Subj : Re: dialup problems To : All From : james@nospam.com Date : Thu Jan 31 2019 19:16:25 Path: eternal-september.org!reader02.eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.o rg!aioe.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: james@nospam.com Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general Subject: Re: dialup problems Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 21:23:35 -0600 Organization: Aioe.org NNTP Server Lines: 178 Message-ID: References: <9gka0d55a85fgg6d62v76qacjftdvtei72@4ax.com> <4guk0dlh6o7unn70mmc9obbvc024msfri3@4ax.com> <1fio0d9pouhfijehel9a2ludovp9p1a6n5@4ax.com> <1q2p0d5oflvfpdld8gdg8qcaoms09v1jgi@4ax.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: TKghX/mglWkVW1qxlGBsyg.user.gioia.aioe.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Complaints-To: abuse@aioe.org X-Notice: Filtered by postfilter v. 0.8.2 X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 2.0/32.652 Xref: feeder.eternal-september.org microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:134568 On Wed, 15 Nov 2017 18:56:48 -0500, Paul wrote: >james@nospam.com wrote: >> On Wed, 15 Nov 2017 15:20:27 +0000, "J. P. Gilliver (John)" >> wrote: >> >>> In message <1fio0d9pouhfijehel9a2ludovp9p1a6n5@4ax.com>, >>> james@nospam.com writes: >>> [] >>>> I do wonder if getting a different brand of modem would help though. I >>> It might ... >>> [] >>>> I think a lot of the problems is my ISP. They have pretty much abandoned >>>> the dialup, but they know that some of us rural people cant connect any >>>> other way. so they keep a few modems running for those of us who have a >>> ... as long as the "spiral of death" isn't caused by the other end. >>> >>> (I still can't understand why you don't get it with Windows 98, but I >>> sympathise that you're fed up of trying things!) >>> >>>> landline from them. Where I live, I must have a landline because my >>>> cellphone dont get a signal. >>>> >>> Would it be possible to erect some sort of aerial - do cellular signals >>> reach your location but too far above ground level? Or are you so remote >>> that you are not in a coverage area at all? I appreciate it'd be >>> awkward, since modern 'phones don't have an aerial socket, and it'd have >>> to be bidirectional, which makes boosters difficult (though can be >>> done), but if there is a signal, two passive but high-gain (i. e. >>> directional) aerials connected together, in your loft or on a pole, >>> _might_ make life a bit more bearable. >> >> Thanks for starting a new thread. I was considering doing the same. >> >> I have never understood why Win98 works and not any NT based OS. I still >> have Win2000 installed on the same computer as Win98. All I use it for >> is to do backups, because Win98 cant handle those external hard drives >> on USB. I love Win98, but USB support has always been lousy. By (dual) >> booting to Win2000, I can copy everything from my HDD to my backup, >> including the Win98 OS files. I would have XP instead in that partition, >> but this computer is not quite up to Xp level for power and such. >> >> No, I dont get a usable cellphone signal. I live down a hill, cellphone >> signals are poor to start with, and being downhill from the nearby town, >> I dont get much. Sometimes I get one bar, but have to go outside (metal >> covered house). But I know I will lose the signal at any time during the >> call. Other times I dont get any signal. Most of the time I drive up the >> hill to make calls. Thats why I keep my landline. In bad weather or an >> emergency, I rely on that landline. I do not have long distance on that >> landline, but I can call all local emergency numbers as well as persons >> or busineesses in the immediate area. I dont make many long dist. calls, >> but when I do, I do have to go up that hill and use the cellphone. >> >> I do think the dialup problem is on the other end (ISP), but that still >> dont explain why Win98 works and not any NT based OSs. >> >> Being rural has it's disadvantages, but I'll accept the technology >> disadvantages before I'd ever live in a city. The firsdt part of my life >> was in a city, and I hated it. >> >> I know they sell signal boosters for cellphones. I am sure that having >> an antenna on the roof and a booster could solve the metal house >> limitations, but I'd still be boosting a very weak signal. >> >> The only way to get high speed internet here is a satellite, and that's >> very costly around here. They sell the whole package, TV, Internet, and >> other stuff, at a cost of well over $100 per month. I cant afford it, >> and I do not want the tv part. I have