Topic 'Re: Activity Light' in forum 'OptimumOnline' - dslreports.com http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11397715 en Sat, 26 Mar 2022 03:29:11 EDT Sat, 26 Mar 2022 03:29:11 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-12158131 said by steviegee:

I've been meaning to ask this for months now, but has anyone got the official word on the solid modem activity light? My SB 4100 has been solid for several months, too (I think since the summer). What I've done is just turn it around to check the flashing light on the back next to the RJ 45 connection. Now what does it mean when the back light is always flashing and never off?
Nope, no official word, only theory]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-12158131 Sun, 19 Dec 2004 09:04:25 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-12157720 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-12157720 Sun, 19 Dec 2004 05:17:36 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11432845 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11432845 Sun, 26 Sep 2004 15:21:20 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11430251 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11430251 Sun, 26 Sep 2004 03:18:16 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11428744 --
Dog and Butterfly]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11428744 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 22:41:50 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11428436
I'm using Ethereal 0.10.4 which is probably outdated and that was part of the reason I asked as I thought perhaps it's an Ethereal plug-in; I remember IoGraphs to generate graphs that look like your (and my) screenshot, unlike the ones posted by howie1 .

FWIW I included a screencap of the amt of ARP traffic on this end.

Thank you both.
David
Click for full size
ARP traffic only
Click for full size
Light usage
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11428436 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 22:00:08 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11427965 --
Dog and Butterfly
Click for full size
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11427965 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 20:52:29 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11427803 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11427803 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 20:30:16 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11427664 said by StreetSpirit:
howie1

What packet capture software are you using to post the bandwidth bytes & packets per second graphs?

Thanks in advance -David

It's Iris Network Traffic Analyzer. Another good one is CommView. You can download a free trial here:
»www.tamos.com/download/main/
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"I could be wrong, now... but I don't think so! - Adrian Monk]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11427664 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 20:07:08 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11427048

What packet capture software are you using to post the bandwidth bytes & packets per second graphs?

Thanks in advance -David]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11427048 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 16:55:57 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11426735
This just starting happening on mine as well the other day...i thought it was weird so i had to investigate.

Harmless arp, yes...is it weird the lights just now starting to be constantly on, absolutely.
--
Alaska’s Article 1, section 22 puts it succinctly: “The right of the people to privacy is recognized and shall not be infringed.”]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11426735 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 16:16:13 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425816 --
nos insuadibilis defessus, nos insuadibilis inclino, nos insuadibilis concido. My Blog.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425816 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 13:42:33 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425806 --
"I could be wrong, now... but I don't think so! - Adrian Monk]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425806 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 13:40:35 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425770
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425770 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 13:35:11 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425685 said by La Luna:
What is everyone complaining about NOW? First, it was CALL CALL CALL OOL....so someone calls, and is told everything is ok.....now everyone is complaining they don't like the answer that OOL gave.

WHAT do you want? Its seems that OOL is damned if they do and damned if they don't. Maybe they should make up a problem, would that make everyone happy?:huh:

My light is still blinking on my SB5100 and frankly, I don't give a damn.


Ok, to me, this is like having the Oil or Temp light in your car on, unless there is trouble then it turns itself off. Then you call the car company and they say it is supposed to do that but if you want to see if there really is an Oil or Temp problem, a light behing the car will light up. Kinda stupid ain't it?

Why not just change the Online light to off unless your offline then turn it on? In fact, why not leave the power light off, until you turn the modem off?
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nos insuadibilis defessus, nos insuadibilis inclino, nos insuadibilis concido. My Blog.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425685 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 13:21:33 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425509 said by wag357:

The only thing I'm saying is that if were the activity light being reversed, why isn't it in sync with the rear light? If OOL doesn't know they can say it and I'll respect that and go away for a while so they can sort it out. Giving bogus/made up answers is worse than "we don't know" in my book and I'm genetically compelled to now find out the answer.


