Modem recommendations

"Dr. Cajones" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Thanks (again) dj. I'm still looking around for a rebate deal, but I suspect I'll probably wind up just grabbing one off of ebay.

Joe

There's no current benefit to having a modem that supports a newer revision of the DOCSIS standard than what the cable company is currently using. Once they update, they will be able to take advantage of the newer features of the newer revision, but will likely still allow existing older standard modems (as many of them will be their own) for some time.

To give you some perspective, in most areas, the switch from older proprietary systems to DOCSIS systems took place over two or three years. That switch involved running two complete systems concurrently, as opposed to just offering backwards capability on a single system. Also, in most cases, all the older modems were owned by the cable company, so they didn't have to make the unpopular move of telling people modems they owned were obsolete. The final step in the process was as simple as mailing out new modems to the handful of remaining proprietary customers.

In other words, I would expect that as long as an older standard version modem appears on the list of supported modems, it'll continue to work on the system for long enough that most people wouldn't balk at having to replace something so expensive so soon.

As for buying a used modem, let me put something another way: Even if your system operator doesn't offer rebates for customers buying new modems, and you have to pay full retail price (which is still less than list price), the difference between buying a new modem vs. buying a used modem is not a great deal of money. However, if you *do* consider that difference to be a great deal of money, then maybe you should consider if high-speed internet access is something you can afford to begin with. Spending an extra $50 on a modem that could last three to five years is insignificant compared to spending $45/month over that same period. If you can afford the monthly charge, you can afford the modem. If you can't afford the modem, you can't afford the monthly charge, or you've tweaked the numbers to delude yourself.

Buy a new modem from a reputable retailer.

"Don Burnette" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

Nope not really.

Joe, Monthly rental is usually a few dollars above the service cost, perhaps you should consider renting until a good deal comes along, or you find that buy on the net. Just a thought. three months to six months should give you adequate time to examine and pursue all options, and will only cost you and your roomie $1.50 or so each a month while you seek. I think the Linksys ver 2 is popping up in some places for attractive prices. Do you check pricewatch.com?

dj

On Rogers, the service cost is the same whether or not you buy your modem. However, when you own your own modem, the bandwidth increases from 3 Mb to

Joe,

Most cable companies only provide you with 1 IP Address per account for the single PC you connect to your cable modem.

If you are going to split the modem account with your roomate, you are either going to have to use a router between you PCs and the cable modem, so that you can use NAT to share the single IP address, or invest a little more in a gateway modem, such as the Motorola SBG900. Or you can pay for an additional IP address, which some cable companies will provide for an additional $10/mo. The router/SBG900 pays for itself quickly instead of paying the $10/mo for each additional IP address.

- Bob

"Bob Stephens-Doll" wrote in news:eQ58d.13679$Hz.11851@fed1read04:

Don't forget about the DHCP Bob; gotta have that as well. ;) I've owned and used a CABLE/DSL Router for quite some time and I know a thing or two about sharing an internet connection. Guess you must have missed the part of this thread where I mentioned that I used to be a professional software engineer. LOL.

Joe

Hey dj, sorry for the delayed response time. Been off the air for a while, between moving to my new place and coming down with Strep Throat a few weeks ago. Anyway, I did wind up renting an SB5100 that the CableOne tech guy brought along with him (even though I told the gal who took my order that I'd be using my own), for the first month, since I wasn't able to secure one ahead of time. Their rental charge is $5 a month. In the interim I was able to buy an RCA DCM225 off of ebay for $10, and just received it today. As long as it works fine when I hook it up tomorrow morning, I'll be bringing that SB5100 back next week, and by the end of December my "previously owned" modem will have payed for itself. 8)

As a side note, I think the new Best Buy store here is having its grand opening this weekend so I'll have to stop in to see what special deal I may or may not have missed out on.

Joe

"Dr. Cajones" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Make sure you place the modem so you won't bump the power connector. It doesn't take much of a wiggle to cause a power reset on this model. Also, make sure the transformer end of the power supply has good ventilation. It gets pretty hot.

For that matter, the modem itself can get pretty hot. Use a can of condensed air to blow-out some of the accumulated dust on this 5+ year old modem. Accumulated dust can result in greater heat build-up.

Glad to hear you have recovered, and were able to find a possible solution so cheaply. $5/month sounds high to me for modem rental! But, you will need to employ some cooperation from your cable provider to establish if the RCA will work for you. Just plugging it in may not really tell you if it can work. And though I recall this model specifically, Warrne's warnings ablout heat may be worth heeding, or at least monitoring. Otherwise I think you are on the right track! Good luck with modems and throats!

dj

Gee Joe,

I was just trying to be helpfiul. I'm sorry if you thought I was talking down to you. That was certainly not my intention. I didn't know that you knew so much about the required setup being a former "professional software engineer".

I wish you luck in your endeavor.

Bob Stephens-Doll Senior Staff Engineer SURFboard Cable Modems Motorola Corporation

there should have been a "don't" before recall, sorry.

dj

"Warren" wrote in news:oMU9d.440501$8_6.190546 @attbi_s04:

Thanks for the tips Warren. I don't have a can of condensed air handy but will try to get a hold of one soon. Both the modem and its power supply are well ventilated, and don't seem to be unusually hot, so hopefully that means the thing is pretty clean already and in good condition. There certainly hasn't been any drop-off in throughput -- as measured by toast.net and bandwidthplace.com -- from the brand new SB5100 that I was using prior, so that's a good thing.

Joe

"Dr. Cajones" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Thanks dj. The installer who came out to do my hookup said that their end would auto detect my replacement modem, simply by attaching it to the line and powering it up, but he apparently forgot (or just doesn't know) that the previous modem's configuration data must first be purged from their end of the system. A simple call to tech support got that straightened out right quick. My new (previously owned) RCA modem is working great!

Say, were would be the best place to go on the web to get a user manual for this modem, other than the RCA site which doesn't appear to have it? Thanks.

Cheers, Joe

Bob, being an engineer at Motorola I should think you'd be familiar with the expression: "Read The Manual!". I certainly got a healthy dose of it when I was a rookie at IBM Research. My point being ... jumping into the middle of a thread of discussion, to throw in your two cents, without having bothered to take the time to read it through first, is akin to Not Reading the Manual. As an aside, and strictly in my opinion, announcing that your a this or that, for such and such company, via your signature line, may impress some folks, but to others like myself it simply makes you appear pompous.

Joe

"Bob Stephens-Doll" wrote in news:Qzkad.42532$a85.5886@fed1read04:

"Warren" wrote in news:mB1bd.169204$wV.22713@attbi_s54:

Thanks Warren. I had looked in the obvious places on rca.com for this, but came up empty. Your determination is my good fortune. :)

Cheers, Joe

Note that the long url wraps:

If you post a long URL, please enclose it in < >. This will prevent it from breaking into pieces.

Now go back and repost your message the proper way.

The first one worked fine for me. The fact that it may have wrapped shouldn't matter (unless his url had whitespace in it and his mailer broke it up).