I also need help and not very techie minded

Scottyboy · Jul 22, 2007, 14:51:47

I saw the post from Mrsgrey which has prompted my post.

Thursday evening I got back from a few days away with work to find my net offline. Afterplaying about it finally came back on nut webbrowising was just a nightmare. I left it untill the morning where general surfing had improved and was bearable. Also email exchange seemed to be ok. However, downloading was pretty poor.

Anyway over the weekend the service has deteriorated. Its not bearable for surfing or downloading however pings seem to be ok.

So. what can I tell you. I have a Linksys WAG354G Router firmware 1.01.05. Itried to download the latest version today at the lightning speed of 650bytes/s so I gave up.

Anyway. I have an extension lead from my main socket to the office I use which I replaced yesterday and have tried a 3rd lead just in case. I have replaced the ethernet cable and tried 3 different filters. I even tried my old belkin router for size. Problems the same.

Heres the stats from my router.
DSL Status : Up
DSL Modulation Mode : GDMT
DSL Path Mode : FAST
Downstream Rate : 2272 Kbps
Upstream Rate : 288 Kbps
Downstream Margin : 7 db
Upstream Margin : 20 db
Downstream Line Attenuation : 59
Upstream Line Attenuation : 31
Downstream Transmit Power : 0
Upstream Transmit Power : 0

To be honest they dont mean much to me. So any help and advice appreciated.

Rik · Jul 22, 2007, 14:59:42

You seem to have a problem.

For an attenuation of 59db, I'd expect your d/s noise margin to be around 18db. For it to be 7db says there's an issue, possibly with your wiring, possibly with the line.

Do you have an NTE5 master socket, the type where the bottom part of the face plate can be removed? (See photo in the sticky here). If you do, then can you connect the router to the test socket which is revealed and see what your stats are? If not, can you connect the router to your master socket with every other device in the house, including extension leads, disconnected? (If necessary, you can use an ethernet cable of up to 100 metres.)

If you can't make this test, you need to call support and get them to test the line and, if necessary, arrange for a BT engineer to visit. You need to be aware, though, that if an engineer does come out, and finds a fault in your wiring, then you will be looking at a hefty bill, £150+.

Scottyboy · Jul 22, 2007, 15:10:34

Cheers for the prompt feedback.

Yeah I dont want to get an engineer out untill I have eliminated all possible causes at my end. I have had no issues for the last couple of months but I guess a fault could easily develop.

Ive just realised Ive been using the upstairs socket to connect my router. This does not have a master socket.

Im going to try the downstairs socket for the router first see how that goes.

But to save me running extensions is it acceptable to access those stats wirelessly? Im guessin they refer to the router itself and the line its connected to?

Rik · Jul 22, 2007, 15:17:05

There's no problem in accessing the stats wirelessly, as you surmise, the router is what we're interested in - think of it as a dedicated PC whose only job is to talk to the internet and pass information back and forwards to connected PCs.

It's not important to be connected to a master socket most of the time (I'm not), but when you have a problem, connecting to the master (or better, the test) socket starts to remove some of the possible causes. FYI, I had a solid connection for months, then found it completely dead one morning. Eventually, an engineer came out and had to remove a number of extensions and re-wire the ones that remained. Sometimes, the wiring just lurches out of tolerance...

Scottyboy · Jul 22, 2007, 15:45:51

Ok. I have tried the master socket first and got this

DSL Status : Up
DSL Modulation Mode : GDMT
DSL Path Mode : FAST
Downstream Rate : 2272 Kbps
Upstream Rate : 288 Kbps
Downstream Margin : 10 db
Upstream Margin : 21 db
Downstream Line Attenuation : 57
Upstream Line Attenuation : 31
Downstream Transmit Power : 0
Upstream Transmit Power : 0

I then tried the test socket and got this
DSL Status : Up
DSL Modulation Mode : GDMT
DSL Path Mode : FAST
Downstream Rate : 2272 Kbps
Upstream Rate : 288 Kbps
Downstream Margin : 25 db
Upstream Margin : 24 db
Downstream Line Attenuation : 50
Upstream Line Attenuation : 28
Downstream Transmit Power : 0
Upstream Transmit Power : 0

Hell of a difference.

