Help required before technology blackout!

[shelli]

Hi All

Just needed to pick your collective brains (actually that sounds gross!) on a couple of items

We are moving in this weekend -hurrah! BUT

1. It is vital that we have suitable screen protection in place around the only fully functioning shower in the house - problem is that the shower is in the centre of the bath and is cloudburst design - here is picture - we have one or two ideas but would welcome more



I thought that something like perspex screen from ceiling to bath edge - or possibly some kind of cool weighted roller blind to pull down and roll back up when not in use?

2. we cant get the world wide interweb except through phone line and according to the nice lady at the post office (they do phone & internet too you know - not just stamps!!) our fastest speed is 256Kb (v slow) - the reason for this tortoise connection is apparently because our house is so far away from the nearest telephone exchange (4 ish miles) - and the little interweb goblins have to run such a long way along your wires and they get very tired.

Given that many of you live in similarly rural retreats - can anyone tell me is there is any way of getting internet - NB there's no possibility of broadband.

(the only place we can use our mobile phones at our house is by standing on one leg on the 3rd across 2nd down patio flagstone - I kid you not!)

any help gratefully received
Shelli X

 

[MdB]

Short term, I would get a shower curtain + pole for your bath. Not great to look at but would work.

For internet, put the phone number (if you have one) or post code into this
http://www.productsandservices.bt.com/consumerProducts/displayTopic.do?topicId=16738&s_cid=con_nat_SPN_soap_vidse9_broadband&vendorid=SE9

What does it say? This checker is generally pessimistic so you will generally get better than what it says. It gives 512kb for my house and I actually get 2Mb. If you do end up with poor speeds then there are a number of things that you can do to improve the connection speed. It gets a bit technical so get back to me if you want more info.

 

[shelli]

Thanks MdB

It said this

Your exchange has broadband.
However, it has been proved not possible for your telephone line to support broadband service. Please accept our apologies. We are continuing to look for alternative technology solutions and this site will be updated with developments as they happen.
Other ways to get online.
In the meantime there are other ways of getting online with BT find out more
We look forward to you offering you BT Total Broadband in the future.
Call us for more options
We've detected that BT Total Broadband is not available on your BT line. For more information and your options please give us a call on 0800 085 7343. Our advisors are available from 7:30am to 10:00pm, Monday to Saturday and from 9:00am to 6:00pm on Sundays.
So will we have to have a dial up connection ? (nb the electrician put an extra phone line in for us )

and thanks for suggestion re shower - but it would have to be a 3 sided shower curtain track/pole and i didn't want to drill into the tiling on the back wall - reason is that the wall at the end of the bath you can't see on the picture is a window so cant run a track along - do they make telescopic trifold screens that go almost all the way along the bath ??

 

[MdB]

So will we have to have a dial up connection ? (nb the electrician put an extra phone line in for us )

Two other options to look at: Satellite broadband (expensive and useless for games) and 3G broadband. If you have poor mobile signals then the 3G option probably won't work. Check here: http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/archive/index.php/t-19610.html

 

[Pford75]

Shelli - I sympathise with your BB challenge

Try the following link http://www.broadbandchecker.co.uk/broadband-guide.php for a good summary of the different options and some useful checking tools.

When we first moved into our house, BB wasn't available - we initially used an ISDN service from BT (Homehighway) which has now been withdrawn....this was also fairly slow....I then used Digiweb for satellite broadband....more on satellite BB here http://www.broadbandwatchdog.co.uk/satellite-broadband.php



On your shower challenge, I would be inclined to go for a circular shower rail which would enable you to draw the curtain all the way around in the centre of the bath....similar to this http://www.showerail.co.uk/circular_shower_rail.htm

Hope that helps

P

 

[MdB]

I then used Digiweb for satellite broadband....more on satellite BB here http://www.broadbandwatchdog.co.uk/satellite-broadband.php

I like how their first diagram has a major error in it...

 

[shelli]

So ,

I can have satellite Broadband or ADSL (but I can't really as is too slow -256kb)

Satellite Broadband is NOT the same as Sky Broadband - which is really "down your phone line" broadband

So do any of you cool cats use satellite broadband ? - and if yes how many of my family's kidneys will i need to sell to buy it?

Thanks for shower suggestion Pford75 - the only thing I dont like about circular curtains is that whole "curtain sticking to your bum" thing when you bend over to pick up the sponge - suppose could get a heavy duty curtain - that chrome rail would probably support it - but then "industrial monster shower" isn't really the look we were aiming for.

You can tell I'm panicking about moving house - this is quite obviously displacement activity

Shelli x

 

[chuckey]

No axe to grind but BT is consistently the worst ISP according to "Which", I use Tiscali not great but useable.
When I was working, we investigated satellite based telemetry, license for channel £20K, speed = 9600Bd, additional channel = £400. We dropped it!
I have same problem with my shower, am using a shower curtain and DPC drawing pinned to wall temporarily ( 6 1/2 years so far). I don't think you will be able to get any drawing pins in through those funny shiny beige things . I like the idea of a roller blind that is what I was thinking of, but the construction must be totaly plastic (blinds are quite often rolled on a cardboard tube!!) and driven by an endless rope system not a steel spring. I have some old industrial blinds that I was going to re-work. If you can find a supplier please let me know, as it is difficult to get water proof fabric that hangs properly and rolls up?
Frank

 

[Moo]

Sorry to sound smug, but you make me more and more glad that when we moved from the suburbs we went right into the city rather than right out into the countryside. Our street was equipped with cables years and years ago (mainly to serve City Hall) so all they had to do was drill a little hole into our cellar and we were up and running.

