BT Engineering works

[Tacitus]

I notice that over on the Announcements page Tim has given a heads up on BT doing work at the exchanges over the next week/10 days. 

Since this seems to affect most exchanges, could someone enlighten me as to what they might be doing?  The reason I ask is that I've been getting massive errors during the last week - pretty continuous this morning to the point where my router keeps re-syncing and the connection has dropped to 620kps.  Given that at best it's only around 2200, this is pretty abysmal and no doubt my profile has gone to hell. 

Probably unlikely it's the work since the lines through the village are c..p anyway, but I just wondered....

[Rik]

I don't have any more detail than is in Tim's announcement, but going on previous BT announcements and down times, I suspect they are adding backhaul or network capacity. Other work has usually entailed shorter downtime.

[Sebby]

I'd say high errors are unlikely to be to do with the maintenance work.

Could you post your router stats?

[Tacitus]

Could you post your router stats?

The errors seem to have stopped for the time being and sync has now gone back up after I tried switching the modem off for a while.  I'm reluctant to do it too many times as that in itself will affect the profile.

What's been happening is that I've had a couple of hours or so of massive errors in the mornings and the same at around 5-6pm, which suggests something specific is causing it.  Usually it managed to maintain the sync for a while.  Then today there were massive errors all morning which caused it to keep falling over and resync.  It's a Zyxel 662H - AR7 based, although I've had no trouble until now.

noise margin downstream: 13 db
output power upstream: 11 db
attenuation downstream: 55 db

TxPkts  17533
RxPkts  21575

Not currently reporting any errors.

To me, admittedly not that knowledgeable, the sudden change could be work at the exchange cancelling out other problems.  Currently synced at 2176/448, which is more or less normal.  BT Speedtester is down so no idea of the current profile.  Couple of weeks ago it was 2000 kbps - best it's been in ages.

[Rik]

You seem to have a target noise margin of 15db, which suggests significant instability on the line. Have you removed the ring wire from terminal 3 on all sockets? What else is connected to the line? Is there any industrial activity around you?

[Tacitus]

You seem to have a target noise margin of 15db, which suggests significant instability on the line. Have you removed the ring wire from terminal 3 on all sockets? What else is connected to the line? Is there any industrial activity around you?

The target SNR I think is, (or was) 9dB.  I use a modified NTE5 faceplate (Clarity) with a direct line to the modem using Cat5.  Ringwires are connected elsewhere on the phone circuit, but this shouldn't matter as the line has been split.  I did try removing them but neither of the phones would ring.  The modem is powered from a mains block with a smoothing circuit intended for HiFi amplifiers (£38 from Maplin) to eliminate the possibility of power surges.

No industrial activity as I'm in a rural area.  The problem is poor lines through the village; I'm at the opposite end to the exchange - about 4/5Km.  Usual story - the phones are OK, so I can't see BT doing anything anytime soon.  At least it's better than when I first moved here some years ago - every time it rained all the phones went down 

Getting BT to do anything is another matter entirely....

[Sebby]

What router do you use?

[Rik]

What time of day did you last re-sync? If you have a target of 9, something has improved, which may be to do with the time of day at which you had the re-sync, or maybe something is no longer generating noise. Your internal wiring seems to have all bases covered.

[Tacitus]

Just got this off the TBB speed tester:

Speed Down  468.31 Kbps ( 0.5 Mbps )
Speed Up   372.31 Kbps ( 0.4 Mbps )

Worst I've ever seen.

[Rik]

Given other posts today, I should, perhaps, point out for readers of this thread that you are not on an IDNet connection.

[Tacitus]

Given other posts today, I should, perhaps, point out for readers of this thread that you are not on an IDNet connection.

Yes sorry about that Rik - my OP was really to find information, but has gone beyond, thanks to the helpfulness of iDnetters 

What router do you use?

Zyxel 662H

What time of day did you last re-sync? 

Around 2.30 this afternoon.

As a dedicated Whovian I'm off to watch Dr Who 

[Rik]

Yes sorry about that Rik - my OP was really to find information, but has gone beyond, thanks to the helpfulness of iDnetters 

Don't worry, it's just that some people have been experiencing speed issues on IDNet today. It's quite helpful to know that it's happening elsewhere too.

Around 2.30 this afternoon

Noise shouldn't have been very high at that time, which suggests either your target margin has been increased or that there was a burst of noise occurring when you connected. If you're at the machine when you next re-sync, take a look at the margin immediately afterwards, that should be close or at the current target.

[Sebby]

Zyxel 662H

On a long line, the 2Wire 2700HGV cannot be beaten. As you've done everything else (other than get BT to replace the line) I think it could potentially solve the instability.

[Rik]

I concur - but then we like spending other people's money. 

[Dont mention Talk Talk !!]

Just got this off the TBB speed tester:

Speed Down  468.31 Kbps ( 0.5 Mbps )
Speed Up   372.31 Kbps ( 0.4 Mbps )

Worst I've ever seen.

man...............im wiping tears out of my eyes after gazing upon that, still its better than I got with Talk Talk......seriously, it is.

I thought id better check my own and got this for 7.30 pm on a saturday night

Speed Test Results
Date 12/04/08 19:31:45
Speed Down 6273.21 Kbps ( 6.1 Mbps )
Speed Up 378.19 Kbps ( 0.4 Mbps )
Port 8095
Server speedtest1.adslguide.org.uk ...............nay bad at all


I had my own trouser shatting experiences about 3 weeks ago and Ive put it down to the BT maintenance work that was being carried out , thankfully normal service, i.e  anywhere from 6 meg up to 6.8meg is in operation once more.........phew 

hope you get er sorted dude. 

