New recruit!

[johnny5]

Hello to one and all.


After much research and reading of reviews i signed up to idnet today!
I am coming over from a 512k BT connection which i had for far to long,and for which i was paying far to much.

I have always been with bt for my broadband,so this is the first time i have "jumped ship" for a different provider.
Been fairly happy with my bt connection,and they gave me my MAC code no problem,but i felt there had to be something better out there!

Really hoping to get a bit more speed allied with a stable connection,i have a speedtouch 585 on the way to replace my bt voyager 210 which could help things a bit.

Had my confirmation e-mail which tells me i should be idnetted on the 18th of feb,so very much looking forward to that day

I'd also like to say a big thankyou to all the members of this forum for sharing their information and experiences,as this was invaluable information when deciding on idnet as my new broadband provider.

I don't think my line is going to support some of the speeds i see on here,a lot of people seem to be getting between 5 and 7 meg downloads .whereas i will be happy to see any increase over my somewhat sluggish 512k connection.

[Philip]

welcome johnny, and welcome to paradise, i'm sure you won't regret it. 

[Sebby]

You won't be disappointed with your choice of ISP. Also, that's a great router you've chosen.

If you have a look here it'll tell you how to get hold of your current line stats. If you post those here, we can give you a pretty good estimate of the speed you can expect.

[Simon]

  Johnny!  You won't regret the move, and it sounds as though it was a long time coming! 

[RA-1972]

You wont regret , i have been here a month now and it has been great gone from slow too super fast

[johnny5]

You won't be disappointed with your choice of ISP. Also, that's a great router you've chosen.

If you have a look here it'll tell you how to get hold of your current line stats. If you post those here, we can give you a pretty good estimate of the speed you can expect.

Thanks for the warm welcome all of you!

That's a very useful site you posted there Sebby,really gets into the guts of my router.
Here are the line stats:


Broadband Line Status
 
    Refresh

   
Line Mode G.DMT   Line State Show Time 
Latency Type Fast   Line Up Time 00:00:18:27 
Line Coding Trellis On   Line Up Count 13 
   
Statistics Downstream Upstream 
Line Rate 576 Kbps 288 Kbps 
Noise Margin 20.5 dB 25.0 dB 
Line Attenuation 61.0 dB 31.5 dB 
Output Power 15.6 dBm 11.8 dBm 
   

More Information 


Hope someone can understand these numbers.

[J!ll]

  johnny5

[Sebby]

Thanks for the warm welcome all of you!

That's a very useful site you posted there Sebby,really gets into the guts of my router.
Here are the line stats:


Broadband Line Status
 
    Refresh

   
Line Mode G.DMT   Line State Show Time 
Latency Type Fast   Line Up Time 00:00:18:27 
Line Coding Trellis On   Line Up Count 13 
   
Statistics Downstream Upstream 
Line Rate 576 Kbps 288 Kbps 
Noise Margin 20.5 dB 25.0 dB 
Line Attenuation 61.0 dB 31.5 dB 
Output Power 15.6 dBm 11.8 dBm 
   

More Information 


Hope someone can understand these numbers.

You've got a very high attenuation, which indicates that you must be quite a distance from the exchange (lower is better).

You should be able to sync at approximately 2Mb, though you have to take into account bRAS profile system, so you'll only get a profile of 1500, or 1750 possibly. If you follow that link, it should all become clear. Still, it''ll be able 3 times your current speed, so it's not all bad.

The noise margin isn't bad (higher is better). It's possible it can be improved, which should give you a slightly higher sync. Do you currently connect your router to an extension phone socket?

[johnny5]

Hi,thanks for explaining those numbers,i am just over 2 miles from the exchange,also my computer and router are upstairs,so there's quite a long cable on the extension socket.

tbh.if i can bust the 1mb barrier,i will be well chuffed 8)

[Sebby]

You'll pass 1Mb, but I think you might be able to get a bit more than I predicted in the last post. If you're using a long extension cable, this is likely to pick up a lot of noise, reducing the noise margin. They tend to be of poor quality as they're made for telephone, which doesn't require high quality cable, unlike ADSL. You'd be better to site the router close to the socket and run a long network cable to your computer. Would this be possible?

[Inactive]

Welcome johnny5, have a Welcome Karma.

[kerrso05]

Welcome johnny5, I came to IDNet last week from Eclipse were I was getting very sluggish speeds and like yourself am quite a distance away from my Exchange but look what I am getting now. People on here are very friendly and helpful and if you need help from Customer Services then don't hessitate and contact them because you will find real people who are interested in your problem and how to solve it. You are probably thinking to yourself have I done the right thing and as you said you have "Been fairly happy with my your bt connection"..........let me assure you, that you have done the right think and come to a bit of Internet Heaven

[Ray]

 

[Rik]

Welcome to happy land, Johnny. As Sebby says, if you could move the router, you might get more speed out of the line than the stats suggest currently.

