"Weak" 3Com 56+10/100 Ethernet Card?

maplewood141,

Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.

I'm a little confused in regards to your statement below:

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The tech's laptop found the Internet connection in our unit; our laptop did not.

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Please provide additional detail here. Test the connection closer to the Internet connection to see if a repeater may help matters. You may also want to test the bandwith of your connection by using this site.

The tech sounds like he was saying anything to not have to actually fix the problem. 3Com cards are great, and not weak. I would make sure that your card has the proper drivers loaded, and that the hardware is good.

Some notebook NICs do have trouble with long runs of cable.  Notebooks are low power devices because of the need to conserve battery power.  I use the same card you have in my 4000 and it does work fine on a 50' run.  I can test it later tonight on a run of 125'.  I'll report back after testing.

Thanks for the replies about my "weak" card. 

Bob T:  I meant to say, the tech's laptop connected immediately to the Internet in our 4th floor condonimum unit; our Inspiron 4000 did not.  Both connected to the Internet in the equipment room in the condonimum basement.  The line, per the tech's test, is 153 feet in length to the 4th floor.

Matt:  You know what?  I was thinking exactly the same thing which prompted the question.  That is, until John offered to test with his Inspiron 4000 at 125 ft.

I appreciate your interest, each of you.

 

 

 

 

 

maplewood141,

You might want to try purchasing a small switched hub, like the Linksys EZXS55W, and connecting through that. Switched hubs regenerate the signal, so if it's a power output problem with the 3Com card, a switched hub should work around the problem.

Jim

Actually, any powered hub will regenerate the singal - it doesn't need to be switched to do that.

Ok, I ran my 3Com 3CN3AC1556B NIC card into ~140' of Cat5 to an HP ProCurve 10/100 switch and it was fine (speed the same) just like in my office (at ~40') so like mattcowger said the 3Com should have made it.

Thanks again, Matt, Jim and John,

To John:  Your test results are most helpful and I will pass that along to the ISP.  I'm unclear about the name for the condo building's high-speed Internet service, e.g., T-1 etc.  I was told something like this:  There are six lines in the phone cable running to each unit.  Only two are needed for the phone.  The Internet company used some/all of the remaining lines to provide the Internet hookup.

To Jim and John:  Yep.  I was heading toward a powered hub and thanks for the suggestion.  I do have a "surplus" Linksys NH1005 left over from a hard-wired network and will take it along on our next trip.  We've since switched to wi-fi and, by the way, have had fantastic results with a D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G.  Flawless setup.  Good, reliable link with a strong signal 75 feet away.

The problem with a hub:  We're the owner of the condo, rent it frequently to skiers and pay $18 a month to the condo association for the high-speed linkup.  The hub would be fine when we're there; however, I'm concerned about the guest experience and ease with which that little device would disappear.  You'd be amazed with the list of things guests believe they cannot live without when they leave.

Our first thought was to replace the Ethernet card in our Inspiron.  The Internet provider has told us we're one of only two users, ever, who have had this kind of trouble making a connection.  Thus, the IP's conclusion is the problem is our "weak" Ethernet card.  I'm ready to replace it, but with what?  Another 3Com  3CN3AC1556 card?  These are available at Ebay.  I've not roused anyone at Dell who can say if a better card might be available and if so what model to shop for.

Jim

 

The hub would be fine when we're there; however, I'm concerned about the guest experience and ease with which that little device would disappear. You'd be amazed with the list of things guests believe they cannot live without when they leave.

Perhaps wall-mounting the hub would raise the barrier enough? Well, then there's the power supply. Hmmmmm.....

Jim

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@maplewood141 wrote:

To John:  Your test results are most helpful and I will pass that along to the ISP.  I'm unclear about the name for the condo building's high-speed Internet service, e.g., T-1 etc.  I was told something like this:  There are six lines in the phone cable running to each unit.  Only two are needed for the phone.  The Internet company used some/all of the remaining lines to provide the Internet hookup.

Ahhh, not a true Cat5 cable installation - Cat5 is 4 pairs of twisted lines.  I'd say they don't have a leg to stand on.  Using 4 wires (2 twisted pairs) of lines twisted together with the 2 phone line twisted pair is not only not to code, but not even ethernet cabling.

The problem with a hub:  We're the owner of the condo, rent it frequently to skiers and pay $18 a month to the condo association for the high-speed linkup.  The hub would be fine when we're there; however, I'm concerned about the guest experience and ease with which that little device would disappear.  You'd be amazed with the list of things guests believe they cannot live without when they leave.

Since it will have a cable to the wall and from the hub to your notebook, I would just remove it with me when I left.  Most people have no class....

Our first thought was to replace the Ethernet card in our Inspiron.  The Internet provider has told us we're one of only two users, ever, who have had this kind of trouble making a connection.  Thus, the IP's conclusion is the problem is our "weak" Ethernet card.  I'm ready to replace it, but with what?  Another 3Com  3CN3AC1556 card?  These are available at Ebay.  I've not roused anyone at Dell who can say if a better card might be available and if so what model to shop for.

The only other mini-pci card I know of in the combo (modem/NIC) is the Actiontec piece of junk the 4000 usually came with.  I also don't think a second 3Com would solve it - I believe it is a wiring issue thay won't admit to.  My opinion, and worth about that much... 

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Everything John says is correct, but I think he may have mis interpreted. It sounds like the connection coming into your Condo's basement is DSL, which CAN be use on the second 2 pairs of a standard phone line (There are 4 lines in CAT3, not 6 like your installer said). My guess, however, is the same as John's - sounds like sketchy wiring to me.

DSL probably enters at the basement, but it sounded like the distribution was ethernet from a basement switch/hub/router but using 6-wire phoneline to cheap out in distribution.  Thats how I envisioned it.  Agree the fickle finger points to that wiring.