Best ADSL modem?

mr_angry

Hey guys,

I'm just looking for people's opinions on getting a replacement modem for my NTL broadband connection. At the moment, I'm using an old CNET wireless modem / gateway / switch combo, and it keeps crashing, so it has to go. I've tried replacing this in the past with a Belkin 125Mbps wireless modem combo, but having bought it, I then found that it took an RJ11 input rather than the RJ45 input supplied by my NTL box on the wall. I now have both the CNET and Belkin devices daisy-chained in a rather awkward setup. My wireless network is now pretty stable, but every time the CNET device dies, so does my Internet connection and DHCP server.

So... I'm on the lookout for a modem which takes RJ45 input, and wont die every 2 hours. Unfortunately, most tech sites dont give a great overview of the inputs. I'm not particularly fussed about wireless capability... I'm perfectly happy to keep the Belkin model in the daisy-chain setup.

Any suggestions?

Snowbat

No modem takes an RJ45 input.

I'm guessing your NTL box on the wall is actually a cable modem (DOCSIS standards, nothing to do with dialup modems) with an ethernet output on RJ45, or the cable modem is mounted somewhere else in the building and you get an ethernet feed on RJ45.

Seems to me what you're looking for is a router or a wireless router?

I recommend the Linksys WRT54GL - a wireless router w/ 4 port switch and a great reputation. Steer clear of the combo units with integrated ADSL modem as they won't have the type of input you need. You have NTL cable internet - this is *not* ADSL (which works only on a telephone line).

zilog_jones

Yeah what he said - you DO NOT have ADSL! An ADSL router will have an RJ11 jack to connect to a phone line, so will be totally useless to you like the Belkin yoke you got! You have cable broadband.

You won't be able to replace your NTL modem - AFAIK they're operater specific, like you NTL set-top box. So you'll want a router which connects to your modem via ethernet.

The Linksys WRT54GL isn't half as good as it used to be, and IMO Linksys are overrated. I'd recommend the Netgear WPN824, which is about €100 on Komplett - I have a couple of friends with them and they work great. Their WGT624IS seems to be similarly priced to the WRT54GL - I have what looks like the ADSL modem version to that (DG834GT) and it's pretty good (though the latest firmware was crap).

WizZard

zilog_jones wrote:

You won't be able to replace your NTL modem - AFAIK they're operater specific, like you NTL set-top box.

Not true AFAIK. You can replace the modem they provide as long as you can get the new router to use the MAC address of the old (NTL) one, since that's what they use to distinuish them.

YMMV

zilog_jones

Really? I've never seen cable modems for sale anywhere O_o

Gadgetman496

Why don't you get a RJ45 Female to RJ11 Female coupler?
They only cost between €5 & €10 bucks(even less on the Net). Plug the coupler into the RJ45 cable & plug an ordinary RJ11 patch cable into the other side. Then you can connect straight into your Belkin.

I'm sure Maplin or Petes would have them.

Have a look at this Link:
http://www.nextag.com/rj45-to-rj11-adapter/search-html

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zilog_jones

That won't work! An ADSL router is expecting an analogue telephone line in the RJ11 jack, not an Ethernet connection. That'd be like using this on your normal analogue phone and expecting it to magically turn into a VoIP phone!

Gadgetman496

zilog_jones wrote:

That won't work! An ADSL router is expecting an analogue telephone line in the RJ11 jack, not an Ethernet connection.

Actually zilog, that sounds like it would indeed be the case.

Nothing is ever straight forward is it?

What uses do those couplers have then?

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zilog_jones

Dunno, some other networks could change between RJ11 and RJ45 - I think ISDN can potentially use both.

Snowbat

Could also be for piping a telephone connection down an ethernet cable, though most IT folks would just plug the RJ11 phone plug directly into an RJ45 socket (which works fine).

I'm not a Linksys fan by any means. Some Linksys models are rubbish, including the later versions of the WRT54G where they switched from Linux to VXWorks and halved the Flash and RAM. However, the WRT54GL is a 'classic' WRT54G (v4 hardware) running Linux on the full compliment of Flash and RAM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRT54G

zilog_jones

I thought I saw some review showing the GL was somehow worse than the original models? Maybe that was just with the official firmware...

mr_angry

D'oh!

Not quite sure what my brain was doing when I was writing that post (drinking behind my back, I suspect). Evidently, what I'm looking for is a straightforward router. As I said, wireless is not a requirement, since I can leave the Belkin WLAN switch in the loop. The cable modem itself is also fine.

If the cyber-ground could open up and swallow this thread whole, now would be a good time.