DialUp Dilemma

[21dealerdave]

I need a new 56K dialup pci modem. Can anyone recommend a modem they've had a good experience with?

 

[zipperman]

It's been 10 years since i used Dial up.Can you not afford or get
Cable or something better ?
Unless you want it only for Faxing.But stick with PCI,not External.

 

[SNGX1275]

I've used several modems in the past. My expierence leads me to believe you should not buy from a box store or wal mart because the prices are incredibly high. Instead find somewhere online where you can get them for $5 to $10.

I haven't seen any difference in speed with cheap vs a $35 one from Staples. I've had both kinds die spontaniously. So my suggestion is to buy 2 cheap ones, that way if one dies you have a spare.

The real expensive PCI ones do all the processing onboard, the cheap ones are called Winmodems and software takes care of the processing rather than the card. In theory the more expensive ones are better, and they take some load off your CPU, that really isn't a problem with processors above about a Pentium (I). Same holds true for external serial modems. External USB ones can still be Winmodems, and cost more than I think they should.

The advantage of non winmodems are linux gets along with them better, although there are quite a few winmodems supported in linux now.

 

[BlameCanada]

Make sure it`s a V.92 one.

Also,be aware you can get broadband deals

from some places, that are similarly priced to

dial up,from other places.

 

[SNGX1275]

Some places you can't get broadband, unless you pay a LOT of money for satellite. Not everyone lives in cities.

 

[Tedster]

just about any dial up modem will work fine these days. The technology is extremely old and was perfected about 10 years ago. You can't go wrong with US robotics etc... before buying, you can get one off of ebay dirt cheap for a couple of bucks....

if you have alternatives consider DSL, it is about the same price as dial up service if you have it in your area.

 

[21dealerdave]

Can you not afford or get
Cable or something better ?
But stick with PCI,not External.

Fixed income--dialup save $30/mo.

 

[Po`Girl]

What are you paying for dial up exactly ?

 

[21dealerdave]

I found a USR Model 0726 and downloaded a driver from driverguide. It appears in Device Mgr and seems to be installed correctly but when my ISP disc trys to dial for local numbers an error message says: modem does not detect a dial tone.
I've tested with a regular phone and dial tone seems normal. I wonder if I have a bad modem?

 

[21dealerdave]

I have 2 other PCI modems that were pulled from an eMachine (SmartLink
56PSV-A-W SL1800) and a Compaq (PCTel Platinum D:1156IV/P2A) drivers were downloaded but I could not get either one to install.
Neither modem appears in the manufacturers list in windows so I am at a loss as to the correct installation procedure. Any suggestions?

 

[21dealerdave]

Make sure it`s a V.92 one.

No reason to go V.92.

I asked one of the local phone company technicians and he said the company had no plans, or any incentive, to change to the V.92 protocol. They will keep the connection speeds where they are in order to get more people to sign up for the more profitable hi-speed programs.
Isn't big business just wonderful?

 

[21dealerdave]

What are you paying for dial up exactly ?

$9.94/mo for unlimited service. I am very happy with it for the cost.

 

[zipperman]

Thanks for commenting

I've had those times in my life too.Although i am retired and on a fixed
income,i give useing the Internet Budget priority and find a way to afford it.
My Rogers High Speed internet,includeing modem is $ 33.11 per month.
It's part of a TV (70 channels) and Internet package.Total is $ 83.00.

 

[Po`Girl]

Several big ISPs (Verizon,AT etc) do a 768 Kbp connection for $ 15 /mo

but if your happy with your current deal, that`s like totally cool,as my friend

Cartman likes to say.

 

[SNGX1275]

I found a USR Model 0726 and downloaded a driver from driverguide. It appears in Device Mgr and seems to be installed correctly but when my ISP disc trys to dial for local numbers an error message says: modem does not detect a dial tone.
I've tested with a regular phone and dial tone seems normal. I wonder if I have a bad modem?

Make sure its in the correct jack on the modem. If that is done, then the modem is bad. I've seen that before.

 

[21dealerdave]

I got another US Robotics Fax PCI model 0726 and got a driver from driverguide that was tested to work correctly with Win2K.
Installed the driver, put the modem in the PCI slot and my Asus A8N-E recognized the new modem immediately.
Just to be sure I opened up the device manager and the properties tab showed the modem correctly.

When I clicked the button "Query Modem" an ERROR message appeared:

Modem failed to respond. Verify that the interupt for the port is set properly.

Is anyone familiar with this particular error message and what is the usual cause?

 

[21dealerdave]

I gave up on the USR modem. I think I will keep searching locally to find amodel that has a proven track record with the local phone company equipment.
Thanks for the help everyone!

 

[zipperman]

Glad you did.I had a USR external but internal cards (WinModems)
use more resources.and it wasn't that much better for the cost.
But you should be OK if your not
into a lot of multitasking.Just use it alone when you need it.