Frequently Asked Questions
This page contains answers to common questions handled by our support
staff, along with some techniques that we have found useful and presented
here as questions.
If you have a question that is not answered here you may call tech support at 763-548-2600 Monday through Friday between the hours 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM or Saturday between 10:00 AM and 4:00PM, or send e-mail to support@wavetech.net. During the normal business week, from Monday through Friday, you can expect an e-mail response within less then 24 hours. We can't guarantee 24 hour response time on the weekend, although we do frequently answer e-mail on the weekends too.
1) What is Minnesota Wavetech's user-to-modem ratio?
2) Is Minnesota WaveTech directly connected to the Internet backbone?
3) How is Minnesota WaveTech connected to the backbone?
4) Do I get any software with my account?
5) Does Minnesota WaveTech provide technical support?
6) Does Minnesota WaveTech provide a money back guarantee?
7) What Internet services do I get with my account?
8) How do I upload my web pages to your server?
9) What operating systems does Minnesota WaveTech offer technical support for?
10) How do I change my password?
11) Why do I keep getting disconnected when I'm composing my e-mail?
12) What is the URL of my home page?
13) Does Minnesota WaveTech support X2 modems or K56 Flex?
14) Why doesn't my 56K Flex or v.90 modem connect at 56K?
15) Does Minnesota WaveTech support CGI scripts for my web site?
16) Can I have my own CGI bin in my web site?
17) Does Minnesota Wavetech's web server support FrontPage 98 server extensions?
18) Can I use Java Script in my web pages?
19) Does Minnesota Wavetech's web server support Server Side Includes (SSI)?
20) Can I use Shockwave or Realaudio files in my web site?
1) What is Minnesota Wavetech's user-to-modem ratio?
Wavetech's user-to-modem ratio is currently at 10:1. Do we guarantee you will never get a busy signal? No. Do we want to hear from you if you do? Yes. Will we add more lines and modems if needed? Of course.
2) Is Minnesota WaveTech directly connected to the Internet backbone?
No, Minnesota WaveTech is not connected directly to the backbone. We are connected to MRNet, just like most Minnesota ISP's. Many of our customers say that we are the best ISP that they have ever had.
3) Does Minnesota WaveTech have enough bandwidth to accommodate your user base?
Now that we have discussed the backbone, yes, Minnesota WaveTech has plenty of bandwidth to accommodate its users. Specifically, we have a T-1 (1.5MB/sec).
4) Do I get any software with my account?
Yes, Minnesota WaveTech provides Microsoft Internet Explorer to its Windows customers if required. Windows 98 and most versions of Windows 95 come preinstalled with Internet Explorer. However, you may use any TCP/IP browser or mail/news reader you wish.
5) Does Minnesota WaveTech provide technical support?
Minnesota WaveTech will do its best to get you connected. Technical Support hours are 9am-7pm Monday through Friday. When requesting technical support please understand that there may be times when we must ask you to contact the author of your software or manufacturer of your hardware.
6) Does Minnesota WaveTech provide a guarantee?
Minnesota WaveTech will guarantee that all of its services will work as advertised.
7) What Internet services do I get with my account?
All Minnesota Wavetech's dial-up access accounts include World Wide Web browsing and your own public HTML directory, FTP, E-mail, and Usenet news.
8) How do I upload my web pages to your server?
You need to get an FTP program. Most people use either WS_FTP or Cute FTP. We can't recommend any specific software, but if you go to the TUCOWS web site you will find many programs for your computer there including FTP programs. Many of these programs are available to download for free. Most of them are shareware and can be bought at a very reasonable price.
After you have downloaded and installed your FTP program you need to connect to the Minnesota WaveTech FTP server. The hostname of our FTP server is ftp.wavetech.net. Use your username and password to log on to the server. Do not include the .ppp on the end of your username. The only time you ever use this is when you dial in with your modem.
After you are logged on to the FTP server you need to change into your public_html folder. The full pathname of this directory will be /users/(first letter of your username)/username/public_html (substitute your username and the first letter). Now you you can upload your web pages.
9) What operating systems does Minnesota WaveTech offer technical support for?
We offer technical support for Windows 95, 98 and Macintosh OS versions 8 and above.
10) How do I change my password?
You only have one password. You will use this password for everything you do that requires a password. If you want to change your password you need to call technical support at 874-6595 and ask our friendly and helpful support staff to do so. You will need your mother's maiden name or security word ready so our staff can verify your identity.
11) Why do I keep getting disconnected while I'm composing my e-mail?
The port monitor will disconnect you if you're connection is idle for more than twenty minutes. If you are working on your e-mail and you are not uploading or downloading anything you are considered idle. The port monitor has no way of knowing what you are doing on your home computer. It only knows whether or not any data is being transferred to or from your computer. Note that you do not have to be online to compose your e-mail. Your Internet Mail software will send your e-mail the next time you click Send/Receive Mail if you are connected.
12) What is the URL of my home page?
The URL of your home page is http://www.wavetech.net/~username. You need to substitute your username after the tilde (~). Do not include the .ppp extension. The only time you use the .ppp extension is when you are dialing up with your modem.
13) Does Minnesota WaveTech support X2 modems, K56 Flex or v.90?
We do not support X2 modems without v.90. If you have an X2 modem you can still use our service, but the fastest connection that you can get is 33.6K. If you have an X2 modem you should contact your modem manufacturer and check if they have an upgrade to v.90. We support the v.90 and K56Flex protocols.
14) Why doesn't my 56K Flex or v.90 modem connect at 56K?
Your connection speed will vary depending on your telephone wiring and your connection to your phone company. Most people who use 56K Flex modems will connect at a speed between 42K and 48K.
15) Does Minnesota WaveTech support CGI scripts for my web site?
Yes, we support CGI scripts. We have a collections of scripts in our CGI Library. These scripts are all freely available for use with your web pages. Our CGI Library supports e-mailing form results, counters, bulletin boards, guestbooks, simple search engines for your site, a random link generator, a countdown timer, and a cookie library for using cookies in your pages. If you have a CGI script that you would like to use you can submit it for review and we will install it in our CGI bin if it is safe to use on our server.
16) Can I have my own CGI bin in my web site?
No, you may not have your own CGI bin. If you have a script that you want to use on our server you may submit to us and we will review it and install it for you if it is safe to use on our server.
17) Does Minnesota Wavetech's web server support FrontPage 98 server extensions?
Yes, we do. You can get the FrontPage 98 server extensions installed for a virtual host or for your personal web site.
18) Can I use Java Script in my web pages?
Yes, you can use Java Script in your web pages. The code will work provided that you have a web browser that supports Java Script.
19) Does Minnesota Wavetech's web server support Server Side Includes (SSI)?
Yes, our server supports SSI. You cannot use execs, but the standard set of SSI extensions is supported.
20) Can I use Shockwave or Realaudio files in my web site?
Yes, we support both Shockwave and Realaudio MIME types with our server.