"Stay Connected" Utilities

Brangwen · February 12th, 2002, 12:43 PM

Fellow Members et al:

My wife uses a dialup ISP connection. She gets disconnected at indiscriminate times.

Can anyone point me to a good "stay connected" application? I've seen them around, but forget where!

Thx.

Brangwen

skuz · February 12th, 2002, 01:01 PM

If you have 2K or XP, you can check a box to reconnect when disconnected.

Else, there is a software called Dialup Monitor.

BFlurie · February 12th, 2002, 01:13 PM

Could try adding S10=50 or more in Modem "Extra settings". Look here.

amdkt7 · February 12th, 2002, 01:19 PM

Is the disconnect due to idle activity? ISP's drop you some times if you are idle for a while. If so you can try leaving a web page up that refreshes automatically, such as a web cam. There is ofcourse software to do that, but it is against most ISP's rules.

Bovon · February 12th, 2002, 02:41 PM

For some application to access the net to show activity, I have Outlook Express to just check mail every 5 minutes or so.. this seems to satisfy that requirement that the machine is not connected but idle.

The ISPs do have ways to cut you off with their equipment after some preset amount of time online. For instance, my last ISP that went belly up last June, I could connect and stay connected 24/7 if I wanted, but sence I only have one telephone line, and no need to stay connected 24/7 anyway.. I would connect when I got up in the morning, and close when I retired for the day...sometimes this would amount to 15 hours/day. I had to get a new ISP which is 'unlimited', but after a few days of my usual, I began getting disconnected every hour on the hour...I had no problem reconnecting, but I knew what was going on. I contacted my local server, which is different from the ISP..(Infoave) and they tried to tell me I had a problem, and suggested I work with the help techs ect. I have all sorts of software that monitors my connections, how well my modem 'talks' to the server modem ect...I made up a text file showing exactly what was happening and emailed that to my local server. Immediately...I am no longer being automatically disconnected from the net.

Don't let these people give you a snow job...they have the ability to cut you off when they want to and tell you its your problem...unless you can prove differently.

Now, there are modems that simply will not communicate with the server. Way back when, I went thru several winmodems...the worst was a modem using a Rockwell chipset. After a long time of trying this `n that...I finally got a tech help guy at GTE who was my ISP at the time..this guy knew his stuff, and once he found out that I could follow his techinical talk, he explained how it all worked...suggested that I get a USR hard modem because that was what they used, and the two modems would not have any problems communicating with each other. I did, and have never had a problem sence. The drivers/software that drives a modem must be compatable with what the server uses or they can't communicate well...kinda like a German talking to a Austrian...same general language, but hard to get the points across.

willy_ph · February 12th, 2002, 02:56 PM

If you have ICQ, it has a function where it will ping the server to keep the connection alive. I can't remember exactly where it is in the options, but I know it's there because I've used it before.

Bovon · February 12th, 2002, 03:34 PM

Brother Brangwen I just thought of something else that plagued me for a long time. Even after I got the USR modem, I still had some diffucility with sporatic disconnects. I had practically lived at a modem trouble shooting forum, and had read many times that noise on the phone lines will cause a lot of retraining which will cause disconnects because the ISPs modem is not dedicated to one user, and must go on to the other users, and drop you if communication cannot be established good. I had called my local phone company several times to check out my lines...they always did, and gave me a clean bill of health on my phone lines. The telephone equipment room is about 1/4th mile from me, so I went there one day at lunch time, took a box of donuts, and asked the guys to see if they could help me understand what was going on...I just knew it was noise. One came here after he finished lunch. disconnected my lines from the house, read the lines for noise...and they were clear. I am familiar with the process and instruments used to do this, so I knew he was correct. I had him reconnect my line to the house and re read it..he did, and lord god at the noise. I went in the house and pulled the plug on my modem, and the noise went away. My problem turned out to be a noisy power supply. I replaced my psu in the compuiter and have never had a problem sence. This is one reason you will see many of my posts concerning computer psu's saying that the filtering of a computer psu must be as good as it can be, and some el cheapo power supplies are not filtered good. Also, the filtering in any psu will deteriate over time as the capicators get heat and age on them.

One more thing that affects 56K phone line modems and connects. Many of our answering machines, portable cordless telephones have a charging system for the batteries...this charging will get back into the telephone system and give your analog modem outputs fits. One thing to try, disconnect all other answering machines, and portable telephones from the lines...if your trouble goes away, reconnect them one at a time till you can prove which one is doing it.

TonTo · February 12th, 2002, 04:01 PM

I work for an ISP, and, we don't currently boot campers(people who sit online 24/7) we're working on it.... at one of my old ISP's, they had it set up so that you could stay connected for a maximume of 5 hours, 1 minute and 3 seconds exactly...(i timed it many times hehehe) there's pretty much nothing you can do to remain connected if that's the case.

JacobM5727 · February 12th, 2002, 04:07 PM

i use aol and if i have something that needs to be online to run, like aim or icq going.. it usually will not kick me

sometimes it will but after a good 15 hours or so

Bovon · February 12th, 2002, 04:15 PM

TonTo, yes..I know. After presenting the "evidence" to my server management, and re informing them that I subscribed for 'unlimited service' ect, I am no longer being disconnected. I have tried to not stay connected all day anymore, especially during the prime time hours. I get online in the AM, stay connected til about 5 PM or so, disconnect until about 10 or 11 and come back for a few hours if needed...so far, I have not had any further problems.