USB modem not getting 56K

[RogBaker]

I just finished putting together my new system with a Gigabyte GA-K8U
motherboard and windows XP home. My modem is a Zoom 3090 mini USB
modem. I have tried to force it down to V90 using various methods
S7=150+MS=V90
AT+MS=V90
AT+MS=V90,0
AT+MS=V90,1
ATW2+MS=V90S7=150S10=100+MS=V90
AT&F+MS=V90S7=150
AT&F+MS=V90\N3
AT&F+MS=V90,0
AT&F&C1&D2\N5\A2-V90=1S7=100 )

I can only get it to work if I force it to V34 by using: at+ms=v34,1
which is way too slow.

I had it working a week earlier with an ASUS motherboard and a fresh XP
install. I also have two of these modems, so I doubt both could have
suddenly broken.

I have not yet attempted to flash my BIOS to the new version, F6, which
I understand only adds new CPU recognition.

Currently, the modem is on COM3. I am using the original modem driver,
but even the new one still did not work.

Any ideas? How do I determine if there is an IRQ conflict? Do I need to
disable anything in the BIOS? Update anything on my motherboard.
Basically, it sounds like it's connecting, but then at the very end, I
hear a continuous noise.

 

[digisol]

It's a combimation of your ISP, telephone wiring and modem that give
you the speed, with dial up that could be anything from 45 - 52 o
perhaps a bit more, the most I have seen on Dial up is 52-3 kbps

Honestly with the current broadband deals going now dial up is
dinosaur and broadband or cable that's even faster is the go, it's s
much faster that once tried you will never go back, I have a relli
using cable and the speed he gets is mind blowing, and mine is no
slow, basic broadband with say a deal of 512 up and 1gig down is th
norm on a unlimited plan

I see Telstra Australia has a half price deal going at the moment, bu
any will do the job over any dial up at 25 times faster or much more
waiting up to 1/2 an hour for what broadband gives in one minut
can't be beaten

 

[Conor]

I just finished putting together my new system with a Gigabyte GA-K8U
motherboard and windows XP home. My modem is a Zoom 3090 mini USB
modem. I have tried to force it down to V90 using various methods
S7=150+MS=V90
AT+MS=V90
AT+MS=V90,0
AT+MS=V90,1
ATW2+MS=V90S7=150S10=100+MS=V90
AT&F+MS=V90S7=150
AT&F+MS=V90\N3
AT&F+MS=V90,0
AT&F&C1&D2\N5\A2-V90=1S7=100 )

I can only get it to work if I force it to V34 by using: at+ms=v34,1
which is way too slow.

Any ideas? How do I determine if there is an IRQ conflict? Do I need to
disable anything in the BIOS? Update anything on my motherboard.
Basically, it sounds like it's connecting, but then at the very end, I
hear a continuous noise.

Sounds like you have a bad phone line.

 

[RogBaker]

No, phone line is good. I got speeds of 48 or 49 everytime for years,
even right before I put in the new motherboard. For some reason 33kbs
seems like its only half or a third of the speed. I may have even still
have the filter on the line from when I temporarily tried DSL. I
cancelled that because it was way more expensive then they advertise.
For the low $29 price, you had to sign up for a deluxe phone package.
Because your phone rate is now $29 + ($20 or $30) for phone services,
my taxes went up by around $15 or more I think. I was used to paying
$15 for dialup and $25 for phone, with DSL, my first bill was $180
(however there was a $50 rebate if you saw it on the fineprint on their
website). Talk about sticker shock.

 

[Michael Hawes]

No, phone line is good. I got speeds of 48 or 49 everytime for years,
even right before I put in the new motherboard. For some reason 33kbs
seems like its only half or a third of the speed. I may have even still
have the filter on the line from when I temporarily tried DSL. I
cancelled that because it was way more expensive then they advertise.
For the low $29 price, you had to sign up for a deluxe phone package.
Because your phone rate is now $29 + ($20 or $30) for phone services,
my taxes went up by around $15 or more I think. I was used to paying
$15 for dialup and $25 for phone, with DSL, my first bill was $180
(however there was a $50 rebate if you saw it on the fineprint on their
website). Talk about sticker shock.