[Lance]

Welcome to the forum, Johnny! 

[johnny5]

You'll pass 1Mb, but I think you might be able to get a bit more than I predicted in the last post. If you're using a long extension cable, this is likely to pick up a lot of noise, reducing the noise margin. They tend to be of poor quality as they're made for telephone, which doesn't require high quality cable, unlike ADSL. You'd be better to site the router close to the socket and run a long network cable to your computer. Would this be possible?

Thats a good idea about the network cable,although i can't do it at the moment as it would upset the natives.

Certainly one for the future,as long as it is done stealthily....

Big thanks again to everyone for the warm welcome.

[Sebby]

Fair enough. Like I say, speeds will be better with IDNet anyway, and you won't be disappointed.

[cavillas]

Have another welcome johnny5.  I've also noticed a distinct lack of the mention of food for the past few days!  This must be rectified.

[johnny5]

Have another welcome johnny5.  I've also noticed a distinct lack of the mention of food for the past few days!  This must be rectified.

Thanks cavillas,food is good.

Well,i ordered my speedtouch 585 a few days ago and look what has turned up in the post today.....a Siemens gigaset se 587 with a tiscali logo on the top and a tiscali broadband cd to compliment it!

A bit strange to say the least,because the seller i bought it off hasn't any others like it for sale,and hasn't sold any in the past either.

Will fire off an e-mail to see what the story is.

As i won't now have my new router in time for my idnet switch over on monday,is it possible to configure my current bt voyager 210 to work with idnet?

Maybe i should have just ordered my router from idnet when i signed up.

[Rik]

It should be fine, just enter your IDNet username and password.

[DeViTTo]

 

Welcome Johnny5, you'll like it here and hopefully you should achieve a better speed. You will at least get help to try to achieve it good luck.

[johnny5]

It should be fine, just enter your IDNet username and password.

Thanks Rik,thats good news.Thanks DeViTTo,if my new connection is as good as the folk around here i will be well sorted.

I must say my internet connection has been poor for the last few days,the worst it has ever been,keep getting cut off every 20 mins or so, so roll on monday.

[Rik]

Can you drag any stats out of the router, Johnny? Take a look at Litz site if you're not sure how:

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.htm

[johnny5]

Can you drag any stats out of the router, Johnny? Take a look at Litz site if you're not sure how:

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/frogstats.htm

I think these are the ones:
Broadband Line Status
 
    Refresh

   
Line Mode G.DMT   Line State Show Time 
Latency Type Fast   Line Up Time 00:00:45:10 
Line Coding Trellis On   Line Up Count 1 
   
Statistics Downstream Upstream 
Line Rate 576 Kbps 288 Kbps 
Noise Margin 18.6 dB 25.0 dB 
Line Attenuation 61.0 dB 31.5 dB 
Output Power 15.8 dBm 11.8 dBm 
   
 
K (number of bytes in DMT frame) 19 10 
R (number of check bytes in RS code word) 0 0 
S (RS code word size in DMT frame) 1 1 
D (interleaver depth) 1 1 
Super Frames 190667  190665   
Super Frame Errors 55  16   
RS Words 0  0   
RS Correctable Errors 0  0   
RS Uncorrectable Errors 0  0   
HEC Errors 24  0   
OCD Errors 0  0   
LCD Errors 0  0   
ES Errors 0  0   


More Information  

[Rik]

They look fine. I reckon you'll sync around 1600k with a profile of 1250, throughput about 1100k.

There's nothing in those stats to explain your connection dropping, so hopefully the migration will cure the issue. The drops wouldn't coincide with something like your heating cutting in would they?

[Sebby]

You're looking at about 1.6Mb sync with those stats. Unfortunately, you must be quite a distance from the exchange (attenuation of 61dB). If we can improve your noise margin, you might be able to sync a bit higher. Could you give us a bit of information about your setup, such as extension sockets, filters, etc?

[RA-1972]

I take the lower the attenuation you have the better speeds ?

[Rik]

Essentially, yes. There are some variables in that some lines are quieter than others, so will get better speeds for a given attenuation, but the rule of thumb is that the lower the attenuation, the higher the speed.

[Sebby]

Indeed. Lower attenuation gives you greater sync. The SNRM (Signal-to-Noise Ratio Margin) is the other factor, and is something that - unlike attenuation - we can play with to a degree. Obviously your telephone line will pick up noise along the way to your house, but we can minimise noise pickup inside our properties (e.g. by using a filtered faceplate to terminate the ADSL signal at the point that the telephone line enters the property) to give us the best SNRM (higher is better).

