Topic 'Re: best modem? (st 516?)' in forum 'TekSavvy'

Topic 'Re: best modem? (st 516?)' in forum 'TekSavvy' - dslreports.com http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727114 en Sat, 26 Mar 2022 03:53:54 EDT Sat, 26 Mar 2022 03:53:54 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22793199 said by strobeshow:

im just going with the st516, and ill order off speedtouch.ca to make sure i get the most recent one.
Hi!

I got my st516 from NCIX and it is version 6.

When I bought it the modem was tagged as B/O and there was only one left in one of the stores and I believe I am the one who got it so the stock that NCIX currently has is, as far as they are concerned, new...

The reference to Gnet is because that modem is distributed by Gentek, they seem to have tendency to rebrand products under their own name...

Have a nice day!

Nick]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22793199 Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:09:21 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22790168
im just going with the st516, and ill order off speedtouch.ca to make sure i get the most recent one.

thanks guys!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22790168 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:15:56 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22789496
Some people like to use every word in the rant dictionary
to discredit others while they pose as the high priests of
truth... The TP-Link TD-8841 (A) TelNet CLI is said to be
barely usable while its GUI would be "crippled", the ST546
is supposed to produce "far superior diagnostics" than its
ST516 couterpart which is just an ST546 with no switch,
etc... Well, i believe a customer should always ask himself
this simple question 1st: am i a digital black hole? Because
if you are then good luck as i've never seen conclusive DSL
device tabloïds capable of demonstrating which product is
best for your needs!!! Otherwise, don't take my word for it
anyway and simply look at my collection of pictures. These
are showing the "crippled", aHummm... TP-Link TD-8841 (A):

»Re: From the ground up!
»Re: From the ground up!

...and you may notice similarities with a D-LINK DSL-2320B:

»OrbMT on D-Link DSL 2320B

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22789496 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:27:06 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22789054 said by InvalidError:

said by planiwa:

Worse, older modems are copied, repackaged, mass-produced and sold cheaply, as seemingly new products, in blatant violation of Moore's Law.

I don't see how the transistor count in your modem has any importance... having twice as many transistors will not increase the usable spectrum on your Bell copper loop nor magically improve your line's SNR.

Unless more transistors can magically break the Shannon-Hartley theorem, having a bigger/faster DSP in your ADSL modem is completely useless and Moore's "law" becomes irrelevant.
Q.E.D. :-)

Perfect illustration of the gist of what I was saying. Obviously I wasn't at all talking about transistors, but lamenting the transistor-mentality. Tanenbaum expressed it thus:

"No hardware designer should be allowed to produce any piece of hardware until three software guys have signed off for it." -- Andy Tanenbaum]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22789054 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:10:00 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22788893 said by planiwa:

Worse, older modems are copied, repackaged, mass-produced and sold cheaply, as seemingly new products, in blatant violation of Moore's Law. I don't see how the transistor count in your modem has any importance... having twice as many transistors will not increase the usable spectrum on your Bell copper loop nor magically improve your line's SNR.

Unless more transistors can magically break the Shannon-Hartley theorem, having a bigger/faster DSP in your ADSL modem is completely useless and Moore's "law" becomes irrelevant.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22788893 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:41:04 EDT Re: best modem? (st 5x6?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-5x6-22788689 »lmgtfy.com/?q=access+mod ··· o+router

said by InvalidError:

said by planiwa:

The 546 makes it possible to plug in a computer which can diagnose problems without having to unplug the live connection

You can do that with a ST516+WRT54/Tomato too, all you need to do is add a script in the router to give the WAN port an IP address for the diagnostic pages' IP.

Here is what I am using as my firewall script:

ip addr add 192.168.1.1/24 dev br1 brd +
/usr/sbin/iptables -I POSTROUTING -t nat -o br1 -d 192.168.1.0/24 -j MASQUERADE

This is much more convenient and cost-effective than buying a modem with built-in switch only to access the diagnostic page without unplugging the router.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-5x6-22788689 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:59:31 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22788631 said by strobeshow:

are the ones at speedtouch.ca and ncix (the links i posted) basically the same? the one's TN516 and the other is just 516 (version 6) -- (as i said in that original post)The NCIX store's inventory code seems to be stuck in the past, before the manufacturer changed ownership and name. If you are interested in knowing more, you can research it. If you are worried that the store might have old stock, you can contact the store and ask what hardware version they sell. One difference between cheap and good is that better suppliers will tell you more about the product they sell. For example:

»www.caneris.com/Hardware (#14)

* * *

Within the last year I have used 9 different kinds of DSL modem.
Under perfect conditions they all work well enough.

Depending on whether one seeks to minimize cost, utility, time, or frustration (of self or others), one will make different choices.

The only modem I ever took back immediately was one that I had bought because someone *here* had recommended it. When I asked a very specific question, someone else *here* answered in the affirmative. So I went and bought the modem. It turned out that it was of no use to me, and it also ran terribly hot.

