Tempted by BB

My local exchange has recently become BB enabled - and I've been
informed that, technically speaking, low-speed BB is available in my
area.
However, I'm about as far away from the exchange as I can get ( either
10K or 10 miles... ), and due to the quality ( ho ho ) of the line I
have to run my dialup modem at a reduced speed to get a reliable
connection, typically 31200bps.

I'm tempted to see if BB might work, in spite of the check page at BT
warning me that it might not be possible...but even the slowest rate
would be a very considerable speed boost.

I'd obviously like to give it a shot without it becoming an exercise
in pouring money down the drain.

I have a slight head start inasmuch as I've picked up a Speedtouch USB
network terminator from the local tip ( a quid, guv ), and I assume(?)
this is an ADSL modem. Haven't tested it yet, but if it works it'll
save me a few quid - and should be good enough to test the service
before shelling out on some proper kit.

From what I've gleaned, the Zen 256 Home package looks to be the best
bet for me in terms of price and support - but I'd welcome any
comment/caveats..?

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 12:55:47 +0100, Stephen Howard
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>However, I'm about as far away from the exchange as I can get ( either
>10K or 10 miles... ), and due to the quality ( ho ho ) of the line I
>have to run my dialup modem at a reduced speed to get a reliable
>connection, typically 31200bps.

I'm not that far from an exchange but dialup modems connected at a low
speed. However, broadband connects OK at 576Kbps.


--
Steve Wolstenholme Neural Planner Software

EasyNN-plus. The easy way to build neural networks.
http://www.easynn.com

On Mon, 04 Jul 2005 12:55:47 +0100, Stephen Howard
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>From what I've gleaned, the Zen 256 Home package looks to be the best
>bet for me in terms of price and support - but I'd welcome any
>comment/caveats..?

that's where I would start if failure was expected. Do you have an
NTE5 master socket with detachable lower half - that'll help too.

Phil
--
Tiscali - dialup speeds at Broadband prices, see
http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/postlist...&Board=tiscali

AOL - the unlimited ISP of choice for heavy downloaders.

"Stephen Howard" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
>
> My local exchange has recently become BB enabled - and I've been
> informed that, technically speaking, low-speed BB is available in my
> area.
> However, I'm about as far away from the exchange as I can get ( either
> 10K or 10 miles... ), and due to the quality ( ho ho ) of the line I
> have to run my dialup modem at a reduced speed to get a reliable
> connection, typically 31200bps.

[...]

> I have a slight head start inasmuch as I've picked up a Speedtouch USB
> network terminator from the local tip ( a quid, guv ), and I assume(?)
> this is an ADSL modem. Haven't tested it yet, but if it works it'll
> save me a few quid - and should be good enough to test the service
> before shelling out on some proper kit.

Hmmm... On your long line, my guess is you'll need the best router money can
buy.

> From what I've gleaned, the Zen 256 Home package looks to be the best
> bet for me in terms of price and support - but I'd welcome any
> comment/caveats..?

I'm on that service, also 10+ km line length - made the mistake of starting
with the Home 500 service which worked for less than half the time, some
days not at all - now regraded to Home 250, and the Netgear DG834 (supplied
by Zen) has now been connected without a break for 115 hours (in fact
continuously since I stopped fiddling with different locations, leads and
filters etc). I also tried a Speedtouch "Frog" USB modem (£5 via ebay), but
that has so far failed to connect at all (I will try it elsewhere soon to
see if it is faulty). You will also need to decide quite quickly if the
service is good enough or not - BT don't hold open for very long any offer
to refund the £50 connection charge - although I understand Zen will refund
on the hardware if the service is not good enough. I think it would be well
worthwhile contacting Zen Technical Support for advice on the best router to
get for your situation.

Trevor Morris

>
> Regards,
>
>
>
> --
> Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
> www.shwoodwind.co.uk
> Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk

On Mon, 4 Jul 2005 20:06:26 +0100, "Trevor Morris" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

<snip>
>
>I'm on that service, also 10+ km line length - made the mistake of starting
>with the Home 500 service which worked for less than half the time, some
>days not at all - now regraded to Home 250, and the Netgear DG834 (supplied
>by Zen) has now been connected without a break for 115 hours (in fact
>continuously since I stopped fiddling with different locations, leads and
>filters etc). I also tried a Speedtouch "Frog" USB modem (£5 via ebay), but
>that has so far failed to connect at all (I will try it elsewhere soon to
>see if it is faulty). You will also need to decide quite quickly if the
>service is good enough or not - BT don't hold open for very long any offer
>to refund the £50 connection charge - although I understand Zen will refund
>on the hardware if the service is not good enough. I think it would be well
>worthwhile contacting Zen Technical Support for advice on the best router to
>get for your situation.
>
Sounds like a plan - I noticed the offer of a refund for hardware in
the event of service failure, and from what I gather from the comments
on this forum some routers are better than others in this situation.

Regards,



--
Stephen Howard - Woodwind repairs & period restorations
www.shwoodwind.co.uk
Emails to: showard{whoisat}shwoodwind{dot}co{dot}uk