Wonky Connection

[drummer]

My connection has been a bit iffy for the last couple of days and I thought I'd post here before contacting support, particularly as everyone else is getting a spiffier connection as a result of the new DNS servers.

When I joined IDNet a year ago, I always had a sync of 8128 with a profile of 7150 and a constant downstream margin of 6.  In December, interleaving suddenly appeared and my sync dropped to 7616 and my profile dropped to 6500, but the downstream margin remained constant at 6.

Before and after interleaving, every speedtester and ISO download confirmed my profile was correct.

In the last couple of days however, my sync speed dropped after a random disconnect which necessitated a router reboot to reconnect.  Since then, my downstream margin is up and down like a bride's drawers, ranging from 3 to 9 and rebooting the router is a bit hit-and-miss in terms of sync speed (7232 is the highest I've managed so far).

Router is D-link DSL-G604T, but I got similar stats from my other D-link router and a borrowed Netgear.

Connection Status   Connected
   Upstream Rate (Kbps)   448
   Downstream Rate (Kbps)   7232
   US Margin   23
   DS Margin   4
   Modulation   MMODE
   LOS Errors   0
   DS Line Attenuation   28
   US Line Attenuation   32
   Path Mode   Interleaved

I realise that some of you would love to have my "problems" but the connection has just changed from rock-solid to iffy and I wondered if there was a rational explanation that I can't fathom.  My exchange is green and the BT speedtester has lowered my profile to 6000.

Most days I'll be on XP Pro with NOD32, ZoneAlarm Free, Windows Defender and SpywareBlaster running in real time with SpyBot and AdAware used as weekly scanners, but I get the same router readings with XP Home, Vista and Ubuntu.

Think I've covered all bases, so any opinions/suggestions are more than welcome.

[Rik]

Hi Drummer

The symptoms all suggest you've been experiencing noise, which has dropped the sync speed and thus profile. Has anything changed in your internal wiring recently, or have you introduced any new appliances which might be generating RFI noise (possibly it's just a positional change).

If it's not in your internal wiring, is there anything in the vicinity which could be generating noise (I know it's not easy to spot things). The other thing I wonder about is has your d/s attenuation changed at all. For some reason, during August, mine increased slightly and dropped my sync speed and profile. It recovered a week ago, so I suspect BT were working at the exchange.

[drummer]

Hi Drummer

The symptoms all suggest you've been experiencing noise, which has dropped the sync speed and thus profile. Has anything changed in your internal wiring recently, or have you introduced any new appliances which might be generating RFI noise (possibly it's just a positional change).

Hi Rik

Nothing has changed in any way, shape or form, apart from the purchase of some Van's trainers...

If it's not in your internal wiring, is there anything in the vicinity which could be generating noise (I know it's not easy to spot things). The other thing I wonder about is has your d/s attenuation changed at all. For some reason, during August, mine increased slightly and dropped my sync speed and profile. It recovered a week ago, so I suspect BT were working at the exchange.

It's not internal wiring (bought the T-shirt etc) and I live in a quiet cul-de-sac which is pretty dull in itself, but none of my neighbours on ADSL are experiencing the same problem.

As far as I can tell, my up/down attenuation hasn't changed one iota since I opted for Max (originally with Tiswas) and I'm completely baffled as to why my previously solid d/s margin is now suddenly fluctuating.

It's not the end of the world I know, but still a pain in the rear.

[Rik]

Have a word with support, they can test the line for you and see if anything shows up. It might just be a joint degrading, though the chances of BT finding that are slim.

[cosmicdance]

Try connecting to your phone line without your ADSL filter.
You'll obviously not have the telephone working while you do this but it does really help when trying to eliminate problems.
I had this last year where my connection went up and down.
I took the filter out so it was just broadband and then it was rock solid.
Just a new filter for £3 solved it.
Like Rik says, often it's noise which causes deviations in speed.

My speed went down very slightly recently with no apparent reason and Rik was great in helping out.
It turned out to be the BT profiler thingy dropping my sync.
Thing is it dropped it to a slightly lower speed but i was stable at that speed.
As yours is up and down I don't feel it will be the profile by BT's automated system.


Andy