Thomson Speedtouch Firmware Query

On the General Broadband Chatter board I've been advised to ditch my BT Home Hub, so I've bought Thompson Speedtouch 585v6 router, and also (because it was ridiculously cheap) a Thompson Speedtouch 510 router as a back up (both from ebay). I believe both were supplied as part of AOL packages, but the 585 was never taken out of its box.

Should I automatically download the most recent firmware versions from the support site or are there potential banana skins to avoid?

You could think about the logic - It if ain't broke .........

I'd download all versions you can find,you don't have to upgrade if your not having problems, but It does no harm to have them just in case.
Then I suggest reading up about DMT and SNR margin tweaking before you decide on upgrades.
note it is also possible to do downgrades on the router, so if you know what your doing you can experiment to see what suits you best.

Thanks for the replies guys

Sandgrounder: Definition of an upgrade version: something that changes a set of glitches you know about for a new set you don't.

Sceptic: So far I've only acquired very limited knowledge on Signal Noise Margins and none at all about Discrete Multitone Modulation (if that�s what your referring to rather than Dublin Mean Time). I'm getting swamped in Google, so I'd be very grateful if you could point me to any good reference(s) about tweaking the parameters for me to read up.

DMT: This is the DSL Modem Tool an application to 'tweak' some routers: dmt.mhilfe.de (I've linked to a Google translation of the German site).


I would be inclined to try your 585 without any tweaking to begin with to see how you get on. You need to use an earlier firmware version is you wish to teak with DMT and not just monitor.

I'm a fan of the 585 and I'm using f/w version: 6.2.29.2 You can't tweak the SNR with this version but I find it is a very stable firmware. Further details in the link in my signature...

b4dger, thanks a lot for your help. I'd already bookmarked your web pages as a reference source and your comparisons of the Netgear834v2 and Speedtouch585 figures was the clincher for me to get the 585 - even though I'm a bit put off by the idea of having to get by feet wet with a command line interface if I want to tweak the parameters.

As my command of German is non-existent I'm a bit hesitant about getting involved with the DMT software. I feel it'll only be intuitive enough to for me use once I'm far more knowledgeable on a whole load of topics (and the same will be true for the 585 CLI).

I'd also be grateful if you'd look at my confusion over how a router negotiates with the exchange over Signal Noise Margins in the "Resync Clarification" thread on the "General Broadband Chatter" Board.

In reply to:

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As my command of German is non-existent I'm a bit hesitant about getting involved with the DMT software.

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Don't let that put you off, you can set the language to English when you run it.

Thanks for the info on not needing German!

I've downloaded the Speedtouch 585 version of the DMT program and had a quick look, but as the router hasn't got to me yet I can't do much. I can see how it can be used for tweaking, but as far as I'm concerned that�s 'A' level stuff and I'm still struggling with my 11+. If I master them, it looks as if its router re-sync and reboot options will be useful.

I've also downloaded RouterStats http://www.vwlowen.co.uk/internet/files.htm which I can configure for my current HH router. With it I can monitor the connection speed and noise levels throughout the day and I seem to be getting interesting noise increases and speed drops when the schools tip out in the afternoon!