🚀 go-pugleaf

          Potted discussions on various NGs from 8-28 Nov 2000

In article <4a1a7821d7reghems@argonet.co.uk> Reg Hems wrote:
> In article <b307e7194a.stevef@sfryatt.fsnet.co.uk> Steve Fryatt
>       <stevef@tardis.ed.ac.uk> wrote:
>> In article <1dae1194a%Mark@foweraker.freeuk.com> Mark wrote:

>>> I have never had to try with FreeUK more than twice, except when their
>>> system was down, so how you get to 12 attempts is a mystery to me. 

>> It's very easy: it can often take me 20-30 attempts to connect. I /am/
>> considering changing...

> Don't jump to conclusions. It now takes me also a few dozen attempts to
> connect but connection problems are currently also reported by others on
> the Argo NGs .....

> The 'connection' problems are a few dozen attempts to connect followed
> by "Modem took too long", or "Modem reported an error", or dialling but
> no ringing tone, or ringing for a minute or so, followed by a message
> from BT Dot "Sorry, there is a fault. Please try later".

> I connect after the 1st or 2nd attempt usually at midnight. In the
> morning, afternoon and early evening I have sometimes interminable
> attempts at connecting.

> I thought it was the SupraExpress 56 modem which I started using on
> 18 Oct but my USR 28.8 which has worked faultlessly since 27 Apr 1996 is
> now behaving exactly the same.

> A few weeks ago somebody reported that his chronic authentication
> problems disappeared when he moved house � mile up the same road.

> I would conclude that the problem is caused by interaction between my
> setup and the BT lines.

When I reduce my modem connect speed from 115200 to 57600 both modems
connect 1st time without fail. 

> However, it just occurred to me that in my case it roughly coincides
> with the onset of the British monsoon. 

> September was dry and warm and I finished painting the outside windows
> the day before it started to rain during the last week of Sep. I was
> without computer (A420) from 4-18 Oct so my problems could have started
> anytime during these two weeks.

> A combination of dampness, quality of the local lines (in- and  outside
> and gain, busy time of the day, timing variables between computers and
> modems? 

A few months ago my daughter bought a new DOS compatible using 
Windows 2000 software. She gave her old one (Windows 95) to my wife
who is now learning to use it but who has not had a single connection
failure (yet). Our m\cs are in adjacent bedrooms.

My daughter told me last week that her modem had 'stopped' working (no
ringing tone). I suggested she try reducing her modem connect speed and
this has now solved the problem. She lives less than a mile away from us
(EN4 Cockfosters - N.London).

In article <na.af15394a1f.a80400glandy@argonet.co.uk> John Hughes wrote:

| However, two weeks ago I noticed a BT engineer was standing up to his
| knees in water in a manhole the other side of the road working on a
| jungle of wiring. Since then authentification takes 5 seconds and I'm
| away! I think your problems may be caused by the local BT lines or the
| wiring in your premises.

This morning a BT engineer was working in the manhole in front of our
house. I know now what John meant by this 'jungle of wiring' :-) It had
been raining heavily these last couple of days and there was about an inch
of water at the bottom of the manhole. The BT engineer told me that this
ball of wiring would be wrapped up in a new watertight box\whatever.

This evening I connected at 19:00. I had the ringing tone immediately at
the 1st attempt :-)) but then failed to authenticate and the modem
(SupraExpress 56) disconnected after 89 s with an error message. 

Tried twice more. No authentication the first time so I disconnected after
30 and was successful the third time. Immediate ringing tones in all
cases. 

Will now see what happens after midnight. 
�
* Those, who know the least, know it the loudest.

-- 
Reg Hems ZFC LXV4 \_
BBC B Micro Iss.3&7 \_
Atomwide Serial board \_
420/1-IDE-SCSI-ARM3-8Mb \_
USR Sportster 28.8-115200 \_
      reghems@argonet.co.uk |
Uploaded on Sat,31 Mar 2001.01:31