James

[Tacitus]

On a long line, the 2Wire 2700HGV cannot be beaten. As you've done everything else (other than get BT to replace the line) I think it could potentially solve the instability.

Yes I've heard of those but aren't they BT's own and you have to unlock them with special firmware?

TBH I've not really had any bother with the Zyxel.  It's much better than the Draytek 2800 I had which was rubbish on this line.  The Zyxel was much better.  Problem is if you're not careful, you end up with an empty wallet and a shed full of routers. 

[Dont mention Talk Talk !!]

Tac

I got 2wire 2700 HGV dual ssid version router in mint condition for 30 quid off evilbay..................THE BEST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as solid as fern brittons buttocks , you really check them out and make sure its DUAL ssid type. With the dual version the only unlocking is unlocking your front door to race up to your room and install the 2700 HGV which was a process so easy even i could do it.

James

[Rik]

I have a cupboard full of routers. You don't have to unlock the 2700 anymore, just stop it 'calling home', there's details in our 2700 board. I have a Draytek 2600+ when I moved to Max and it proved to be rubbish on my line, so I moved to a Netgear, which was reasonable. The 2700, otoh, gives me a rock-solid connection and has gained 1000k on the profile. Significantly (and I don't know how it does it) the noise margin no longer swings around by 7db or so, it stays within +/- 2db.

[Rik]

as solid as fern brittons buttocks

I shall have problems ever looking at a 2700 without this image in my mind, James. 

[Dont mention Talk Talk !!]

I shall have problems ever looking at a 2700 without this image in my mind, James. 

Rik, just think of her boobs and that will take all the pain away.........phew, this room has gotten warm

James

[Tacitus]

I got 2wire 2700 HGV dual ssid version router in mint condition for 30 quid off evilbay..................THE BEST !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as solid as fern brittons buttocks , you really check them out and make sure its DUAL ssid type. With the dual version the only unlocking is unlocking your front door to race up to your room and install the 2700 HGV

I'll keep my eyes open for one at that price.

hope you get er sorted dude

Me too thanks.  I'll leave it a day or two and see if it improves.  If not I'll call Bangalore - another exercise in applied futility...   If it wasn't for the extended contract which I signed up to when all was going well, I think I'd be gone by now

[MoHux]

Rik, just think of her boobs and that will take all the pain away.........phew, this room has gotten warm

James

Thanks DMTT and Rik, for the first really good spontaneous guffaw I've had in a long time!! 



Mo

[Tacitus]

Finally got the BT Speedtester working this morning with the following results:

IP profile for your line is - 500 kbps

DSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)  2176 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)

Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 445 kbps

UK broadband is really great isn't it!  When I last checked it was:

11.07 am Sun 30 Mar 08

IP profile for your line is - 2000 kbps

DSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)  2272 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)

Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 1778 kbps

The latter is fairly typical for current conditions although I was getting a profile of 2500 consistently over an 18 month period with a heavily tweaked Draytek 2800 until the line started going bad.  As the Draytek refused to hold the signal I got the Zyxel 662H which has performed OK.  Ironically, although the Zyxel connects at a slightly lower speed, the throughput figures are generally as good or better than the Draytek.  When the faults started I think rather than look for the fault, BT simply upped the target SNR to 9dB, although Bangalore insist they didn't since they don't have a record of any cap on the line.  A *cap* is not the same thing surely, although raising the SNR does give the same effect? 

[Rik]

Your sync speed suggests that the target NM hasn't been changed or hasn't had a significant impact if it has. Instead, it looks like your profile has been dropped by a low-sync event, which implies noise pickup somewhere along the line. If you're happy that it's not your own wiring, and it shouldn't be, then get your ISP involved.

[Tacitus]

.... If you're happy that it's not your own wiring, and it shouldn't be, then get your ISP involved.

Given the way it's wired - faceplate, cat5 etc - I doubt it's the wiring, so yes I'll get Bangalore involved.

Times like this when I wish I could speak to someone who knows what they're talking about and, perhaps more importantly, has a decent working relationship with BT/OR.  With Bangalore, it's luck of the draw.  Some are good, you can understand them, and they are very helpful, others are hopeless.  Pure luck.

Is the ISP able to reset the profile or is it BT only?

[Rik]

BT only, but if the ISP has a good relationship with BT, they can get it done.

[Sebby]

Is the ISP able to reset the profile or is it BT only?

Only BT, but it's probably not worth it anyway, unless it's stuck. Ultimately, in cases like this where the profile is changing due to instability, we need to get to the bottom of the issue. As your setup sounds fine, it'll probably one for IDNet (and possibly then on to BT).

What router are you using?

[Rik]

Tac isn't with IDNet, Sebby.

[Sebby]

Woops, so he isn't.

In that case, don't call IDNet. I know they're helpful, but not that helpful.

[Tacitus]

Tac isn't with IDNet, Sebby.

I've altered my sig so people aren't confused. 

Thanks for all the help though.

Sebby:  A Zyxel 662 but I might have look for a 2Wire business hub.  I really need one with a VPN facility - one of the reasons I got the Zyxel.

[Sebby]

So what router do you use?

[Tacitus]

So what router do you use?

AAARgh  I just edited my last post to say, but you beat me to it.  A Zyxel 662H

[Sebby]

Sorry. Oh yes, I remember the conversation yesterday. I ask so many people for details about their router, I forget who I've asked!

[Rik]

I just forget who I am.

[Sebby]

That's just a sign of old age, Rik.

[Rik]

   

[Simon]

Oh, