On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 14:27:20 +0100 Norbert Kamenicky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> Linux Gentoo wrote: > > On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 18:38:10 -0500 > > > > It's an external hardware modem on ttyS0. And I am connecting, > > otherwise you wouldn't be seeing this email. I'm just not staying > > connected. Um, I worked for years for a isp-which-shall-remain-nameless dealing with hardware issues. Most connectivity problems are due to poor setup of the comm program or bad phone lines which create signal noise on the line which interferes with the signal you are trying to send. Since any interference will tend to cause you to disconnect, that is probably the culprit in this case. What kind of modem do you have? What's the connection speed if you do get connected? How do you have the hardware hooked up? Any splitters, long phone cords, cheap/ratty phone cords or other reasons why the signal may be attenuating? Replace the phone cord with as short a length as possible, with NO splitters on the line, make sure that there is nothing that could provide interference to the signal and try again. If you have a separate line/number, try that line with the modem. Do not use the over the ac power line phone converters or wireless phone setups, they are inherently noisy or prone to interference. (True story, lady called up one day complaining that she lost her connection every time the refrigerator turned on. She had run the phone cord behind the thing, it was an ancient model and apparently, the motor wasn't shielded that well. We were on the same line and when it cranked on, you could hear the hum on the phone line.) Unhook the phone cord from the modem and hook it to a regular phone. Call someone and tell them you are just checking the phone for noise and could they put it down for a minute in a pillow or something. LISTEN! If you hear anything, try the same experiment from a different phone jack in the house on the same line. If you still hear noise, call the phone company (from the noisiest phone you own), on that line. (Some phones are just plain noisy.) Complain sweetly, asking them to fix the noise, please, it's driving you buggy. DO NOT SAY the words "computer","modem", "Linux" or"connection" when you talk to the nice person on the phone.( Otherwise they will tell you that they don't support modem or fax connections, and they don't, but they will take steps to kill the noise for you.) They will run a remote check on the wiring, if they find something, they will send someone out to fix it.(You can also check it with the procedure outlined below, but the program they use checks for noise outside the range most of us can hear.) If they don't find an external problem with the line, it may be between the box on the outside of the building and your phone. Locate the box and check for physical damage. (I had one that was cracked, and it leaked water if it rained from the north and the wind was blowing fairly hard. That one about drove me crazy trying to figure out. I made the connection only because the back door opened to the north and I had to walk the dog in the rain one day and the rain driving into the house and the inability to get a connection minutes earlier just clicked.) If you have your own house, it won't be hard to find, if you live in an apartment, check with the landlord. If you can get to the physical location of the box, all the ones I've seen have a phone jack that you can plug your test phone into to check the connection. Plug it in and see if you hear noise when you call out, if not, it's an interior wiring problem, and your life now officially sucks. (If you live in an apartment, your life sucks even more, because the phone company most likely is NOT going to fix the line between that box and your phone jack.) If you live in a house, you are going to pay the phone company to fix the line unless you have been paying the monthly fee for phone repair. If you only have one line, and you determine that it's a problem between the phone jack and the box on the outside, you are going to make an appointment for the phone guy to come over and check the lines, or to add a new line just for the computer. (if you do that, check the phone company for the best deal, sometimes they do something called a "teen line" where the installation and monthly charge a bit cheaper.) You want to BE THERE WHEN PHONE GUY IS THERE! You want him to be predisposed to help you. You want to be as nice as you can, but don't try to impress him with your knowledge, this is the time to try out those social engineering skills you heard about. Let him explain how the phone thing works to you, most folks take pride in their work, use ego and "pride in work" to your advantage. When the guy is in the house, explain to him the dilemma of the noise interfering with the connection, and ask him to do the best he can to fix it. How you word this is going to depend on your impression of the guy. You don't want to be the last customer of the day, you don't want him to be delaying his lunch break because of you, etc. Heck, make the appoint for first thing in the morning, take the day off or call in sick, run out for a dozen fresh donuts and make coffee. "hey, I know you probably aren't supposed to take stuff from customers, but I got these donuts if you want some. Oh yeah, I'm fixing to make some coffee, you want a cup?" Explain your problem, find out what his solution is, make adjustments as necessary then get out of his way! =) Tell the phone guy that you want the best connection you can get for your computer. I have yet to have one give me a hard time about it, unlike the folks on the phone you call with a complaint. This is backed with plenty of testimony from clients I spoke with at my isp gig, btw. I did have one phone repair guy put in a phone jack for me when I wanted a separate line for computer, so I wouldn't have to run a long phone cord in the house, that cost me $50. I would recommend it, because then it's all new wiring. When you set up the appointment, tell the phoneco that's what you may want and find out what it costs in your area. > It's so simple then ... > 1. start your inet connection > 2. kill the program which communicates with modem (kill -9 something) > 3. start "minicom -o" (without initialization of modem) > 4. command at&v will show u actual modem setup Modems talk in ALL CAPS btw. AT&V. You can also check the manufacturer's manual, if you received one. Check their website, if necessary and download it. > U can save actual setup using at&w command. you can also save it to one of up to [ number of profiles set by manufacturer ]. It's in the manual. AT&W1, AT&W2, etc. > U can restore saved setup by atz command. ATZ That should reset the modem to the default. It's a good idea to issue that particular command before you close your com program, btw. > Command at&f restores setup to factory predefined. > Unless you have changed it, which is possible with the AT&W command. Use AT&W1 to save whatever you want, and load that with AT&F1. Years ago, I burnt out a modems eprom by making it write the commands every time I initialized it. duh. > So if u compare saved outputs of at&v (after step 3.) > and after at&f, u will find the right init string. > Also your isp may have an example of what it uses, make your init string match theirs. -- "To announce there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -Theodore Roosevelt -- [EMAIL PROTECTED] mailing list
