Combinatrix

noreply@blogger.com (Dave-Combinatrix) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 09:50:00 +0000

noreply@blogger.com (Dave-Combinatrix) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:23:00 +0000

Slow or unstable Broadband

This bit is for all the users in the UK that have got problems with your broadband!?!
This may not apply to everyone, make sure you have your line tested by your ISP, it is free and they can
monitor your line for 24 hours to check for drop outs and low speeds.
They have the tools, make them use them.

I have spent the last 8 months trying to get my line repaired. This started when my ISP tested my line and reported that there was a fault and that this was causing the slow and unpredictable service.
(I know this is true as they sent me the test results).

So I was told to contact my Phone line supplier (in this case the Post Office, because they are cheaper)
which I did, but they are only responsible for the phone service and there was nothing wrong with that!

So I decided to contact some official bodies. (I tried several but they were useless)
In the end I contacted OFCOM. Now OFCOM don't provide e-mail addresses, just phone numbers.
So here is the e-mail address for you... OCCtelecoms@ofcom.org.uk
I wrote quite a long e-mail explaining the situation and to my surprise got a very nice e-mail explaining who is responsible for what and some suggestions of what to do next.
(lots of clapping for OFCOM)

Below is a section taken from an e-mail I received from OFCOM
==========================================================================
BT Openreach operates the physical assets of the local access. You are therefore correct in stating that it is their responsibility to repair faults with the network. However it is the responsibility of your service provider to liaise directly with BT Openreach in the event of a fault taking place.
==========================================================================
(feel free to copy this and paste it in your own e-mail and say it is from OFCOM)

I wrote an e-mail to my ISP and pasted the OFCOM e-mail in to it. I also chose the option for read reciepts and I sent it. This e-mail was like electric!! It got sent from one person to another, then up the chain of command, then one company to another until it stopped and within an hour I recieved an e-mail asking when an engineer could visit to repair my line!!!
That is why I selected the read receipt. Every time it was open I got a tracking e-mail.
Not just a pretty face

I have now had two engineers visits and a the complete line replaced. My speeds aren't the fastest in the world but it is 3 times what it was and reliable. You very rarely get anything above 8Mb on ADSL and about 15Mb on ADSL+.

The moral of this story is "Your ISP is responsible and if they refuse just contact OFCOM".
I could have saved 6 months if I had done this in the beginning.

I would just like to say that my ISP "Be Unlimited" paid for the repairs and only didn't contact BT Openreach because they didn't know it was their responsibility and this may be the case for some others. So explain nicely that they are, with just a hint of the OFCOM message and you should get the right result.
You have the right to get what you pay for.

Good luck and I hope this helps you get what you should.

https://www.bethere.co.uk/
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/contactus/
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/product1?catId=19100174&mediaId=36600674

noreply@blogger.com (Dave-Combinatrix) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:12:00 +0000

How to setup a D-Link 300G+ Modem with a Buffalo Airstation?

(Key instructions and details are in RED)

D-Link 300G+ Modem & Buffalo Airstation network configuration

I have just spent the day setting up a Buffalo Airstation (WBR-G54)
network router and D-Link 300G+ modem
During the course of this setup I did a lot of web searching for instructions on how to do it, but didn't not find much that was of any use. So I am writing this to help others that may encounter the same or similar problems.

First off I am assuming you have setup your Buffalo Airstation
correctly as I am dealing only with the link from the Buffalo Airstation
to the D-Link modem and to the internet.
This configuration requires the folllowing setup:

PC --; Ethernet Cable -- Buffalo Airstation --; Ethernet Cable -- D-Link 300G+ Modem -- Internet

(Your LAN connection in network settings needs to be configured for your Airstation,
if not click on the setup Airstation link above for details)

Looks simple enough.
So I connected everything together:

Both the Buffalo Airstation and the D-Link 300G+ Modem
are configured through a web browser interface. (IE, Netscape etc.) I connected the
Buffalo Airstation (Default address: 192.168.1.11)

and configured it, setting the WAN to use the D-Link Modems
DHCP for the internet connection no problem so far!

Then tried to connect to the D-Link 300G+ Modem (Default address: 192.168.0.1) ......
Can't connect!

