two way satelite connection?

Hi, Lady D:

Here's my story....sad, sometimes stupid...always poignant...but, true.

We were running NT workstation on our computers. That was the stupid.

We called DirectWay, the outfit formerly known as DirecPC.

They guaranteed there software was compatible for the one way with NT. They lied. In fact, their tech department has no idea what NT is, let alone, whether or not their software will work with anything other than ME or 98.

Since we live in the middle of nowhere, with 24kbs dial up, we were desperate. DSL is coming. DSL is coming. We'd been told that for three years. No DSL.

When the upgrade to two way satellite was presented, we jumped on it. Because we were still on NT, we bought separate computers to accomodate the needs of DirecWay's software. We had already gone through several heated discussions with Hughes, the supplier of the hardware and Direc Way. When the dust settled and everything was finally installed, we sat back, waiting for the lightning speed to outer space. We got it. And, we got lightning speed from the satellite in outer space all the way to their servers, which bog repeatedly.

On satellite, my mail rarely works.
On satellite, I get too many 425 and 430 errors. Their firewall software, even set at minimal settings, won't allow me to go anywhere.

When my downloads exceed a certain amount of time, I am cut off.
On satellite, I cannot upload with any effectiveness.

Our signal strength is usually around 34-43, rather than the 75-82 I was promised. If it's raining, no satellite. Thunderstorms, dust particles, lightning, the couple in Ventura having sex, will knock out my satellite reception. My best times are usually at 3 a.m. Unfortunately, I'm asleep.

My friend in California has Direc Way and has the same problems I have.

I have heard that Starband is better. I can't say because I will not spend one more dime on this technology. We are running XP PRO now on all of our computers. Originally, we thought there might be a compatibility issue between DirecWay's software and Windows ME....ME being the OS from hell, anyway. The computer would lock up and we'd be resetting every day, twice a day.

We found out there are certain programs that Direc Way doesn't like, so they have been uninstalled. We have a stand alone computer for the software and the XP OS. Whilst it no longer locks up, the rest of the issues are still present. Calling Tech Support has resulted in hours and hours of futility. They just don't know enough to help facilitate an answer for us. So, now...my ICQ and Mirc runs on satellite. Everything else I do is on dial up. We did find an ISP that gives me 46.6...woohoo.

All in all, I drink more, now that I have satellite.

that sucks. i'm interested in satellite access in remote regions as well. anyone else have any experience with this stuff?

They both suck, i use starband now and can tell you stay away from them! dialup works better 50% of the time..

BTW starband filed Chapter 11 so it might not be a good time to purchase a starband system. hehe

http://starbandusers.com/index2.shtml

Raven, thanks for that very informative post. All I can say is dayum...that blows!

*Hugs*

Holy crap...

I tried to get DirecWay installed 2 days ago.

The installer is here and guess what? He cant get a signal.

There NOC wont even help him out to get the right signal.

NOC was suppossed to call me yesterday to get the signal settings hammered out, no phone call.

No help. No word. No shit.

no thanks to satellite.

another option is point to point radio links

you might wanna check those out,, i heard it was popular in the west

Adidas:

I didn't want to short out my system as I told my tale of woe.....I still cry real tears, thinking about those days of hell....

But..now that you've brought it up....

When the installers were here...and, I'm being generous, calling them that....they couldn't find the way to the outhouse, let alone find the NOC center. Took them thirteen hours to finally configure us. It took months of therapy and drugs and tequila to get me past this horrid nightmare. Now that it's a done deal, we pay $70. a month, so I can run ICQ and mIRC. :-)

We've pretty much decided to move, rather than endure this for much longer. I need a connection, by G'd. And, I'll have one, even if I have to move back to the suburbs.

Well, my experience isn't as bad as Ravens, I had it installed a couple weeks ago and I guess my satellite (Direct Way) works almost as well as they claimed it to. The latency is kinda a pain in the ass, especially when i'm constantly uploading and updating. Also the latency is bad for gaming, say goodbye to daily frag-fests. It goes out every once and a while, sometimes when it's storming out, but not all the time. Once you get past the few seconds of latency while it's connecting to a site, it's pretty fast, just as fast as DSL or Cable. My OS is XP and every once and a while i get a small error, doesn't really effect anything though, just a matter of closing the error window. I would prefer dsl or cable any day over this satellite, but this is what i'm stuck with for the time being.. at $100/mo ;-P

BTW, anyone know how to setup a LAN with satellite, i'd like to get a few more of my computers online...

Ihave had 2 way sat now for about 3 months. Overall I have one of the better experiences. I get about 200k dl speeds and I have good signal strength (avg about 75-80). Mine works even when it gets cloudy and even when it is raining lightly. Customer service with them is one long hold. The installers were complete morons and had to return 5 times (no shit) to get it right. The first time the installer actually showed up at my house at midnite on like a Tuesday and wanted to start then ("be done around 3 am, you think your neighbors will mind if i have to drill and hammer?"). In defense of Directway, they just use subcontractors to do the job and these two were absolute idiots.

Despite having little problems with the system I do have some complaints.
a) You can only dl like 150 mb before they FAP (Fair access policy) you and reduce your dl speed to like 5k/sec.
b) There is significant lag time as your request goes 30,000 ft up and down and then the reply goes 30,000 ft up and down, but after it starts it moves along fairly well. The lag means no gaming though. grrrrrr
c) The Laurel and Hardy team who did my install put in Directway instead of Earthlink (who I actually bought from) and now I am getting billed by both and have spent at least 2 hrs on hold trying to get this sorted out to no avail. I am psyching myself up to endure another marathon hold session to try to resolve this. Maybe tommorrow I always seem to say.....

just an info, here in hungary the starting price for a 2 way satellite is 3000$ per month. not for home use am afraid

You guys have shattered my dreams of a satalite sailboat that I coulld have highspeed access as I sailed around the world!


Damn.