The two people who had recommended it did not actually speak from experiential knowledge. The first had "recommended" it solely based on the fact that it was cheap. The second had "answered" my specific question from sloppy "research". Yet, there is at least one participant here who has been using that modem and is perfectly happy with it. It is a TD-8610 and some vendors sell it for less than $20.

* * *

Keep in mind that what others mean by what they write is almost never exactly what you mean when you read it, or what you would have meant, had you written the same thing. And some folks get very offended when they perceive that others believe differently. :-(

* * *

People often complain about "speed" or "connection" problems.
With a cheap (dumb) modem (and router), the common response is to curse, power cycle, and shrug. Power cycle PCs too, for good measure. What else is there do do, when there cannot be an intelligent conversation about the problem, with an intelligent modem, an intelligent router, intelligent computer(s), an intelligent user, and an intelligent expert? So, the clueless script-CSR tells the clueless customer to power cycle everything and be done with it.

How many have the time, interest, or ability to diagnose and understand the problem? Just replace the junk modem with another junk modem and move on.

DSL modems do amazingly fancy processing, at a level close to the hardware. Yet, most have astonishingly stupid usability software, combined with unbelievably stupid usability corner-cutting.

The seem to be "designed" to comply minimally with low-level standards, without the benefit of software utility and usability. Worse, older modems are copied, repackaged, mass-produced and sold cheaply, as seemingly new products, in blatant violation of Moore's Law.

Thus we get devices such as the TD-8841 which has a user interface and utilities that are almost usable, but are actually crippled into unusability by apparently deliberate lack of memory and resultant utter shell dysfunctionality. But at least it does have a telnet interface, something which many other modems either lack, or is crippled by firmware, such as Bell's branded SS6520.

The crippled functionality and usability imposed by the hardware vendors is perfectly matched by the customers (and script-CSRs) -- how could it be different, in a media-oligopoly-market-driven technology?

When was the last time a well-designed DSL modem appeared on the market? Even the DSLAM modems at the other end of the DSL Link are designed, programmed, and maintained incompetently. Ikanos and Bell seem to apply their more competent resources to lucrative lines, such as DPI, while their IKNS DSLAMs remain hopelessly buggy.

--
"No hardware designer should be allowed to produce any piece of hardware until three software guys have signed off for it." -- Andy Tanenbaum]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22788631 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 10:48:29 EDT Re: best modem? (st 5x6?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-5x6-22788279 said by planiwa:

The 546 makes it possible to plug in a computer which can diagnose problems without having to unplug the live connection You can do that with a ST516+WRT54/Tomato too, all you need to do is add a script in the router to give the WAN port an IP address for the diagnostic pages' IP.

Here is what I am using as my firewall script:

ip addr add 192.168.1.1/24 dev br1 brd +
/usr/sbin/iptables -I POSTROUTING -t nat -o br1 -d 192.168.1.0/24 -j MASQUERADE

This is much more convenient and cost-effective than buying a modem with built-in switch only to access the diagnostic page without unplugging the router.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-5x6-22788279 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:45:33 EDT Re: ST516 Mortality Rate http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-ST516-Mortality-Rate-22788142 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-ST516-Mortality-Rate-22788142 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:17:12 EDT ST516 Mortality Rate http://www.dslreports.com/forum/ST516-Mortality-Rate-22787998 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/ST516-Mortality-Rate-22787998 Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:41:11 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22784973
are the ones at speedtouch.ca and ncix (the links i posted) basically the same? the one's TN516 and the other is just 516 (version 6) -- (as i said in that original post)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22784973 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:01:30 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22782026 Will you, please, publish any evidence you might have which
proves your statement to the effect that Thomson's ST546
"produces far superior diagnostics" than its 516 down-sized
twin???

Just that, comparative numbers. Nothing else.

]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22782026 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:37:05 EDT Re: best modem? (st 5x6?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-5x6-22781991
If there are problems, the 546 would be my choice, even above the "gold standard" 516.
It costs more than the 516 which costs much more than the 8816, but the 5x6 produces far superior diagnostics. The 546 makes it possible to plug in a computer which can diagnose problems without having to unplug the live connection! (The (only!) difference between the 516 and the 546 being that the 546 has 4 ports.

When you encounter a serious problem, the difference between a cheap modem and one that monitors and reports far exceeds the cost difference.

Similar considerations apply to using an intelligent router, such as Tomato on a WRT54GL.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-5x6-22781991 Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:21:09 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22781067
i just have a question.. is
»www.ncix.com/products/in ··· ku=36820

the same as the one here:
»www.speedtouch.ca/typesearch.php

at ncix its the tn516, at speedtouch.ca its just 516. i noticed that the one at ncix is made by g-net, not sure if that changes it...

also, are they really that blue? ive seen them before and they were a nice black (pictures).

thanks again!

one last thing actually. i seemed to get a steady speed with bell when i had them. should i just save $20 or so and get the TD-8816, or would the 516 pay for itself if i had a problem with my line?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22781067 Tue, 28 Jul 2009 21:17:31 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22738645 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22738645 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:37:29 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22735893
But that's just in my situation, I can't claim it's a better machine for everyone.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22735893 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 09:14:04 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22735367 said by planiwa:

I don't buy modems for looks. :-)

As long as your line is perfect, the TP-Link (TD-8816 or TD-8841) modems are fine. I would not get a TD-8610!

