About GW

For ease in reviewing speeds, here all the tables are shown in reverse chronological order. See the final Sunday night tests at the top of the list and the first Friday night tests at the bottom. You'll find them in this order on the testmy page ... View more

Here ya go Liz. Since Friday night, I've built you a very comprehensive picture of what it looks like to be a HughesNet customer who does weekends on Beam 55/Rapid City. It makes using the internet like watching paint dry. For the Sunday night grand finalé, I did use the commonly requested 12 MB tests. Like all of the "primetime" tests done for you this weekend, this series ran with my main computer wired directly to the modem. All through the weekend, every time I looked at my SQF I had 125-130. They can't blame it on bad signal or bad weather. All tests except for the long duration hourlies were run while connected directly to the modem. Look through the results and you'll see they can't blame it on my network, whether I use it or not. Notice the speed range over the course of the weekend. From a low of 79 kbps to a high of 24.36 Mbps. They can't blame it on anything on my side of the modem. It's all Hughes. An 8 PM 164 kbps Hughes test concurs with the immediately previous testmy result of 166 kbps. They can't blame it on testmy. This screenshot is a 14 minute segment of that 79 kbps download test. Note the few peaks above 200 kbps and also note the complete halts in transfer. I hope there's a solution. The only one I can think of is prohibiting HughesNet sales from selling something they don't have.  You can't balance a load that commonly drags down to such low speeds. It's like trying to pour a 50 pound bucket of ummm, fertilizer into a beer bottles without a funnel. It just doesn't work. Something that may help in the near term is simply letting anyone and everyone who complains about low speeds out of their contract immediately. Refund with apologies. This should start freeing up some bandwidth quickly. ... View more

Indeed, the Hughes has fully regressed to typical weekend performance. I left an hourly test running all night and all day. Tonight, since I really don't need to use my computer, I'll go ahead and specify the 12 MB file size and let it go to download testing heaven.Wouldn't want them there engineers to think I'm gaming the system with the little doinker testmy specified files. As always to make it easy to follow along, the first test at the bottom of this page is the final test on the previous page. ... View more

The speeds held up reasonably well for a Saturday but started crashing after 6.  I set up another auto testing routine beginning at 7 PM to run on 15 minute intervals throughout the primetime period. I set it to allow testmy to  choose it's own file size and wired direct from my main computer to the modem. As usual, the first test shown in the series is the last test shown in the previous series. Will run an hourly test overnight again. ... View more

We have co-op grid power with the 15 kw diesel for backup. I rarely use the generator unless it looks like the line power will be off for more than an hour or so. Now we have smart meters and the co-op has some nice on-line tools so it's a lot easier to know what's going on. When they installed the new meter a couple of years ago they didn't properly tighten the neutral. Things got pretty wild after a while. I had several visits before they finally figured out what they had done. ... View more

I thought I remembered talking with you about the crazy installers but I didn't see it in the thread here. Must have been at the shack. I know about the heat these little devils put out. Yes, my modem is always clearly visible with nothing living on either side or behind it.  When my HN9000 began dying from heat stroke I had to put a fan on it to beat the last of the life out of it. The fan did keep me in service until I got my new Gen4 system. Ever since then, I keep a small fan blowing on the modem 24/7 to ensure it stays as cool as possible. I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around how the grounds could be separated or isolated. The row of UPS outlets and the row of surge protected outlets are all protected by the same ground. The coax grounding block is connected to the same ground. I don't know what to say about the quality of the power. They only go to battery when power problems such as black, brown, spike or noise hits a threshold. My software says the computer UPS has intervened 24 times in the last 24 weeks for a total of 2 hours 8 minutes. All but 5 instances and 30 seconds were from blackout. I started using APC stuff in 1990 and never lost anything except for APC stuff that took sacrificial hits. I started using their UPS units for my main computer in 2004 and since 2009 I kept my network stuff on one as well. The computer always seems to be happy even when I have to run on the diesel generator. I imagine I get more interventions on that power than I do from line power. ... View more

Ok Liz, here's the result of the hourly auto test I set up to run all night. Looks pretty schizo to me. For orientation, the first entry is the final entry in the screen I posted up for Friday night results. I'll set up another routine for tonight. ... View more

Thanks Gwalk. I think there was something hokey about the power connection. It sits on top of an APC UPS in between outlet rows and is powered by the battery side. Since I have other things also plugged into the UPS, I goof with them on occasion. I've made the modem reboot by leaning it to the side to unplug/replug a printer and the cooling fan for the modem and also swapping LAN cables. After pulling and reseating the power supply plug, it seems to be doing better. I've also moved my router very close to the modem with a short cable  rather than having it up high and 6' away with a longer cable so maybe that had something to do with it too. Third thing I found is my coax was a quarter turn loose. It's probably been that way since the coax/grounding block was changed out last year which is what eventually solved the persistent SQF 15 error I was experiencing for so long. In fact, I don't think I've ever had to disconnect coax and/or power since that was done. Doing the cable dance by disconnecting both used to be the only way to recover from the SQF 15 error. I know for a fact everything is grounded properly. When I got my original Gen4 install, I had a real pi***** match with the installation company who (twice) refused to ground it to Hughes specs. Of course, I wasn't allowed by Hughes to do it myself so this required a completely different service company to come out and complete the work. ... View more

