I made the switch from dial up to DSL a couple of months ago. Originally, I had planned a cable modem installation, but I decided against that. Why? Well, when the contractors for AT&T Cable installed a cable modem connection in my son’s room, they started a fire, causing no damage to people, but some damage to property and considerable aggravation.

When I found out that I could get DSL for $39.95 a month, with free installation, including the Ethernet card and the modem, I was intrigued. What sold me was the fact that no drilling was necessary. My DSL vendor, Inforamp, could order a DSL line to run through my existing computer phone line.

So, the line was converted by my local phone company and the DSL techie came out a few weeks later. Once he checked the DSL line, he installed the Ethernet card and the Speedstream 5260 DSL Modem, the subject of this epinion. The 5260 is an external modem. I was pleased, because I thought it would make it easier for troubleshooting, if necessary. The 5260 came with it’s power supply , a cord for the DSL connection and a cord for the Ethernet connection to my PC.

I’m told that most DSL vendors supply the modem, since they can control the quality of the installation. If the modem were user specified, there could be configuration problems during install.

The techie showed me how the connections were made between the DSL line and the modem, then between the modem and the phone. The configuration settings are factory default and not user-configurable. Basically, the user can plug or unplug the connecting cords and turn the modem on or off (usually to reset). This was ideal for me, since I wanted a fast, reliable setting without much hassle.

Installation was simple. I am in a Windows 2000 Professional Edition environment on a Gateway 466 select computer. No driver installation was necessary for the modem.

For trouble-shooting and monitoring, there are 4 lights on the front, which are solid green when everything is working correctly:

Sys indicates that the unit is functioning per specs

Enet indicates that the connection to the computer is working properly

DSL indicates that the modem senses the DSL connection and is ready for traffic.

ATM indicates that the modem is ready to facilitate two-way traffic (ATM stands for Asynchronous Transfer Mode)

The manual was helpful, since it explained how to evaluate any lights that are not solid green.

The modem has functioned extremely well. I’ve had some minor difficulties with the service, but none are hardware related. Zonealarm firewall software did not work well on the maximum setting, due to my ISP’s practice of using dynamic IP addresses. I’ve also had occasional consistent difficulty with Internet Explorer detecting the proxy settings. This is usually rectified by running the configuration wizard inside IE.

There was one time that I had to reset on the advice of my provider. I shut down the computer and turned the modem off. I turned each back on and the green indicator lights went on in sequence. Once I logged in, the connection was there and there was no problem.

One con is that I’ve noticed that the unit tends to run hot - that is, feel very warm to the touch. I’ve dealt with this by making sure that the unit is in an open area and by monitoring it.

On balance, this unit has functioned well as a plug and play device. I’m glad my DSL provider selected it - it’s contributed to a successful installation.

Thanks for reading. God bless!

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If you like mainstream and fusion jazz, check out my web site, www.jazzobsession.com. You’ll find information on my newly-released CD, The Power of Two by John Temmerman's Jazz Obsession Quartet. It is available through Amazon.com and www.cdbaby.com. I have a special discount available on sales through my web site. Come on by!


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