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 Finally bit the NBN bullet
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 Return to top of page · Post #: 31 · Written at 11:42:03 PM on 19 September 2020.
Marcc's avatar
 Location: Wangaratta, VIC
 Member since 21 February 2009
 Member #: 438
 Postcount: 5239

Rather why I set up the site for mine (wireless) & only had to drill one hole well away from any cable runs, as noted, his equipment was not fit for purpose.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 32 · Written at 12:19:32 AM on 20 September 2020.
GTC's avatar
 GTC
 Location: Sydney, NSW
 Member since 28 January 2011
 Member #: 823
 Postcount: 6678

If you're talking about the white NBN box mounted outside

Yep. Mine, being an HFC installation, just contains an isolator like this one (minus the Telstra sticker):-

https://crowdsupport.telstra.com.au/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/22522iF50F1F5DAF071399/image-size/large?v=1.0&px=999


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 33 · Written at 2:02:50 AM on 20 September 2020.
Robbbert's avatar
 Location: Hill Top, NSW
 Member since 18 September 2015
 Member #: 1801
 Postcount: 2011

Mine's much the same. It took so long between initial cable installation, and actually getting hooked up, that the metal box had corroded and had to be replaced.

Might be something to keep an eye on. I'd also expect the black coax to go hard in the sun, like TV coax does, and so reducing throughput.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 34 · Written at 9:02:24 AM on 20 September 2020.
Ian Robertson's Gravatar
 Location: Belrose, NSW
 Member since 31 December 2015
 Member #: 1844
 Postcount: 2363

If you have to cut a clean hole through a metre or more of concrete, even if it's underwater, here is a fast and very spectacular way to do it.

https://www.thermiclance.com.au/what-is-thermic-lance/

You have to work out what to do with the smoke and fumes though.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 35 · Written at 9:58:37 AM on 20 September 2020.
Kakadumh's Gravatar
 Location: Darlington, WA
 Member since 30 March 2016
 Member #: 1897
 Postcount: 183

As I had posted on the other page re NBN the Community Radio I volunteer at tried for 18 months to migrate to NBN but kept getting told that NBN was not available in our location even though the rest of the street was moving to NBN.

We finally found out that NBN NEVER purchased the miserable 150m of 2 pair cable from our premises to the street from Telstra and unless NBN OWNS the copper there is no way NBN will connect a customer.

iiNet advised us that ADSL services were being shutdown in our suburb as of August 31st and DID so despite our pleas to remain on ADSL until a solution could be found with NBN &Telstra.

Utterly ignored and on August 31st the landline ceased to work but as we held out little hope of retaining the ADSL we had purchased a NBN/4G failover router (Netcomm NL1901ACV) and setup a pair of external antennas on the roof weeks prior and had reasonable speeds Up and Down via 4G quite reliably even though our 4G signal was only JUST within limits.

4Mbs UP and at times 8Mbps Down is what we get which was streets ahead of the ADSL at 0.6Mbps Up and only just 2Mbps Down and 2 weeks prior to the ADSL end of life deadline we had the studio working via 4G.

Not without a few issues of dropouts but that was sorted by taking the Jitter Buffer settting UP from 500 Msec to 2000 Msec and now is stable.
At the same time we moved the studio link to 4G we signed up with Aust Phone Co for a VOIP line via the router as a test line and it proved reliable so as iiNet chopped us off we had Aust Phone Co PORT the old phone line across to the second VOIP port. So now we have 2 phone lines at the studio which is handy at times.


With that setup apart from purchasing our own Modem/Router we now pay LESS money for phones and Internet than we did with iiNet saving us about $30 a month on comms costs so for a Community Station that is a good saving.

WHEN finally NBN and Telstra sort out the cable deal we will take NBN at the studio and simply remove the SIM card and virtually change NO settings apart from having to insert necessary settings to suit the NBN side of the router.

ONLY negative is that we lost our fixed IP address which has screwed up our access for outside broadcasts but we are working on using a group called NoIp.com to get around that issue and from what our supplier of the Codecs we use (Tieline Bridge-Its) tells us quite a few community stations use similar groups like NoIp.com quite successfully.

After the initial few days of dropouts which annoyed a few presenters the current system is better audio quality than what we could squeeze out of the crappy ADSL feed as the regular stuttering that was evident on ADSL has ceased via the 4G path and we have been able to take the bit rate up to 128kbps...up from 48kbps which is where we had to run it due to the poor ADSL line in the past.

It is quite possible that IF the 4G service over the next few months proves reliable and the cost to move to NBN is greater than what we now pay we may well stay with 4G and tell NBN to get lost when they finally purchase the cable.!!!


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 36 · Written at 11:14:21 AM on 20 September 2020.
GTC's avatar
 GTC
 Location: Sydney, NSW
 Member since 28 January 2011
 Member #: 823
 Postcount: 6678

I'd also expect the black coax to go hard in the sun

The coax is covered by flexible conduit.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 37 · Written at 11:27:19 AM on 20 September 2020.
GTC's avatar
 GTC
 Location: Sydney, NSW
 Member since 28 January 2011
 Member #: 823
 Postcount: 6678

we may well stay with 4G and tell NBN to get lost when they finally purchase the cable

5G will probably be in place before NBN bothers itself to connect what it calls "difficult-to-access premises".