I've buried these people in data, facts, figures and statistics. I think the reason they removed our ability to export Hughes speedtest data to csv in July was to prevent me from so easily doing the analyses I've always used to prove my points. Gabe, my internet service is simply schizophrenic. It's been that way for so long and it never gets better. ... View more

Hi Liz Here's Friday night at the draggy race. My internet was still great at 6:30 PM. I was gonna set up a routine as soon as I saw speeds beginning to drop. I don't know when it started tanking tonight because I got called out to remove a cottonmouth moccasin from a pumphouse so I was away for a while. When I got back around to my computer, I got the 463 kbps reading. At that point I bypassed the router and set up an auto-test routine of every 10 minutes for two hours. I let testmy choose the default file size. If I specified 12 MB, it probably would have been non-stop download test for two hours. For orientation, you'll first see the 8.65 Mbps test from Thursday night that I mentioned above. Then you'll see a 19.12 Mbps test from 6:30 PM. Then you see it has hit the wall by 8:30 PM. I'll also attach some corresponding Hughes tests from Thursday and Friday. Just for fun, I'll leave my computer connected to the modem and set up an hourly routine to run all night. ... View more

Thank you Liz. You too.. ... View more

If and when I start seeing the ridiculous weakness again, I'll run tests while wired to the modem. I try to avoid that as much as possible since goofing with LAN cables makes it want to do a power off reboot. I was hoping you'd see something there when doing the modem diagnostics. ... View more

Hi Liz, Yes, I noticed they started improving Wednesday and went up pretty wildly yesterday. I was going to watch it over the weekend to see what happens before I said anything. I saw 8.65 Mbps on testmy last night during the same time I've been seeing 150-800 kbps. I saw 3.82 Mbps last night with Hughes during the same time I saw 87 kbps Monday night and 311 kbps Tuesday night. The router is not a factor in speeds grinding to a halt or in the wild fluctuations. Look up above to find  the two sets of consecutive tests I ran Monday night after primetime was over. One set while wired to the router followed by another set wired directly to the modem. Just another good example of the wild fluctuation that shows my network has nothing to do with it. Please note the slowest speed (2.69 Mbps) came in immediately before the highest speed of 30.73 Mbps. This was while directly wired to the modem. The Hughes tests attached to the same post were all done Monday night while wired to the router. A low of 87 kbps compared to a high of 16125 done a few hours later. This is not router related. ... View more

After all this router chat I decided to go ahead and set my wireless printer to a manually assigned address rather than leave it on the flipfloppy DHCP. Maybe now I won't have to chase that thing down and recapture it a few times a year. I hate when that happens. ... View more

I heard that. I'm retard but not quite full retarment age. It's good to (be able to) learn something every day ... View more

This what mine looks like right now. Though all the gobbldegook has a funny way of saying it, the thing is a laser printer connected by ethernet. The address of 192.168.1.102 is set inside the printer and locked in. ... View more

This what mine looks like right now. Though all the gobbldegook has a funny way of saying it, the thing is a laser printer connected by ethernet. The address of 192.168.1.102 is set inside the printer and locked in. ... View more

For me, static means a hardwired device that has a specific address assigned to it within the device. Like a network printer. ... View more

ASUS is pretty good stuff. We have a bunch of it.  I have an ASUS router too. I got it to give my tried and true antique a rest and put it into emergency reserve back-up status. Mine has most of the things you mention but not the traffic analyzer. Considering I paid $6.49 after discounts, promotions and the rebate, I guess I'm OK with that. ... View more

Hi Liz. Thank you. I feel silly asking the same question again while hoping for a different answer. Maybe this time there will be a better official answer from the higher-ups than... unfortunately it will remain this way until we launch the new satellite and free up some space." I guess you should switch me back to my original plan and hope it doesn't fall too much flatter than the diagnostic plan I'm on now. I hope going back to the original doesn't put me fully into "draw a chalk line around it to see if it moves" mode during primetime. Fortunately, during most off-peak hours, I  never see a speed difference between any of the plans. ... View more

Thanks guys. I appreciate the tip on the 15 MB size. I usually just run the default download test and let it go through the gyrations to find it's own preferred level. That way I'm not running any 8-hour tests when my system decides to go with to 150 kbps mode. This situation today is completely unrelated to the slow speed problem I have. I just got to wondering if the freezes have anything to do with the load balancing or the automated system cutting off the peons to allow traffic to flow smoother for the commercial accounts. I've never seen a freeze when testing at sub 1Mbps levels before. Hey Sg, I like the new handle. I should change mine to something like WhiteDog. Did they ever tell you exactly what was going on with you and Charles last year when your speeds tanked? ... View more