It's funny. The SB5100 has worked this way since day one, and it has hardly been mentioned, let alone been a source of complaint. Cablevision doesn't write firmware for the Surfboards, Motorola and Broadcom do.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425509 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:55:45 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425469
The only thing I'm saying is that if were the activity light being reversed, why isn't it in sync with the rear light? If OOL doesn't know they can say it and I'll respect that and go away for a while so they can sort it out. Giving bogus/made up answers is worse than "we don't know" in my book and I'm genetically compelled to now find out the answer.

I'm done :)
whew I feel better ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425469 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:48:44 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425154 said by wag357:
Well the light staying on with no activity theory is total garbage.

There is always activity... 99+% are harmless ARP packets which cause approximately 250 bytes/second of network download activity constantly. I have a packet sniffer and nothing has changed since I got OOL over 3 years ago pertaining to activity. Sometimes you'll see an unusual amount of ARP packets (a packet "storm" of up to 300 ARP packets/second) at one time or another but I have found this to be normal (although rare) as well with an OOL connection. The above image depicts 1 minute of activity and there are 263 packets (about 5 packets/second), almost all ARP and this is completely normal. So actually, since there is always activity and there always has been/will be, the activity light staying "on" all the time is actually more accurate than it blinking as there is always activity. ;)
--
"I could be wrong, now... but I don't think so! - Adrian Monk
Click for full size
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11425154 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 12:04:32 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11424565 said by La Luna:
What is everyone complaining about NOW? First, it was CALL CALL CALL OOL....so someone calls, and is told everything is ok.....now everyone is complaining they don't like the answer that OOL gave.

WHAT do you want? Its seems that OOL is damned if they do and damned if they don't. Maybe they should make up a problem, would that make everyone happy?:huh:

My light is still blinking on my SB5100 and frankly, I don't give a damn.


It seems to me reversing the way the activity light works initially brought some concern to those of us who notice this kind of thing. Many, including myself thought something odd was happening with my setup. Now Id say its become sort a conversation on how ridiculous that change really was, If it even was a change, after all it really hasnt been proven any firmware upgrade is actually what did it. What better place to discuss this than here? After all this is a DISCUSSION forum.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11424565 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 10:11:57 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11424528
WHAT do you want? Its seems that OOL is damned if they do and damned if they don't. Maybe they should make up a problem, would that make everyone happy?:huh:

My light is still blinking on my SB5100 and frankly, I don't give a damn.
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SB2K ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11424528 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 10:06:04 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11424381 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11424381 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 09:30:53 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11424077
WAG]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11424077 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 07:57:54 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423917 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423917 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 06:39:50 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423859 said by Jafo232:
Excuse me, but first of all, the light INDICATES ACTIVITY
Obviously the activity light isn't there to indicate activity anymore, just about everyone's light is solid now, and all of our connections are working just fine with it like that. Running a server is against the TOS anyway, so boo hoo that you can't be on the other room and found out when people are connected, That has got to be one of the dumbest complaints I have heard on this board. Why not call cv and complain. They you can come here and complain when they cap you for running the server, at least that nonsense is more entertaining.
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I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423859 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 06:02:11 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423817 said by JoshNJ:
Just because it has been a certain way for the past 4 years doesn't mean it can never change. CV obviously has changed the function of the activity light, there is nothing wrong with it, all you people bitching about a stupid activity light really need to find something better to complain about. When the only thing you have a problem with is a blinking light, you must be satisfied with the rest of ool's services... This thread is almost as stupid as the capping thread.


Excuse me, but first of all, the light INDICATES ACTIVITY, otherwise they would have called it the "No Activity" light.

Second, there is something wrong with it. I used to check that light to see if I was using service. One example, when uploading a file via a form, sometimes a website craps out in the middle of a transfer. This happens more often than you think especially with OOL suspect connection problems. It is nice to know that your PC is actually not uploading anything instead of just waiting for the form to time out.