+1
I had a TD-8816 but was experiencing many disconnects on my line. replaced it with a 2wire 2701hg-g (unlocked) and now i'm running perfect. the TD-8816 v1 is now my backup modem. i think there is a newer TD-8816 version out than the one I have - newer version could have fixed my disconnect prob.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22735367 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:49:14 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22735213 said by HKPolice:

From my experience, the TP link modems add lag to the link.I've found that same problem with the TD-8841.
RTT to ISP:

TD-8841: 20ms
DSL605EU: 10ms

Consistently. Moreover, the TD-8841 consistently has 3-5% of ICMP packets at 110ms. It was that bi-modality that first alerted me to the higher latency.
--
"Cool Locally -- Warm Globally."]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22735213 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:26:40 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22735109 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22735109 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 23:52:51 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731818 said by HKPolice:

ST 516 pings around 8-10ms, still not as good as the old Cayman though.I have noticed the same thing with the ST 516 vs. Netopia. I have both the 516 and a Netopia 3346. The Netopia is just a tad quicker. I ping 10 ms to my first hop with the Netopia. With the 516 I ping 12-13 ms. Those extra 2-3 ms carry through all the way to the final destination. It's only 2 ms but I might as well use the Netopia since I have it. I keep the 516 around as a backup in case anything happens to the Netopia.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731818 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:53:01 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731750 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731750 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 01:12:58 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731708
Same with the 2Wire 2700G, it lagged up to around 30-40ms!

ST 516 pings around 8-10ms, still not as good as the old Cayman though. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731708 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:53:12 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731677
the upload seems slow on it.. anything like web interception that would cause that?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731677 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:36:08 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731643 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22731643 Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:21:23 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22730537 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22730537 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:03:36 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22730294
i read on here that they werent the favourite to order off of just because of them not having SSL on checkout, but they seem to know? so all good?

if anyone's in the windsor area, is there a place to pick up the 516 for a good price so i can save the shipping?

also.. this is stupid... but im buying the right thing right? "thomson speedtouch 516v6 multi-user adsl2+ gateway"

lol id rather ask and make sure that everything works fine when i get teksavvy.. as it seems im prone to problems with my internet....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22730294 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 17:51:01 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727920
but are we talking serious random problems, or problems i caused?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727920 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:12:17 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727840 said by planiwa:

I don't buy modems for looks. :-)
I would not get a TD-8610!

Why not? I have been using mine for 1.5 yrs with 0 problems.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727840 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:39:22 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727830 owner to "tweak" his RCO without much trade-off:

»Re: From the ground up!

I'm very happy with mine but i don't do P2P and all
my units are configured to run as a MoDem/Router.

But P2P users might encounter issues, apparently...

Addendum:

I've been told the P2P limitation may get resolved, eventually.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727830 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:35:47 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727805
As long as your line is perfect, the TP-Link (TD-8816 or TD-8841) modems are fine. I would not get a TD-8610!

If/when you encounter problems, the ST516 is the best, as it provides the best diagnostic information and manageability.

If you want to de-allocate tones, the TD-8841 is handy.
--
"Warm Globally, Cool Locally."]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727805 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:24:30 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727768
»www.pcvonline.com/Produc ··· dID=6620

»www.speedtouch.ca/zoom.p ··· code=516

but spec wise... there'd be no noticeable difference between using the two with teksavvy, along with my wireless router? thanks.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727768 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:10:24 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727748 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727748 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:59:26 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727644 http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727644 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:20:05 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727589
thanks inssomniak. sounds like a good one. i dont really have my mind set to only get that one, just the cheapest one thats as reliable as others and good.

i have a nice d-link wireless router so thats not a problem with me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727589 Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:03:53 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727506 »www.pcvonline.com/Produc ··· dID=6620]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727506 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 23:41:09 EDT Re: best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727145 said by strobeshow:

hey, is this the better modem to buy to use for teksavvy?

»ncix.com/products/?sku=3 ··· =Thomson

i'd pm it for 45 dollars or so off speedtouch.ca. or is there a better one or something? dont know a lot about modems lol.

thanks!
Some say the 2wire modem is better for marginal links, but I think their reliability sucks, Ive had several fail, as well as several DoAs.
I dont know where you can get them new.

I have never had a st516 fail and I have 6 in a room that is 50 degrees C some days.

St516 doesnt have wireless.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/Re-best-modem-st-516-22727145 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:21:24 EDT best modem? (st 516?) http://www.dslreports.com/forum/best-modem-st-516-22727114
»ncix.com/products/?sku=3 ··· =Thomson

i'd pm it for 45 dollars or so off speedtouch.ca. or is there a better one or something? dont know a lot about modems lol.

thanks!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/best-modem-st-516-22727114 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 22:13:43 EDT