buy through my regular English-speaking Thai insurance broker in Bangkok, and the coverage is provided by Pacific Cross Insurance/Bon Voyage Travel Insurance. You can purchase coverage for various periods of time, a few days, a week, two weeks, longer up to 6 months maximum.

So it _is_ possible to buy travel insurance to a country I'm already resident in?

If that's the case, then this seems the simplest route. Out of curiosity, do you know what the deductibles are on this kind of plan? Would it have helped pay an ER visit ($1000+) or is it for catastrophic coverage only?

Also, are there residency requirements to purchase health insurance in Thailand? I usually am here on a non-O or sometimes just a tourist visa. Can I get insurance in Thailand then?

This is kind of a moot issue since I suspect I'll be in South Korea from mid-summer. In Korea, I'll have to be employed to be covered by the national health scheme, but my question about travel insurance would still apply. I know there is domestic travel insurance in the US, but it just seemed illogical to me that international travel insurance could be issued for returning to your home country.

Can you help clear up?

So I just got back from visiting home and this year ended up in the ER for some stitches. As I only visit the US every 2 years or so and live the rest of the time in Bangkok or Seoul, I'm not insured. The good news is I qualify for some negotiation of the bill, thanks to my local hospital's indigent care program. But this is not a good way to do things, so I'm wondering if anyone here has any recommendations on how to deal with the problem of health insurance in America when you don't actually live there.

Is it possible to get travel insurance for your home country?

Is it possible to get a temporary insurance plan and then cancel after one month?

Are there other options?

Obviously, it goes without saying that enrolling in full-time coverage for a country I don't live in isn't something I can afford or am interested in. Also, I'm not in Thailand on a working visa so I'm not sure that I would qualify for any of the robust 'international' plans that might (?) cover me in the US. I'm not insured in Thailand either, but from the looks of bills I've gotten over the years from local hospitals, I shouldn't be bankrupted even if I need catastrophic care.

I'm interested in any thoughtful approach here. Those of you living in civilized, socialized-medicine countries, count your blessings!

MY BAD...THERE'S AN INSURANCE FORUM...CAN SOMEONE PLS MOVE THIS THERE? THANKS!

so today not having further problems, but will post here again when (probably not if) it returns. thanks for all the info!

This looks like the router is capable of 8M/1M but is now connected at 5M/640k

What is the speed on your contract? Because with the current SNR values the router should be able to connect at 8M/1M (if the DSLAM offers that speed!)

And do you see any information on the modulation type? E.g. G.DMT / ADSL2 / ADSL2+

I pay for and usually get close to 4m/.5m. I don't know why, but that value has read that way since I signed the contract (though I've never gotten over 4m).

Also, I don't see where to find the modulation type. I did find this in the log and wonder if it helps answer your question:

Nov 17 17:45:17 user crit kernel: ADSL G.994 training

Nov 17 17:45:23 user crit kernel: ADSL G.992 started

Nov 17 17:45:25 user crit kernel: ADSL G.992 channel analysis

Will post again in the am or when I next can get it to drop for me.

This looks like the router is capable of 8M/1M but is now connected at 5M/640k

What is the speed on your contract? Because with the current SNR values the router should be able to connect at 8M/1M (if the DSLAM offers that speed!)

And do you see any information on the modulation type? E.g. G.DMT / ADSL2 / ADSL2+

Incorrect. The router (modem actually) is capable of 24 Mega-bits per second. The current status of the line means that it could support a maximum of 8.608/1.184 Mbps but that it is provisioned for 5.120/0.640 Mbps.

I've had to trouble-shoot a number of lines like this, very challenging. Be patient, and good luck.

And the contract is for 4/.5...on previous contracts the numbers corresponded precisely, but ever since I switched to this contract, I've had a modem reading for 5/.64 even though I'm not supposed to and never do get those speeds. I do generally get close to the speeds I pay for. I don't know why the discrepancy. There was the same discrepancy on the previous modem and over the past 4 months.

Sorry I missed the part about the squirrel and the man, my bad. What was the time-line again? Billion modem failed, new D-Link modem, no problems, squirrel, man, problems? Or Billion modem failed, new D-Link, problems, squirrel, man? If the former then have TOT check the man's handiwork, if the latter then the modem is the issue.

