Best router for long distances

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hio77

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#95494 6-Jan-2012 00:21

hey,

had more than our fair share of line issues really, last issue ending us on a telecom ip when we aren't even with them? that leads me to think there was some dodgy work done by techs, anyway since then our sync speeds dropped with no plans to alter our profile.

since then our router has started showing signs of dying (imo anyway) ... the webui has become very flaky im pretty sure its on the routers side (tested with many different computers/devices with same outcome on and off) almost like the images are corrupted on the rom or the stylesheet isn't being dished up (looking at page load info etc files pop up as undefined/failed)

so anyway i don't see this modem lasting much longer :L so anyway, we are about 3.5KM from the exchange, DSL central splitter is installed (although the chorus tech didn't want to run fresh wire and just altered the cables to how he saw fit so he wouldn't need to - the original owners some what butchered the phonelines, a mixture of star and series layouts for whatever reason directly to the ETP), would we see any chance in sticking in a VDSL2 splitter just as a redundant thing really, due for a RBI cabinet in 2014 if i remember right which will be about 200M from us.

heres line stats if anyones interested, ild love my line stats that i used to have before being forced onto this adsl2+ profile... 3.5MBit down to 2Mbit :L

i have heard Draytek DV2700E being mentioned around as a really stable high syncing router but they seem to be hard to obtain now, only looking for a modem really... with the ever increasing wifi devices coming into the house im trying to get away from having the modem handling the connection and wifi at the same time

im really just wanting to get the most outta our line as we can

thanks all

-hio77

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#565113 6-Jan-2012 01:37

Just saw the DrayTek DV2710NE on special for just under $180 at
DrayTek DV2710NE ADSL2+ Modem/Router/Switc : Ascent Technology 401685

hio77

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#565114 6-Jan-2012 01:41

hellonearthisman: Just saw the DrayTek DV2710NE on special for just under $180 at
DrayTek DV2710NE ADSL2+ Modem/Router/Switc : Ascent Technology 401685

thanks for that, i saw the 2710 range but i wasnt sure if that has the performance which i have seen mentioned

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nate

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#565121 6-Jan-2012 02:35

I would definitely replace your modem, I've never had any luck with anything in the D-Link DSL range (all are pieces of crap in my opinion).

You can't go wrong with Draytek. I use them everywhere, and never had any dramas - the last one I put in was to replace a Vodafone supplied modem on a Vodafone naked DSL, their modem gave me so much grief, but the Draytek fixed all that :)

hio77

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#565123 6-Jan-2012 02:53

nate: I would definitely replace your modem, I've never had any luck with anything in the D-Link DSL range (all are pieces of crap in my opinion).

You can't go wrong with Draytek. I use them everywhere, and never had any dramas - the last one I put in was to replace a Vodafone supplied modem on a Vodafone naked DSL, their modem gave me so much grief, but the Draytek fixed all that :)

sounds like i might be looking at getting it then, honistly the dlink has been the best router i have had.. tried a few that i have been told would be alot better for me .. including a cicso 8xx (ill check tomorrow :L) which would sync a whole mbit slower :L this g604 has been stable as can be for me till my line got tweaked -.- im talking months solid without dropping sync

although they seem to come with wifi already ild be looking at disabling that, using a decent n 300mbit router instead... already using a gbit switch for media transfers etc (not uncommon for my computer to sit at 22mbit all night with a playstation streaming off it) but that might be more of a long term thing to sort out really, then again if i had my own way ild rewire most of the house, atlest the cat5e is done right :L

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nate

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#565125 6-Jan-2012 04:05

If you don't need WiFi, just go for the one with out.

hio77

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#565301 6-Jan-2012 12:37

nate: If you don't need WiFi, just go for the one with out.

for the price i may as well get the wireless one and just disable it once i get a decent wireless ap 150N is still gonna preform better than the current setup

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theEd

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#565319 6-Jan-2012 13:06

If speed and stability rather than features is your aim, personally I'd suggest the Vigor120 rather than the Vigor2710e/ne.

