WiCkeDuDe
join:2007-01-09
Salt Lake City, UT
| Opinions on best modem to replace a GT701
I am a 1.5 Qwest customer in the salt lake city, utah area. Im right on the edge of getting 1.5 service so im used to rebooting my Actiontec Gt-701 pretty often. Not much I can do as my area is a old network as told my Qwest. Even after I reboot and repower the modem I get
SNR Margin (Downstream/Upstream): 7/6
Attenuation (Downstream/Upstream): 63/31
Anyways lately my Actiontec is constantly losing sync and it seems to be temperature related. I figured I would just replace it with a new modem but what is the best modem to replace it with? I bridge it to a linksys router so I dont care at all about router functions.
Is the M1000 any better at keeping sync or can anyone recommend any other modems? Thanks!! |
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christcorp
Premium
join:2001-05-21
Cheyenne, WY
 ·VOIPo
edit:
June 6th, @10:22PM
| With numbers like that, you are lucky to get anything working. Getting a different modem is going to be a hit or miss on whether or not it is going to be better.
If you don't do a lot of file downloading; like MP3, video, etc... and aren't uploading a lot; then I would consider changing to the 256kb plan and seeing if Qwest would give you some sort of credit or cut you a deal for having to DOWN GRADE. The truth is; your numbers will improve probably double, and you will probably never see another disconnect.
Of course, this is all assuming that there isn't something else wrong with your current DSL. Nothing against those at Qwest that "Told you" that you were on the "EDGE" of getting 1.5mb service, or that your area is an "Old Network"; but unless it was the actual outside tech who climbs the poles and goes goes into the wires, any other opinion is pure speculation. I personally have provided very good service and numbers in areas that the engineers said were impossible. I've also had people literally a few blocks from the Central Office not able to get DSL. This is all according to the records and the database.
Anyway; assuming that you really are at the point where a 7/6 snr is the BEST you can get; I.e. you've connected your modem directly to the NI with NO inside wires/jacks/filters/etc... connected; and your outside wiring is fine. Then my suggestion is to see if Qwest will give you a super duper deluxe deal on the 256kb plan for a year. Let them know that the only other alternative is cable or wireless. I'm sure they will work with you. If you aren't a major downloader, you won't really notice the speed difference. The quality will be exponentially better. You will be happier. A new modem might give you a 10% chance of doing better.
And, if it was me and I still wanted to try a different modem; I wouldn't go for a new style modem. They work great, but are actually more picky on a cleaner signal. If I was going for it, I'd go for a cisco 678 if you weren't afraid of programming, or an Actiontec 1524. Both of them were very tolerant of poor signals. Of course, I would NEVER EVER USE THE ROUTER FUNCTION of a DSL modem. I would bridge mode it; and if you didn't know how to do that, then I would go with the basic router/DMZ mode to a REAL router. You already know this, but I write posts NOT just to the original question, but to others who read them to help them with similar problems. Later... Mike.... |
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WiCkeDuDe
join:2007-01-09
Salt Lake City, UT
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
Yeah I wish there was a way to do better but those numbers are about the same as my nieghbors. My inside wiring is brand new, direct run to the dsl modem, even a new drop. Ive had a few techs out who changed the line I was on at the pole and this was the best I could get. They wanted to cut me back to 640 service but I wanted 1.5 as I download large files. I actually get pretty close to 1.5 most of the time, but disconnect maybe 2-3 times a week.
I think ill look into a Cisco then rather than a GT724R then. Thanks for the info. |
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mrhuggles
join:2007-03-29
Ames, IA | reply to christcorp
yeah, you cant put a price on having a real router i use openWRT + X-Wrt [wrt54G v2.0 32mb ram] it is pretty flawless I'd suggest it to anyone. |
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WiCkeDuDe
join:2007-01-09
Salt Lake City, UT
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
I hear ya. I run 2 linksys routers I configued as a wireless bridge. I installed DD-WRT v24 on both of them when it became a final build and Ive been very happy with the results so far. Ive been able to plug in my Dish 722 and Xbox 360 and Wii all into the secondary router and its worked great. Now if my connection would just work the same....:) |
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wingman99
join:2003-12-18
Bettendorf, IA
 ·Qwest.net
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
said by WiCkeDuDe  :I think ill look into a Cisco then rather than a GT724R then. Thanks for the info. I have both and my GT724WGR never disconnects I'm at 17,000ft |
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WiCkeDuDe
join:2007-01-09
Salt Lake City, UT
edit:
June 29th, @09:08PM
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
Looks like they were right. I got my hands on a GT724R and it disconnects more than the GT701. I use the 724 bridged to a linksys router. At the NID I get a bit better numbers with the 724 yet it disconnects more. Im also getting the same numbers at the NID and having it hooked in my office. I use a single whole house filter, with a direct line from it to the DSL modem.
