AR7 chipset based modem/routers

[merlin]

IN Feb 2008 edition of PC PRO. there is an interesting article by DAVEY WINDER (this is NOT spam)
he found he was having many problems with syncing,line noise, etc etc,
he set about resolving the problems in a very methodical way.

after trying all the usual "fixes" he had a discussion with the tech people at ZEN ,(his ISP) who said many people were having similar problems, and during this discussion he managed to find that most were associated with makes like D-Link,Linksys,Netgear,ZyXEL and others etc.

after much checking he found that these all use the Texas Intruments AR7 chipset .

thomson speedtouch routers and others DO NOT use this chipset.

At one point he had asked BT to do some tests ,they found NO FAULT, he then asked what hardware they were using, and they said thompson speedtouch.

he was then charged £169 fee !!!

so based on that, he now believes the AR7 chipset is the problem, and of course BT will not be able to pick up the problems, and suggests that if you are charged £169 , ask BT what equipment they used, and can they test using a NON AR7 based device (do i believe they will do this) or/and employ the services of a lawyer

Infineon (who bought texas instruments) and BT are unwilling to come clean on this 
(BT are bound by manufacturer confidentiality agreements)

he has also suggested that manufacturers using the AR7 chipset should closely examine the situation

i take no credit for this post as most of it has been transposed from DAVET WINDER's article, but i feel it makes interesting reading.(i am not into plagiarism)

one last thought, on this forum the 2700hg has been mentioned very favourably many times , does anyone know what chipset this uses???

[Rik]

I don't know which chipset the 2700 uses, but based on my experiences I would have said it's not the AR7, as the 2700 outperforms the Netgear I had which did use the AR7.

Davey Winder can afford to pay BT the £169, of course.

[merlin]

RIK that was a very quick reply, without scanning all the subjects on the forum how can you tell that someone has even posted ?

[Rik]

I check for unread posts at regular intervals when I'm here, and as a backup, the forum emails me on all new posts.

Plus, of course, I'm omniscient. 

[colirv]

so based on that, he now believes the AR7 chipset is the problem, and of course BT will not be able to pick up the problems, and suggests that if you are charged £169 , ask BT what equipment they used, and can they test using a NON AR7 based device (do i believe they will do this) or/and employ the services of a lawyer

Employ a lawyer? If the line works ok with one manufacturer's modem and not another's then I can't see many individuals being able to afford the legal costs of proving that BT is failing in it's obligations.

[Gary]

I don't know which chipset the 2700 uses, but based on my experiences I would have said it's not the AR7, as the 2700 outperforms the Netgear I had which did use the AR7.

Davey Winder can afford to pay BT the £169, of course.

From what I can tell from looking on the net, 2wire make their own chipsets for ADSL Rik

[Rik]

Thanks, Gary.

[Ted]

Plus, of course, I'm omniscient. 

[Rik]

Quite correct, Ted.   

[Azazel]

I have or more correctly HAD (it died on me last night and caused a 2mb fall in profile) a 7300G from billion and that so far has had the highest sync i have managed on my line (6500 ish) compared to 4000 ish from netgear DG834G, i am currently considering moving to a DG834GT as it is a broadcom based chipset and can be flashed with various 3rd party firmware to allow DMT and certain hidden options to be accessed.

[Rik]

The DG834G v4 is also Broadcom based. Another router you might like to try is the 2-Wire 2700.

[Azazel]

Rik, thanks got a 2700 and its not that hot, about as good as the DG834G v1 that i have now low sync speed, solid as a rock but low sync and poor configurability in my view.

I could swear the DG834G is a TI AR7 based box according to:

http://whirlpool.net.au/index.cfm?a=h_view&model_id=136

it is anyway.

[Rik]

That's the v3. The latest model has moved entirely to Broadcom - if you can find one...

[Azazel]

yeah one of my colleagues here at work has one he bought last week and it is a v3 so they still have LOTS of stock of the old versions in stock! unfortunately for me, i think the best bet is the DG834GT to guarentee broadcom.

[Sebby]

I suspect most places will have stock of the v3 for quite some time. Many will probably get stock of the v4 eventually but won't update their website because they won't realise.