I also tried the master socket again with all electrical appliances and all phone sockets disconnected (I only use one telephone anyway so normally the telephones are empty.)
DSL Status : Up
DSL Modulation Mode : GDMT
DSL Path Mode : FAST
Downstream Rate : 2272 Kbps
Upstream Rate : 288 Kbps
Downstream Margin : 3 db
Upstream Margin : 21 db
Downstream Line Attenuation : 57
Upstream Line Attenuation : 31
Downstream Transmit Power : 0
Upstream Transmit Power : 0

So does this suggest a wiring issue then? One thing that happened is that when I took the plate off for the test socket my house alarm system piped up with an error shouting the phone was disconnected. Didnt realise it was wired in. So perhaps this could be causing an issue which I may have to investigate. Im not sure if I can manually switch the alarm off need to read up. ( Its a fairly new house for us)

Rik · Jul 22, 2007, 15:59:43

That tells us the problem is with your internal wiring and, almost certainly, the alarm which is probably unfiltered. It would explain everything about your problem. That needs to have a hard-wired filter put in, which the alarm company should be able to do for you. In the interim, if you plug the face plate into a 'soap on a rope' filter which is plugged into the test socket, you will filter the alarm (but also your extensions).

An improvement of 7db in d/s attenuation and 22db in margin is not to be sneezed at! Once your wiring is improved you might want to think about moving to a Max service, you should get around 4Mbps or better. It's worth noting that the extension you have been using is adding to the attenuation and dropping the margin, though, so as well as getting the alarm sorted, it would be worth looking at the wiring to that socket (and the others). In particular, remove the ring wire from terminal three at all sockets.

Scottyboy · Jul 22, 2007, 16:08:48

result. I would never have got to this without your help. So much appreciated.

what were you suggesting for a temporary fix is to put the filter directly into the test socket and then attach the face plate to it and then devices as normal?

Il speak to the alarm company in the morning and see what they can do.

Cheers

Rik · Jul 22, 2007, 16:12:49

Glad to help mate, it's what we're here for.

Yes, just use the filter between face plate and test socket, though it can be a bit fiddly to get the router in as well, if necessary (and you have a spare) put two filters in series, connecting the router to the unfiltered side of the first one. That will leave all your wiring filtered, so don't even think about using the router from the normal socket!

Keep us posted...

Scottyboy · Jul 22, 2007, 19:21:51

so far so good. I have just tried the fix and downloaded the 1.86gb file I was after in 2 hours 26mins. Woohoo.

I was also thinking of getting this to sort the issue out

http://www.clarity.it/xcart/product.php?productid=16134&cat=262&page=1 Any thoughts?

Den · Jul 22, 2007, 20:55:49

Hi, Check your alarm system to see if it plugged into a telephone point or if the telephone wire is wired straight into your alarm panel. You say you did not realise that your alarm was connected to the telephone? If it is you are either on a contract via a central station (which you would know about as you would have signed a contract with your alarm company) or a speech dialer (for which you do not have to have a contract). If it is plugged into a telephone point then a normal ADSL filter would be fine. If it is wired staight in then a inline filter from a company called ACT (find them on the net) would be the answer. The ACT filter is more expensive than the normal type. Hope this helps. Den.

Scottyboy · Jul 22, 2007, 23:19:00

Cheers Den for the response. I dont know much about the alarm as I moved into this house about 2 months ago. It is also hardwired into the bt phoneline as when I took the face plate out the fault line buzzed. The temporary fix of putting the filter directly into the test line seems to suggest that the problem is lying with the unfiltered alarm. Although I do not have a contract Im sure the previous tennant did and the alarm will still be connected for updates and the like.