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Author Topic: Nostalgia - Networking in the "Early Days"  (Read 1306 times)

Weaver

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Re: Nostalgia - Networking in the "Early Days"
« Reply #15 on: November 23, 2021, 03:15:31 AM »

I too remember DACS boxes, often telling my new domestic customers, back when I was doing consultancy work, that they needed first of all to get the wretched things removed. Which they generally succeeded in doing. BT did realise that the DACS boxes prevented access to all joy, gladness and goodness in your future life,
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Black Sheep

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Re: Nostalgia - Networking in the "Early Days"
« Reply #16 on: November 23, 2021, 08:26:52 AM »

I supposed they served a purpose at that point in the telecoms journey.

As engineers, we hated them ..... a right royal pain in the backside .... but we were just thankful DSL broke onto the market and a programme of DACS removal was introduced, as there were mutterings around that time of something called HAPS (I think that's what it was ??), that could give 10 independent dial-tones as opposed to the DACS's two.  :'(
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Chrysalis

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Re: Nostalgia - Networking in the "Early Days"
« Reply #17 on: November 24, 2021, 05:00:59 PM »

I think I had a good 56k line, used to get close to mid 40s connection rate which I believed at the time was considered good.

I remember someone making an app for one dialup isp that used to boot you every 24 hours and added a prompt when dialling in to prevent connecting whilst no human present, it basically automatically navigated the prompt to allow for 24/7 connectivity, those were the days eh.
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Weaver

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Re: Nostalgia - Networking in the "Early Days"
« Reply #18 on: November 25, 2021, 01:14:59 AM »

Was Freeserve like that, kicking you off after a certain length of time? If I remember correctly, Demon, whom I used, didn’t kick you off - is that correct?

I used to get 49 k / 33k even out here! An exceptionally thick copper line because of the extreme length, and no neighbours at all once you have done the first mile from the exchange, so exceptionally quiet in electrical noise terms and even more so at those very low frequencies so RF from radio stations not an issue as it is with ADSL in the high downstream band.
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Alex Atkin UK

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Re: Nostalgia - Networking in the "Early Days"
« Reply #19 on: November 25, 2021, 02:19:53 AM »

AFAIK they all kicked you off if you were on the flat-rate service?
I believe it was related to BT only allowing the call charge to be free for an hour so the ISP kicked you off to avoid you incurring charges.

It wasn't the best setup as ISPs still had chargeable numbers too and mine sent an e-mail out letting people know their number had changed.  I misread it, and ended up using the chargeable number accruing a bill of hundreds of pounds.  I believe they waived it in the end, but it wasn't fun.
« Last Edit: November 25, 2021, 02:22:27 AM by Alex Atkin UK »
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4candles

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Re: Nostalgia - Networking in the "Early Days"
« Reply #20 on: November 27, 2021, 10:53:13 AM »

Ah, so it was the DACS units that were evil in terms of DC voltages. I had completely forgotten about them.
The +80/-80V on a teleprinter line could give you a jolt too.  :'(
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