DP Tool Club 31

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Text File | 1996-05-20 | 22KB | 270 lines

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ -=< The Cheshire Cat Newsletter >=- │ │ │ │ │ │ December 21, 1994 Issue 27 │ │--------------------------------------------------------------------------- │ │ │ │ │ │ Moving With Your Modems - a Survival Kit │ │ │ │It's hard to believe in this day & age, but there are areas where the phone │ │company - Pacific Bell, at least- is only required to provide "voice │ │quality" phone lines. In my case that means a maximum of (a very shaky) │ │4800 baud! Before I begin, understand that I'm not an expert on phone │ │lines or the various phone companies' various systems. The information I'm │ │passing along here is a compilation of things I've learned from Pacific │ │Bell representatives at various levels, and from friends who've been very │ │helpful. You must know: My very first contact at Pacific Bell just │ │happened to be the sysop of a BBS in Sacramento. Be warned that unless │ │you're (extremely) lucky and bump into just such a person, the reps in │ │general have little-or-no knowledge of the system I'm about to describe. │ │Their final answer will always │ │be "get a business line" - which, as you may already know, is useless (not │ │to mention financially out-of-reach for a free BBS or the casual modemer). │ │You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the handsome prince - that │ │one person who KNOWS what you're talking about, understands it's important │ │and is willing & able to help you track down a solution. │ │ │ │ │ │ Disclaimer │ │ │ │My explanations of the phone company's systems and terminology is as │ │accurate as what they've provided to me. │ │ │ │ │ │ Acknowledgements │ │ │ │to the Pacific Bell service rep in Sacramento, without whose help I │ │wouldn't have had a prayer of keepingmy BBS online. I'd gladly give his │ │name but it's been a couple months since I spoke to him and I lost his │ │number. Thanks! (If you see this...!) │ │ │ │to those 2-in-100 other Pacific Bell reps who took the time and made the │ │effort to either help or point me to someone who could help. I appreciate │ │you. Thanks again. │ │ │ │to my many online friends who spent so much of their own time & energy to │ │find out as much as possible. That info was very, very valuable in helping │ │me decide how to proceed. You guys ALWAYS seem to be there for me. I │ │think you know how greatful I am. │ │ │ │ │ │Sally Kosh, SysOp -=< The Cheshire Cat BBS >=- Top #: 916-587-6947 │ │ │ │ (now operating at 28.8k v.34 on all nodes!) │ │ OK! Let's Get Started! │ │ │ │If you NEED this information, I hope it helps. If ever you have │ │information to add to this, think about passing it along to me. I'll │ │include it and re-issue this file. │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) with Copper, End-to-End │ │ │ │POTS is simply the phone-line system Pacific Bell normally provides. On │ │POTS your connection with the telephone company's facility is normally │ │accomplished using copper, end-to-end. All other things (your inside phone │ │wiring, your modem, etc.) being equal, your data connections should be │ │strong. (My 28.8k v.34 US Robotics Dual Standard modems would be capable │ │of transferring files at around 3,300 characters per second on "POTS, with │ │copper end-to-end" phone line connections.) │ │ │ │ │ │ Pair Gain - or, Kiss That Information SuperHighway Goodbye │ │ │ │Pacific Bell's Pair Gain system was created by the Marquis de Sade. Well │ │maybe not but... The phone company uses it in low-density areas to keep │ │their costs down. That's completely understandable (or at least it was │ │acceptable, before data transmission was a consideration) and they have the │ │California Public Utility Commission's permission to do it. They are │ │required to provide no more than voice-quality phone lines. Here's Pair │ │Gain explained, as I understand it: Copper is used from Pacific Bell's │ │(Truckee) facility to our "main junction" (in Glenshire). At that point - │ │and again at either 4 or 5 "boxes" between that box and me - the bandwidth │ │is "split" amongst several lines terminating at our homes. I got 2 │ │different figures; one rep said that as many as 24 phone numbers could be │ │sharing the same signal. The other guy (one of those saviors I mentioned │ │earlier) said 96. Either way, it spells disaster for data communication. │ │My 28.8's, connected to other 28.8's that're on normal copper POTS, │ │couldn't do any better than 1,100 characters per second, or about 1/3 of │ │what's optimum for these modems. When I called my BBS from another 28.8 │ │(connected to my non-BBS computer), I could barely achieve 900 CPS. Even │ │at those pathetic rates the connections were quite unreliable - there were │ │many, many "Lost Carrier" messages in the BBS