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Hi Chris,
Not sure why the US comment is relevant – I thought the “rest of the world” and especially the European mobile market was more technologically advanced than the US, but maybe that’s just me
I would’ve thought that allowing the router to handle the changeover would be as seamless as it could be, and certainly better than getting a bit of software on a single PC to do it. As far as the individual PCs/devices know, the internet connection is still there as the router has handled everything - i.e. it is invisible to the user. The failover to 3G is relatively new, but the concept is not – there have been lots of Enterprise-grade devices which would divert to ISDN etc. if the primary connection was down.
Different routers handle the 3G interface in different ways. The Vigor 2820 uses a USB modem, others use either a PCMCIA or Express card and some accept the SIM directly (I think).
Doing it in the router is also a better solution if there are multiple PCs, or other devices (network cameras etc.) as these will continue to function. If status/control by SMS is a definite need then a service similar to sendmytxt, or a dedicated mobile phone set up to do just that is probably better and more reliable. ISTR that Twitter had an SMS interface, but also STR that this was withdrawn in the UK - I might be talking rubbish though…
I think there are a couple of xAP applications which can report status etc. to instant messaging clients, I’ve not investigated this too deeply though.
If you're seriously worried about a cut phone line affecting your alarm, then look into Redcare:
Rather than just waiting for a dial-out it continuously monitors the status of your phone line. If it gets cut, maliciously or otherwise, an alert is generated.
Also as the above link indicates, GSM dialers for alarms are "mainstream" now too. ISTR there was an alternative to Redcare too, but the name escapes me now.
I don't know if this was mentioned in a previous thread, but if you have a USB modem, can't you extend it over Cat5 you get a better signal? i.e. perhaps put it in a waterproof box outside under the eaves, run cat5 inside and into the relevant port on the router?
Failing that you may be looking at a "proper" GSM aerial to get a decent signal.
HTH,
Tim.
Not sure why the US comment is relevant – I thought the “rest of the world” and especially the European mobile market was more technologically advanced than the US, but maybe that’s just me
I would’ve thought that allowing the router to handle the changeover would be as seamless as it could be, and certainly better than getting a bit of software on a single PC to do it. As far as the individual PCs/devices know, the internet connection is still there as the router has handled everything - i.e. it is invisible to the user. The failover to 3G is relatively new, but the concept is not – there have been lots of Enterprise-grade devices which would divert to ISDN etc. if the primary connection was down.
Different routers handle the 3G interface in different ways. The Vigor 2820 uses a USB modem, others use either a PCMCIA or Express card and some accept the SIM directly (I think).
Doing it in the router is also a better solution if there are multiple PCs, or other devices (network cameras etc.) as these will continue to function. If status/control by SMS is a definite need then a service similar to sendmytxt, or a dedicated mobile phone set up to do just that is probably better and more reliable. ISTR that Twitter had an SMS interface, but also STR that this was withdrawn in the UK - I might be talking rubbish though…
I think there are a couple of xAP applications which can report status etc. to instant messaging clients, I’ve not investigated this too deeply though.
If you're seriously worried about a cut phone line affecting your alarm, then look into Redcare:
Rather than just waiting for a dial-out it continuously monitors the status of your phone line. If it gets cut, maliciously or otherwise, an alert is generated.
Also as the above link indicates, GSM dialers for alarms are "mainstream" now too. ISTR there was an alternative to Redcare too, but the name escapes me now.
I don't know if this was mentioned in a previous thread, but if you have a USB modem, can't you extend it over Cat5 you get a better signal? i.e. perhaps put it in a waterproof box outside under the eaves, run cat5 inside and into the relevant port on the router?
Failing that you may be looking at a "proper" GSM aerial to get a decent signal.
HTH,
Tim.
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