Starband or Direcway it's my only choice
- Thread starter Woodchuck
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Spend $15 (for one year) and become a member of http://www.starbandusers.com/ , which is a set of forums like this one devoted to Starband issues. Back when I had Starband it was a valuable resource and had lots of downloadable software (for members only) that was pretty useful.
Sign up and then review the existing posts and then ask additional questions if needed- it will be the worth $15 to get your questions answered pronto. Read their FAQ first.
I also recommend checking out http://www.broadbandreports.com/
Overall ratings:Starband and DirecWay.
Specific comments:Starband Comments and DirecWay Comments.
Sign up and then review the existing posts and then ask additional questions if needed- it will be the worth $15 to get your questions answered pronto. Read their FAQ first.
I also recommend checking out http://www.broadbandreports.com/
Overall ratings:Starband and DirecWay.
Specific comments:Starband Comments and DirecWay Comments.
There is Charter broadband internet available (up to 2 MB) about 8-10 miles away from my house. Is there anyway a person could have that sent to a house out in the country where no broadband internet service is available and still get a good speed out of it? How much speed would I lose? I heard people can use a directional beam to get the signal out farther and use a PrimeStar dish with a pringles can to do so but need to know if it is possible with a range of around 10 miles and how fast it is after going that far and what all is involved.
Was over looking at starband and they mentioned that uploads of "large" files could be a problem. How large is large when the problem starts? I did find out my ISP offers multilinking so I may give that a try later this year. Presently my best connection is 28.8... so if I can double that I may be happy for awhile.
I had DirecPC up until I fell into the DSL grid. I liked it on the download side, but hated the 33.6 on the upload. (Through the phone)
Downside: Rainy weather and latency was also a problem getting stuff off the bird. Sending large files took forever. Directway should be a little better at 128k upload. Also, 2 way satellite needs to be professionally installed though.
There is also a bandwidth transfer limit per day of roughly 135 MEGS.(or there was)
On the upside, with a couple of tweaked registry settings I could get 880,000+ on the download in the middle of the night.
Something to think about.....
Downside: Rainy weather and latency was also a problem getting stuff off the bird. Sending large files took forever. Directway should be a little better at 128k upload. Also, 2 way satellite needs to be professionally installed though.
There is also a bandwidth transfer limit per day of roughly 135 MEGS.(or there was)
On the upside, with a couple of tweaked registry settings I could get 880,000+ on the download in the middle of the night.
Something to think about.....
G
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Stargazer said:
Here's one article on how someone did it. You need a "pal" that has the internet access to do a line-of-sight from their house to yours.
I've had both in my home, and have sold and installed both systems.
My advice is: DirecWay
Just be certain to get the new model DW6000.... that virtually eliminates all of the DirecWay software issues of yesterday… because now, the modem is a self-contained "modem" that you merely connect to via Cat 5 and Ethernet. Whereas prior versions were a peripheral device that your computer (and the software running on your computer) controlled, managed and used as a peripheral device, via a USB connection… there were “issues”
I believe that StarBand has also recently made this step in "modem" architecture.
Everything is relative… I would rate the new DirecWay system as being VASTLY superior to dial-up, but the speeds and definitely the latency frequently make DSL, Cable modem, or some Wireless services a better choice…..if you have that choice.
My advice is: DirecWay
Just be certain to get the new model DW6000.... that virtually eliminates all of the DirecWay software issues of yesterday… because now, the modem is a self-contained "modem" that you merely connect to via Cat 5 and Ethernet. Whereas prior versions were a peripheral device that your computer (and the software running on your computer) controlled, managed and used as a peripheral device, via a USB connection… there were “issues”
I believe that StarBand has also recently made this step in "modem" architecture.
Everything is relative… I would rate the new DirecWay system as being VASTLY superior to dial-up, but the speeds and definitely the latency frequently make DSL, Cable modem, or some Wireless services a better choice…..if you have that choice.
Mark Sorensen said:
Starband "had it" and got rid of it, and now they are bringing it back?
A few years ago when I got Starband they had their model 180 modems, which would work with any operating system - a simple Ethernet connection was all that was needed.
They later "phased out" the model 180 modems (a large box) in favor of the model 360, which was smaller (and looked like some appliance in the cartoon movie "The Brave Little Toaster") and offered USB or Ethernet connectivity, but it was like a "winmodem" in that all of its acceleration and performance was dependant on software installed in your WINDOWS system - it ran like a DAWG (less than dialup speed) without the accelrator software. Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled since my Linux-based proxy server was not compatable, so I gave Starband the heave-ho (there were other issues as well).
MikeF said:
I tried seveal of which I cannot be too spcific since its been over a year and was also on Win ME. But to make a long story short, change your MTU and RCVWINDOW settings. Then there is the TTL or 'time to live' which tells the computer to wait a bit before assuming that a packet is considered lost.
With any such ventures, BACK UP YOUR REGISTRY!!
You can use several already made tweakers, like SATSPEED($20.00) http://www.copperhead.cc/satspeed.html or look for some free/shareware ones.
http://www.rosecitysoftware.com/tweakmaster/
I found dslreports.com or speedguide.net to be the most reliable sources for information.
