Connection and Sync Speed problem

[captainpud]

I am hoping someone here can help as I am not quite sure what is happening with my connection. I have been with IDnet now for a year and a half with no problems and my modem/router has always had syncs speeds of 8032 and 832. Since Friday I have had a couple of disconnects and again this morning but when I rebooted my modem/router my sync was about 200 and 500. I have rebooted a few times now with varying results and a lot of them low at about 1200/500. I now have it at 7008/832 and I dare not reboot again as it may well go right down again. Does anyone have a clue as to what is going on? is it likely that BT are messing with the exchange or is something else wrong?

Any advice greatly apprecited

Thanks

Paul

[Rik]

Hi Paul

There's a range of possibilities, including BT working on the line, an exchange fault, a line fault, a problem with the router, a problem with the filter, a problem with other devices attached to the phone line etc.

Can you describe your internal wiring setup? Do you have the type of master socket where the bottom part of the face plate can be removed? If so, what happens if you plug your router in there? What happens if you unplug everything else attached to the phone line?

Have you bought any new equipment lately, eg monitor or computer, or any other household appliance?

[captainpud]

It looks like the bottom part of the socket could be removed as it has a couple of screws, not sure I fancy doing that! It is a BT voyager 240 router which goes to a microfilter and then to the bt socket with telephone and sky also going into the filter, does that means its not a master socket?

I don't have any new equipment at all. As far as I can see none of my setup has changed at all? If I switch the router off again I am likely to lose my speed sync again and might not get it back?

[Rik]

There's a picture of an NTE5 master socket, the type I'm talking about, at the bottom of this post. I've highlighted the test socket I'm talking about.

Do you have any other phone sockets? If not, it's likely to be the master, if it looks like the photo, it is the master. Try disconnecting the Sky box. Unless you have multi-room, Sky won't be bothered. Sky boxes can put a lot of noise on the line.

You may lose speed by disconnecting the router, but if you have an NTE5 socket, it's an essential check. If the problem persists at the test socket, it's a BT fault. If it doesn't, it's down to you, and would mean that you'd be charged if BT were called out. (£160+)

What we need to do is eliminate things, the connected devices, the filter and the router. If you only have that one socket and the problem persists, then it's likely to be a BT fault.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[captainpud]

I only have one socket so I will take the plate off and give it a try, thanks for the advice . I will hopefully post back in a few minutes.

[captainpud]

There's a picture of an NTE5 master socket, the type I'm talking about, at the bottom of this post. I've highlighted the test socket I'm talking about.

Do you have any other phone sockets? If not, it's likely to be the master, if it looks like the photo, it is the master. Try disconnecting the Sky box. Unless you have multi-room, Sky won't be bothered. Sky boxes can put a lot of noise on the line.

You may lose speed by disconnecting the router, but if you have an NTE5 socket, it's an essential check. If the problem persists at the test socket, it's a BT fault. If it doesn't, it's down to you, and would mean that you'd be charged if BT were called out. (£160+)

What we need to do is eliminate things, the connected devices, the filter and the router. If you only have that one socket and the problem persists, then it's likely to be a BT fault.

Ok I have taken the plate off, swapped the filter and unplugged telephone and sky and plugged the new filter into the test socket . The problem is still there though, sync is now 6432/832. Does that mean its a BT problem or something else?

[Rik]

You still need to eliminate the router, can you borrow one from anyone?

[captainpud]

You still need to eliminate the router, can you borrow one from anyone?

I have my old BT 205 upstairs, I will try that and post again. Thanks for all the help so far 

[Rik]

NP.

[captainpud]

NP.

Just plugged in the 205 into the new filter and into the test socket and its still the same Sync is now 6336/832. I tried switching off the 205 and a different speed again 6432/800, it just seems totally unstable. Any more ideas or is that all I can do?

[Rik]

You've eliminated your router, filter, any internal wiring and any connected equipment. Mind you, I wouldn't describe that amount of variation as particularly unstable, it just suggests there's some noise around.