Can you call into your fixed line from your mobile? Can you call out from your fixed line to your mobile? If you call in to your fixed line a second time from your mobile does it ring? (Infrequently ISPs and Telcos (the same in this case) <deleted> up the voice break out and cross-connect adjacent lines causing excessive noise impacting xDSL performance.)

yeah, unfortunately the timeline is a little messed up and hard for me to pin down exactly. clearly the billion failed first. i had a substitute billion on loan from TOT for about 1 1/2 weeks. that worked fine. then one day the phone went out because of the squirrel. this was a friday. a separate TOT repairman came to work on that line (it affected the whole building). sometime over that weekend, i switched out the billion for my new d-link. there would have been a day or 2 when i was using the tot guy's billion after the squirrel incident, but i don't remember how solid the connection was for those few days. after that, i returned the loaned modem and had only my dlink to work with. it seemed to be fine at first, then got temperamental, then good for almost a week, and since then progressively worse.

hence why i wasn't in such a strong position to argue with the tot technician (even though i suspect he's incorrect).

Tajartale, you're on the right way in diagnosing the actual problem: SNR values

I checked some values on an 8M down 1M up ADSL line (G.DMT so the old ADSL v1).

The above graph shows downstream SNR in green and upstream in blue. Length of this line is about 2km untwisted copper.

(the 2 outages you see is a switched off router during lightning in the area).

The steep drops you see are completely consistent with the monsoon rains falling down at those times. However, the internet connection remains stable.

To convince TOT the problem started since they changed the wiring, you should start gathering data from your router. Either write down the SNR values manually over a longer period, or have your computer do it (the software I use is MRTG and it works by sending SNMP requests to the router, asking for SNR values. Don't know if your router supports this).

When you have more information over a longer period of time, you will most likely see a relation between the graph and the weather, and it will correspond with the static you hear on the line.

As for the change in SNR values after resetting the router (or just the adsl interface):

When the interface switches on, it starts to train the line, which means that every frequency block (called bins) is tested by the router and the DSLAM. The connection speed depends on the quality of these blocks. If enough blocks are available for the full 8M/1M connection, the DSLAM and router will negotiate this speed.

When the signal degrades over time, the DSLAM sees a decrease in SNR. If the decrease is larger than the threshold value (usually 3dB), the DSLAM will disconnect and starts training the line again.

As for the Dlink router:

I have tested numerous adsl routers over the last 3 years. The shittiest are the ones that TOT used to provide with their lines.

Turn on the logging in your router and check the messages during the time problems occur. It will probably be an addition to the list of SNR values and show that the router is not the problem.

So start collecting SNR data from your router, either manually or by a script. Multiple values measured over a period of time are very useful, contrary to one-time measurements like a speedtest.

Once you have that information, you can show the TOT employee why he doesn't see a problem at the specific moment he's checking your line. (Don't call it an engineer, as this title implies creativity and logical thinking while using your brain. Those requirements are not in their job description)

Important to keep in mind:

All of the above is only about the connection between your router and the DSLAM, and has nothing to do with internet speeds! But it is the first basic requirement for a stable internet connection.

Thanks for this thorough response. I'm trying to follow best I can! When you say "Turn on the logging in your router and check the messages during the time problems occur. It will probably be an addition to the list of SNR values and show that the router is not the problem..." can you be specific what you mean?

I turned on the log this afternoon and started checking the messages, but most of the info it reports seem to be actions ('PPP session established') and not values...it sounded to me like I was looking for numbers? Maybe I'm looking at the wrong thing. At any rate, the download speed is a little slow, but it hasn't disconnected since before I turned the log on, so there's no event to report.

My current values are like this:

SNR Margin (dB): 17.1 18.0

Attenuation (dB): 41.0 25.0

Output Power (dBm): 19.7 11.9

Attainable Rate (Kbps): 8608 1184

Rate (Kbps): 5120 640

Which seems to me to be pretty much the same as before, despite the fact that the phone is definitely more staticky now at 7pm (shhh... noise) than it was at say, 5.

I'll try to see if I can establish a pattern. Thanks again for your help.

To the OP: Most anything is possible with electronics. To further evaluate the modem side and since modem settings can make a big difference I would recommend you check some important modem "WAN" settings like:

- Mode is set to Routing

- Encapsulation is set to PPPoE

- Multiplex is set to LLC

- VPI set to 1

- VCI set to 32

- ATM QoS set to UBR

- MTU set to 1500

- Connection set to Nailed Up Connection

All the above are correct except I don't see where to set MTU or 'Nailed Up Connection'. The TOT guy ran thru the settings quickly and didn't change anything, if that means anything.

OK, so you had a Billion modem and everything worked fine; you never, ever had any issues. Then you bought a D-Link and have issues? If nothing else changed then the obvious culprit is the D-Link unit, or am I missing some key information?

The noise on the line usually means you have another phone jack in the circuit, so you may need some filters. You are responsible for the line in your building, not TOT.

My first instinct is that you have a problem with your in-house wiring. But you need to take a look at the D-Link's logs to see what is really going on. How often does this happen? What applications are you running?

Having said all that, I am hearing a lot of complaints about these new D-Link units, especially on TOT lines. Typically they lose connectivity to the gateway and the DNS server(s), powering the unit off/on allows reconnection.