Where is the previous modem? Can you use it to test this system? Still
sounds like a bad line! Your 'phon e company might have fitted a DACS unit
to split the line, which will give this problem. Ask them.
Mike.

 

[RogBaker]

The previous modem is next to the current modem. I have tried both,
they are the same model. It worked okay on my ASUS mb the day previous.
I supposed the phone company could have done something to the line the
following day, but that seems unlikely. Or, are they thinking that if
they slow down my dialup, then call me the next day to sell me high
speed DSL, then I will probably go for it?

 

[Ed Medlin]

The previous modem is next to the current modem. I have tried both,
they are the same model. It worked okay on my ASUS mb the day previous.
I supposed the phone company could have done something to the line the
following day, but that seems unlikely. Or, are they thinking that if
they slow down my dialup, then call me the next day to sell me high
speed DSL, then I will probably go for it?

DSL is getting to be a lot like long distance companies. There is a lot of
competition out there in some areas. We had no broadband at all available
here two years ago. Now we have 5 or 6 different choices. Still no cable
though. I use SBC myself because they have given me very good and reliable
service. Your prices seem very high unless you had to pay for your modem,
but SBC gave me a rebate on my 2Wire that essentially paid for it. Shop
around. You don't have to go with the company that owns the lines. I use
cellular for all my phone needs and the only wired outside comms into my
home is the DSL service. In 18mos, I have not had a single outage with SBC.
YMMV.

Ed

 

[David Maynard]

No, phone line is good. I got speeds of 48 or 49 everytime for years,
even right before I put in the new motherboard.

What the actual throughput was would me more helpful as 56k modems often
report 'connect' speeds that are gross exaggerations of actual speed and
I've seen 56k modems report '53k' even though achieving only 2kBps
throughput. I.E. It seems they report whatever squawk they can detect and
then fall back to something that actually works.

For some reason 33kbs
seems like its only half or a third of the speed.

33.6kpbs is the max for a normal phone line.

I may have even still
have the filter on the line from when I temporarily tried DSL.

A DSL filter does not 'help' an analog modem. It simply filters the high
frequency DSL signals to the DSL line.

I can't say, for sure, whether a DSL filter might *hurt* a 56k connection
on the phone side because my phone line has never been capable of 56k
connect speeds but it's theoretically possible.

I
cancelled that because it was way more expensive then they advertise.
For the low $29 price, you had to sign up for a deluxe phone package.
Because your phone rate is now $29 + ($20 or $30) for phone services,
my taxes went up by around $15 or more I think. I was used to paying
$15 for dialup and $25 for phone, with DSL, my first bill was $180
(however there was a $50 rebate if you saw it on the fineprint on their
website). Talk about sticker shock.

56k modems can only get over 33.6k if they happen to be on a phone line
that goes direct, and a short distance, to the terminal junction that makes
the analog to fiber hop but there is no requirement for any phone line to
be wired that way. It's simply 'luck of the draw' to have one.

It may be that, for some reason, your phone line has changed. That could be
because the phone company needed to expand the number of phone lines in the
area and, so, added an expansion terminal (so that you're no longer wired
direct to the analog to fiber hop terminal) or it could be that your phone
line needed to be routed to a different terminal that supported DSL when
you tried DSL. Or, it could be something else on the phone lines in your
house interfering with the modem.

Could also be due to plugging into a different phone jack, computer
location, air born interference (cordless phone), wiring difference (like
when it was modified to split DSL from the analog lines), etc.

At any rate, whether it's a matter of the modem now reporting more
realistic speeds, something else in the house interfering with the phone
line, or the phone line characteristics changing it's the phone line that
determines the connect speeds.

 

[Ed Cregger]

What the actual throughput was would me more helpful as 56k modems often
report 'connect' speeds that are gross exaggerations of actual speed and
I've seen 56k modems report '53k' even though achieving only 2kBps
throughput. I.E. It seems they report whatever squawk they can detect and
then fall back to something that actually works.