[johnny5]

You're looking at about 1.6Mb sync with those stats. Unfortunately, you must be quite a distance from the exchange (attenuation of 61dB). If we can improve your noise margin, you might be able to sync a bit higher. Could you give us a bit of information about your setup, such as extension sockets, filters, etc?

Hi Sebby,just had a look at my line set up in the house.
from the main socket which comes into the house,there is a line which goes to an extension socket downstairs which has the phone plugged in as well as a filter.From this extension socket an extension line goes upstairs to another extension socket where my broadband line is plugged in.(this socket also has a filter)

hope that makes sense!

[Rik]

Hi Johnny

I take it you're using a doubler at that socket, with one side having a filter and the phone, the other an extension lead?

Is that lead flat or round? Flat leads pick up a lot of noise, so it would be worth replacing it if it is flat. Better still would be to run a Cat5 ADSL cable from that first filter, best of all would be to fit a filtered faceplate, if that's possible.

[Sebby]

Hi Sebby,just had a look at my line set up in the house.
from the main socket which comes into the house,there is a line which goes to an extension socket downstairs which has the phone plugged in as well as a filter.From this extension socket an extension line goes upstairs to another extension socket where my broadband line is plugged in.(this socket also has a filter)

hope that makes sense!

Firstly, does the socket like this this.

Also, when you say "an extension line goes upstairs to another extension socket", is this is standard hard-wired job, or is it one of those ones you can buy in places like B&Q, where it's a flat cable that often plugs into the front of an existing socket?

[johnny5]

Ok,gif1 is the master socket,which has a wire going to the extension socket in gif2 which is where the phone is plugged in,as well as a filter.
From the gif2 socket a round wire cable goes to the upstairs socket,where my broadband cable is plugged in.(the upstairs socket also has a filter)

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Rik]

Give it a try and see how Max runs for you, but if you were to fit a filtered faceplate and run a Cat5 cable to your router, you could well gain significant speed from the exercise.

[johnny5]

Give it a try and see how Max runs for you, but if you were to fit a filtered faceplate and run a Cat5 cable to your router, you could well gain significant speed from the exercise.

Hi Rik,would i run the adsl cable straight from the master socket,or from the socket where the phone is plugged in?

[Sebby]

Ok,gif1 is the master socket,which has a wire going to the extension socket in gif2 which is where the phone is plugged in,as well as a filter.
From the gif2 socket a round wire cable goes to the upstairs socket,where my broadband cable is plugged in.(the upstairs socket also has a filter)

Excellent. Can you remove the front plate, connect your router to the socket behind the plate, and re-post your stats?

The likelihood is that your noise margin will go up, and if it does, you can do better on Max. The long-term solution would be to fit a filtered faceplate, such as the ADSL Nation XTE-2005. The best solution would then be to connect the router at this point, and run a long network cable (or perhaps go wireless) to the PC. If you can't do this, get a high quality twisted pair cable (such as one of these) to run to the router.

[Den]

Welcome to Idnet happy land Johnny5 . As you can see we are either technically minded or just mad. It's up to you to work out which are which, sadly some are both.   

[johnny5]

Excellent. Can you remove the front plate, connect your router to the socket behind the plate, and re-post your stats?

The likelihood is that your noise margin will go up, and if it does, you can do better on Max. The long-term solution would be to fit a filtered faceplate, such as the ADSL Nation XTE-2005. The best solution would then be to connect the router at this point, and run a long network cable (or perhaps go wireless) to the PC. If you can't do this, get a high quality twisted pair cable (such as one of these) to run to the router.

Having read the reviews of that faceplate,it sounds like a must have for me,so may as well get the long network cable while i'm at it.The natives will just have to understand

With regard to my speedtouch 585,the seller has e-mailed me back apologising for sending me the wrong one and has told me i can keep it,and that he will send the right one out on monday,which i thought was very decent.

btw.thanks for the welcome Den,i think i will fall into the mad category rather than the technically minded.

Its also amazing that ever since i posted that i was getting a bad connection,i have never been disconnected once.
Could be because its a friday night and everyones out on the lash.

[J!ll]

Welcome to Idnet happy land Johnny5 . As you can see we are either technically minded or just mad. It's up to you to work out which are which, sadly some are both.   

 

[Sebby]

Having read the reviews of that faceplate,it sounds like a must have for me,so may as well get the long network cable while i'm at it.The natives will just have to understand

Great stuff; it will almost certainly improve your connection by a long way, and the ST 585v6 is a fine router.

[Rik]

Could be because its a friday night and everyones out on the lash.

