56K Modems, Dec 97 MacHome -
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Published on: 9/3/2000
Last Visited: 9/3/2000
Brian Robison, Macintosh product team leader for Diamond Supra, said, Right now, we be working hard to get high initial connections. In contrast, Mark McMillan, senior product manager at US Robotics, said, x2 modems try to make a lower-speed guaranteed connection, then step up..
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However, the connection to your telephone company's central office is an analog one, so the shorter the telephone line to the central office, the stronger the signal and the less chance for dropouts. (A central office is a main connection point for a populated area, and where the signal goes digital.) McMillan said if your connection speeds are disappointing, beyond the elemental steps, all you can do is Make sure your telephone company installs a central office next to your house. He cautioned that connection speed is dependent on more than just where you be located.Cumulative factors make a difference, he said.The elemental steps, however, can be as important as those you can not control.The easiest way is to check the actual [ telephone ] line, said Sanchez.The length of the cord from the wall to your modem should be short and uninterrupted by other devices.Some people, he said, use Y-connectors, answering machines and other modems, all connected with more telephone cord, and when they get disappointing connection speeds, They think it be the modem. He recommends you make the modem the first device connected out of the wall socket, and make the cord as short as possible.The length of the phone line plays a factor : Once you get past six feet, you experience a small decline ; once it gets past twenty feet, the voltage might not be strong enough so the modem can detect a signal there. However, if you can not get it that short without rewiring, do not worry about it too much.About ten feet is safe, Sanchez said.