Is anyone having similar problems with their internet setup?

I have an oldish modem (DSL-504T) connected to my airport extreme, to my powerbook. I use TPG and find that i have a lot of drop outs, especially in the past 6 months. It happens many times a day where i will be surfing the net, then get no data in for 30 seconds or a minute, then finally it starts up again.

Here are the details of the modem:
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ADSL Firmware Version: 4.03.03.00 - 3.02.00.03 - 3.02.06.00 Annex A - 01.07.02 - 0.49
ADSL Software Version: V2.00B08.AU_20060904

I cant seem to update to the latest software as it says upgrade failed.

Any help would be appreciated. I had read that DSL504T and TPG have issues??

Aye, they do - we had one here and it caused no end of grief, especially on TPG's DSL2AM circuits.

I strongly advise you to bin the D-Link and replace it with something more reliable -- the Netgear DG834 is a solid performer (we love ours, 21.5 Mbps and connection uptime measured in weeks, woo!)

Thanks Brains, i think its time to invest in a new modem. I've had this for 5 odd years and it has gotten worse over the past year and especially in the past 6 months. I get these drop out periods every day, many times a day. There is no way its the laptop or the wireless device so i can only assume its TPG and or the modem (or together they are an issue).

id say replace the modem, they didnt get the nickname of a goat for no reason!

Really I had no idea they had such a bad name.

I'm just worried that if i get another modem that i will have similar problems. Could it be the phone line? It has already dropped in and out 3 times since posting this Topic! It never used to do this.....

Are there any other recommendations for good ADSL2+ modems? I will checkout the Netgear one.

Your phone line could have something to do with it, especially if you hear any kind of whooshing, hissing or crackling noise on the phone line when you're making a voice call. If you want to feel a little more assured, ring Telstra's faults line (if you're not with Telstra, then your phone company) and ask for a "line quality check". They will need you to disconnect everything (including the modem) except a Telstra-issue or Austel-approved handset so they can run the test, then ring you back with their verdict.

If you visit this website and enter your address, you can get a guesstimate of the maximum speed you will be capable of if you use ADSL2 (it will also show you what DSL2 providers are on your exchange if you were thinking of switching).

Everyone will have their favourite modem -- some swear by Netcomm, some Netgear, others will call you mad for using anything but a Linksys with Tomato software, still others will be blue-eyed over Billions. Alcatel SpeedTouch 585 has the world's worst interface, but they can hold a connection better than anything else on the planet (that's why Telstra use them instead of fixing their crap copper network). If you want to research modems, go spend several hours trawling through Whirlpool.

My vote (and I'm sure it will be echoed here by many others) is for the Netgear DG834. Usable and understandable interface, good quality line filters for excellent connection, easily updatable, and can be put into "bridge mode" (ie, disable all the built in router smarts) so you can use it with another router. And its affordable, under $100 at most shops.

Thanks for the detailed info Brains.

I had a look at the website, and based on that i am 2.5km from the exchange. Based on this i should have a max speed of 10600, but the modem says 4000.

Interestingly, TPG have their own map, and based on the 2.5km i should get a max of 10200, so its very different to what i am getting.

Could the modem cause such slow speeds or is it all up to the line and the exchange?

Yes, because that old D-Link doesn't handle DSL2 sync. DSL2 is backwards compatible, meaning you can use a DSL1-only modem on a DSL2 circuit.

Ahhh.....does that mean the DSL-504T is an ADSL modem that enables you to access ADSL2+ as apposed to a proper ADSL2+ modem?

I was checking out the Netgear you mentioned and looks great for the price! Thanks very much for that.

Why do they say you need only 3m between modem and socket? Does the sock do anything to the signal?

The quality of the cable directly affects the quality of your signal, and the best type of cable to use is solid-core single-strand, which is exactly what Telstra use to run a copper pair all the way from the exchange to the first wall socket (in Teltra-ese, "boundary point"). The typical phone extension cables you can get from Woolies, Tandys, or your corner two-dorra shop, are all flexible multi-strand stuff, and whilst they'll be good enough for a voice signal, cheap ones can and do affect the signal strength of your DSL signal.

It is important to keep your DSL modem as close as possible to the Telstra wall-socket if you can, if speed is important to you, and it would be better to run a long ethernet cable from the modem to your computer than run a long phone lead and have short ethernet cables. Sometimes of course this isn't really feasible, so you will have to sacrifice a small amount of speed.

from memory TPG drops out from time to time anyway... at my old house we had TPG internet and try as i might i couldn't stop the occasional drop outs (but i'm in a country area). on a side note the netgears are solid performers, i've got one and i'm with optus. never had a drop out for longer than about 30 seconds and that was 6 months ago i think.

I have a single phone line cable, with a branch that i put in that has another (cheap) phone line to the modem. Only did this cause i then plug the modem into my airport.

I wouldn't normally have bothered but that is where my printer and stereo are, and i stream my music from the laptop all the time, so i had to keep the two close. I guess i should have just run a long ethernet cable instead!

I spoke to TPG, and they noted 5 drop outs in the past hour.

Anyway, thanks again for all the info guys.

so what do you base this theory on? (Electronics and Communications Engineer here)

I was with TPG and got the very same issue tey even looked at the modem they supplied and said it was ok and it never got resolved they will just blame you in the end and that will be case closed for them. I recomend you try another ISP.