56k Modem Recommendation,please

[joka]

i have been doing a little research on modems, due to the fact that i can't connect over 36k, and this is with a brand new line in a new "village".

i currently have a cheap lan card with built in modem, so i think this is the problem.

so the choices seem to be either a hardware driven modem, or software driven. and it seems the only way i can get a hardware driven modem is to buy an external.

so, any recommendations?

[rss]

You might not need a new modem. It might be the "new line" to the "village". I would suggest you take your PC or laptop to town and try to see if you can connect at a higher speed first. If that works, it will save you the expense of a new modem which are all pretty much the same anyway.

You might also try to have someone bring their PC or laptop to your place to see if they have the same problem.

The only other variable is your ISP. Try to connect to other ISP's at home and in town to see if it makes any difference.

And to make matters even more interesting, some ISP's if not all will limit the speed for their cheaper plans. KSC for example will let you connect at a higher speed if you are using their 599 Baht card than they will if you use their 99 Baht card.

If I were you, I wouldn't buy a new modem until I knew for sure that it will make a difference.

[joka]

the "village" is actually what we would call a subdivision, in the US. but my girlfriend calls it a village. it is in Pathum Thani. so that might be part of it too, being on the outskirts of Bangkok, but using Bangkok servers. That would negate the usefulness of toting my desktop into the city, besides for the fact i know nobody there.

i am actually using ji-net right now. it is tot line specific, ta cannot connect. i have tried most all brands of internet, and connect at 36k to all of them. i have found out that it makes a difference if you have a tot line or true line at to which isp you want to use. i have a tot line, and was using true isp, and kept getting cut off. with ji-net i can let it run 24 hrs a day. although download speeds can fall to a steady 2.9k. (gotta have some music and books!)

so thats my story....

[rss]

i have a tot line, and was using true isp, and kept getting cut off. with ji-net i can let it run 24 hrs a day. although download speeds can fall to a steady 2.9k.

That makes me even more convinced that it's a problm with you phone line and not your modem. Different ISPs (or their modems) react differently to signal degradation - some will lower the speed while others will drop the connection altogether. If I am right, you probably connect at 40-45 kbps at the beginning and all of a sudden there is no traffic up or down for a few seconds (5-10) and then, when it resumes, the speed is lower than it was before. If that's the case, it's most probably a problem with the phone line.

Try to use a shorter phone line to connect your laptop to the phone jack. If you can't, try to put the line as far away as possible from any elctrical appliances (Don't thread the line behind the TV, for example. That's a joke). If these steps improve your connection a bit, you can try to find a shielded phone line for even better result. If none of these work, the problem could be outside your place.

[Gleen_tea]

I'm using Ji-Net 1222 with my TOT line as well. I usually can connect at about 48-50 kbps (it can vary a little bit from time to time) and mostly I can download mp3 from Kazaa at 4-6 KBps. I tried E-go and Pacific, for 1222 unlimited connection, and I think both of them are slower than Ji-Net. I'm on Sathorn road.

[Khutan]

See if you can borrow LT Winmodem, Thats from Lucent, it has not much firmware, its all control is via software, so you can download different functions and update the modem.

[Mr_Happy]

Are you conncting through a switch? Some do not support 56K connection. 36K using different modulation than 40-56K connection.

[joka]

would the switch be the big junction box at the entrance to the "village". i see tot guys out there near every other day, i wonder if there are other people complaining,

[Crushdepth]

Just a thought - have you checked the baud rate your modem is set on ? They can be configured to run at different speeds. Perhaps yours is currently set to run at 36KB, if so maybe you can adjust it upwards ? (network connections/properties).

If its your phone line you can generally tell as it will sound crackly and horrible when you try and call someone, and the speed reported when you connect will probably be variable. And your modem will probably make the horrible screaching noises several times before connecting, if your line is really bad. And drop out. Or in my case, just stop !

[rss]

Crushdepth's suggestion to check your modem configuration is spot on. It just might be that simple.

But if you're configured to connect at a higher speed than 36kbps, then there is a way you can test for line errors. I just came across this page and it looks like it might help you do just that.

hth

[joka]

thanks for the replies

i have checked all the settings and done all the tweaks, etc. cablenut, dr.tcp.

i have a steady connection, it doesn't drop now that i am not using true dial-up. i was told a tot line on true will be prone to drops, a neighbor had the same problem. i haven't talked to them about their normal connection speed, but i will soon.

my connect speed is nearly always 36k, and i consistently download at 35k, except during "rush hour". their is no noise in the phone line.

so this leads me to believe "mr Happy" 's idea that their is a switch inline that is limiting my connection.

"mr happy", how do you get them to change a switch, or possibly a few switches? it must be in the junction box. i have waited a year to get this far, and i was hoping to have adsl, oh, well!