This is both interesting in general and also useful for me planning new features.

Doug, This place still uses rope started servers and tin cans on strings for "Hi-Tech" communication. Tom

Oh Tom,

I just love hearing your responses, it's like you're right next door to me...same type of lifestyle and conditions...LOL.

Yes we have only one choice for internet connection out here in the middle of nowhere and no good prospects in the near future of getting out of the 19th century.

That question does not have a definite answer from me because I should have a 56K connection, but I'm not able to connect at more than 31,200. Thinking about changing ISP's.

Ed

Ed: it might not be your ISP, but the location of your telephone line in relation to the phone exchange. I have recently moved homes, and also have a 56k modem. My old connection speed used to be 26,400, but now its 48,000. (same ISP)

One way to check could be to take your machine to a friends house and see if the speed is better or worse. Just a thought ~Vp~

Vp,

Thanks for the tip. If it is the location, is there a easy fix for that?

Ed

no fix as far as I am aware :( Perhaps you can call your telephone Company and enquire? They might have some ideas.

The alternative I guess would be going with cable or DSL, if its available in your area, and if you want to pay for it :)

regards ~Vp~

Just wanted to throw in a couple of ideas for slow connections.

My previous computer had a lucent win modem with is similar to the conexant from rockwell.

These are software driven modems and I had a terrible time with slow connections and continual disconnects.

After having the phone company test the lines outside and inside the house for excess noise on the lines with their little tester box thing (I'm not a phone repair expert as you can tell), I was advised by the internet rep at the phone company to switch to a hardware driven modem like US Robitics.

Wonder of wonders I did this and no problems since. I have little or no disconnects and my speed is between 45 and 49 bps.

Just a little tidbit of info for anyone who might want it.

I tried replacing my modem and a few other tricks and now have a screaming 19.2 bps. Oh Lord, I am just Streakin down that electronic highway now!!! Tom

Tom, :lol:
Any chance you can complain to the phone company? Sounds like "noisy lines" are really slowing you down. Before I got a cable connection, someone told me that I could complain to the phone company about the lines not being "up to par." Of course, I just laughed at that suggestion, so won't blame you if you laugh at me for passing it on.
Jeanie

The entire phone system up here is best described as dismal. The lines are bad..even for regular telephone conversation..lots of popping and crackling along with unexpected disconnects--thats while talking!! To download or send a 5 mb file can take up to 45 min to an hour, depending on how often you get disconnected. I suspect most of the lines were buried about the time the dinosaurs went extinct and have not received any serious attention since. Just one of the advantages of living in an underpopulated and isolated area. Its annoying but I like the isolation so I can live with the less than rapid speed. Tom

mine told me they were required to provide no more than 9,000 bpm ; kinda took the wind outa my sails for complaining re usual rates between 18 and 26. But I chose this place with my eyes open and obviously not for its technological superiority. :o

Interesting Kathleen. Required by who, might I ask? -Jeanie

the phone guy recited this information with the glazed and defensive look of one who has been challenged too many times and it's not my fault lady there's really nothing i can do about it. i didn't press the issue but i wondered the same thing in retrospect. i figured it meant that was the minimum needed for us to have phone communication with one another.

locally, you used to just have to dial 4 #'s to get a neighbor, 5 for the next town. (15 years ago) most everybody was on a party line, and you could call your own self if you were really bored. now the quality is just as bad as it was then but everything is handled 500 miles away, and you can't easily talk to a human or fuss about your bill locally. we get the bad parts of progress first, i guess. :bawling: :D

I used to think we got the worst of everything (technologically-speaking) here in daarkest aafrica, that everyone in US had those T1 connections, but having read some of the posts here I feel quite cheered up! We're not the only ones in tin can & rope land :)

Although our phone only works for 8 months out of 12 (in a good year), when it does, I can get a maximum speed of 48000bps, average of 36000, and as low as 4800 on a really baad day (e.g. just after a thunder storm). Just depends on the state of the phone lines (wet/dry, suspended on poles/trampled into the mud, in existence/pinched for snare-making, etc. etc.)

Which explains why I don't make regular contributions to these forums these days ...

i have wondered whatever became of you Sam. ;) Grateful for your presence here given the obstacles. :)

Hi Sam, good to hear from you! Sounds like just making a regular 'phone call is an exercise in frustration. Tom

Absolutely! Perhaps the string & tin's not such a bad idea ...