Registry tweaks:
http://www.speedguide.net/articles.php?category=93
Here is a list of Tweaks depending on your hardware DW3000 or 4000 but not the DW6000 or DW4020
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/satellite/4.+Speed+Tweaks
Lastly, you can always go to the Direcway forum on dslreports.com
Here---> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/sat
Found it very helpful.
Hmm.. Just saw that STARBAND is just coming out of Bankruptcy (Chapter 11) Hmmm... That in itself would tend to make DirecWay a better choice.
Anywho... Good luck!
To anyone stuck in 28.8 land, I would recommend that you try www.propel.com first before sinking a ton of money into Sat Internet (either *band or Dway) or trying to implement multi-linking.
I was a *band customer for almost 3 years until my 360 modem failed in September. *band wanted $100 to replace it but required me to sign a 1 year service extension. But with Comcast cable modem service due to be activated before the end of the year, I bailed and went back to dial-up.
But surfing the net at 28.8 was once again agonizingly slow. After a lot of research I decided to give Propel a try because it's the same system that they license to Earthlink for their dial-up acceleration but works with any ISP. It's $8/mo with no annual commitment.
Basically it configures your browser to use Propel's proxy servers and it gets it's acceleration by downrezing all the graphical images. I found that the default setting gave me a 2 to 3 times performance improvement without sacrificing much on image quality. Since a lot of these images are advertisements anyway, who cares. It also includes built in add and pop-up blockers that are fairly effective, though not perfect
So I used the service for about 6 weeks until Comcast installed my cable modem. It pretty much works as advertised but to get the 5x acceleration the graphics get downrezed to a point of being distracting, so the default setting seems about the best compromise. Propel won't really do much for downloading large files, but for surfing via dial-up it's great and worth the money.
Give it a try, you've got nothing to lose at $8/mo. When the cable modem was installed, I canceled the service without a hassle and un-installed the software with Add/Remove Software with no problems.
For the record, I'm not affiliated in any way with Propel.
I was a *band customer for almost 3 years until my 360 modem failed in September. *band wanted $100 to replace it but required me to sign a 1 year service extension. But with Comcast cable modem service due to be activated before the end of the year, I bailed and went back to dial-up.
But surfing the net at 28.8 was once again agonizingly slow. After a lot of research I decided to give Propel a try because it's the same system that they license to Earthlink for their dial-up acceleration but works with any ISP. It's $8/mo with no annual commitment.
Basically it configures your browser to use Propel's proxy servers and it gets it's acceleration by downrezing all the graphical images. I found that the default setting gave me a 2 to 3 times performance improvement without sacrificing much on image quality. Since a lot of these images are advertisements anyway, who cares. It also includes built in add and pop-up blockers that are fairly effective, though not perfect
So I used the service for about 6 weeks until Comcast installed my cable modem. It pretty much works as advertised but to get the 5x acceleration the graphics get downrezed to a point of being distracting, so the default setting seems about the best compromise. Propel won't really do much for downloading large files, but for surfing via dial-up it's great and worth the money.
Give it a try, you've got nothing to lose at $8/mo. When the cable modem was installed, I canceled the service without a hassle and un-installed the software with Add/Remove Software with no problems.
For the record, I'm not affiliated in any way with Propel.
Agreed.
But a year ago when this was first posted, wireless broadband wasn't readily available in all areas. Cingular has a decent wireless service area but all wireless is plagued by some dead spots and fairly high access fees.
The PCMCIA card is $149.00 with a 2 yr contract with an additional $29.00(10 megs) to $79.00 (unlimited usage) per month charge.
There are some data cables you can get to hook to a regular cell phone, but the software is usually an extra cost too. Plus you still have to pay access fees.
I know most of this first hand. I just had to hook up my cousin to Cingular after her regular wireless phone provider couldn't get a signal at the campground she was located in.
But a year ago when this was first posted, wireless broadband wasn't readily available in all areas. Cingular has a decent wireless service area but all wireless is plagued by some dead spots and fairly high access fees.
The PCMCIA card is $149.00 with a 2 yr contract with an additional $29.00(10 megs) to $79.00 (unlimited usage) per month charge.
There are some data cables you can get to hook to a regular cell phone, but the software is usually an extra cost too. Plus you still have to pay access fees.
I know most of this first hand. I just had to hook up my cousin to Cingular after her regular wireless phone provider couldn't get a signal at the campground she was located in.
Uplink said:
Does 2.4ghz wifi reach into rural areas? You are still talking about 5 to 15 mile limitations from the base 'station' for rural wifi. That is 'IF' your community even 'has' a hub.
That is why the original poster, 'woodchuck' asked about *Band or Dway.
With a PCMCIA adapter in a home PC and an external antenna, a person could get wireless in home internet *almost* anywhere as long as there was a cell tower nearby.
All in all, each has benefits and drawbacks. Those that aren't fortunate enought to have DSL or cable internet are left to fend for themselves. It is up to the individual to decide which is best determined by distance, cost and availability.
As we become a more *wired* world, access issues will dwindle in the future.
