Modem Question

[Brian Kelsay]

Rodney Clowdus wrote:

>Hello Folks
>	It's been about a year since our family moved to Ravenwood which
>is not far from Maryville.  I miss going to the kclug meetings in Kansas
>City.   Subscribing to the kclug mailing list is the next best thing.
>	
>
So, you're not even in the 'burbs anymore, you're in the sticks!!  :-)

>Ok now for the modem question.  When I lived in Raytown the
>telephone lines were limited to 28k modem speed.  I purchased a 33.6
>us robotics modem.  Now that I've moved out here in the rural, lucky for
>me the dialup connection is only two blocks from my home.
>  
>
How do you mean, it's only 2 blocks away?  You mean the local switching 
station?

>	I'm thinking about forking out about sixty dollars for a 56k
>modem, but before I do I would like to ask around to make sure that I'm
>not wasting money.  Currently I consistently download software files from
>ftp sites at around 2655 and 2896 b/s.   I was wondering what I could
>expect from a 56k modem versus a 33.6k modem in realistic download speed.
>	I would like to go DSL but I cannot afford the fifty dollars a
>month fee. If the speed gain is only marginal I'll just stay with the 33.6
>k modem.  Thanks in advance for any input.
>Rodney
>
You might have wanted to ask here first if anyone has a modem they want 
to get rid of used, cheap.  Especially if they recently went from dial 
up to DSL or cable.  I don't have any 56K modems, but I can tell you 
that you will get up to 53kbps on a phone line.  That's the max!!  
That's why you haven't seen modems double in speed to 112kbps or 
something.   The only thing you can do faster with modem links is to 
have multiple modems, such as one send and one receive.  They call this 
a shotgun.  

If, and it's a big if, your phone lines from the house to the poll and 
from there to the CO or switch station are good and the inside the house 
wiring can have an effect too, then you can get up to 53kbps.  I had 
crappy wire in my old house and could never get above 28kbps.  I 
replaced a couple wires in the house w/ Cat5 and I could get 33.6kbps 
most times and a few times up to 48kbps.  If it was windy, it could go 
back to 28kbps, real windy.  That told me that the wire to the poll was 
not too great.   I was going to complain to the phone co. because the 
wire went over the peak of my roof and touched.   But we moved and the 
speed was faster here and then we got cable internet.

Long story, but you get the jist.  My brother had the same problem w/ 
house to pole connection, but the phone co. FINALLY replaced it and 
surprise, he has double the speed.   The phone co. only has to guarantee 
about 28.8k though, so it takes a lot of complaining to get them to come 
out.

Brian
---------------------------
Somewhere there is a village missing an idiot.