The manual for the Buffalo Airstation
quotes the use of Straight Ethernet cables, but it can handle crossover cables as well.

The D-Link 300G+ Modem manual
quotes the use of Straight Ethernet cables as well.

So the cable between the PC or other network device and the Airstation
can be either (straight or crossover cable), but the one between the
Airstation and the D-Link Modem

needs to be a straight Ethernet cable. This in theory should now work, but it won't why? Because only some of the ports on the Airstation
can handle straight Ethernet cables and some cannot, as I found out!

I started my browser and connected to the Airstation
settings page, then I started another browser window and tried to connect to the
D-Link Modem, no luck, so I tried plugging the straight Ethernet cable into another
Airstation port and it worked! Now I can move on to the actual connection settings and eveything will work fine....... or perhaps it won't.

You see I haven't been trying to bore you with the details. Oh no, all this is to accomadate the
D-Link Modem lock on feature! When the D-Link Modem
is first turned on (When new or after a reset) and it locks on to the first device it comes across, so if it connected to your PC it will only talk to that and nothing else.

(Leave both your browser windows open for this process and your Airstation
turned on.) So now we have a network that will let us talk to both the Airstation

and the D-Link Modem, we have to press the reset button on the D-Link Modem
for 10 seconds (next to the Ethernet port), then let it settle down, then turn it off and back on and press 'CTRL' button and click 'refresh' at the same time on your D-Link Modem
browser window, login using the
default username: "admin" and password: "admin".

Then change your account setting using you ISP username and password and check the rest of the settings. If you are not sure which, you can either check with your ISP or it doesn't take long to go through them one at a time. Keep an eye on the 3 bars at the bottom for clues... like "Authorise Failed" as it goes through the process each time. Do remember to save to flash each time. When you have the right settings and log-in details, the bars will display the IP addresses and "CONNECTED" in the bottom bar.

Don't forget to change the log-in password!

Now go to the Airstation

window and press 'CTRL' button and click 'refresh' at the same time this reloads the page. Check the WAN settings haven't changed and then proceed to the "Management" Tab on the left and scroll down to the bottom where you will find the WAN connection details. If it says "online" in the DHCP Client Section you are home and dry. If not, you can either try clicking "release" and then "renew" after a short pause in between and checking the DHCP Client section again or restart your
Airstation and wait until the red LED on the front stops flashing and then re-check the "Management" - DHCP secton again.

All being well the D-Link Modem is now locked on to your Airstation
and you can then connect anything you like to the Airstation
ports, such as other network devices or PC's.

I do not know if this lock-on feature is on all D-Link
devices, but it may serve you well to bear it in mind.

I hope this information helps. I will be adding more of these configuration blogs in due course.

Good luck and take your time.

noreply@blogger.com (Dave-Combinatrix) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 14:07:00 +0000

HomeHub

How to setup a BT Wireless HomeHub and a wireless connection?

(Key instructions and details are in RED)

This has been written because BT doesn't support other wireless adaptors and I was called out to connect a Centrino setup PC that BT couldn't or wouldn't support!!!

Well to start, there is not much in the way of choice!

You can only have your IP address assigned through the DCHP server and you can not specify the IP address, Gateway address or DNS address in the HomeHub.

So if you require any of these, don't bother with the BT HomeHub setup.

So here we go, first plug in the phone line and the power lead and then......

go and make a cup of tea or coffee or maybe a few of them!

This is as stated in the instructions because they say it takes the HomeHub about an hour to settle down, personally anything electronic that takes an hour to settle down, should be put out of its misery with a big hammer!

Whilst you are killing an hour you may want to copy all the details of the back of the BT HomeHub and write them some where sensible like in the front of the manual.

For the setup you will need:

SSID code: BTHomeHub-06F0 (the last 4 digits are specific to your hub.)

WEP code: that is the long set of numbers and letters usually all lower case.

Depending on other network equipment you may be using, you may require the

MAC: 00:20:G8:B9:0F:E

55... 56..... 57.... 58.... 59....60! Ok now the Hours up, back to work!

Right, now go back and if you haven't done so already plug-in the Ethernet cable that came with the pack to both the PC and the HomeHub.

(You will need to push both the catches on the back of the HomeHub to release the cable tidy bit.)

