Msg: 112 *Conference*

06-21-91 19:53:42

From: ED DAHLGREN

To : FRANK HENZE

Subj: REPLY TO MSG #109 (MODEM)

Frank --
 
If being hooked up to the D/VI improves your communication performance, then
maybe the slower display speed of the 100's LCD is causing a problem.  Didn't
someone (Rick?) just post that it was a 600 bps device?  I'm afraid that is the
end of that particular insight; I briefly ran a 102 with a Hayes-compatible
modem at 2400 bps (no external display) and had no problems, so I'm not sure
....
 
As to clean connects with CompuServe vs. not-so-good ones here, I'll vouch for
Rick's observations doubly and triply.  Is your CompuServe connection a local
number, and are you dialing long-distance to here?  How about your connections
to other long-distance BBS's?
 
First off, if your CompuServe number is local, then it sounds like you're not
having problems between your modem and the telephone company office.  That's
good; they're a major headache.  Keep in mind that even if that section of the
line is good now, it might not be if you have heavy rains sometime and your
circuit is underground.  Just to pick an example I've had to deal with all too
often.
 
And it sounds like you're not having problems with the equipment in the local
telephone office.  Again, good.  Older offices, which are going to be around
for quite a while longer in smaller communities, often have equipment that
induces noise on the line.  If you find one particular BBS that you ALWAYS have
trouble with, they could be having one of these two kinds of problems and
there's nothing they can do about it.  I was once asked -- no, ordered -- to do
something about a rural New England office over which I would have no control
even if they weren't 2,000 miles away.
 
Now then ... problems with long-distance data.  It still could be in your local
company's equipment, unfortunately, if the problem is in their long-haul
("mains") switching gear.  Not very likely at all if their local connections
are good.  Or it could be in your long-distance carrier's switching gear.  Not
at all likely if it's AT&T or one of the newer companies (which therefore use
newer equipment) such as MCI or Sprint.  Also, many small outfits are actually
just reselling service on one of the bigger companies, so they're not
automatically suspect.
 
In my personal opinion, based on four years of trying to ensure that engineers
could run diagnostic routines over modems to any customer in North America who
paid for the service, far and away the biggest problem is just the fact that
it's a "long distance."  The longer the circuit, the more opportunity for noise
to be induced into the line.
 
Here AT&T is at something of a disadvantage because they own zillions of miles
of copper lines, which are more prone to electrical disturbance.  The companies
that came in quick and cheap (again, MCI, Sprint ....) made more use of either
microwave links or fiber optics strung along railroad lines (as they upgraded
their capacities).  These materials aren't subject to as many problems as the
copper lines.
 
Beyond making sure that you've got the best technology available to you, within
the budget that you think is appropriate, there's nothing much you can do.
It's truly a sad thing to watch a very experienced and extremely capable
software engineer crying after he lost a connection he had nursed along at 300
bps for over an hour, hoping beyond hope that the third time was going to work!
 
No, actually, the way it went was more like this: ED!!!!!!  DO SOMETHING!!!
I'M SICK OF THIS )(*&(*&^^%&*&(*    <-- and this is not garbled text!!!  But
they knew there was nothing either one of us could do except get a cup of
coffee, call the customer, and explain we were going to try again while the
telecom. analyst (me) went to make sure we weren't having any equipment
problems.
 
Hang in there ... try to call at less-busy times so you'll lessen the chance of
getting a circuit at the bottom of the barrel.  (Sometimes this works.)  Try
different baud rates.  Sometimes the encoding at 300 works better than that at
2400 for a given problem, and sometimes it's the other way around.  Experiment
with a different long-distance vendor.  Try calling from a different phone
number, preferably one served by a different local telephone office (ask the
operator ... sometimes they know).  Or, wait an hour and try again.  And good
luck!
 
                                             -- Ed