Slow connection

[Inactive]

Have a Marry Xmas yall!

...and you Gee.

[Gee]

Well after everything, the good connection (sync) of 6.2 lasted for about a day or two. Yesterday it went down to 5.9 and today won't go over 3.2. I haven;t changed anything since the last post, adn no lights etc were added. The PC was on non stop (due to my 14 day on plan.)

It seems that the connection disconnects at some point overnight and (as setup to redial), reconnects at worse speed. I just restarted computer to see if I can get a better speed, as it happens sometimes, but to no avail.

The IP profile stubbornly stood at 1250 throughout all this.

Pls help!

[Rik]

It sounds like a classic noise problem, disconnections at night are usually caused by this (though occasionally by BT engineering work). The fact that you're re-synching at a lower speed adds credence to the noise theory, if there's a lot of noise around when you re-sync, you will get a lower speed.

The profile won't recover while you're having low-speed issues unfortunately.

[Gee]

Thanks Rik for a quick reply. I hope you had a good Xmas!

Can you give me some more pointers of what could cause this noise? I just run the automatic BT line check and it says line is OK. Then I spoke to some guy and explained the Line noise problem and he called me back saying the line is fine. ARGH! He then said I should tell IDnet to contact BT wholesale dept to check this further. 

I dunno what else I can do indoors. I will now disconnect my phone as see if that makes any differrence, as the only ohter thing plugged into the filter.

Any other suggestions? (unfortunately I don;t have the little radio).

[Sebby]

Gee, have you tried the BT test socket as I suggested earlier in the thread? This will enable us to see whether it's the extension wiring picking up interference, or whether it's occuring before the line comes into your property. There is a chance it could be something in your property that will affect both, but it's not that common. The test socket is usually a good indicator, therefore.

[Rik]

Hi Gee

Thanks, I had a good day - we were surprisingly lively in here though.

Noise is always a problem to track down. In my own case, I've established that it's nothing to do with my own wiring, but seems to be mains borne. There's no point in me trying to get BT involved as they will not do anything.

In your case, it's significantly hampering your line. A router might help (it would help in restoring your profile and noise margin). Other things to consider are the layout of your phone wiring in the house (ie do you have multiple, hard-wired, extensions and, if so, how are they laid out, star or diasy-chained?), the quality of the filter you are using and other devices connected to the line. If you talk to BT, they will always refer you to your ISP once you mention ADSL.

It may be that you will need to involved IDNet, but before you do, try to eliminate the local potential problems. If IDNet get an engineer out to you, and there's not fault found, or it's found on your side of the master socket, you face a £160+ bill. If you talk nicely to support, they may be able to lend you a router to see if that helps, btw.

[Gee]

Oh I am so kicking myself right now like you wouldn;t believe! I made a crucial mistake!

I did not run a BT or speed test this morning prior to posting here and calling BT, so the last time I did was yesterday. I assumed things are the same or worse, due to sync going down to 3.2.

But after disconnecting the phone and BT testing the line, I thought let me test it just in case, and guess what:

Test1 comprises of Best Effort Test:  -provides background information.
    IP profile for your line is - 2500 kbps 
    DSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)  3392 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)
    Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2293 kbps


I cannot believe it! Even though my sync has gone down, the speed has doubled! The stupid thing I'm so angry about is that I don't know when this happened, was it during the night, or did it just happen now after BT line test or unplugging my phone. 

I am so sorry about this guys, how stupid of me! I should;ve checked more, instead I only checked the sync, - which has grown to 3.3 after the tests and unplugging the phone.

Although this is much better, the problem is clearly far from over, so could you be so kind and please keep helping me and I'll try not to be so dumb in the future!

As for the Line, there is only one telephone port in the whole flat, and the ADSL filter is plugged into it. The main phone port is about 1.5 meters from the floor next to (about 10cm far) 1 electrical port, then little bit further is TV arial port, and another electrical port. A round 5 Meters RJ11 to RJ11 extension cable going from the filter to the Frog. Rj11 falls straight down to the floor then accross the floor runs to the Frog and meets it just before the computer.  The other electrical equipment (TV, SKY box, VCR and light) stays on the same level as ports, but to the right of the first electrical port so not really crossing the pathway of the RJ11.

RJ11 is now the only connection to the filter, as I have unplugged the 3 way splitter, the 2xphone and Sky box.

Frog is then connected via USb to PC. I have 3 other USB cables plugged in to PC as well, but not all working at the same time (camera etc)

Just a thought, I dunno if this could cause a line noise: I have Economy 7 electricity, so the expensive and cheap electricity changes overnight. Could this cause a surge or soemthing? Also this has caused some problem lately too, where EDF has been sending sygnals too many times and expensive/cheap electricity has been changing more then just once a night. They are in process of fixing this problem, but its ongoing every night still.

Sebby, I will look inot the socket thing now and let ou know.

[Rik]

Hi Gee

Your profile has clearly recovered from the original hit that it took, and is correct for your current sync speed. Throughput is a little low, but nothing significant. You might be able to improve things by tweaking MTU & RWIN settings.

If the socket is an NTE5 (with the detachable portion of the face plate) it would be worth trying at the test socket, but it's unlikely to make any difference. Where is your phone currently connected? If you are out of contract on the Sky box, or if you only have the one box, I would recommend leaving it disconnected unless you make a lot of use of interactive services, it's a potential source of noise.

The Economy 7 switching could cause noise impulses (it shouldn't, but if the meter is not in peak condition, it might). Unfortunately, you can't run routerstats on a frog, as that would give you a much better idea of when the problems occur. If you're anywhere near me, I could lend you a router to try.

