Thanks in advance for any info!

The Hyperterminal Private Edition may allow access to COM5.
http://www.hilgraeve.com/htpe/index.html

I saw the forum reference to a Dell article explaining how to reset a COM5 modem to COM4 (via the Registry <HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Enum\PCI\VEN_12B9&DEV_1008\xxxxxx\PORTNAME>). Has anyone done this successfully? Looks easy enough. I've been using ControlCenter to get the 5610B diagnostics, but it always garbles (& leaves out) some of the data.

I've been struggling for over a month with two new USR modems (first the 5699B, followed by the 5610B) that I purchased for a PC I just built. After finding your web site this past weekend, I thought I'd try everything recommended here before posting too many questions.

Thanks for your response!

If Device Manager was checked, the modem would list COM 5 as the port; the COM port 5 would show the U.S. Robotics 56K Fax PCI modem. Nowhere in the Windows 95 or 98 operating system will there be a listing of the modem at COM 4. Yet, the DOS Box will direct the software to COM 4. DOS Box then redirects communications from COM 4 to COM 5 where the modem is according to the operating system.

The U.S. Robotics 56K PCI DOS Box Support is listed under Add/Remove Programs. If it is not there or has been removed, remove the modem and restart the computer. Turn off the computer, replace the modem, restart the computer, and the modem and DOS Box Support will be installed.

NOTE: This modem will install on other COM ports in other operating systems such as Windows NT and Windows 2000.

I believe I'm pretty close to the answer with both my USR 5699B & 5610B modems. Kinda' obvious, actually. Assuming the SNR from "ATi11" is a useful parameter, I'm getting an average of 32.9 dB out of 30 recorded diagnostics. The min is 20.6 dB; max of 44.5 dB. In addition, I get tons of BLERS & sometimes dozens of retrain requests. If I set the max connect speed to 21.6K I almost always get quick, reliable connections. Anything above that is hit or miss. I guess the new modems just can't deal with "noisy" lines. My two 5-yr-old USR 56K faxmodems (hardware) both connect at 44K or greater 90% of the time, and the connections are extremely reliable. Can't remember when I was last disconnected or had intermittent connections. And these modems are connected to the same lines (& cords) that I'm using now. They also show similar SNR levels (I'll confirm that again tonight), but they seldom have to retrain.

Seeing as I've blown over $100 on these two modems (because I trusted USR & didn't check the WWW first), I'm going to get my money's worth in learning everything I can about this (or relearning, as the case may be).

Cheers!

Type aty11
First of all, if the value of 3750 is above 50, you may have poor local phone lines and may want to check into noise. Now, take the level of 3300 and subtract it from the level of 3750. If the value is 25 or higher, you most likely have too many A/D, D/A conversions which indicates that you can not achieve 56k speeds. If the value is betwen 20 and 25, you MAY have too many A/D, D/A conversions and you may not be able to achieve 56k speeds.

Basic Analysis of Ati11 with regards to A/D, D/A conversions
check Status : 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
http://www.modemhelp.net/linenoise/usr/ati11.shtml
Here, you will want to take a look at item number 6 on the Status line. his item indicates the number of Robbed Bit Signal links in the telco circuit between client and host. You can still achieve 56k type connect speeds with RBS links, however if you have a Y here, this indicates a type B Codec which could mean that you are on a SLC96 (often referred to as a Slick). A slick is used when there are not enough twisted pairs in the area to meet customer needs. When a slick is used you are given extra Analog to Digital/Digital to Analog conversions, thus making v90 speeds impossible.

USR Ati6 Explained
http://www.modemhelp.net/linenoise/usr/ati6.shtml

Both modems are v.92 and have the latest drivers, but they only connect at either v.90 or v.34 (both my ISPs support v.92). I flashed the 5610B with the latest firmware last week. None of the updates seemed to have any apparent (lasting) effect. I've been running diagnostics over the past week & started a "diary" of everything I've tried so far (along w/associated log file & diagnostics). I've posted them on my web site. The zipped text file is here:
<http://home.datawest.net/dawog/USR Modem Diary.zip>;
the html version is here:
<http://home.datawest.net/dawog/USR%20Modem%20Diary.htm>

Beware! It is long & wordy (& I really don't expect anyone to read it but me). But most of the logs & diagnostics are there for the past week.

