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[sheddyian]

I'm wondering about replacing my modem for something that'll be reliable and get the best performance without spending excessive amounts of money.

Background :

I'm with TalkTalk, ADSL2+.  Using the TalkTalk supplied Dlink DSL-2780 I get a synch around 20Mb.  This modem has been pretty good, but there seems to be a problem with the wifi.  Streaming to my phone will stutter annoyingly. 

I ruled out wireless channel clashes using InSSIder and found a free channel, this makes no difference.

Also, on wired LAN, web pages occasionally won't load, or part-load then stop.  Pressing F5 wil instantly make them load very quickly without problem.  Packet loss perhaps?  iPlayer and Youtube will sometimes sit and buffer for ages for no obvious reason.

I recently got a Tp-Link TD-W8961ND from a charity shop for £4 

Using this modem instead, the above problems went away.  Web browsing on the phone via wireless was also speedier, buffering problems ceased, and I was happy.

Except the niggle that the TP-Link modem was synching around 2Mb lower than the D-link one.  But I didn't mind too much as it was more reliable.

Until about a week ago, when I started to see lots of resynchs, the synch coming back at around 15Mb.

Yesterday, after yet another drop out, it resynched to 17Mbs with the Noise Margin dropping to 2db.  (would usually be a fairly steady 6db).

Line problem or modem?

Well, I replaced the modem with my original DSL-2780, and straight away got a resynch at just over 20Mb with a noise margin of 6.  Back where I'd expect it.

But of course I've now got the wifi problems back.

It seems to me that the best course of action is to get a new modem.  It'd be nice, but not essential, to be able to tweak the noise margin down a bit, as my line is usually pretty stable and quiet.  Likewise to be able to monitor it well with Routerstats or other bitload plotting programs/scripts.

What would the team recommend?

(I'm going to investigate a bit further why the TP-Link modem kept dropping out - first port of call is to find a spare PSU for it, but longer term I think a new modem might be best)


Ian

[GigabitEthernet]

I can't be of much assistance with a new router, but I can suggest a reason as to the SNRM problems with the TP-Link TD-W8961ND. I have observed, that routers with a TrendNet chipset (examples are the TP-Link TD-W8961ND and Asus N55U) appear to have problems with keeping a constant SNRM; the SNRM will remain normal for a few minutes before it will drop down very low (as low as 2dB as you have seen). Therefore, I do not recommend modems with TrendNet chipsets as they all seem to exhibit this problem.

[sheddyian]

I have observed, that routers with a TrendNet chipset (examples are the TP-Link TD-W8961ND and Asus N55U) appear to have problems with keeping a constant SNRM; the SNRM will remain normal for a few minutes before it will drop down very low (as low as 2dB as you have seen). Therefore, I do not recommend modems with TrendNet chipsets as they all seem to exhibit this problem.

Thanks for that, that's interesting.

I'd certainly noticed that Routerstats would show very little deviation away from 6dB SNRM on the D-Link modem (usually easily within +-0.5dB if not completely flat), but the TP-link would be up and down a fair bit.

It wasn't unusual for the D-Link modem to stay synched for a long time.  I think I've only ever seen it resynch twice of it's own accord in the last 12 months.

I liked the TP-Link because of it's Telnet interface, allowing me to get bitloading etc, which I can't seem to get out of the D-Link (perhaps it's disabled as it's a TalkTalk branded modem).

Ian

[burakkucat]

How about making a donation to the Dogs Trust and receiving a Huawei HG622 in acknowledgement?

Features:

• Broadcom BCM6368 SOC
• G.Dmt, ADSL2, ADSL2+ & VDSL2 modes
• Four 10/100 Mbps LAN ports
• USB port
• WiFi 802.11b/g/n

Plus the added bonus that both Bald_Eagle1's and Eric's respective monitoring packages should be compatible.

[sheddyian]

How about making a donation to the Dogs Trust and receiving a Huawei HG622 in acknowledgement?

Features:

• Broadcom BCM6368 SOC
• G.Dmt, ADSL2, ADSL2+ & VDSL2 modes
• Four 10/100 Mbps LAN ports
• USB port
• WiFi 802.11b/g/n

Plus the added bonus that both Bald_Eagle1's and Eric's respective monitoring packages should be compatible.

I am very interested in this.  Please send particulars by return of post.


Thank you

 

Ian

[burakkucat]

I am very interested in this.  Please send particulars by return of post.

Particulars dispatched by pigeon post . . . 

[renluop]

I'd have thought that a cat dispatching a letter by pigeon post was risky. Both could end up in dead letter box.

[Howlingwolf]

I'd have thought that a cat dispatching a letter by pigeon post was risky. Both could end up in dead letter box.

Using a dead letter drop seems like an eminently sensible precaution on the part of the pigeon.