Like I said before, qwest claims that was the best they could do and they want to bump me down to 640 service but at the 1.5 price. I use a third party ISP and not MSN with a 2 year contract.
Christcorp- do I have any options to better my service here or am I outta luck? If so how should I proceed to get the best results. Whenever I talk to first level phone techs I get nowhere but frustrated. |
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wingman99
join:2003-12-18
Bettendorf, IA
·Qwest.net
edit:
June 30th, @12:53AM
| Did they put you on a different pair of wires going to the DSLAM?
couple other things they can do is switch your port or switch you to a different line card. That is what worked for me and i had to asked them nicely twice to do both jobs becase the first job did not work.
Some eltronics are stronger than others that's life, just like the same two sell phones working differently in range
The system is designed for 1.5 on 18,000 feet on a phone line it can be fixed, so long as all the copper phone lines going to the dslam aren't damaged or running into interference.
It took allot of effort for me to get them to do all that but i wanted 1.5 real bad and i did not want them to lower my speed.
My cisco 678 disconnected more than the GT724WGR |
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christcorp
Premium
join:2001-05-21
Cheyenne, WY
·VOIPo
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
You probably are right on the fringe. They tell you it's about 18,000 feet, but that's just to give you a ball park answer. The actual distance depends on the gauge of the wire; any taps, including ahead of you; how many splices, etc... I've seen 1.5mb service only reach out to about 14,000 feet. Any there wasn't anything I could do to fix it. And that is an ego shocker because I was known for making DSL work in places it shouldn't have been able to. On the other hand, I've made it work out to around 22,000-23,000 feet. Granted, it was ALL 19 gauge wire with no bridges, splices, etc... It was a straight dedicated run from the C.O.
One thing you could TRY if you are desperate, is to order a 2nd DSL, but make it a NAKED/DRY/STANDALONE DSL. From your previous posts, it sounds as though you have phone service also. Naked DSL is able to reach out a little further than one with a phone line on it. That's mainly because it doesn't require a POTS SPLITTER. (Don't confuse the name POTS SPLITTER with what you read on this forum. Those people really mean a Filter designed to be placed at the NI so you can filter outside instead of at each jack). A REAL POTS Splitter is what is used at the C.O. or at the remote DSLAM to COMBINE the POTS line and the DSL line so it can ride on the same copper pair to your house. It's not a filter. Anyway, when you have DRY/NAKED DSL, it doesn't need a pots splitter so the signal comes straight out of the DSLAM and right onto the line. It doesn't mix with the OE (Office Equipment) which is providing you dial tone.
If this one is better, you can cancel the DSL off the phone line and leave them separate. (It comes out to be about the same price. +/- $5-$10. Of course Qwest won't do this naturally, because they don't want to "Waste" a 2nd pair of lines. But if you add a 2nd DSL (Naked/Dry) then disconnect the dsl only from the first line, they won't even know the difference. If the dry DSL doesn't work, just cancel that within the 30 day money back guarantee.
You aren't going to see a MAJOR change in SNR/Attenuation, but even if you gained 2db on the SNR and reduced your attenuation by 2 or 3db, it might be enough to stop the disconnects.
The other option is to keep an eye out on ebay for a cisco 678, or an actiontec 1524. They are definitely older modems, but they were pretty tough. Make sure they are Qwest or make sure you can change the vpi/vci on them so you can get them to work on qwest.
Anyway, that's all I can suggest. It sounds like the techs have done most everything they can. But as I said, DRY/NAKED DSL can easily go further than one combined with a POTS line. Hope this helps... Later.... Mike..... |
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WiCkeDuDe
join:2007-01-09
Salt Lake City, UT
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
Thanks for the advice.