logs. And faxing was │ │impossible at any baud rate. │ │ │ │ │ │ The Light At the End of the Tunnel (AKA Doug) │ │ │ │Doug (the local Pacific Bell engineer) was recommended to me by the Pac │ │Bell serviceman named J.B., who checked my lines and informed me that I had │ │"good, solid 4800-baud connections". After several minutes of muttering │ │under his breath (something like "... too old for this; 13 more days till I │ │retire...") J.B. mentioned he's a HAM operator. Since his hobby and mine │ │have much in common, I appealed to him at that level and when he left he │ │gave me Doug's name and number. This interaction is what prompted me to │ │write this "helper file" in the first place; more on that in a minute... │ │back to Doug. │ │ │ │I put off calling Doug for a couple of weeks, meanwhile trying other │ │avenues and contemplating alternatives, and I'll get back to that, too. │ │When I finally did contact Doug, I knew immediately that it was THE │ │connection I had needed. He listened, he absorbed, he understood, he │ │determined the extent of the problem and he told me what WOULD BE DONE to │ │eliminate it. AND he returned my phone call! I knew it would be solved - │ │for the first time in 5 weeks I didn't have the sinking feeling that I'd │ │have to shut down the BBS, which has been a major part of my life for the │ │past 8 years. I was so elated... this guy must think I'm knitting with │ │only one needle! I was GROVELING with gratitude! │ │ │ │ │ │ Tips, Traps & Best Wishes │ │ │ │ │ │The reason I put off calling Doug for so long is that I felt - correctly, │ │as it turns out - he would be my last, best hope of salvation. I - and │ │several online friends working on behalf of me and the BBS - had been │ │hitting a dead end with Pacific Bell for weeks. No matter how we tried, we │ │always came up against "we're not required to provide more than │ │voice-quality lines in that area" (read as "tough luck") and "get a │ │business line". So... it took more recuperation time, each time I hit the │ │brick wall. If Doug wasn't the answer, the BBS would certainly be dead. │ │(Only a SysOp could get this emotional about phone lines!) │ │ │ │You & I know a free BBS is anything BUT a business; it's a money pit! (I │ │just did some quick calculations: I've invested over $40,000 in the BBS │ │over the past 8 years - and that doesn't include upgrades or software... │ │and I consider my time as just enjoying my hobby.) It's a free service for │ │any person with a modem, and fun for me, but it's no business! │ │ │ │Business (ISDN) lines - at least as it's available here - would be useless, │ │even if I were willing & able to pay for them. As it was explained to a │ │friend who checked into it, the only callers who'd benefit from them are │ │those who, themselves, are on these ISDN lines. What good is that, Pac │ │Bell? │ │ │ │Dealing with Pacific Bell is difficult, because you're dealing with people! │ │It's important to determine quickly, to avoid wasting your time, whether │ │you're using a "demo version" or the "final release version" of a real │ │person! [My second call took me to the only truly STUPID person - an │ │"early alpha version", if you will. "Duh... we don't do dat. We juss │ │change phone numbers."] Try not to be discouraged; remember that not all │ │family trees have branches, but most do. Persist, with the help of the │ │"redial" button. Tip: If you call Pacific Bell's 800 service number │ │during prime time there's no telling where you'll connect, and that redial │ │button will, eventually, pay off. You WILL find someone who can help - or │ │at least someone who will point you in the right direction. Cherish this │ │person - and remember his name; you might find yourself writing a text like │ │this sometime, and this one would've been so much nicer if I had taken the │ │time to write down names. Familiarize yourself with the "techie" stuff │ │you're told, enough to relate to the next person in line (who may revise │ │what you think you now know). │ │ │ │Report the non-data-capable lines immediately. Pac Bell will send a │ │serviceman to check their lines; be aware that if they determine the │ │problem to be beyond their responsibility (if your house wiring is the │ │culprit) they will charge you for the service call and (of course) to fix │ │it. So check your part, yourself, before calling. They may also charge │ │you if they just find NOTHING wrong on their lines. Simply being on a pair │ │gain system isn't considered "something wrong" so be prepared for a charge. │ │It's a necessary step though, and J.B. was able to improve my transmission │ │ever-so-slightly so there was no charge to me. Talk to the serviceman; │ │these guys know their stuff - 99.9% of Pac Bell people know nothing about │ │phone lines. You probably won't get anywhere with them as far as actually │ │getting something done - see the