A friends daughter who was on VSO with the Masai in Kenya used to have her mail taken to the local post office by one of the village boys who ran there and back 15 miles each way. Two of the lads friends used to go along for the 'ride' !

After threatening my computers with a rather large hammer, I'm back in business (I think). I'm now connecting at close to 50,000 with a 56K modem. (Keeping fingers crossed). :)

Ed

Originally posted by Ed_L
After threatening my computers with a rather large hammer, I'm back in business (I think). I'm now connecting at close to 50,000 with a 56K modem. (Keeping fingers crossed). :)

Ed

LOL! Nothing like the threat of violence to get your computer back in shape! :D

For anyone with a modem with poor connection speed, call your local telco and ask them to send a tech out and have him/her "Class A" your line. That means that they will make it as good as it can get to your house. There should be no charge for this.

HTH

Paul R. :wavey:

I thought when I made the jump from a 28.8 modem to 56k that I was in paradise! I have now been the proud user of a standard DSL connection for more than a year and I can safely say that I would need Prozac and Xanax both if I were to ever have to go back to a dial-up connection.

The really nice thing is that this tiny, discrete building that is across the block from me is actually the central switching station for my phone service. This means that I have no cap on my DSL and it screams right along at top speed. Not once in the past year have I ever had a problem with my connection (and I know this is not the case for everyone)!

Originally posted by ItzRandy
The really nice thing is that this tiny, discrete building that is across the block from me is actually the central switching station for my phone service.

Some people have all the luck! :D

I use a 56k modem. switching to DSL as soon as I have money:)

- David

We switched to DSL and I am just thrilled with how fast it is.

Here's a neat site where you can test your internet speed. It looks like you have to log in but you don't.
Just click on Speed Test then click on Start This Test There's 2 of them so choose the start test that matches your connection. Then click on View Results It may take a while but it gives you your speed and other info.

Here it is (http://www.bandwidthspeedtest.com)
DJ

Thanks for that DJ. Here's my result ... the verdict was:

"compared to all connection types worldwide yours is poor"

(that includes other connections in Africa! oh dear!)

Don't feel too bad, Sam. My brother lives just south of Dallas and his rates the same way!

It's really only a measure of your speed at that time. You may be faster at times or slower. At anyrate, it can get depressing seeing that comment. :) But hey, you're online at least.
DJ

Don't feel bad Sam, at 2100 (GMT+2) I also got poor on my 56kb link!

Okay, thanks - I feel better now. :)

Actually, as DJ says, it's a miracle I'm even online!

Hi Sam,
This might make you feel even better. I'm in Canada in the middle of a reasonably big city (Edmonton) and when I tried the bandwidth test I got poor too!!
the results looked like this:

Dial-up Internet speeds in Canada

average: ************************

your speed: ****

56k modem: *************

ouch. and I'm not even in the middle of nowhere:D

- David :)

Interesting, David. Do you suppose this crowd has got an ulterior motive?

Lol, I wouldn't be too suprised. everybody seems to be getting the same message :D

- David

Yesterday morning, I tried it from the university. I'm not sure what kind of link they have to the outside world, but it's pretty fat, so I said ISDN. Gave me >300kb/s, yet it said the speed was average!!!

So I think Sam and Dave are right in thinking there's a plot somewhere :lol:.

After that there is no way I'm going to even tell you what my test said. :D Looks like I may have started something here. OOPS :)
DJ

well I just got my ADSL hooked up and i love it! it took me a while to actually get it because it costed so much more than dial up but im very glad that i switched, it's definitely worth the price. when i was using 56k my top download speeds were about 4-5 kbps but with the DSL i'm getting over 150 k per second. I just downloaded a 200 MB file in about 25 minutes, its great!

- David :)

1mb at the moment but upgrading to 2mb in September - you can never have too much bandwidth.

I have a 56k modem but rarely get connected faster than 34400. I blame it on the phone lines. I live 14 miles from the White House. You'd think the service would be better.:depressed

JB

Have you had the phone company test your lines...(I once worked for AT&T). There are things they can do to 'boost' your line but you will have to be persistent to get them to do it.