On a more positive note - a temporary solution to the shower problem might be to replace the shower head with something more directional. You could always change it back again when you've installed the perfect shower curtain.

 

[Flyfisher]

BB wasn't available - we initially used an ISDN service from BT (Homehighway) which has now been withdrawn....this was also fairly slow....[/url]

Me too. Yes, it was relatively slow (64k) but, in practice, it didn't seem to matter much because of the more-or-less instant 'dial-up' time. In fact, I used an ISDN router and it was just like a broadband router except for the speed. But when our exchange (a 'hut' in the woods only a few hundred yards away!) was finally upgraded to broadband and we swapped from ISDN to 2Meg broadband, we didn't notice a sudden 'revelation' in speed. For most basic web browsing, high-speed broadband didn't seem to make much difference. So, it's a shame ISDN has been withdrawn (I didn't know that) because it was miles better than dial-up analogue modems and the 30 second dial-up process.

A friend used to have a vodafone USB card (basically a combined mobile phone & modem) that gave high speed internet access on his laptop. He said it was very good but it was a bit expensive if he exceeded the monthly data allowance and reverted to paying according to how much data he downloaded, which can be a great deal considering all the fancy graphics and photos on most websites these days. But the charging plans are always changing so it might be worth checking the latest deals.

 

[Penners]

Shelli - did you try MdB's 3G checker above? Given your rural location, it's unlikely that you'll be in a 3G area, but it's worth a look.

Otherwise, I suspect you may just have to be v-e-r-y

v--e--r--y

p----a----t----i----e----n----t.

the only thing I dont like about circular curtains is that whole "curtain sticking to your bum" thing when you bend over to pick up the sponge

There are two possible reasons for this. One is that the curtain is too small.

Being a gentleman, I won't be specific about the other.

 

[Pford75]

So do any of you cool cats use satellite broadband ? - and if yes how many of my family's kidneys will i need to sell to buy it?

I used to use digiweb http://www.digiweb.co.uk/pricing.asp and their current 'skystar' package is £79/month....the set-up costs are quite eye-watering...(apx £1k)...but I guess it depends on how critical BB is to you (I can't imagine that BT will be upgrading the local loop any time soon - this is the bit which connects you to your local exchange)

It might also be worth investigating 'Community Broadband' if the lack of ADSL applies to a lot of people in your new location http://www.global-satellite-broadband.co.uk/community_satellite_broadband.htm. Essentially, this is a group of people (min 10) sharing a big satellite, which is more cost effective for the Service Provider. I can't vouch for the company I linked above, but their costs do seem a lot more reasonable. Maybe a good way of getting to know the new neighbours?

that whole "curtain sticking to your bum" thing when you bend over

I used to have that problem, to the extent that my wife insisted on shutters in the drawing room :lol:

 

[Mark]

I'm not quite clear about the reason for no ADSL broadband - Have you spoken to someone who can tell you if it is really about distance or are you on a shared line? In our village about a third of the houses have been unable to get ADSL because the cable into the village from the exchange was a multiplexed line. Similarly you often get two houses sharing a line using DACS.

Even miles away from the exchange people manage to get (OK not the fastest) ADSL if they have a 'real' line.

There are several threads about satellite broadband on the French forums.

tyr looking at astra2connect or tooway (both TM)- not sure about UK resellers but there must be some.
http://www.viveole.fr/
http://www.filiago-shop.de

 

[Craig]

We have a shower placed like this over a bath, with a window that stops a pole running right across. We bought an L shaped pole (which doesnt have support at the bend) and use a hemp curtain. The curtain can be kept at one end out of the bath and then be pulled across and round when in use.

 

[shelli]

thanks Craig
thanks Mark
Thanks everyone else
Penners - my bum isn 't the problem - (he only showers once a week anyway! tee hee)

I am still no nearer internet heaven - tried 3G as I use a mobile modem for our laptop and that is inexpensive - problem is as i said before -no mobile signal except on one patio flagstone - may have to erect an internet pod on patio

will probably just get a home phone line with the evil BT and just use internet at work until the valley gets decent signal for woreless broadband- I was hoping to team a move to the country with working from home more often - alas and alack - will have to stay in the rat race a while longer

My friend did a community broadband thing with 9 others - they had to set up a company to do it and have AGMs in the pub (the pub bit was compulsory ) - but I dont want to run another company - 1 is enough !!

Any more ideas re shower gratefully received.

Thanks - you're all lovely

Shelli XX

 

[Penners]

you're all lovely

Aw shucks - even after my posterial implication?

(Not that I'm admitting to it - that was your inference)

 

[Lime]

Surely the obvious thing to do if you are going to such a backwater is do what the locals do, don't wash.
That way you will not notice the smell so much and perhaps be invited to the local annual dip in the village pond, cows and ducks permitting.
I expect the fishing is good.
The bath can be used for things much more important like eels or bullocks's heads for maggots.

 

[Penners]

invited to the local annual dip in the village pond

But just remember - if you float, you're definitely a witch. If you sink and drown, you're innocent of witchcraft.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

But just remember - if you float, you're definitely a witch. If you sink and drown, you're innocent of witchcraft.

Things were so much more simple in those days.

BTW - I thought the problem with satellite broadband was that it was satellite downlink onlyl; the uplink still goes via your phone line, so the speed increase is not as great as might be expected.

For email and browsing of sites like PPUK forum, a 56k modem ought to be enough, if a little irritating.

 

[Penners]

The trouble is that more and more websites are ignoring the fact that some people still can't get broadband, and are stuffing their pages with whizzy graphics. These are fine at 2Mbps, but at 56kbps dial-up I imagine you can feel yourself ageing as you wait... and wait... and wait....