No, your line is aware we're talking about it!! 

[johnny5]

No, your line is aware we're talking about it!! 

I think you could be right.

Well,hopefully when i get in from work tomorrow i won't be able to get online due to my bt broadband connection becoming an idnet connection.

I have the confirmation e-mail with all my new settings printed off,so i should be good to go,once i have reconfigured my router.

[Ann]

Could be sooner than that.  I was told 6pm but when I got up at 6am the change over had already happened.

[Inactive]

Same here Ann, around 06.00 hours, I seem to recall.

[Simon]

It usually happens in the small hours of the morning, so yes, if you're up at 6am, there's a good chance you'll have been migrated. 

[Rik]

Hi Johnny

If you haven't already, you can access your accounts page with that login info and set up your email, web space, blog space and photo album. You can also, if you want to, sign up for RSS notification of your daily usage.

[JB]

when I got up at 6am the change over had already happened.

Crumbs, you guys are early birds 
Mine happened at 04:50. I only know that from the router log - Honest !!   

JB.

[Rik]

Mine was at 4:34, 'cos I got an email from Simon confirming I was good to go. (Does he ever sleep?)

[Sebby]

Mine was at 4:34, 'cos I got an email from Simon confirming I was good to go. (Does he ever sleep?)

That man is a machine. 

[Rik]

Or an insomniac.

[Inactive]

He was in here at around 03.30 hours the other night morning.

[Rik]

We just have too many insomniacs in this place.

[Inactive]

  Tell me about it Rik.. 

[Rik]

Still, it keeps the post count up! 

[Inactive]

And we get to talk about the others while they are snoring their socks off.. 

[Rik]

True. I've just slowed down the yawn, btw - it has more 'feeling' now.

So, Alf has finally made the 1000 post mark then. Who next do you reckon?

[Lance]

Me to 4000 I reckon!

[Simon]

Me to 4000 I reckon!

[Rik]

Me to 4000 I reckon!

You can do that by lunchtime, Lance.

[Inactive]

Not " offline " he can't... 

[Rik]

Should we give him a ring, do you think. Three hours, nine posts...

[Inactive]

No don't wake him up Rik, he is probably at w**k.. 

[Rik]

True. Poor thing. 

[Inactive]

He is a writer of cookery books isn't he?...I seem to recall him saying something about cooking and books.. 

[Rik]

 

[Lance]

No don't wake him up Rik, he is probably at w**k.. 

Indeed I am - busy too! 

[Rik]

But not too busy?

[Inactive]

  Indeed.

[Lance]

I can always find time for this place!

[Rik]

Just 4 more, Lance.

[Inactive]

One and counting..

[Lance]

I thought I would leave you all waiting - and went back to w**k! 

[Rik]

Would that be a premature celebration, Lance??   

[Lance]

[johnny5]

Well,i am finally idnetted.

My download speed has almost quadrupled

Couldn't wait for my speedtouch 585 to arrive,so decided to buy a "spare" router in the meantime,which is a Zoom x6 from pc-world.
I should add that i tried a few other routers/modems,but they led to some of those unpleasant computer moments,which were due to my incompetence and some dodgy installation discs.

On a better note my adsl cable and faceplate arrived from adsl nation today,so will fit them tomorrow and see if there are any improvements to my connection.

These are my current line stats using the Zoom
Item Status
ADSL Line State: Showtime
Downstream: 1856   Kbps 
Upstream: 448   Kbps 
Mode: ADSL2PlusAuto
Transmit Power: 11.9 dB 
ADSL Link UP Time: 0 day 1 hour 11 min 17 sec
Operational Mode: G.Dmt 

Item Downstream Upstream
SNR Margin 7.0 dB 19 dB 
Line Attenuation 57.0 dB  31.5 dB 
CRC Errors 605 4
FEC Errors 52415 6
HEC Errors 469 2



It will be interesting to see if they improve when the cable and faceplate are fitted.

[Rik]

I have a very similar attenuation, Johnny, and sync around 3500, so I would hope you've room for better speeds yet.

[Lance]

Remember, Johnny, that no router needs a installation disc!

[johnny5]

Remember, Johnny, that no router needs a installation disc!

well,set-up discs then!

Whatever discs they were, they certainly didn't float my boat.

[Lance]

With a router, no software at all needs to be installed on the PC!!!!!!!! 

[johnny5]

With a router, no software at all needs to be installed on the PC!!!!!!!! 

Ah,but mine is a router AND a modem all in one!

[Sebby]

Everyone's is a router and modem in one; we just tend to refer to them as routers. Some come with an installation CD to make setup easy, but no router actually requires one. You can simply type in the router's IP address in your web browser and it will bring up the settings.