I also like to play Xbox Live. Many times I host games. I work at night, late at night, so when I am almost done, I start up the XBOX and get the server going so when I finish work, there will be people in there playing. I can tell when people join my Xbox which is in another room because the activity light will go start going nuts or go solid. Can't do that now can I?

So basically, Josh, STFU.
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nos insuadibilis defessus, nos insuadibilis inclino, nos insuadibilis concido. My Blog.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423817 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 05:32:34 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423693 said by BryanCT:
So if steady is supposed to be right, then what the hell was it blinking for the past 4 years?
Just because it has been a certain way for the past 4 years doesn't mean it can never change. CV obviously has changed the function of the activity light, there is nothing wrong with it, all you people bitching about a stupid activity light really need to find something better to complain about. When the only thing you have a problem with is a blinking light, you must be satisfied with the rest of ool's services... This thread is almost as stupid as the capping thread.
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I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423693 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 04:26:56 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423607
Tell me about it. All these people replying with crap saying if it's solid don't worry about it. That's a cheesey & lame response. It's just a cover up to the fact they don't have the answer. Why can't they just stop bs'ing and say we don't know why it's happening instead of "it's supposed to be like that". If it's supposed to be like that then why for the past 4 years it used to blink. So if steady is supposed to be right, then what the hell was it blinking for the past 4 years? It all sounds like a bunch of crock to me. It's not supposed to be solid non-stop. I haven't seen mine blink in about 4 days.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423607 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 03:45:17 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423306
You would know just by looking at the light if your connection was being used. Now, who is to say if it is being used unless you get up and look behind your computer?

Kind of silly to me that the activity light would be on, when there is no activity.

Of course, much fewer people would be concerned if they were not so worried about being capped.
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nos insuadibilis defessus, nos insuadibilis inclino, nos insuadibilis concido. My Blog.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11423306 Sat, 25 Sep 2004 02:09:20 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11420536 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11420536 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 19:34:39 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11420385 said by georgermct:
This just makes it harder to tell if you have a trojan or virus because now the Activity light is always on, regardless if your sending/reciving.
lol, the activity light has never been meant to tell you of a virus/trojan, that is silly...
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I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11420385 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 19:12:54 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11420153 I just called Tech. support at Optimum Online and he wouldn't say that OOL has changed anything. He said a solid or blinking light is "OK".

I thought (like others here), that I had a virus or Trojan.
I ran Norton, Ad-Aware and even did an online scan at Panda.
I could have saved myself the aggravation but since when has the "Activity" light ever been SOLID? I used the Activity light as a way to see...Activity. Things moving in or out of my computer.

I have the Motorola SB4100 - 1.4.9.0.

This just makes it harder to tell if you have a trojan or virus because now the Activity light is always on, regardless if your sending/reciving.
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OOL Member Since - 10/18/00]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11420153 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 18:40:59 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11419799 Thats the ACTUAL light you need to be concerned with..
The one on the front of the modem has almost nothing to do with your connections..
Everyone's activity light on your node should blink or be steady in sync with the other modems as long as you have an active connection to a device plugged into the modem.

Dont bother to call tech support because its not causing any problems.. Take some electric tape and cover it if it bothers you.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11419799 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 17:55:58 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11419215
Software Version: SB4100-0.4.4.5-SCM01-NOSH
Hardware Version: 0
MIB Version: II
GUI Version: 1.0
VxWorks Version: 5.3

