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baslinux - Re: [BL] slow upload speed, was Re: multiple systems (among other things) -- was Re: interesting info for those with trident cards (possibly applies to others)

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  • From: sindi keesan <keesan AT sdf.lonestar.org>
  • To: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [BL] slow upload speed, was Re: multiple systems (among other things) -- was Re: interesting info for those with trident cards (possibly applies to others)
  • Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2005 16:54:10 +0000 (UTC)


S15=128 seems to keep the Sportster from attempting to use X2, so it
negotiates and connects faster. The non-Sportster boings for a lot
longer.

the 'boing boing' is the modem testing the analog frequency response
of the phone line... the modem on the other end will answer with a
simple beep when testing is successfull (if testing is not successful
you will not get 56k)

So why is the internal (slight newer) modem with the slightly older flash
taking longer to connect?

multiple causes for this one;

the modem is just trying to be more thourough in its check

bad programming causing problems during the check

corrosion on the pins in the jack causing noise or signal loss (make
sure they are shiny)

You mean the phone jack? I can plug it in and out a few times.


since its internal may be getting interference from a nearby card
especially if it uses a transformer for phone line isolation (scsi is
a bit noisy) or the PSU might be noisy (checked the modem in multiple
systems?) note: this one is rare but not unheard of...

I have ISA SCSI card in that computer and this is an ISA modem. (Are there any pci hardware modems?). I try to put the modems as far as possible from the power supplies.

if it uses relays to 'pick up the phone' rather than solid state
components the contacts may be corroded... (this one is something best
left alone).. rare as well but still not unheard of...


S32=34 stops the Sportster from trying to connect with SX2 but has no
effect on the other USR.
It does not stop the Sportster, I was wrong.

x2 and flex should be disabled entirely.... they are obsolete unstable
and unused by ISPs....
I thought S15=128 was supposed to disable X2 but maybe only for the
Sportster, which is why it connects with less boings.

Ijust had a 20 sec timeout again.

check your manual for an option for 'quick retrains' and make sure its
turned on (if available)

I will look online for this. Just found a Supraexpress manual 28.8
AT+MS=? lists supported options
%CI MNP 5 enabled
%C2 V.42bis enabled
%C3 V.42bis and MNP 5 enabled (Default).

They recommend turning OFF compression when transferred already-compressed files such as ZIP, because it may actually go faster. I will try it.

%E Do not request a retrain (default)
%E1 Monitor line quality and automatically request a retrain if line conditions are bad.

&K commands - flow control

Gateway Telepath 28.8 - supports full Hayes AT command set
Data compression: V.42bis and MNP5 bps to 115,200 bps throughout. Modem also operates without data compression (maybe this would work better for jpegs?)
ATI 0-7
No %-type commands like the Supra.
&K0 - Data compression disabled
&K1 Auto enable/disable (default)
&K2 - Data compression enabled
&K3 - MNP5 compression disabled

Obviously different modems use different commands. I have a few USR manuals around some place and will experiment.


This must be why we are finding used 56K v90 for $1 (one of the three
actually worked at about 56K). With people now switching to DSL, maybe a
non-winmodem V92 will show upused.

er... i woudnt count on that... the ppl buying hardware v92s are those
who are -stuck- with dialup...

But people around here have a choice and many still use dialup.


also many newish hardware v90s are flashable to v92 (USR has linux
flashers... might want to look into this one)

Mine are 1997 and I already flashed them all.


The 0459 came in that case, I meant that the case was dated 1995 because
they were first made then and used with 14.4K modems.
I may have read this wrong, upside down with a flashlight. We have
another similar one that came as V90 not X2.

check for V92 updates on the one that came as V90... if that was its
original configuration...

I think that is the one that got knocked out by lightning.


those 20sec freezeups are speedchange retrains.... if you use M2 you
will hear a full retrain during those pauses...

14.4k is technically the most stable speed a POTS line can handle....
anything faster is pushing the laws of physics...