There's also been speculation that NBN will possibly need to be sold because it will not meet its revenue target, and that Telstra may be the only buyer. What a joke that would be.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 38 · Written at 4:38:19 PM on 20 September 2020.
Kakadumh's Gravatar
 Location: Darlington, WA
 Member since 30 March 2016
 Member #: 1897
 Postcount: 183

Unless the mobile providers change their plans dramatically for the 5G rollout I doubt we will see 5G servicing the area the studio is located in as generally the 5G only goes into areas of high density population and being 5Ghz the coverage is quite small for each cell as compared to 3 & 4G footprint.
Optus are about to build another site some 500M from the studio supposedly to improve 4G coverage into around where we are located and further afield across the valley to another suburb that has very poor 3 or 4G coverage...one of their so called blackspots and with the number of homes around our location 5G may well NOT be on their plans at all.

For our needs the 4Mbps Up and around 8 Down are more than sufficient to suit us.

IF Telstra WAS to buy out NBN Co then Telstra would have to seriously ramp up their staffing numbers and skills as they have let both slip badly since I left them in 1996 and if not done as you say it would be joke...Hope that never happens.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 39 · Written at 5:41:12 PM on 20 September 2020.
Brad's avatar
 Administrator
 Location: Naremburn, NSW
 Member since 15 November 2005
 Member #: 1
 Postcount: 7290

I don't think NBNCo should be sold off - to any other provider - ever. Why? Because Telstra proved last time that one privately owned company with complete control over what everyone else pays for their phone connection could not be trusted to be fair and reasonable, despite there being a universal service obligation on that company.


‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 40 · Written at 2:36:04 PM on 21 September 2020.
NewVista's avatar
 Location: Silver City WI, US
 Member since 10 May 2013
 Member #: 1340
 Postcount: 977

My new modem says 'made in Vietnam'.
Looks like they've turned into capitalists?
What happened to this communist 'utopia'?


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 41 · Written at 5:44:33 PM on 21 September 2020.
Ian Robertson's Gravatar
 Location: Belrose, NSW
 Member since 31 December 2015
 Member #: 1844
 Postcount: 2363

A couple of Aussies started a factory in Vietnam making dial-up modems, way back when you would do such a thing.

Was it Netcomm? Yes. Established 1982.

I can remember being surprised to see Made in Vietnam on their modem cards in the early 90s. Very big now in wireless gear.

In my experience having travelled in Vietnam the people seem to have developed a strategy of avoiding anything to do with the government as far as possible.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 42 · Written at 10:26:48 PM on 21 September 2020.
NewVista's avatar
 Location: Silver City WI, US
 Member since 10 May 2013
 Member #: 1340
 Postcount: 977

..avoiding anything to do with the government as far as possible

They were very keen to go communist, now they're already bored with it and want to make a buck?


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 43 · Written at 10:41:52 PM on 21 September 2020.
Robbbert's avatar
 Location: Hill Top, NSW
 Member since 18 September 2015
 Member #: 1801
 Postcount: 2011

I remember that communism didn't work out, so they became capitalist. However, I checked on Wikipedia to confirm my recollections, and it turns out that from the end of the war in 1975 through the 80s it was a chaotic time of relocations, forced educational, and punishment.

But in 1990, the government realised that communism wasn't the answer, so they decided to become an emerging industrial power and a tourist attraction. The country is now headed in a good direction and prospects are bright. The current problems are with neighbouring Cambodia, and of course China, which views Vietnam as part of greater China.

So, not only has Vietnam been making electronic bits for some time, expect to see more.


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 44 · Written at 4:14:24 AM on 22 September 2020.
NewVista's avatar
 Location: Silver City WI, US
 Member since 10 May 2013
 Member #: 1340
 Postcount: 977

So two million died creating a communist utopia, and then soon after they're no longer keen on the idea? (like a spoiled child with a new toy)


 
 Return to top of page · Post #: 45 · Written at 8:53:49 AM on 22 September 2020.
STC830's Gravatar
 Location: NSW
 Member since 10 June 2010
 Member #: 681
 Postcount: 1253

China invaded Vietnam in 1979, and had a very hard time of it capturing the cities in the far north because Vietnam was battle hardened. The Chinese invaded because Vietnam agreed a treaty with Russia, tossed Pol Pot (a China friend) out of Cambodia and the Chinese leader at the time need something to keep the PLA busy while he pushed through the reforms that led to China's present economic dominance. Once the reforms were achieved the diversion for the PLA was not needed anymore, and the Chinese simply withdrew.

While Vietnam was and is dominated by communist leadership, it was and is essentially a nationalist government. In 1948 Ho Chi Minh wrote to the US wanting help from them so that he did not have to give in to either China or Russia. The letter was ignored, anti-communism being the dominant thought there. This then led eventually to war with the French and then the Americans.

Vietnam is now at odds with China again over oil resources in the sea. If China got serious they wouldn't stand a chance alone.


 
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