a 40ft tv antenna, and I get >> enough tv stations to suit me. I mostly just watch ME-TV anyhow. I'm >> elderly and like the old shows. Modern tv is crap in my opinion. > >There are multiple kinds of dialup modems. > >They all have to (somehow) do the following. > > RJ-11 --- DAA ------------------ ADC ------------------ DSP ---- (PPP) > Data Access convert beeps convert samples > Arrangement into digital samples in the frequency > Separate phone high at 8KHz rate. Just domain, to 0/1 in > voltage from PC low like a sound chip. time domain. The > voltages. Dumb cct, frequencies separate > "like a piece of iron". into bins or buckets > (just like ADSL!). > >On your USR Sportster, there is a chip called a Datapump >inside the modem. It does DSP at 80-90MHz or so. It's >a processor doing the DSP function. The USR Sportster >should be relatively consistent from one OS to another. >That's why we buy them, consistent performance without >need of ugly drivers. The modem works at the "AT command" >level. The spiral of death, is solely a function of the >firmware behavior of the DSP. Modems like this, when flashed >up to V92, basically run a different firmware that >includes the DSP function for V92 protocol. The firmware >file should be a little larger, as the firmware has to >be able to drop back from V92->V90->V34 and so on. > >On a "Winmodem" or softmodem, the card you buy is really >cheap, because it contains a DAA plus an ADC. The DSP portion >is done by the system processor. This means you're on the hook >for a driver which does DSP. A well-written DSP algo, can >actually do 1% better transfer rates than the Sportster >(I tested this, and couldn't believe my eyes, and >had to repeat the A/B testing several times to be sure). >The driver, makes *all* the difference. No driver, no workie. > >So the Winmodem has the DAA (transformer) plus an analog >to digital converter. Well, how could we make that even >cheaper ? > >On my laptop, the softmodem function is done with a >sound chip. That means the laptop still needs a DAA, >but the ADC (analog to digital converter) function is >done with a sound chip. The driver situation on the >laptop is no different than the one in the previous >paragraph. No matter what OS, a driver with DSP code >in it is needed to convert the laptop sound chip output, >into ones and zeros for the PPP protocol the OS terminates. > >While I used to believe the Sportster was superior >in every way, and I was always shopping for datapump >modems, the reality is, if you're lucky, and the >other kind comes with a "good driver", it can work >just as well. And that's really the trick. Do the >customer reviews indicate a driver is available >for the OS in question ? What do the customers >think of the driver ? Is it crap ? Even the Sportster >can have its issues, but I discovered the "generic" >dialup string is frequently enough to make the >Sportster work OK. Just because WinXP "can't find" >an entry for the most modern Sportster, you can >actually make it work with the "generic" modem >detection. > > Paul My Sportsters (I have two of them) are both V92. External Serial cable types. I had another one that was V90, and I did not notice any difference beween the V90 and V92. But that V90 one died. I'm looking on ebay at a NEW Supra Express 56K ITU standard. Also an external serial modem. The box says "Shotgun ready for speeds up to 112K Voicemail, Internet and Fax 56K ITU standard V90 and K56Flex.". I dont know what ITU means.... It is V90, but what is K56Flex? Is that better than just V90? And what about that "Shotgun Ready"? I know there are some people online who I'd like to shoot, but I'm not into murdering anyone online by pulling the trigger on my modem. Seriously what does the shotgun ready mean? Like I said, I am considering buying another brand of modem. I hear that Supra is one of the better brands. BUt if it's just anoither V90, isnt that gonna work the same as my Sportster? I noted that these Supra ones sell for a lot more than the USR sportster modems sell for on Ebay. The cheapest one I found is $30 (but its NEW and still in the box). Most of the Sportsters sell for $15 to $20, but most are USED. Whats a real joke is that there are sellers trying to sell 1200 baud Supra modems for $90. Who in their right mind would even want a 1200 baud modem, much less pay that much for one? There are a lot of Supra modems selling that are USB type, but I cant use them on my Win98 machine, so I wont buy a USB type. --- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.1 * Origin: Prison Board BBS Mesquite Tx //telnet.RDFIG.NET www. (1:124/5013) .