Top 3 worst modems provided by NZ ISP's

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Ragnor

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#91469 13-Oct-2011 22:13

Incidentally I was using a spare Dynalink 1320 to half bridge a second connection into another unit. Of course it burns out after less than a year of use. I'd even modd'd this one with a cheap heatsink from Jaycar before using it based on it's well known overheating reputation.

So imo the top 3 worse ISP provided modem in NZ DSL history...

1: Dlink 302
2: Dlink 502
3: Dynalink 1320

Thankfully the modern replacements for a basic modem that can bridge pppoa adsl eg: TP Link TD-8840 or Drayek Vigor 120 are much much better!

Also in before someone says Genius

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#533129 13-Oct-2011 22:37

+1 for the D-Link 502 as the worst.

I'd also like to put the Telecom Thomson TG585v7 into the ring.
I've seen way too many of these fail on the WiFi side, especially with macs.

Personally, I have the infamous RTA1320 bridged with an WRT54GL-tomato setup, but with a bit of a modification (see below). It's been going strong for over 2 years now!

l43a2

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#533134 13-Oct-2011 22:41

i'd like to put my vote on for Thomson TG585v7 :)

DonGould

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#533146 13-Oct-2011 23:05

Ragnor: Incidentally I was using a spare Dynalink 1320 to half bridge a second connection into another unit. Of course it burns out after less than a year of use. I'd even modd'd this one with a cheap heatsink from Jaycar before using it based on it's well known overheating reputation.

So imo the top 3 worse ISP provided modem in NZ DSL history...

1: Dlink 302
2: Dlink 502
3: Dynalink 1320

Thankfully the modern replacements for a basic modem that can bridge pppoa adsl eg: TP Link TD-8840 or Drayek Vigor 120 are much much better!

Also in before someone says Genius

Why are these bad?

Are they slow?

Are they ADSL1 only?

Does anyone have photos of these bad boys?

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tdgeek

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#533148 13-Oct-2011 23:13

Thomson TG585 v7

Do you mean the v8? That has wifi issues with Apple devices, easily resolved by changing the wireless type from b/g/n to b/g. I used a v7 for quite a while, it did the job fine for a base modem

dontpanic42

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#533154 13-Oct-2011 23:28

tdgeek: Thomson TG585 v7

Do you mean the v8?

Quite possibly.

nakedmolerat

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#533165 13-Oct-2011 23:56

i have DSL 504 from telecom xtra (2006) / with original xtra firmware on it - still rock solid 6 years later. i have decomissioned this unit this in july after our cabinet has been upgraded to ADSL2+. it still works fine when tested last week...

Regs

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#533173 14-Oct-2011 01:20

nakedmolerat: i have DSL 504 from telecom xtra (2006) / with original xtra firmware on it - still rock solid 6 years later. i have decomissioned this unit this in july after our cabinet has been upgraded to ADSL2+. it still works fine when tested last week...

i had a couple of dsl-504s that were in service well over 5 years. they really were quite good. on the other hand i've burnt through (literally) 3 rta 1320's in 3 years. The 1320s also tended to crash when ALGs or dns forwarding were enabled. absolute junk (but all mine came free).

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sbiddle

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#533176 14-Oct-2011 06:18

tdgeek: Thomson TG585 v7

Do you mean the v8? That has wifi issues with Apple devices, easily resolved by changing the wireless type from b/g/n to b/g. I used a v7 for quite a while, it did the job fine for a base modem

I've come across a number of N devices that don't work well with Apple devices.

As for "why do ISP's supply bad modems" it comes down to the expectation by many that ISP's will do everything for free, including supplying a modem. Supplying a $400 device isn't an option, so it's purely a price thing.

PANiCnz

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#533182 14-Oct-2011 07:22

I've got a couple 502's I've flashed with Routertech firmware, rock solid. My father is running one now, no complaints and he will ring me at the slighest sign of problems.

nickb800

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#533224 14-Oct-2011 09:23

sbiddle:

As for "why do ISP's supply bad modems" it comes down to the expectation by many that ISP's will do everything for free, including supplying a modem. Supplying a $400 device isn't an option, so it's purely a price thing.

And then people think 'the ISP supplies modems, why on earth would i need to buy one myself?'

Most people are oblivious to the fact that there are good and bad modems unfortunately

Trunks2

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#533225 14-Oct-2011 09:30

I had a Thompson TG585v7, the modem in it died after 6 months, useless.

bener

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#533230 14-Oct-2011 09:38

I was recently given a TG585v8 when switching to a Telecom connection and it has been pretty flaky, I have switched back to an older 2wire that I had - much better.

The TG585 had to be reset any time anything changed on the network (new devices added etc.) as network shares would drop off. Each reset took about 5 minutes.

The configuration page was also super slow. On a side note, my new Telecom connection has been great.

Behodar

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#533276 14-Oct-2011 11:20

What are you doing to your 1320s? :O

Mine's still fine after three years and my parents' is probably ~5 years old and still running (and it lives in a cupboard).

trig42

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#533295 14-Oct-2011 12:06

I agree the 1320s are horrible modems - they get very hot (to the point of discolouring the plastic on top).

I have used and still see a lot of Dlink 502s and never had an issue with one. I think the newer Dlinks are more flaky than those older ones.

I'm supplying and using TPLink ADSL Wireless modems at the moment.

theEd

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#533301 14-Oct-2011 12:21

I generally found the 502s *nasty* to use, but fairly solid for a freebie. 302s on the other hand seemed to fall over if you tried to establish more than one session (slight exaggeration, but not far off).

RTA1320s were really nice modems for their time, provided you lived in Antartica.

And thanks for the Vigor120 praise! We sell them by the carton and it's pretty rare that I see one come back.

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