standard answers, earlier in this text - │ │but at the very least they'll tell you the name of their supervisor and any │ │name is progress during this stage. Again, remember that these are │ │real-live people... and it isn't the serviceman's fault - maybe he's just │ │counting down the days till retirement and probably doesn't deserve the │ │irritation-transference that you're tempted to do! (In my case I begged & │ │pleaded... who says an online junky has no pride..?!) │ │ │ │ │ │ Solutions │ │ │ │There are 2 solutions to "pair gain" and both were tried here. Your │ │saviors (mine being Doug, Odie and Jim) will want to check the connections │ │at each step between you and the phone company. They'll remove any │ │"inhibitors" along the way; those will probably be on the box outside your │ │house. [If you're lucky enough to find guys like these, please don't abuse │ │them by wasting their time. Do everything possible to make absolutely sure │ │the problem isn't your software, hardware of "house wiring".] The next │ │thing they'll do is "unload" your lines - separate each line from every │ │other line in your "pair gain" area. For me, that did the trick. The │ │second thing that can be done (Pacific Bell is going to hate this) is the │ │installation of "coin cards" on your lines, at the primary junction box. │ │What that does is give you the same quality as pay phones. [They really │ │don't like to do that.] One of the saviors said coin cards had made a big │ │difference in other similar situations but it didn't make any improvement │ │here over the "unloading" so they were removed. │ │ │ │ │ │ Results │ │ │ │Well, it isn't as good as it should be but it's a lot better. People with │ │28.8s now connect at 24,000 most of the time, and not less than 21,600. │ │There's occasional line noise, but I think that's due to the line between │ │the outside box and the BBS - they're under snow at the moment, so I won't │ │know till spring! │ │ │ │ │ │ Semi-Final Words of Wisdom │ │ │ │If you've downloaded this text because you need an immediate solution, you │ │have some work ahead of you. Don't give up. You SysOps out there who hit │ │the "why am I doing this... nobody'll miss my BBS if I just shut it down; │ │they'll just go elsewhere" stage, as I did - stand back, relax, take a few │ │days off. Your membership will let you know that you ARE appreciated for │ │your efforts and - who knows - they might just surprise you with their │ │willingness to help in some very meaningful ways. My "online friends" │ │didn't even wait to be asked. As a "veteran" SysOp I'm not at all │ │surprised about that - though I'm certainly greatful to them. I've found │ │that we "onliners" tend to help each other out on a regular basis. Maybe │ │that's why we get so frustrated with the "brick walls" we encounter │ │offline! │ │ │ │ │ │ A "Final Word"... │ │ │ │I did contemplate what to do if I never found a "Doug". It isn't something │ │I looked forward to doing - which is the other reason I was reluctant to │ │make that last call. │ │ │ │The online community is huge - you already know that. Just think of the │ │numbers! Virtually all of us are connected in some way with, potentially, │ │many MANY thousands of others via the various online networks like RIME, │ │InterNet and a multitude of other online echo-nets. You or I can "touch" a │ │virtually unlimited number of others electronically, right from our │ │keyboards. The sheer power-in-numbers available to us has yet to be │ │tested. Inequitable service (nobody with pair gain line service gets a │ │price break!) is a prime candidate for "community action". My next step, │ │had I failed to find Doug, would have been to post an open message on the │ │worldwide networks to make everyone aware of pair gain and the problems │ │associated with it, and to appeal to ALL onliners to fill out and send a │ │(provided) form letter to Pacific Bell, another to the California Public │ │Utilities Commission and another to the FCC. Imagine the deluge!!! │ │Having gone that far I would also have contacted all the various local (and │ │area) agencies, organizations and communications-related companies I could │ │think of - I'd have made a lot of noise. I'm not really the "activist" │ │type, personally, so I'll never know if I would have followed through. I'm │ │delighted that I won't have to find out. <Big Cheshire Grin> │ │ │ │Doug also told me he plans some changes for this area in the spring - could │ │it be that we'll catch up with the 1990's here? Wow - a SINCERE wow! │ │Thank you Doug, Jim, Odie - and J.B. - and my friends! │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ Good Luck! │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │Sally Kosh, SysOp -=< The Cheshire Cat BBS >=- Top #: 916-587-6947 │ │ │ │ (now operating at 28.8k v.34 on all nodes!) │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