They're total workhorses and absolutely perfect if you plan to have a separate switch and wireless AP (they only have a single LAN port).

The 2710e/ne are still good but don't usually sync quite as high as the 120s (different ADSL chip inside).

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hio77

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#565386 6-Jan-2012 15:13

theEd: If speed and stability rather than features is your aim, personally I'd suggest the Vigor120 rather than the Vigor2710e/ne.

They're total workhorses and absolutely perfect if you plan to have a separate switch and wireless AP (they only have a single LAN port).

The 2710e/ne are still good but don't usually sync quite as high as the 120s (different ADSL chip inside).

do they have the same sort of performance at long ranges?

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webwat

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#565427 6-Jan-2012 16:50

I'm wondering if the DLink has caused the sync to slow down as part of the dying process, so you might not need a really good modem afterall. It's hard to read the Attenuation in your screenshot, but looks like it says 50dB, which is more than I would expect for a 3.5km line unless the line is really old "thin" copper. I'm also thinking that its possible that the DLink may be responding to deteriorating line conditions, such as crosstalk from more DSL users sharing telecom cables that have been wired up as multiples.

However, if you are in an area that is scheduled to get UFB in one of the early rollouts then I would definitely go for a separate wifi router, and just configure the modem in either "bridge" mode or use some other workaround to prevent double-NAT.

Time to find a new industry!

chevrolux

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#565435 6-Jan-2012 17:01

3.5km isn't far at all. I am about 3-4km away from my exchange and sync at around 11mb with attenuation at 29db.
However, due to having access to the telecom network I made sure there were no multiples on my cable pair which makes a massive difference to your speeds. Also, my house is completely rewired with a brand new cable from the etp (where the dsl splitter is) to my patch panel.
You mentioned the tech just rewired the splitter in your place, which in theory should mean there is a clean line back to the etp (or where ever the underground terminates). If it were me I would just replace the cable (if it is easy enough). Then you KNOW you have nice new copper in your premises and can then start blaming telecom for crappy sync speeds. If you ask enough they will send out a cable tech to 'sweep' your line for multiples btw. But you will have to be very persistent lol.

hio77

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#565437 6-Jan-2012 17:08

webwat: I'm wondering if the DLink has caused the sync to slow down as part of the dying process, so you might not need a really good modem afterall. It's hard to read the Attenuation in your screenshot, but looks like it says 50dB, which is more than I would expect for a 3.5km line unless the line is really old "thin" copper. I'm also thinking that its possible that the DLink may be responding to deteriorating line conditions, such as crosstalk from more DSL users sharing telecom cables that have been wired up as multiples.

However, if you are in an area that is scheduled to get UFB in one of the early rollouts then I would definitely go for a separate wifi router, and just configure the modem in either "bridge" mode or use some other workaround to prevent double-NAT.

sorry about that, tried taking it with my screenshot tool that i use for web design and well it screwed up :L anyway .. it actually says 59 :L was 52 when we had adsl1 but jumped to 59 after that, i understand adsl2 and adsl1 read attenuation differently

difference in the distance i know comes down to the mushrooms on the road (they are about 100M in iver way on the road from the drive)

ild prefer to just get a good modem that will do everything and be set, ill be moving out of here in a few years so ild like to leave the network well set :L

i was looking to have my connection moved to a coklin cabinet about 1.5KM from me but after talking to a chorus tech who just moved in up the road, its full and theres a waiting list :L

heres a fresh shot of the sync stats

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hio77

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#565441 6-Jan-2012 17:21

chevrolux: 3.5km isn't far at all. I am about 3-4km away from my exchange and sync at around 11mb with attenuation at 29db.
However, due to having access to the telecom network I made sure there were no multiples on my cable pair which makes a massive difference to your speeds. Also, my house is completely rewired with a brand new cable from the etp (where the dsl splitter is) to my patch panel.
You mentioned the tech just rewired the splitter in your place, which in theory should mean there is a clean line back to the etp (or where ever the underground terminates). If it were me I would just replace the cable (if it is easy enough). Then you KNOW you have nice new copper in your premises and can then start blaming telecom for crappy sync speeds. If you ask enough they will send out a cable tech to 'sweep' your line for multiples btw. But you will have to be very persistent lol.

