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Thread ID: 78701	2007-04-25 07:46:00	Caller Alert/Dial up speed.	Gordon62 (11771)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
544234	2007-04-25 07:46:00	Hi just a quick (maybe not so quick) question for the teckies. Some time ago I bought a little gizmo to allow me to receive calls while on the Intenet(dial up) called Catch-A-Call. One crapped out within the warranty period I got another but it also died shortly thereafter. I did not request another but got my cash back. Download speeds after dunping Catch-A-Call remained at max 52kb/s. I have since had 2 similar gizmo's from DS called "Caller Alert"-the first one died after about a year and the 2nd after about 6 months. I have the last of their stock. The question is that when the DS gizmo was attached via the modem I got between 50.6 to 52kb/s speeds. When I disconnected it I got only 45 or so kb/s. The latest one boosts the speed up to a max of 52kb/s-disconnect and it goes back to 45kb/s. My ISP says the 45kb/s speed is acceptable and the modem diagnostics tells me it's OK. Why DS discontinued the Caller Alert makes me think it was an unreliable bit of poop but why would it affect the modem speeds to such a degree (I realise this may not be much in the real world). But, could such a device affect the modem to the extent that it has and could it have damaged the modem such that it is no longer capable of accepting the faster download speeds it was originally capable of? From memory the first 2 from DS came with an adaptor rated at between 9-12 volts this last one is rated at 15 volts which is what the manual states as the correct voltage and appears to run much cooler. Regards Gordon.	Gordon62 (11771)
544235	2007-04-25 07:54:00	Most ISP's if you're on dialup, will say anything above 33k is good enough. It may also depend on where you are / and whether its been raining, on what speed you connect at. I usually connect at 50.6 here. It has never really gone above or below this. And I doubt, even tho its a 56k modem, that you'll ever connect at 56000.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
544236	2007-04-25 07:59:00	It is not going to make much difference whether you connect at 45k or 52k as far as web sites are concerned. If you are concerned about missing phone calls why not go onto broadband.	Safari (3993)
544237	2007-04-25 08:16:00	Yes I had 2 DS caller alerts. The first one packed up after about 9 months and was replaced with a new one. The second one became redundant when I changed to broadband. With a stroke of luck someone advertised for one on this forum a couple of years ago and I sold it too them. I would suspect DS stopped getting them made due to more people going to broadband, or to many becoming faulty. Trevor :)	Trev (427)
544238	2007-04-25 08:30:00	Hi Speedy & Safari-no I'm not really worried about the dial up speeds per se, the thing that intrugues me is that before instaling the damned thing I could see the dial up speed as being max 52kb ( if anyone phoned- well I'm never in anyway)! Since the last dump of this gizmo the speed went down as said before. Since plugging in the new one it has gone up again-just trying to work out why this should be. As regards going on to broadband Safari when you are on an Invalids benefit and can barely type with one hand would anything really speed up that much? If and when I can sell off my walker, ride on, and whatever WINZ ever allow me I just might consider it. No offence Safari but there are some of us out here that just cannot justify the expense at present. Regards Gordon	Gordon62 (11771)
544239	2007-04-25 09:11:00	The connect speed and the data throughput are entirely different things as well. I suspect the Caller Alert perhaps matches the line impedance a little better than the modem, or provides a degree of isolation from any other phone on the circuit. I have a dial-up connection at another location where I connect at about 42 kb/s, but the data throughput is abysmal, downloads seldom exceed 1 kB/s. Setting the modem to connect at 33 kb/s sees an increase in data speed to 2.5 kB/s oir 2.5 times that of the faster connection. Line noise (electric fences) is the culprit in my case, but it does illustrate that you should not place any reliance on the "connect speed" as a measure of quality of the connection. data throughput may well be higher (or the same) without the Caller Alert, despite the difference in reported speeds.	godfather (25)
544240	2007-04-26 07:08:00	Hi Godfather-I didn't think of impedence and you are probably right, just never crossed my mind. I also have problems with electric fences (mine and others) particularly in wet weather when they short on grass, posts etc. I try to remember to turn my fence off when on the Internet as the fence goes straight past(within 4 inches) of the PO cable bundle thingy. Turning my fence off doesn't always sort the problem as I'm surrounded by them. When it's cold wet and windy like an old man's bum I know I'm going to get knocked off line at some point! Thanks for the input anyway-much appreciated. I just wonder how long tricky dickies last phone gizmo will last before I get too peed off and flog me WINZ "aids" and sign up for broadband? Regards Gordon.	Gordon62 (11771)
544241	2007-04-26 07:17:00	I wonder if it would be worth trying a 3dB attenuator in the line to improve the matching. It's a thought. :D I remember that many fast modems (9600 bps) had an adjustment which could be tweaked to get the cleanest "eye pattern". I think it was a level adjustment, so it was a step attenuator, and it would have had a known fixed impedance.	Graham L (2)
544242	2007-04-26 15:55:00	I wonder if it would be worth trying a 3dB attenuator in the line to improve the matching . It's a thought . :D I remember that many fast modems (9600 bps) had an adjustment which could be tweaked to get the cleanest "eye pattern" . I think it was a level adjustment, so it was a step attenuator, and it would have had a known fixed impedance . I wonder if this tweak is really working . . . or just giving phoney results . The old days of CB radio and "match boxes" to make the transceiver think it had a matched antenna on the other end was just a joke . It never really improved the radiation or reception (impossible) . . . but it made the operator feel better to know they did something to improve their signal by upping the load . Insertion of the match box actually harmed the signal . . . a slight degradation that was never spoken of, but existed . Even the "A-B" switch has significant losses . A dB here, a dB there . . . {dB=20*log(A1/A2)}, so in things electronic, I see no actual improvement in speeds . . . just the perceived gain . I imagine it would be possible to get the signals all in lock step, if phasing were to be the real culprit here . . . I will have to wait to see what pj and Graham have to say about that . . . . . but I also think a simple way of gaining much improvement would require more than a simple dummy load or switchable equalization device . . . . more of a very dynamic and active sampler/phaser or signal/wave correction circuit to do that . :nerd:	SurferJoe46 (51)
544243	2007-04-26 19:26:00	before instaling the damned thing I could see the dial up speed as being max 52kb ( And how did you "see" that exactly? What your icon in the taskbar reported? Which is misleading. The only way to see what you really get is to do a speed test. That shows the true download speed.	pctek (84)
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