For them to reverse the way an activity light works is just plain ignorant and irresponsible on their part. How could anyone think it wouldn't cause some concern?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11419215 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 16:45:36 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11419122 said by Irish Shark:
You may have the newer firmware as it is pushed automatically by OOL.
I do not have new firmware. I checked that before my earlier posts. I still have 0.4.4.5 (SB4100).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11419122 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 16:34:38 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11419075 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11419075 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 16:29:36 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418674 said by Irish Shark:
This is the latest version Motorola SB4100 - 1.4.9.0
i just got the upgrade this morning, but even before my light was solid
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I support the RIAA]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418674 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 15:50:16 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418583 said by NJBlackBerry:
I am on 4.4.5p, the latest version.. Something is different..
This is the latest version Motorola SB4100 - 1.4.9.0
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“Ninety percent of the game is half mental.” Yogi Berra]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418583 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 15:38:34 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418436 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418436 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 15:24:20 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418312 said by howie1:

I am seeing no abnormal ARP activity at all, in fact 5 packets per second is actually some of the lowest ARP activity I've seen even though the activity light is solid. As long as it doesn't affect my connection, I could care less. :)
Thanks for checking, :-) since my light blinks, I could not see if that was the cause.
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Dog and Butterfly]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418312 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 15:10:32 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418197
To check, go here »192.168.100.1/mainhelp.html and see what you have. The you can look at the firmware upgrade thread and see what the latest is.
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“Ninety percent of the game is half mental.” Yogi Berra]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418197 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 14:57:58 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418107 said by Bichon:
This jibes with E88's explanation of a change in the operation of the light. Apparently the newer firmware makes the older Surfboards act like an SB5100, where a solid light indicates link integrity.
But a lot of us have the solid light without a firmware upgrade. We have the same firmware we've had for a long time.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11418107 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 14:47:18 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11417903 said by howie1:
I am seeing no abnormal ARP activity at all, in fact 5 packets per second is actually some of the lowest ARP activity I've seen even though the activity light is solid. As long as it doesn't affect my connection, I could care less. :)


This jibes with E88's explanation of a change in the operation of the light. Apparently the newer firmware makes the older Surfboards act like an SB5100, where a solid light indicates link integrity. The activity light was never a very good measure of activity anyway. Invest in a copy of DUmeter, or download one of the free alternatives for a more accurate gauge of network activity.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11417903 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 14:24:44 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11417825 said by TheWiseGuy:
It could be something as simple as a high level of ARP or even unfiltered Multicast packets, say 100 a second, which would take up about the Bandwidth of a dial up modem out of the 28mbps downstream channel, leaving 27.94mbps. If the packets were coming often enough it might make it light be ON instead of just flash.

I am seeing no abnormal ARP activity at all, in fact 5 packets per second is actually some of the lowest ARP activity I've seen even though the activity light is solid. As long as it doesn't affect my connection, I could care less. :)
--
"I could be wrong, now... but I don't think so! - Adrian Monk
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11417825 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 14:16:47 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11416761 this post in a different thread.
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¡¡Viva la cerveza!!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11416761 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 12:15:31 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11416437 said by Bichon:
said by Shamayim:
So WHO is going to call OOL tech and run this issue down?

not me, I just post here


Who says it is an issue? E88 indicated it was just a change in the way the light functions.



Where did he say that? I would like to see his explanation. I see know performance loss at all but would still like to know whay it changed.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11416437 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 11:30:52 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11416336 --
Dog and Butterfly]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11416336 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 11:16:53 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11416095 said by Shamayim:
So WHO is going to call OOL tech and run this issue down?

not me, I just post here


Who says it is an issue? E88 indicated it was just a change in the way the light functions.

Others have confirmed by noting that the activity light on the ethernet jack and on their routers still flash as normal.

If you aren't having a performance problem, I'd just ignore it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11416095 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 10:49:56 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11415626 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11415626 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 09:47:32 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11415395 said by Bob99:
We haven't heard from anyone who says that the Activity light on the front of their cable modem is still flashing. Does anyone have that?


SB5100 still flashing here (Edison NJ).
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Life is simply one damned thing after another.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11415395 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 09:16:21 EDT Re: Activity Light http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11415289
not me, I just post here
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"tick...tick...tick..." »www.jtf.org/]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-Activity-Light-11415289 Fri, 24 Sep 2004 08:56:52 EDT