Post by: Gary S on August 31, 2003, 04:40:14 PM
If you do, what kind do you have? I'm thinking about buying one insead of renting it for $5.00 a month and then going to a faster speed.
Post by: JohnKentucky on August 31, 2003, 05:25:11 PM
Mine is this gray shark-fin looking one.
Post by: Dreambird on August 31, 2003, 06:57:53 PM
Mine's a Motorola Cybersurfer FWIW. I'm just renting it right now... just wondering if one buys a brand new one other than the one the cable company has here gets me 5 yrs. warranty too and how much they are. I can have this one for $60.
Post by: Paddy on August 31, 2003, 07:12:41 PM
Needless, to say, they've gotten much cheaper since then...) I've had absolutely no problems with it though. 
It's a 10BaseT modem - newer ones are faster, I suppose. (Anyone noticed if this makes any appreciable difference??)
Toshiba also now have cable modems with routers and wireless routers built in, so you may want to consider that option too.
Post by: ljocampo on August 31, 2003, 07:53:14 PM
Post by: () on August 31, 2003, 11:01:52 PM
Check ot eBay or Yahoo and find one cheap...
Post by: Bruce_F on September 01, 2003, 12:09:21 AM
Or, maybe my age has something to do with it. 
I believe it transfers data as fast as anything sold today. When the cable was first hooked up here, the cable company didn't reign in the speed limit. I used to get better than 2 Mbps downstream! The cable company wised up and now I get closer to the advertised 1 Mbps downstream.
Post by: Gary S on September 01, 2003, 08:40:55 AM
Staples has a Toshiba fo $89.00. I looked at it yesterday.
I got into this because I saw a commercial on TV from Charter cable, my ISP provider, saying that new subscribers get a FREE modem if they sign up now. So I called them and they said I would have to cancel their service for a month, pay the disconnect fees and the new connect fees to be eligable!.......the modem isn't free anyways but it's a free rental.
What a joke.
Post by: pendragon on September 01, 2003, 08:56:34 AM
Formerly, the rent was $5.00 per month. Comcast apparently concluded that too many customers were buying their own modems, so they reduced the rent to $3.00 per month. And oh yeah, at the same time they increased the service cost by $2.00.
Harv
Post by: Bill on September 01, 2003, 10:04:25 AM
The days when you're asked for your name so they can look up your account from the other end of a phone conversation are fading fast.
Now that Costco (fairly large shopping center) will be built close by, Comcast is coming out of the wood works with flyers to join their data banks. They just bought the cable company here. Same employees, equipment, trucks from the last company. Just changed the logo on their trucks and handed the drivers new shirts.
Guess I should check what they have to offer.
Post by: Bernie on September 01, 2003, 10:19:38 AM
Not one problem in over 3 yr with 3 Com's Shark fin Cable Modem
It came free with TimeWarner RoadRunner Service. It's mine now!
Post by: Al on September 01, 2003, 12:50:46 PM
Motorola SB3100....
I should find out if they would break me a better price if I supply my own modem. Mine is pretty old already. Any advantages if I were to get a newer model?
Post by: Gary S on September 01, 2003, 01:39:59 PM
It's nice. It had a standby switch so you can disable it...doubt if I'll use it.
Called Charter and upped my service to the Gold package instead of the Silver package for $5.00 exculding the old modem rental. So now I'm at 768bps instead of 256bps. I was going to go for the 1.5bps but I thought twice.
Well, I ran some tests and it's working at around 947bps.
Post by: Bbob on September 01, 2003, 05:01:27 PM
Bbob with a Cube
Post by: Gary S on September 01, 2003, 05:13:56 PM
Post by: Bill on September 01, 2003, 05:54:24 PM
I'll bite.?.
What is that? <g>
Post by: themphill on September 01, 2003, 07:55:23 PM
I am a Cox subcriber and they gave me (as part of a promotional deal) a Surfboard 3100 to access their service. It works very well, and I own it free and clear. Unless it's a very proprietary or expensive device, I would never consider renting.
Post by: Gary S on September 01, 2003, 09:33:50 PM
Docsis compliant... I don't have a clue.
I think it has something to do with termination.DOCSIS means "Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification".
The AD8326 and AD8327 DOCSIS-complaint line drivers are engineered for cable modem and set-top box applications. The AD8326 is a differential output five-step line driver that can perform complicated design modulation techniques, such as 128 QAM upstream, offers a step size of 0.75 dB, and features a harmonic distortion figure of --51 dBc at 65 MHz. The AD8327 is a single-ended coarse step driver with distortion performance of --57 dBc at 65 MHz. Additionally, this IC features a step size of 6 dB, making it well suited to work with chip sets that have a built-in fine step attenuator function. The AD8326 is housed in a 28-lead TSSOP while the AD8327 is supplied in a 28-lead PSOP.
Docsis
Post by: Bill on September 01, 2003, 10:12:46 PM
Post by: Paddy on September 01, 2003, 10:13:21 PM
Well...that might as well have been Chinese...(would ask the resident EE, but he's upstairs snoring right now...)Perhaps the Webopedia definition will prove a tad less, um, oblique, to those of us who don't have PhD's in EE.
"Developed by CableLabs and approved by the ITU in March 1998, Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification defines interface standards for cable modems and supporting equipment.
With certification from CableLabs, manufacturers will be able to produce cable modems for retail, so consumers no longer have to depend on leased cable modems from their cable providers.
Other devices that recognize and support the DOCSIS standard include HDTVs and Web enabled set-top boxes for regular televisions.
DOCSIS specifies downstream traffic transfer rates between 27 and 36 Mbps over a radio frequency (RF) path in the 50 MHz to 750+ MHz range, and upstream traffic tranfer rates between 320 Kbps and 10 Mbps over a RF path between 5 and 42 MHz. But, because data over cable travels on a shared loop, individuals will see tranfer rates drop as more users gain access.
In 1998, there were 1.2 million cable modems installed across the United States with an average price of $245 per unit, and by 2004, research reports predict there will be 24.3 million units installed across the US with an average price of $50 per unit."
There are also two DOCSIS standards - 1.0 and 2.0. From castlenet.com (an ISP who coincidentally happen to use an iBook as an illustration on their homepage!
):"The DOCSIS 2.0 Compliant Cable Modem is specially designed to enhance the bandwidth of the upstream up to 30Mbps. And it still works with all existing DOCSIS 1.0/1.1 compliant head-end equipment (CMTS) and Multiple Service Operator (MSO) networks.