ah no... they didnt rewire a thing, just sliced so they could get away with not having to lay anymore cable, i was offering cat6 to do it with aswell.. i made the mistake of going to get the phone just as he asked if we were going to use a phone in that line.. and well he was told no so he wacks on the adsl line only label, flicks out a few wires from the BT jack (they actually still stick out of the casing, he really wasn't interested in doing anything else even though he was sent out for our sync issues)

honestly, i cant really stand chorus techs... they look at me and decide i don't know what im talking about (sure im not the most knowledgeable but i do know most of what im talking about) .. they look at the distance and dont really have any interest in dealing with things, we have had techs requested and they go and do their little play around in the exchange and leave, takes us calling to find out oh they already did what they thought would do.. i just get sick of playing chase the tech really..

could look at laying new wire from the road to the ETP but it is about 100M and im pretty sure there has been some dodgy thing done here where there are actually 2 ETPs... one at the top of a wooden post at the end of the drive then another one once it gets to the house, i cant be fully sure on that though as its a shared drive (however we know atlest one of the lines for the neighbors connects about 200M down the road)

im not fully sure on this so could anyone tell me, is it possible they are using 2 ETPs, the house itself is one that has been all DIYed, some rather dodgy stuff throughout it :L so i wouldn't be surprised really.

also what sort of costs would it be to run a new line to the house, i assume that 100M will be on us.. the cable itself is underground and a mix of concrete and stone driveway through the bush..

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chevrolux

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#565462 6-Jan-2012 18:21

Yes, unfortunately the majority of the techs are just not interested. It doesn't help that everyone is paid per job now so speed is the key.

Im not saying replace the underground, just get rid of all the crappy old internal stuff with nice new cat5e to elminate one more thing. If speeds are still slow you could look at the service lead.

It's hard to picture how you explain the situtation with etp. The ETP boxes were used for jointing in all sorts of situations. Only lately have they been getting tough on what to use where. If the ETP is just a little way down the drive way could of been where the cable is jointed for the other people down your dirve.
If your service lead goes faulty Chorus will replace at no charge to you. They don't like it though when people put spades through the cables. (But a 1000V megger does the trick lol)

Edit: As for costs of new cable. The cable is cheap as chips but drain layers aren't lol. I don't really know prices but the expensive part is the trenching. Mole plowing/invisible trenching is an option most of the time too. So you can always ring around and get some prices.

hio77

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#565470 6-Jan-2012 18:46

chevrolux: Yes, unfortunately the majority of the techs are just not interested. It doesn't help that everyone is paid per job now so speed is the key.

Im not saying replace the underground, just get rid of all the crappy old internal stuff with nice new cat5e to elminate one more thing. If speeds are still slow you could look at the service lead.

It's hard to picture how you explain the situtation with etp. The ETP boxes were used for jointing in all sorts of situations. Only lately have they been getting tough on what to use where. If the ETP is just a little way down the drive way could of been where the cable is jointed for the other people down your dirve.
If your service lead goes faulty Chorus will replace at no charge to you. They don't like it though when people put spades through the cables. (But a 1000V megger does the trick lol)

Edit: As for costs of new cable. The cable is cheap as chips but drain layers aren't lol. I don't really know prices but the expensive part is the trenching. Mole plowing/invisible trenching is an option most of the time too. So you can always ring around and get some prices.

yeh its the cost of the pipe that really worries me, i am yet to see the pipe the line comes in on ... ill get adventious one day and dig a hole i guess :L

as for the ETP to the modem.. we are talking about 1M, maybe ill make that tomorrows mission to rerun that got a box of cat5e sitting next to me...

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chevrolux

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#565480 6-Jan-2012 19:16

Oh right. haha I didn't realise it was that short.
Are you in town or in a rural area? In town it should be in pipe but most runs over 60m out in rural areas will be direct buried so you may not find a pipe.

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