The issue was not a distance one, I believe we are at 8000 feet, but qwest says the wiring/network here is so bad that 1.5 is pushing it. My neighbor has 1.5 and gets the same numbers. However he also said qwest sent a notice that they are putting up new boxes just down the road. Im hoping this is a DSLAM. If so I can wait a bit. Is there a good way to call in or find when this upgrade is planned? That would be awesome to be able to get a faster speed. Thanks for your help everyone. |
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chevyman601
@qwest.net
| the 678 you can manually increase the power output and input from the dslam plus you can get them to swap your pair at the co with another pair too had all that done once when i had fax problems on my line before they offered the dry pair, problem on my fax was my dsl was too hot as being so close. now i only use a dry pair. |
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Kliensmith
@qwest.net
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
What else besides the numbers lets them give you 3mbps or 7mbps? I ask because my numbers at my new place are much much worse, yet the provisioned me for 7mbps. While my old place had much better numbers but they would only give me 3mbps.
Here is my bad numbers from qwest motorola modem 3347:
At my old place SNR was near 20 but they wouldn't give me more than 3. |
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WiCkeDuDe
join:2007-01-09
Salt Lake City, UT | reply to WiCkeDuDe
Your numbers will decrease as you have a faster service as you are pushing its limits more so. |
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WiCkeDuDe
join:2007-01-09
Salt Lake City, UT
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
Christcorp- Is there anyone I can talk to to find out if there is a planned upgrade in my area? My neighbor says they sent a letter informing they would be working on it but I cannot contact anyone that knows about it.
I also have a Gt724R that I guess I dont need if anyone is interested? I think I will be switching to cable. |
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dynodb
Premium,VIP
join:2004-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
| reply to Kliensmith
said by Kliensmith :
Here is my bad numbers from qwest motorola modem 3347: Downstream Upstream
---------- ----------
SNR Margin: 15.00 13.00 dB
Line Attenuation: 36.50 23.00 dB
Output Power: 19.60 11.92 dB
Errored Seconds: 0 0
Loss of Signal: 0 0
Loss of Frame: 0 0
CRC Errors: 41 46
Data Rate: 7168 896
[/code]
At my old place SNR was near 20 but they wouldn't give me more than 3.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with those numbers. Quite a few would kill to see 7M with a 15M/13M SNR margin. Until it drops in the 6-7dB range and/or you get a lot of errors, there's nothing to be concerned about.
You could increase your SNRs by dropping down to 5M, but there is no reason to do so as they're already quite good. |
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dynodb
Premium,VIP
join:2004-04-21
Minneapolis, MN
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
said by WiCkeDuDe :I am a 1.5 Qwest customer in the salt lake city, utah area. Im right on the edge of getting 1.5 service so im used to rebooting my Actiontec Gt-701 pretty often. Not much I can do as my area is a old network as told my Qwest. Even after I reboot and repower the modem I get SNR Margin (Downstream/Upstream): 7/6 Attenuation (Downstream/Upstream): 63/31 Do you have 1.5M/896k? If so (and you can live with slower upload speeds), consider having them drop you to 1.5M/640k. That may help just enough to keep it stable. |
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Bark
join:2006-03-19
Grand Junction, CO | Old Qwest software CD
I would like to know if the five year old Qwest software CD for installing my Intel 2200 internal modem can be re-used to install the same internal modem on a new computer running Windows Vista. Thank you. |
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demoniacs
join:2007-07-17
| said by Bark :I would like to know if the five year old Qwest software CD for installing my Intel 2200 internal modem can be re-used to install the same internal modem on a new computer running Windows Vista. Thank you. no. vista wasnt realesed when that cd went out. but im might be wrong. why dont you get a new modem? its pricey but will save some gray hairs. LOL |
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WiCkeDuDe
join:2007-01-09
Salt Lake City, UT
edit:
July 10th, @01:34PM
| reply to WiCkeDuDe
Re: Opinions on best modem to replace a GT701
Ill sell you my gt724 for cheap since I cant use it.
Christcorp-
I called qwest and they said they detect errors on my line from there end. Also they are installing a fiber optic drop across the street from me the last few days. My modem has been disconnecting even more than usual.
What things should I ask the tech about and will this fiber optic drop make a difference. Is that the same as a DSLAM? |
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