One issue that might be worth thinking about is USB load. Modems are very high demand, both in terms of processor cycles on your CPU and power - they draw the maximum 500mA. It might be worth getting your hands on a powered hub and running the modem from that.

[Inactive]

Just a thought, I dunno if this could cause a line noise: I have Economy 7 electricity, so the expensive and cheap electricity changes overnight. Could this cause a surge or soemthing? Also this has caused some problem lately too, where EDF has been sending sygnals too many times and expensive/cheap electricity has been changing more then just once a night. They are in process of fixing this problem, but its ongoing every night still.

Never heard of that before, mine runs from a fixed time clock, so does my Daughters.

[Rik]

Most are done by local clocks, In, but some meters are set by a signal sent out on LW (possibly the Radio 4 transmitters). The idea was that the Ec7 period then remained the same when the clocks change, whereas on local clocks it shifts forward an hour in summer.

[Gee]

HI Sebby

It's not a NTE5 socket There are no other phone sockets in the flat.

I've disconnected the phones, so it's not connected anywhere, and used to be conenctd via 3 way splitter which was plugged into the filter, then in the past few days, the phone was connected directly to the filter.

As I've switched the PC off while taking tel socket off, I've just restarted and the sync is 4.5! Mad or what

Speed:


Dr Speed touch info:

ReceiveAttenuation_dB= 17
ReceiveMargin_dB= 15
RxOutputPower_dBm= 0
SendAttenuation_dB= 9
SendMargin_dB= 23

It would be great to test out the router, thught I'd need to learn how to use it

As for electricity, yeah, mine is sent sygnal from Radio 4.

Thanks guys

[Rik]

The higher sync suggests that noise is lower at the moment, Gee.

I don't think there's too much more you can try, except the powered hub or a router. Using a router is easier than a modem, there's no software needed on the machine, it just connects to your ethernet port. Most routers auto-detect the line, so all you have to do is enter your login and password the first time and you're away.

[Inactive]

Most are done by local clocks, In, but some meters are set by a signal sent out on LW (possibly the Radio 4 transmitters). The idea was that the Ec7 period then remained the same when the clocks change, whereas on local clocks it shifts forward an hour in summer.

Right, glad I don't have one then, my clock has been about an hour out for years, it means that I get low rate until around 10.00 am in the Winter...suits me.

[Rik]

We used to have a clock that 'slipped'. I had to check once a week to see where Ec7 was actually occurring.

[Inactive]

We used to have a clock that 'slipped'. I had to check once a week to see where Ec7 was actually occurring.

I have a switched outlet with a neon light on one of my storage heaters, that way I can always see what rate I am on.

[Rik]

That would work. Unfortunately, not for us.

[Sebby]

I'd certainly recommend getting a router. The "frogs" are not good with Max, IMHO. You can pick up a 2Wire 2700HG on eBay very cheap.

[Gee]

I appreciatte the router would be better, but I can;t afford it ATM.

Is there a tool anyone could reccomend where I can watch and record the ADSL traffic and/or find out when and/or why my modem disconnects at night? I've got DUMeter, but I cannot record the traffic and watch it later

Your profile has clearly recovered from the original hit that it took, and is correct for your current sync speed. Throughput is a little low, but nothing significant. You might be able to improve things by tweaking MTU & RWIN settings.

Not sure how to do that 
And also, although I'm glad IP Profile is better now, it should be 5500, so I'm desperate to find out the cause for the line noise

[Rik]

Hi Gee

The profile is correct for your current speed. Until you sync much higher, >6240, you won't get back to a 5500 profile.

I don't know of any software that will monitor a frog, I'm afraid. Is there anything in the Dr Speedtouch app - it's been a long time since I used it. DU Meter is really not what you need, as what you want to be monitoring is the noise margin and any re-synchs/sync speed changes.

If you're anywhere near me, I can lend you a router.

The whole subject of optimisation is covered in this sticky. Have a read and then ask about anything you're not sure of.

[Gee]

Well wanted to send an update  

After Xmas I decided to get a new phone. The old was a cheap rubish I bought down the market for a £5, so when it recently started crackling a lot, I put it down to the phone is dead. But when I plugged in the new phone and the crackling continued, it finally dawned on me (DAAH!) that maybe it's NOT the phone, and that the problem IS connected to my ADSL problem  . I had a 3 hr search but finally found the modem box and inside - a second (new) filter. Worth a try innit!

I changed it, and low and behold, I had a great stable ADSL connection ever since . AND no noise on the phone. I even plugged back the old phone and returned the new one to the shop last week.

I have no idea why a filter would be a problem, but it was definitly worth checking

I wanted to thank all of you who kindly offered help and especially over Xmas!  You are generous helpful decent people and your help is touching. I've learned a lot as well, and thankfully do not need to buy a new router just yet

Hope yall got some nice Xmas presents! 

[Sebby]

I'm glad you got it sorted, Gee.

The filter is something I certainly tend not to forget about; I usually think extension wiring is probably to blame, so it's useful to hear that this sorted it for you.

[Inactive]

Thanks for the update Gee, nice cheap solution, that's what I like to hear.

Belated Happy New Year to you.

[Lance]

Thanks for the update, Gee!

[Rik]

Hi Gee

Good detective work. I tend to forget about filters in that situation, as the ADSL side is actually unfiltered - but, of course, if the filter isn't working correctly, it will impact the service. (Note to self, check everything...  )

[Gee]

We have all forgotten it Rik so no worries With your help I have learned so much, and dismissed other possibilities, plus you were there for us during your holidays, so that is all equally valuable and I appreciatte it