33.6kpbs is the max for a normal phone line.


A DSL filter does not 'help' an analog modem. It simply filters the high
frequency DSL signals to the DSL line.

I can't say, for sure, whether a DSL filter might *hurt* a 56k connection
on the phone side because my phone line has never been capable of 56k
connect speeds but it's theoretically possible.


56k modems can only get over 33.6k if they happen to be on a phone line
that goes direct, and a short distance, to the terminal junction that
makes the analog to fiber hop but there is no requirement for any phone
line to be wired that way. It's simply 'luck of the draw' to have one.

It may be that, for some reason, your phone line has changed. That could
be because the phone company needed to expand the number of phone lines in
the area and, so, added an expansion terminal (so that you're no longer
wired direct to the analog to fiber hop terminal) or it could be that your
phone line needed to be routed to a different terminal that supported DSL
when you tried DSL. Or, it could be something else on the phone lines in
your house interfering with the modem.

Could also be due to plugging into a different phone jack, computer
location, air born interference (cordless phone), wiring difference (like
when it was modified to split DSL from the analog lines), etc.

At any rate, whether it's a matter of the modem now reporting more
realistic speeds, something else in the house interfering with the phone
line, or the phone line characteristics changing it's the phone line that
determines the connect speeds.

I do remember reading that the FCC restricts the maximum phone line speed to
53K back to you. Your speed to them is always considerably slower. This is
law, IIRC.

Ed Cregger

 

[David Maynard]

I do remember reading that the FCC restricts the maximum phone line speed to
53K back to you. Your speed to them is always considerably slower. This is
law, IIRC.

Not really, at least as it's implied. There is no 'speed' restriction and
the restriction that does exist, namely that power level not exceed -12dB
(over 3 seconds, I think it is), has nothing to do with 'limiting 56K
modems'. It's simply what the standard telephone line specifications are
and the "FCC restriction" argument is basically an 'excuse' to explain why
56k modems don't get 56k on standard phone lines.

Put simply, the 56k speed is based on mythical phone line parameters that
don't generally exist in real life.

 

[John Doe]

Ed Cregger wrote:
....

Not really, at least as it's implied. There is no 'speed'
restriction and the restriction that does exist, namely that power
level not exceed -12dB (over 3 seconds, I think it is), has
nothing to do with 'limiting 56K modems'. It's simply what the
standard telephone line specifications are and the "FCC
restriction" argument is basically an 'excuse' to explain why 56k
modems don't get 56k on standard phone lines. Put simply, the 56k
speed is based on mythical phone line parameters that don't
generally exist in real life.

But it's a fact and common knowledge that there is a 53k
restriction. That's not really what your semantics is arguing, is
it?

 

[John Doe]

No, phone line is good. I got speeds of 48 or 49 everytime for
years, even right before I put in the new motherboard. For some
reason 33kbs seems like its only half or a third of the speed. I
may have even still have the filter on the line from when I
temporarily tried DSL. I cancelled that

Is that when it happened? That happened to me too. After
discontinuing DSL service, my dial-up service was crippled. Maybe
it's a conspiracy. Maybe it's just carelessness.

Fortunately (for me), where I live the DSL service is now very cheap.
Believe it or not, it's actually less than dial-up with a one-year
contract. We don't get Internet space for uploading files and the
company's USENET servers hold no audio or video files for download, but
it's really fast. The cable TV provider is still charging the same for
Internet service as when they started.

 

[David Maynard]

But it's a fact and common knowledge that there is a 53k
restriction.

No, there isn't a "53K restriction" and the phone line hasn't got a clue
whether it's voice or data, or what speed the data is, in order to perform
a "53k restriction." It's simply 'audio', voice grade.

That's not really what your semantics is arguing, is
it?

The 'semantics' to it is claiming that the standard phone line that was
there before 56K and is the same after they 'invent' 56k is some kind of
'restriction' targeted at 56k. It's the same specification that was always
there and the fact of the matter is they didn't design the things to work
within the existing phone line parameters.