Instructions for configuring your computer for ADSL are at http://www.Turbonet.com/Support_DSL.asp  People needing extensive DSL support should call Monica or Frank at 883-5500 or 1-800-310-5554. 

ADSL Equipment Setup, Westell Wirespeed

The part of ADSL equipment setup which gives the most trouble is where to put the filters.  Every phone device in the home (phone, answering machine, fax, dial-up modem, satellite system, etc.) which connects to the ADSL telephone line needs a filter EXCEPT the ADSL modem.  The filters block the ADSL signal which is riding over the top of your regular telephone signal.  Filters keep the ADSL signal from interfering with the phones (causing static) and keep the phones from interfering with the ADSL signal (causing poor or no Internet).  Make sure every phone device has a filter, no matter where in the home it is, and make sure the ADSL modem does not have a filter on its phone cable.

At left is a Westell Wirespeed ADSL modem.  It's not really a conventional modem; it's a device for converting the ADSL signal that's on the phone line into ethernet, which your computer can understand.  In the photo, the round plug is for the ADSL modem's external power supply.  The right-hand port is for an ethernet cable, and the left-hand port is for a phone cable.  (You don't really put two phone cables into the port.  Either put the cable straight to a wall jack or to the un-filtered side of a splitter.)

The phone cable should be a low-loss, twisted-pair phone cable unless it is very, very short - less than six feet long.  That's because ADSL is a high-frequency signal and is attenuated very quickly over regular, straight phone cables.  Twisted-pair cables allow the signal to travel longer distances with less loss.

If you have a single computer, the ethernet cable plugs directly into your computer's ethernet port.

Multiple Computers

If you have several computers, all of them can be on ADSL at the same time through a hub or router.  The ethernet cable from the ADSL modem plugs into the uplink port of a hub or the WAN port of a router.  You'll also need an ethernet cable to go from the hub or router to each computer. We sell hubs, routers, cables, etc.  Cactus Computer, 211 S. Main St. in Moscow. 

If you have a hub, you'll need one IP address for each computer.  This is the preferred method.

If you have a router, you'll need only one IP address, and the router will assign internal, "fake" IP addresses to each computer.  This can cause a few problems, but is usually satisfactory.  If you are a Cactus TurboNet customer, and you don't already own a router, buy a hub instead.  It is less expensive and more satisfactory.

Troubleshooting

There are four lights on the Westell Wirespeed.  If your line has been activated and the Ready light on the modem is not on and solid, you either have a hardware problem, or a problem with the ADSL signal from Verizon.

1. Switch off the modem.  Wait at least 20 seconds, then switch it on again.  This is like re-booting a computer.  It forces Verizon's equipment to re-synchronize with your ADSL modem, which can cure a host of problems.
2. Check the phone line.  If it is unplugged, or the dog ate a piece of it, the ADSL signal cannot come through.  If it is flat (straight) instead of round (twisted-pair), it may be losing signal so badly that your ADSL modem cannot synchronize with the ADSL signal.
3. Check the phones and filters.  Has anyone added a telephone without a filter anywhere in the home?  A satellite TV system?  A regular phone modem?  Anything that plugs into the phone line?  It is also possible for a filter to be defective.  Try unplugging all phones, then switching off the ADSL modem.  If that fixes the problem after you've turned on the ADSL modem, add the phones one at a time to try and find the bad phone or filter.

If the ADSL modem looks normal - power, ready and link lights on - but your computers can't connect to the Internet:

1. Switch off the modem.  See #1 above.
2. Check the link status.  The link light on the ADSL modem should be on.  The link light on the back of your computer should also be on.   If you have a hub, make sure there are link lights on the hub, both on the port going to the ADSL modem and on the port going to the computer.
3. Check your cable type.  Unplug the ethernet cable and hold the ends together.  If the color-sequence in the wires is identical on the two ends, it's straight-through.  That's correct.  If some of the colors are reversed, it's a crossover cable, and you need to exchange it for a straight-through cable.
4. Check your computer's setup.  Instructions for this are at http://www.Turbonet.com/Support_DSL.asp

Copyright © 2004 Cactus International, Inc.
cactus@turbonet.com
1-208-883-5500