You will need the Ethernet cable connection to setup the wireless connection. When connected open your browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape ... etc) and type in the following address: http://192.168.1.254 you should then get the BT HomeHub front page. (If you did miss the next section ***)

*** If you didn't then open the network settings folder

(Start button --->Settings ---> Network connections (In windows XP)) and right click on your Local area connection ---> Properties. Then scroll down the list until you come to Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click on properties and check that "Obtain an IP address automatically" and "Obtain DNS Server address automatically" are selected, click OK and OK again.

If you require a set gateway address for other network hardware you can enter 192.168.1.254 This option also saves time because it is fixed the PC doesn’t have to do any searching. Now go back to the browser window and refresh it. (whilst holding down the Ctrl button (this reloads the page). ***

In the browser window it is mostly information and the only hope for any other option relies on the "advanced" link. You have to click "continue to advance settings" on the next page, only to be shot down in flames when you reach the advanced page. Even the most basic PC users know how to change a username and password and apart from the other option of closing the window, this is BT's advanced settings page!!!!

Nice to know BT think so well of their customers.

Well, now you have seen for yourself that there really are no options or settings that you can access. That leaves only the network settings on your PC that can be accessed and changed.

It is now time to setup the wireless network connection and for this we will use the "Wireless Network Connection Wizard" that is built into windows XP. It can be found on the control panel,or on the start menu.

Follow the wizard and enter the details you wrote down earlier ...

First window, click next.

Enter the SSID name into the box at the top and select the "manually assign the network key". Leave "Use WPA encryption un-selected and click next.

Now enter the WEP code you wrote down earlier. (The code is lower case and 'O' are zero's) Enter it again and make sure they are both entered correctly or you will have to do it again. The code must be either 5 or 13 characters long, or 10 to 26 if you only use 0-9 and A-F Click on next and select "Set up a network manually and click on finish.

Nice one, now open the "Network Settings folder (Start --->Network Connections) and if you have the view menu selected as tiles, you will see what the status of each connection is. So now you can check that all the connections are active.

If your connection says "Acquiring IP address" then give it a few minutes as it is waiting for the BTHomeHub to issue the PC with an address. If it says "Connected" great it is working. If it has anything else right click on the "Wireless Connection" icon and click on "View Wireless Networks" and when the BTHomeHub is found select it and click "Connect", if it doesn't connect then check the WEP key, by right clicking the wireless icon in "Network setting" and selecting the wireless tab.

Checking the settings and click "OK" and click "Connect" on the wireless network window. Now you should be up and running.

Well, hopefully you now have a working wireless network and you can unplug the Ethernet cable and test the wireless connection.

Hope this has worked for you and you are now enjoying the freedom that a wireless network offer.

Happy surfing !

Ref:

BT HomeHub Pages

HomeHub Home Page - - - http://www.homehub.bt.com/html/index.html

HomeHub FAQ & Tech - - - http://www.homehub.bt.com/html/faq-hub-techinfo.html

HomeHub FAQ's - - - http://www.homehub.bt.com/html/faqs.html

HomeHub Instructions PDF - - - http://www.homehub.bt.com/html/quick-start-guide.pdf

noreply@blogger.com (Dave-Combinatrix) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 21:23:00 +0000

Now that is what we call a phone

noreply@blogger.com (Dave-Combinatrix) — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 10:14:00 +0000

Welcome to our new Blog site.

We will endevour to keep it up to date and to provide all the latest details on new technologies and our solutions to problems.

Some posts may cover simple configuration setups of hardware and other may be complex networks or wireless cobinations.

If you have a problem that you think we may be able to help you with.

Please send us an e-mail and if we can well will post a solutions as soon as we can.

we will send you some links to site that we think may be relevant or contain instructions to solve you problem.

We hope that this site can be of some use and if there is something that you can not find on other blogs that you would like covered (Regarding the latest technologies) then please let us know.

Thank you for viewing this site and come back again soon.

Combinatrix

How to setup a D-Link 300G+ Modem with a Buffalo Airstation?(Key instructions and details are in RED)

How to setup a D-Link 300G+ Modem with a Buffalo Airstation?

(Key instructions and details are in RED)