Sharon

It surprises me that so many of our 'cousins from across the pond' only have dialup access, I thought most of you had cable access and broadband connections. I would venture to say that all my friends and colleagues have minimum of 512, with many on more. Britian is fast becoming a broadband nation:)

I've been surprised too, I thought i was one of few to still be using dial up, but i was proved wrong. I think a lot of people are just waiting for the prices to come down some more. I think the price is worth it though, you may have to pay twice or 3 times more then you do for 56k, but the speed of it is many times as fast.

- David :)

In the Dallas Tx area DSL runs about $50 per month. My 56K dialup is $8 per month. I usually hook up around 50K so it's not too bad. I'm waiting for the prices to come down.

Gary

$50 american? ouch.. over here in canada it costs me $25 cdn a month for the first 6 months then $35cdn (about $25 US) a month after that. for my dial up it cost $100 cdn a year and i hooked up at about 45k usually.

- David :)

Yes David, our cable bill is $48/month! That gives us 1.5 Mbits/sec maximum download speed. We just got e-mail from AT&T informing us that they are now offering "UltraLink" service which gives a max download speed of 3 Mbits/sec for just $80/month! (DSL is not available where I live.) Wow - $25/month for DSL sounds great! AT&T definitely has a monopoly in this area. :(

Jeanie

is AT&T the only provider you can get DSL from? here there's a lot of different companies offering ADSL.

- David :)

It's different in different parts of the country. Where I am (Colorado), Qwest offers DSL service, but it's not available in my neighborhood (I'm outside city limits). So my only choice is cable - and the only cable provider is AT&T. If I want a fast connection, AT&T is my only choice. :( But, I guess I should be thankful I have that choice at all given that I live in an "unincorporated county area".

Jeanie

829.6 kilobits per second
Is what I just got from this test. I'm pretty happy with that.
DSL line here in Montreal provided by local phone company.

Same price as David.. $35 cdn/month

I've had this line for 4 years now and can't even imagine living without it. Often thought of moving to live in a more rural area but the prospect of losing my DSL line is a serious deterrent. ;)

I wont go into the whys and wherefores (in part because I dont know many) but if you have an analogue connection, if you phone the engineers (I speak only with UK experience) and ask for the "gain" to be increased on your line, dont worry if you sound mad, they will know what you mean:)

Its been so long that I forget the details or the terminology, but also make sure that your phoneline is not split or shared.

I tried the test again and i got 731 kb per second the first time 1 mb per second on my second try.

- David :)

Originally posted by Chris W.
Oh Tom,

I just love hearing your responses, it's like you're right next door to me...same type of lifestyle and conditions...LOL.

Yes we have only one choice for internet connection out here in the middle of nowhere and no good prospects in the near future of getting out of the 19th century.


There is the option of satellite for you, it's fast, but it isn't cheap.

Steve

Barb wire fences double as phone lines and when the cows rub on them we get interesting responses. We've come a long way here from party lines and being disconnected after 3 min. on a phone call to having about a 48Kbps connection that frequently cuts out. The Guadalupe Valley Tel Coop here in Central Texas sloowly makes improvements and brings us the latest technology about a decade late.
So I voted in the 28kbps group.

Reading some of these posts has made me feel a lot better about 'telstra' here in Australia. I live in the country just outside Brisbane, and the best I can get is about 32.4 kbs, its an old line and not likely to be upgraded for a while, but when logged on its continuous until my time is up, 4 hours.

The entire phone system up here is best described as dismal. The lines are bad.. Its annoying but I like the isolation so I can live with the less than rapid speed. Tom

If you have the money, look into Directv's satilite internet service called DirectPc

I've come a long, long way. Started with a 300 baud coupler modem back in 1983. Went through all the incantations of dialup up to 56kb. In 2002 I was able to get DSL (512 down/128 up). I have recently resubscribed to DSL at 3mp down/512 up.

Life is good

hahaha oh dear.

Thanks for the link (I know this is an old thread), I tested my *supposed* 1.5mb speed. Guess what I got - 168kb. Charming. And I pay for this because....?? Its slower than the slowest ADSL offered here of 256kb - being phased out to 512mb minimum adsl.

The adsl2 is only new here (the 8mb speeds) and very limited in where it'll work.

Guess who will be having a friendly chat with their ISP this evening!