I'm becoming convinced that my tele line is noisy, and that these modems aren't capable of negotiating a connection unless I manually set the max connect speed to 26.4kbs or less. I'm fairly certain that my problems aren't due to any system/configuration conditions, as I tried the modems in my old PC and they behaved the same way. My other two 5-yr-old USR 56K internal fax modems, on the other hand, connect every time to both my ISPs at speeds between 42.6kbps and 48Kbps (using same tele phone cables, etc.). I have a few diagnostics from the old modem in the diary file, too.

I'm going to build a database this weekend of all the diagnostics I've been collecting along with all the conditions to see if any trends "jump out." Things like new tele cables, direct connect to tele company box, RF interference line filter, etc., didn't seem to have any effect (or improvement) on these modems. I have a "thing" about things that don't work right. I will work at it until either they do work right; I understand why they don't; or I smash them into a thousand pieces.

Thanks for all your help! This is one great web site, with a wealth of information.

Cheers!

About the only way I can reliably connect to my ISPs with these modems is to use the following initialization strings:
5699B: AT&U8&N16 +PIG=1 +PMH=1 +PQC=3
5610B: AT&U8&N24 +PIG=1 +PMH=1 +PQC=3

If I set the max connect speed any higher, the modems may still connect but the resultant connection is unusable and usually disconnects within 3-5 minutes.

Here's some statistics from diagnostics I've recorded:

5610B - 19 recordings
Avg Retrains: 4.3 (Min: 0 / Max: 14)
Avg BLERS: 128.4 (Min: 0 / Max: 608)
Avg SNR: 36.6 (Min: 22 / Max: 49.2)

5699B - 53 recordings
Avg Retrains: 1.8 (Min: 0 / Max: 17)
Avg BLERS: 1197 (Min: 0 / Max: 22274)
Avg SNR: 34.3 (Min: 20.6 / Max: 44.5)

Old USR 56K Faxmodem - 5 recordings
Avg Retrains: 0.6 (Min: 0 / Max: 3)
Avg BLERS: 43.4 (Min: 0 / Max: 134)
Avg SNR: 41.5 (Min: 33 / Max: 45.7)

I've updated my 'Modem Diary' at the previously posted link, and I've also posted a spreadsheet with all the diagnostics at:
<http://home.datawest.net/dawog/modem_data2.xls>

From what I've read on this web site and at all the links you've provided, it looks to me (based on the modem diagnostics) that I have a noisy telephone line & am going to have to live with connection speeds of less than 30kbps (which is OK). Since I never previously looked at the diagnostics from my older USR 56K Faxmodem and didn't realize that the actual connection speed could end up being something much lower than that indicated in the "Modem Status", my older modems may in fact have been functioning at connection speeds much less than I believed. On one of the five connection tests I performed it connected @ 48kbps, but within a few minuntes had stabilized at 26.4kbps (either that or it wasn't even displaying the correct connection status to begin with). The ping times I recorded for the old 56k modem seem to show that the connections weren't that great.

My primary goal wasn't to achieve the max connection speed, but rather to establish a reliable connection - preferably in one try. Unless I use the above init strings to lower the max connect speed, both of these modems require multiple attempts to even achieve a connection (if they achieve one at all), and more often than not the connection is unusable and they disconnect within a few minutes.

The big question is whether or not I'm interpreting the diagnostics correctly. The Excel spreadsheet I've posted has the diagnostics for the ATi6, ATi11 & ATy11 commands. If anyone has a chance (or the time), I would greatly appreciate a 2nd (or 3rd or more) opinion of my observations.

Thanks again for all your great feedback!

Use Hyperterminal or other terminal emulator to connect directly to your modem. Setup for 57600 and to connect directly to whatever com port your modem is using.
Type: AT<enter>. The modem should return OK. If it doesn't, try AT&F1 or AT&F to temporarily reset the USR modem to its defaults. Don't bother proceeding until it belches OK.
Type: ATDT 123-4567<enter> to dial your ISP. Please replace the 123-4567 with your ISP's phone number.
You should get some kind of a login prompt. You do not need to login.
Type: +++ and wait a few seconds. It should return OK after a second or so.
Type: ATY11<enter> and a two column table of frequencies and amplitudes should result.
Wait 30-45 seconds for the equalizers to settle down. Then run: ATY11<enter> for the final values. 3Com recommends 60 seconds, but I've found that 15 seconds is usually sufficient.
Type: ATH0 <enter> to hangup the phone line.