I'd try (borrow) another modem, not D-Link. And get someone to test your internal wiring. Maybe see if there is new firmware for the D-Link (I don't think there is.)

Does anyone nearby have TOT? Do they have similar problems?

Looks like there is a lot of newer firmware out there. This box has the vaunted Broadcom chipset.

Since this is the kind of response TOT will likely give me, I will respond here and try to address what was raised in the other two responses.

First of all, I do live in an older building which could be an issue. However, I have not had a serious problem with this until recently. In fact, my connection had, at last, stabilized for several months running up to this recent breakdown. Even with the old modem, I didn't have the best internet connection, back when the plans were only 2mb. Since I upgraded to 4mb, I haven't had much problem at all. I also have always noticed some fuzz on the phone, but recently it's a lot worse.

Of course, it seems suspicious to me that it started when they 'fixed' the line outside. But it probably seems suspicious to the technician that it started when I bought the new modem. So I am trying to be fair and figure out which it is.

Yes, I considered using a different modem...I would like to try a different modem! Any way to do this without having to buy a new one? The TOT guy lent me one for a week before, but last time he was here I was a little miffed and I don't think he'll do that again.

I guess I can just go out and buy one as I say, but I would like it to be one that TOT can't argue against. I did try to purchase one from TOT, but they refused to sell me anything without a new contract. Since I am likely leaving before the end of the next year, I was trying to take care of it myself.

If there's another route, I'm all ears.

Now, as for the other posters, I have more info and more questions.

Currently, I have a reasonable (but not fast) connection. It is stable enough to play radio from LA with only one or two interruptions in the past hour, but hangs a bit on all sites, including when loading thaivisa.com. The stats are as follows:

SNR Margin (dB): 17.3 19.0

Attenuation (dB): 41.0 25.0

Output Power (dBm): 19.7 11.9

Attainable Rate (Kbps): 8704 1192

Rate (Kbps): 5120 640

The low SNR Margin I was getting earlier was corrected after I reset.

My question is, can I be getting this kind of behavior while also having a problem with modem compatibility or are the two mutually exclusive? Does the low SNR Margin prove the problem isn't my modem or does it prove nothing of the kind? It would be great if I could definitely conclude one way or the other.

THanks for all your help~!

I've been having a lot of problems in the past 2 weeks with my TOT 4mb package. My old Billion modem initially stopped working, so I bought a new D-Link from Pantip.

At about the same time I did this, a squirrel somehow shorted the line running into my apartment building and there was a man out on the street, fixing the line (the phone lines were all dead on that day).

Since then, I have intermittent connection with days of full speed and no problems interspersed with lots of dropping during peak hours. In the past two days, I've had virtually no internet access at all. TOT is saying I bought the wrong modem, but I'm not sure since it seems like there are other factors involved.

I have had the technician come several times. Last time he looked at the new modem I bought and said the modem was the problem and left. To his credit, his old Billion modem worked ok for the 5 minutes he was here, so he didn't check anything else. Ten minutes after he left, though, my modem worked ok too, so I wasn't sure. My modem then worked fine for 3 days at normal speed and no problems before this week.

I have noticed my SNR Margin values (down) drop from the usual 17-19 ish to around 6-8 right before I lose connection. Also, I can audibly hear A LOT of static on the phone from time to time. Also, I usually lose my connection at peak hours which would seem to be unrelated to the quality of my modem (or is it?).

I've checked that I'm setup for the correct bandwidth and on good days, I get the same speed I've been getting over the past several months. On bad days I am not getting the full speed (according to speedtest and thaivisa.com). My attenuation numbers are staying constant at around 41 down and 26 up.

I am using a brand new D-Link DSL-526B. D-Link suggested I take it back if I had a problem, but the thing is, on several days in a row, I don't have a consistent problem. So I'm not convinced the hardware on my end is to blame and anyway, replacing the old one with a new one doesn't seem to me to be something that would fix the problem, if there's a compatibility issue.

Can someone please help me sort out from this info whether my modem is, in fact, the issue or if there isn't likely something wrong outside my apartment?

Can someone also give me some suggestions for getting TOT to at least look at their line? The little machine they bring in always detects a normal speed/quality when they are here, so I'm at a loss for words at that point.

There is an office in this apartment that is usually helpful if I can give them specific information, but they aren't tech-savvy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I'm pretty frustrated...thanks!!!!!!

My old Billion modem broke (said the TOT guy, I agreed). So I went out and bought a DLink DSL-526B from Pantip.

I got the settings right and ADSL and Internet working, but since then I've been having a lot of trouble with the connection dropping, then failing to reconnect, websites failing to load, VoIP breaking, etc., that I didn't have before.

