Do modems age? I ask this because for the first few years of owning a
56K usrobotics modem 5683 I'd get transfer rates of just over 5KB/sec.
However after not really paying attention to speeds for a year or so
until just recently I noticed I am lucky to get 4 KB/Sec. The only
major change on my end was a while ago, all I did was upgrade the
flash to allow v.92, but I checked the speed afterward and it didn't
reduce.

Thanks.

"Anon Ymous" <anon2402@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:c980b467.0312171230.2f5f9ec4@posting.google.c om...

Without seeing post-call diagnostics from a year ago and comparing them to
what you get today, it would be hard for anyone to tell you what happened.
But modems can "age" although it is more likely they will simply go bad and
performance will go to almost zero instead of a small change. The more
likely cause of the change is line conditions changing or the upgrade to
V.92 having an effect. A number of people have noticed a change in
performance after that upgrade so don't dismiss it yet.

Look at post call diagnostics and see if there are lots of errors and/or
speedshifts occurring. The post-call diagnostic is ati6i11 and should be
done in a terminal program after disconnecting from any online session of 15
minutes or more.


--

Hooda Gest
"The only thing I do immediately is procrastinate."

hmm i would disable v92 and try v90 only! hmm for a v92 winmode you
can use AT +PIG=1 +PMH=1 +PQC=3 Note: The spaces are necessary for
this string to work, hmmm +MS=V90 would do for others v92 USR modems

You can try running some diagnostics with hyperterminal

1From the Start menu, choose Run. The Run window will appear.
2In the Open field, type hypertrm and then click the OK button. The
HyperTerminal window will appear.
3When prompted for a name, click the Cancel button.
4Type ATDT, followed by the local access number and press the Enter
key.
5Stay connected for 60-90 seconds so that some data can be sent and
received.
6From the Call menu, choose Disconnect.
7Once you are disconnected, type ATE1 and then press the Enter key.
This will ensure that local echo is enabled.
8Type ATI6 and then press the Enter key.
9In the information that comes up, locate the BLERs field. A number
of BLERs greater than 67 indicates a possible line noise problem.
10Type ATI11 and press the Enter key.

In the information that comes up, locate the SNR field. A number
below 40 also indicates a possible line noise problem.
================================================== ==================
To perform a line noise test with any US Robotics modem (Method 2)
================================================== ==================
From the Start menu, choose Run.

In the Open field, type hypertrm and then click the OK button. The
HyperTerminal window will open.

In the Name field, type test, and then click the OK button.

Enter your access number and then click the OK button.

Ensure that the correct modem is selected and then click the Dial
button.

After the handshake has completed, you should get a line with the
Station ID listed followed by the message Welcome. Please Sign On.
Stay connected for 60 to 90 seconds so that some data will be sent and
received.

From the Call menu, choose Disconnect.

Once you are disconnected, type ATE1 and then press the Enter key.
This will ensure that local echo is enabled.

Type ATI6 and then press the Enter key. Note: If the Block errors
value displayed is greater than 60 per minute, this will indicate
problems with the phone line signal. You will need to divide the total
block errors by the length of the last call (also indicated in ATI6)
to calculate block errors per minute.

Type ATI11 and then press the Enter key. If the value displayed for
either the SNR or the 8th status item is less than 40, you may have
line noise problems.The following table indicates expected stable
speeds for the given SNR value:
40+ 33,600-56,000

37-40 33,600-56,000 (a little unstable at high speeds)

34-37 31,200-33,600

31-34 28,800-31,200

29-31 26,400-28,800

28-29 24,000-26,400

25-28 16,800-24,000

23-25 14,400-16,800