Two more things. If you have a battery-powered AM radio, then de-tune it from any station so that all you have is white noise. Move around the phone socket, cables etc and see if the noise levels increase, eg near your computer or monitor. ADSL operates in the MW band, so any noise you can hear your router can also hear.

Finally, if you can post your downstream attenuation, noise margin and sync speed, I can get some idea of how the line is performing. If you can manage a BT speed test, so much the better. http://test.speedtester.bt.com:50301/

[Glenn]

612Mhz is the ADSL signal according to the last BT engineer I had around

[Rik]

So the AM radio won't work, Glenn? I've been telling people to do that for ages.

[captainpud]

Just rebooted again and the sync is down to about 2000/500 again a long way from my 8032/832 of the last year and a half.

Sorry I don't have a battery powered radio.

I will plug my 240 back in again and put everything back and post the details you requested.

Thanks Again

[Rik]

612Mhz is the ADSL signal according to the last BT engineer I had around

Mmmm. This cites a different value.

Being a radio engineer type, and knowing that ADSL uses radio frequencies, I began to wonder whether the problem might be to do with increased radio interference on the line around sunset. ADSL uses frequencies from approximately 26 to 138 kHz for the upstream connection (i.e. from the home to the exchange) and in the range 138 kHz to 1104 kHz for the downstream connection (from the exchange to the home), though this frequency range is extended to just over 2200 kHz for the faster ADSL2+. Given my distange from the exchange, my connection is resolutely ADSL only (and not ADSL2+) and therefore if there was an increase in interference it would need to be in the frequency range 138 to 1104 kHz. However, as most ADSL modems are capable of running ADSL2+ even if the line is not capable of supporting it, it is likely that the receivers in them are not filtering out unwanted or unused frequencies making them susceptible to interference on frequencies up to 2200 kHz and quite possibly even higher even if those frequencies are not in use.

Now as it happens, this frequency range is home, in Europe, to both long wave and medium wave radio transmitters (in the frequency range 148.5 to 285.5 kHz and 526.5 to 1606.5 kHz respectively) and there are many high powered radio transmitters in this frequency range. Could it be that the propagation that exists around sunset causes such a significant rise in the level of signals in this frequency range that it was knocking out my ADSL connection? The telephone connections in my area are via flown cables between telegraph poles (as they are still called despite telegraph having died out eons ago) and as such probably make rather good aerials, so it is quite possible that my modem is susceptible to incoming interference from high power long and medium wave broadcast transmitters.

[Rik]

I will plug my 240 back in again and put everything back and post the details you requested.

OK, I'm just off to nosh, back in a while.

[Glenn]

Oops look like I hit a M rather than a K

[Inactive]

  Move to Milton Keynes Glenn.

[Glenn]

 

[Rik]

We could have a gathering.

[Inactive]

The place is so famous they use their logo on light switches.

[captainpud]

OK, I'm just off to nosh, back in a while.

Sorry I have been a while, major problems trying to get sync speed back and lost connection completely for a while. Syncs I have been getting are as follows 960/736, 6912/832, 1280/768 and currently 6976/832. I am going to leave it at this as I dare not switch off again for fear it goes right down again. Noise margin is 11.7 and line attenuation is 21 for downstream, these figures have been very similar since I started with IDnet, the Noise margin does go up above 12 sometimes.

Any ideas as to what is going on? should I call IDnet support in the morning so they can get on to BT?

[Rik]

Essentially, you've done all you can now, Paul. IDNet will have to test the line and then, if they can't see the cause of the issue, pass it to BT. Let them know the steps you've gone through today, as they'll otherwise ask you to take them (point them at this thread if you like).

If you can manage a BT speed test, it will add a bit more to the picture, but it looks to me as if there's something near you making a lot of electrical noise.

[Rik]

The place is so famous they use their logo on light switches.

[Inactive]