JW> Computer:            486dx2-66 Clone
 JW> Modem:               Diamond datapump internal 28.8  v34
 JW> (austel approved)
 JW> Initialisation:      AT &F B0 L3 W2 &C1 &D2 (as
recommended in docs)
 JW> Phone Line:          Older analogue exchange.
 JW> Comms Prog:          Terminate v3.0 (emulation patch fixed)
 JW> OS:                  Win95 or MS DOS mode (same results)

 JW> My problem is that I will sit down to try and ring a BBS
 JW> and in the answer
 JW> section of Terminate I get a whole lot of garbage and
 JW> Terminate just beeps.
 JW> Lasts for about 15-20 seconds and then drops carrier.

Could be that you don't have your port rate locked?  What port speed are
you running?  Is it locked (not to change with different connect speeds)? 
Usually streaming 'garbage' indicates a mismatch between the computer and
modem rates, unless it's 'real' line noise.  Is it lots of random
characters, or repeating sequences of characters?  The latter particularly
indicates mismatched rates.

 JW> Sometimes Like last night I got a 26400 on the fourth
 JW> attempt.  Tonight I have
 JW> tried 6 times with the same result.  This morning I got a
 JW> 26400VFC connect with no problems.

On most non-AXE exchanges, that may be considered quite good.  Are these
connects with V.42 error correction enabled?

 JW> I can live with 24000 or 26400, but what I can't stand is
 JW> the amount that all these attempts are costing me.

Given your exchange, you may do better (save money) dropping your attempted
connect speed - say to 24000 - and making sure you get an /Arq connect. 
Also, make sure that you're allowing it to fall back to lower speeds when
line conditions don't permit what you'd prefer.  What's the modem's default
%E value?

 JW> I have an aquaintance in Telstra in Sydney who has been
 JW> very helpful.  He had
 JW> the locals test the line with the following results:

 JW>         7volts on foreign battery on one link
 JW>         3volts on foreign battery on the other link.

 JW> I believe that although this is acceptable for voice communcations or
 JW> lower speed modem transfers I am told it could cause
 JW> interference on high speed modem transfers.

I'm not sure what the term 'on foreign battery' means here.  It looks
though that perhaps your line grounding at your house might not be so good
- can you hear any hum, or other noises, on voice calls?  If so, it may be
fixable.

 JW> PS I would prefer not to upgrade to an AXE line as it would
 JW> involve a number change.

It would be the single best thing you could do to improve your line, though.

Ian

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