TelMex Modem

Well folks, after a couple trips to TelMex I now have been issued a phone number and modem. One step closer to having service turned up !  I asked if they had any modems with screw on antennas and she said no but then brought out one of the Thomson TG788vn V2 units instead of the HUAWEI HG532e that seem to be the standard issue.

I can see the differences in the two but was hoping for comments about the two brands.. stability and performance of Thomson in particular..

Thanks !

As you said Standard issue Huawei works but does not have external antenna. Had three of them they all worked just slightly differently but they worked for the most part. One unit wouldn't work with VOIP modules other would. Very reliable compared to Technicolor modem which I smashed as it was such a piece of crap and unreliable.

I have no experience with Thomsom. Never had one.  

Z

Thanks Z... I believe the Thomsom model is same as Technicolor .. at least the user manuals appear to be the same.. Guess we'll find out on this one.. At least TelMex seems to be good about swapping out the modems without much hassle.

Owwwww....my house came with a pile of modem from it being a rental.  I vote for the H modems but your modem came with antenna so it may not be a lame techni modem anyway.

Good Luck if you want to borrow to see if it works my Asus 9db gain 360 degree screw on antenna you can I have a spare for loan. Am going to Frys to pick up more next month.

Z

Z, Thanks for the offer.. No antenna on this Thomson/Thechni... Once i get wifi going, I'll be able to check coverage and figure out what direction to go.. Is there a Fry's in Guad ? May need a road trip !

There is a small Steren store across from WalMart that may carry modem antennas. If not, I'm sure the larger Steren stores in Guadalajara will.

does an external antenna improve speed and or signal strength ?

Yes.  I use two types of antenna.  The asus 9db gain one foot long antenna screws on just like the little ones.  The other antenna takes the 360 degree signal and puts all the power into a 90 degree antenna stuck in the corner of roof and walls and works on same theory like a Klipch corner horn speaker.  So I have a dlink router/wifi unit with three screw on removable antenna. Use extension cord to get 90 degree antenna in corner of room and put two of the asus on the other two antenna connections.  Corner antenna is aimed at living room  and does go thru many old thick Mexican walls. I can lay down one of the asus antenna and go up with good results on the roof.  Its just experimenting and playing around.   Now does any of this do any good? Yes the 9db asus antenna when three are used boosted things about 10% and the corner antenna did even more.  We played with the corner antenna once aiming it down the hill and got WIFI  a half a mile away.  Not a great connection but it worked.  FYI Speed and signal strength are related kinda  for the purpose of this discussion.   Much better to buy better antenna than repeaters.  I used repeaters for a year or so but they do add some overhead to the process which is not good for speed.   Better antenna and much experimenting is much a much better solution than repeaters in my opinion.  Also you can make some homemade antenna to go around for example the internal antenna wifi Telmex modems and get more of a directional signal. All that signal going in the wrong direction is wasted.  For example cover a paper plate with aluminum foil and put it behind your modem standing up. This may direct more of the signal in the direction you want.  Also move these internal antenna Telmex routers around to get the best signal.  These internal antenna are slightly directional.  Lay unit down sometimes help.  It is Voodoo and that was the first thing I was taught in Antenna class laugh out loud. Also do understand weather conditions can change WIFI signal strength. Also understand a maxed out area with many different devices running wireless may eventually have conflicts as spread spectrum can only work when it has the ability to move around to empty spaces. No empty spaces available and it will slow down and be cranky. I admit I have only seen this a few times but It is good to know.


Everything I mentioned is available in any Fry's electronic stores in the US.

Dlink 3 antenna router/wifi unit with removable screw on antenna (plugs into telecable/telmex modems to supply WIFI and allow replacement of antenna)
Asus 9db antenna (screw on antenna)
Extension cords for moving antenna away from router/wifi unit
Paper place and aluminum foil  (hey you might be surprised) (other types of home made antenna and reflectors can be found on the internet)
Some kind of computer that has a gauge for signal strength so you can see what works and what doesn't.  

I have never found a house that can't be made more WIFI friendly with these products.

Z

I found I get a way better signal from my stock Telmex modem by laying it down flat.

thanks zed.. seems all good info and will try some of your advice, so do i just connect the telmex modem/router directly into the dlink, or i connect the dlink straight to the phone/internet socket in my house? i just check as i am sure i read that the telmex modem/ router was the only one that was suitable for connection here. to be honest im not sure what is the difference between modem and router, or are they both the same thing?

