Anyway, we started by checking the modem. It was a Rockwell HCF running
code revision 2.1.2.156 (a surprisingly current version). Looked on
Dell's website for firmware upgrades, and didn't find any. Tried
limiting the connect rate, and still had problems. Tried locking it to
V.34. Things were much better, but it was still renegotiating quite
often, bouncing between 26,400 and 28,800. I was about to lock the
modem to V.34 at 26,400, when I got thinking about how this guy only had
one phone line, and it was a business. I asked about other devices on
the line. He had all of the following on the same line:
- Cordless phone
- Fax machine
- Credit card swipe machine
- Computer
Off these, only the phone was plugged into a separate jack. The fax
machine, credit card machine, and computer were all plugged into the
same jack with two two-way splitters plugged into each other to make
three jacks out of one. So, I had the customer plug the computer
directly into the jack without all the other crap. He immediately hit
48,000. It initially renegotiatied to 45,333, but then it held there
without any problem. In the end, we got rid of the splitters and did
this:
Wall Jack -> Computer -> Fax machine -> Credit card machine.
The connection was fine after that. Anyway, the moral of this story is
to always ask if there are splitters or other devices on the line before
bending over backwards trying to fix a poorly connecting modem. If I
had done this in the first place last night, it would have saved me
probably an hour's worth of troubleshooting.
Craig
Xpressweb Internet Services
craig@xpressweb.com
http://www.xpressweb.com
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