I read on this forum that some people had similar problems trying to run DLink modems with TOT. Is there any consensus on this? Or are there any additional settings I could try?

TOT 'service' came by today, tried to connect, it failed, he plugged his Billion modem in, ta-da!, it worked, he said 'bad modem', pointing at my brand new DLink. No less than 5 minutes after I showed him the door, the Internet was up and working again on my supposedly broken new modem.

I also tried DLink service but their only advice was to return the modem for a new one. Since this modem kind of works (when it chooses too), I'm wondering how successful this will be.

Anyway, if someone can please explain what the compatibility issue really is with TOT (if there really is one) or recommend something I can do to fix this situation, I'd really like to give a shot at something other than just buying a new modem from TOT (which I'm thinking I'll probably have to end up doing anyway).

I want to go to Koh Mak next week after the holiday. Anyone there or on Koh Chang can tell me what the weather is doing now? Has the rain stopped? Is it once a day or all day?

Also, can you get there from BKK? I guess most of the flooding is North of BKK, but does it affect the roads going East along the coast?

And if anyone has any special recommendations about accommodation...

Thanks!

I bought a new modem to replace the one TOT had me on (Billion). The new modem is D-Link DSL526B (not wireless). The auto-setup didn't do much, so I checked in the settings and entered the password for my TOT account and changed one setting (VPI:1 and VCI:32) that seemed different from what I had before.

Now I can connect, but I don't have any upload speed (.01 or .02) so something still isn't set right.

Does anyone have this modem or know what the settings should be? I don't really understand any of it. TOT guy has to come back at some point so maybe he can fix it, but since it's not their modem I don't know if they'll do it?

All help greatly appreciated.

They should not be sent back there. That would likely mean death. What is Thailand's policy dealing with North Korean refugees? Are they sending any back?

Hopefully they won't ask them to swim back.

If I remember, there have been some stories of them getting refugee status and South Korea takes them.

That has been the "norm" the last few years....off to Sth Korea

This last is correct. There's an arrangement between governments. The real question here is why this is 'news.' Dozens, if not hundreds, of N. Koreans come across this border every year. Usually, all parties involved--smugglers, Immigration police, Thai and South Korean governments--do their best to keep this under the radar. As long as it doesn't become news, it's allowed. Boo on the Nation for reporting this, better they did their homework and realize they're potentially doing people harm.

So the Billion modem TOT gave me a couple years ago died and I need to replace it. Their latest promotion offers a new modem (they couldn't specify the model, but judging by what the repairman is carrying around with him, I'm guessing another Billion model) for 390 with the 6mb package. I was going to head to the shops this weekend to see how that compares with a new modem retail, but I was wondering if anyone here can help me decide where to spend my money.

I don't know squat about modems except that I want the simplest thing that works reasonably well and I don't want to spend a lot as I'm at this location for only another 9 mos to a year (will work that out with TOT later). I had the current modem wired to a separate wireless modem that drives a voip phone installation from Korea (the wireless works with a phone that looks like a cellphone but only works on wireless connections and the software is hardwired or somehow runs inside...I really don't know how this works but it is the reason why I'm not looking for a new wireless modem).

At any rate, any regular (not-wireless) modem that works ok will do. If the prices aren't too bad, I'll go with TOT...don't know if I can finish their contract, will they chase me down?

Any ideas?

I've checked the "Latest Reports..." section on KL, but it looks like the last reports on Tourist Visas is a bit out of date. So some questions:

1) Is it still free or no? If not, I pay in Ringit? How much?

2) Are they still only issuing a single entry visa?

3) Do I need to show any proof of onward travel, flight tix, hotel reservation, etc?

4) Are there any tips on getting to/from the embassy/airport (I read one report, but I seem to remember a very detailed one previously I can't find now)?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

I'm looking for the cheapest way to travel to the East Coast of the US in the worst season (December/January) and would like to find a travel agent willing to run all the dates and connections to try and find me the best deal. My girlfriend has always booked the flights before, but we tend to run afoul of the Thai work ethic, I think, because after a while, they're less and less interested in talking to us (my girlfriend is Korean and used to exceedingly high levels of this kind of service in her home country).

I guess the booking system in Thailand doesn't allow much flexibility because even when I go with recommendations run by expats, I still get the same very standard, very expensive flight options. This while it costs heaps less for anyone coming this way to get here...why is that?

Anyway, enough whining...does anyone have recommendations for a travel agent that won't mind me asking them to check a dozen dates/airlines in an attempt to find a good rate? Of course, I'm trying to do my part on the internet, but there are limited search options from here, as we know.

All help greatly appreciated...explanations of why things are the way they are welcome also!

ok, thanks for all the replies...will try a different computer or get someone to do this for me. if anyone thinks of a fix, am all ears.