Yes you plug the DLINK/whatever brand router/wifi unit into the Telmex modem and turn off the wifi on the Telmex modem.  Modem is what you use to connect to the phone line if DSL or cable if you have Telecable. Switch/routers don't worry about the names its not important. So in summary you have a Telmex modem which has the phone line plugged into it.  Take the Whatever router and plug that into one of the internet jacks on the back of the Telmex router. Play with the antenna and check results.  It is not unusual as CB found that best results can be had by laying the modem down.  Much of this work is trial and error.

Z

thanks Z . im not a huge tekky, but this explains things perfectly.

Zedinmexico wrote:Yes you plug the DLINK/whatever brand router/wifi unit into the Telmex modem and turn off the wifi on the Telmex modem.  Modem is what you use to connect to the phone line if DSL or cable if you have Telecable. Switch/routers don't worry about the names its not important. So in summary you have a Telmex modem which has the phone line plugged into it.  Take the Whatever router and plug that into one of the internet jacks on the back of the Telmex router. Play with the antenna and check results.  It is not unusual as CB found that best results can be had by laying the modem down.  Much of this work is trial and error.

Z

This if this dlink is a "router" and not a "wireless access point" this configuration that you recommend is NOT recommended.

First off this is called a "double NAT" There is a NAT in the Telmex modem and a NAT in the Dlink router. Your data must pass 2 NATs to get to the internet. Many modern apps will pass only one NAT, not 2 NATs

Under this scenario most UPNP apps and VoIP services may likely fail and failures can be intermittent. (so it is irrelevant if "its working now")

You need to shut off the NAT on one or the other, and easiest and most reliable to shut it down on the Dlink.

Here is how you do this on most any router.......

Your telmex modem always has an IP or 192.168.1.254


connect a cable from Dlink to computer. Disconnect all other LAN cables

Log into dlink router
Go to LAN settings and look for the LAN IP address settings (NOT WAN SETTINGS)

Set the Dlink router's LAN IP to 192.168.1.1
You will likely have to reconnect to the dlink after this change


on dlink now look for DHCP server , and disable it

now connect an ethernet cable from LAN on dlink (NOT WAN!!! WE WILL NOT USE THE WAN PORT AT ALL!!) to the telmex modem ethernet port


you will now have a PROPERLY configured LAN on Wifi

Also if you now need to replace your telmex modem it will be just "Plug n Play"

RThis also facilitates using ports on telmex modem as well as dlink router and having all ports "see" each other

It would be best however to go buy a bridging mode modem, instead of the telmex modem as the telmex modems are CRAP and you can not properly and reliably configure them properly for use with a router as they frequently lose settings!

Thanks for your info as I am sure some people will want to fix this.  I had no idea. But why would my system work for four years??  Magic jack, Nettalk, Vontage  all work. Telecable works fine also as I have both.  Can't see any difference in WIFI performance between the Telmex and Dlink units using this configuration?  I would love to put my own modem WIFI unit instead of the Telmex modem but have been told over and over we can't.   Are you saying we could use our own modem somehow??  It makes sense what you say and I am not a modem/router guy at all. Funny part of all this is I did this originally to make VOIP work as it wouldn't plugged into a two different H type modem but would work plugged into incorrectly configured Dlink. Left it alone as it worked.  Must be pretty intermittent or something is different about my setup.

Do you live lakeside?   If yes how about a visit and we can document this as many folks would like to use a configuration like this (with corrections) to use external antenna to punch thru these thick walls. PM me if you want.  Also do they make a hub/wifi unit alone or standalone WiFI unit that plugs into modem hub directly? I bet we could get this info posted on the board.

Z

Woody wrote:Z, Thanks for the offer.. No antenna on this Thomson/Thechni... Once i get wifi going, I'll be able to check coverage and figure out what direction to go.. Is there a Fry's in Guad ?   May need a road trip !

Oh do we wish there was a Fry's in Guad!!!!

Z

hickton wrote:thanks Z . im not a huge tekky, but this explains things perfectly.

Read Tekno post and add that info to my post.

Z

Zedinmexico wrote:
Oh do we wish there was a Fry's in Guad!!!!

Z

Zed,
did you ever make it into the Wilsonville store when it was still Incredible Universe? I don't know if it would satisfy serious tech people but it sure was a fun place to kill some time and gawk at the merchandise.

Oh yea I remember the traffic jam from Portland when they opened up the Incredible Universe in Wilsonville. It was a bad idea financially and bled radio shack of huge amounts of cash. Frys Electronics is a much better techy place anyhoo. I just like being able to look at a shelf with ten ft of WIFI antennas.  I love the choice.  Fry's and Trader joes are really the only thing I miss shopping wise.

Are you still planning to visit us eventually?

Z

Zedinmexico wrote:Are you still planning to visit us eventually?

Z

Eventually, yes. Right now things are in flux.