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Is this load balancing/client prioritizing?. These are the two styles of after-the-fact testmy graphs available for a 37.6 MB download test this morning. Please note it's humming along at an average of well over 20 Mbps, then it hits the wall and dies long enough to make the overall test result drop to 5.6 Mbps. This test virtually froze for more than 30 seconds (at 0.66 Mbps) before getting a burst to over 55 Mbps. The burst then tapered off to finish at nearly 30 Mbps. The test that was on track to finish in slightly under 20 seconds took well over a minute to complete. An immediately subsequent test completely froze but then two more tests ran at 22.37 Mbps and 23.41 Mbps. The latest testmy and Hughes tests I ran just now came in like this. ... View more

Before dark/after dark. ... View more

Hi Gwalk. Doing well and hope you are too. Yes, it sometimes feels like the proverbial assignment of sweeping the sun off the sidewalk. I do hope they make room for me on the new beam from Jupiter 2. ... View more

Thanks Liz. I don't pay a lot of attention to gateway weather until I see my signal drop for no good reason. Then I use my shortcut button to the Rapid City weatherunderground page to see what's up. If nothing else, I try to be patient, understanding and try to enjoy the humor of it all. ... View more

Hey Liz. Always a pleasure. I hope you had a great weekend. http://testmy.net/quickstats/Gateswood Have them look at my Hughes records too. You know the number 🙂 For all the old reasons written by Patrick F, I still have a lot more faith in the Hughes test than testmy. When I remember, I still use the cdavid route in to the test. When you have some free time, can you please run all the diagnostics on my modem? I've been seeing some really weird behavior from it over the past month or so. I'll look in the logs and see if I can find the bizarre event that happened a while back. ... View more

No, it's a very difficult cure. This situation actually began Dec 11, 2014 and has been constantly examined and analyzed ever since. The major problem was finally fixed July 19, 2015. The speed problems with my account/site have never been resolved. Sometimes it's good, mostly it's not. What I know for sure is on July 25, 2016 I was told nothing can be done. The system is overloaded and nothing will change until a new satellite is up and running. I have the HT1100 and I've been on the ultra high speed plan for diagnostic purposes. I test with a variety of computers and operating systems, variously directly connected or through my network, both wireless and wired. Over the years I have learned (and proved to Hughes) it doesn't make the slightest bit of difference what computer is used or how it's connected as long as everything else on the network is either shut down or asleep. No, I most definitely don't bother shuffling network cables every time I want to run a speed test. This morning beginning shortly after 8 AM I went through the bother of running two different testing sessions with two different direct to modem connected computers. The first series logged a low of 446 kbps at 8:26 AM. The second series logged a low of 675 kbps at 10:05 AM. At that time of the day I should be seeing a consistent minimum of 20 Mbps with testmy. Since it was a holiday, this and the crazy fluctuations really do point to pure overload. Speaking of wild fluctuations, this is what I just got running three quickly consecutive tests while hard wired to my router. And here's three more while hardwired directly to the (edit here) modem. Previously said router. And here's my Hughes tests for the night. One at 9:10 PM and three just after midnight. Is this schizo or what? ... View more

I appreciate the advice Gabe but running five 12 MB/2 MB tests on a 5 minute interval during primetime doesn't work too well. It can take 10-20 minutes to complete a single test. It sets up continual speed test mode. A test project that should complete in mere seconds split five ways uses up more than an hour of computer and internet time. For this particular example, I began the five test/five minute interval session at 8:13 PM. It completed at 9:31 PM. This is why I tend to use the defaults which choose little doinker file sizes more appropriate to the testmy perceived level of performance. The Hughes test is quicker but when service is impaired, it never even tries to do the 4 MB download test. Spending data doesn't bother me though. I have tokens from 2010 I've never used. ... View more

Sorry for the confusion. The conclusion was made by Hughes at the end of July. You won't find any discussion of this in the forum.There is none. I didn't intend to open up a discussion for advice or information from members or representatives. My original intent was merely to post up some humor about the often absurd nature of HughesNet service. The follow-up information I posted may be of some interest to others who are stuck with Beam 55 and the Rapid City gateway. ... View more

Maybe there is something. Maybe my modem is melting down. Besides the creepy-crawly performance that seems to grow worse by the day, the modem shuts down if I even touch it the wrong way. There was an interesting thing that happened a few weeks ago too. The performance gradually slowed over a few hours until I couldn't even load a page or access email. A reboot of the terminal was required to make it functional again. It is really strange to consider Monday morning performance like this can be attributable to high traffic loads. This is two different computers using two different ethernet cables with both wired direct to the modem when tested. Automated test routines set to run every five minutes, ten times. I set the second test session to run 12 mb down and 2 mb up. . ... View more