If I dialed in at a slower speed would it freeze up less often? For
writing and reading email the speed is less important than a lack of
freezeups. I get freezeups even with a 33.6K modem, should I try 28.8K?

28.8 would freeze too (26.4 is a more common speed than 28.8... phone
lines simply werent ment for data... and i have the unfortunate
situation of only being able to reach 24.0 with analog (28.8 & 33.6)
connections/modems...

A friend who thought his phone lines only supported 28K discovered he could get 40K with a USB modem (after the onboard one died).

3.3K. With a 33.6K modem. 3.1K with 56K - but variable. Would a 33.6K
speed actually upload faster overall, because of fewer freezeups?

yep... if you do more uploading and general traffic than just surfing
the web a 33.6K might be better than a 56K...

I could try doing email online at a slower speed.
If I told it not to retrain what might happen?

Should I set connect speed to not 115200 but 57600 for 56K 1998 modems?

if the modem supports 115200 use it... if not use the next highest
speed... even the modem makers say this...


I will check our 14.4K ATT (if I did not already recycle it).
Does anyone but Rockwell and USR make 56K internal hardware modems?

i didnt even know rockwell was still making hardware internals... only
hardwares i can find are externals... (zoom and usr) PCI hardware
modems arent... compatible enough for my tastes...
ISA cards and ISA mobos are specialty items in todays market (if we
are talking new hardware anyway)

Mine are not new. I have a Hayes external that used to be 56K.

We had one external 56K Sportster that produced garbage at 152000, worked

bad programming...cant remember what the bug was in (i think there was
an Sregister that had to be changed) but look for an update... (altho
you did say 'had' so i guess you dont have it anymore)
I have not kept good track of the modems.



at 57600. Maybe broken somehow. They keep working despite problems (such
as taking the phone offhook as soon as you turnthem on,

if they dont take the phone off-hook while turned off but still
plugged in check for Sregister settings that may have been changed to
cause this.....

Thanks - I will look for a way to set defaults. But it is probably damaged by lightning (before we got it).


only running at
slow speeds,

corrosion, noise, bad programming... incorrect Sregister settings...
After a lightning storm.

needing to be told to go offhook before you dial....)

that one is definitly software related....


Lightning damage?

possible on the one that stays off-hook and the slow one but modems
usually have lightning protection... if the strike actually makes it
through its usually the end (cant pick up the phone at all or
completely dead) ... i have a USR 5686D flashed to V92 that was struck
by lightning... ATH1 (go off hook) ATX3DT (blind dial) both cause a
click noise and "ERROR" .... it never dials out or can even pick up
the phone.... AT&T1 (internal analog loopback test) works tho.... so i
have a 90$ paperweight that responds to AT commands and nothing
else..... ugh... (i can even do flash upgrades on it... not that it
does me any good)

We once fixed a 1200 bps modem by replacing diodes. The company sent them to us free. That was back when they cost $150 used.


a friend once asked (quite some time ago) if it would be possible to
use a modem as an ad-hoc soundcard (play music through its speaker)...
i told him i would need some sort of low-level access to the
DSP/datapump to do that.... guess i have a candidate for
experementation... (USR modems -are- rather extensivly documented)

The speakers are even smaller than the PC speaker, why bother?



Thanks for all the helpful info. Where did you learn so much about
modems?

"hacker" mentality stuck on dialup since 1997?.... (i read in the
jargon file that those with a hacker mentality tend to absorb and
retain massive amounts of "useless" data)

mainly i just like taking things apart to see how they work and if
they can be improved in any way or made to do things 'they arent
supposed to do'.... and watching clocks slowly count backwards all the
time has lead me to learn everything i can about modems and phone
lines.... and ways to try to speed those clocks up.... (and as a
side-effect... learning a few other things related to modems/phone
lines.... ever called anyone by using the hook switch to dial their
number? ;) )

No, how?

Sindi
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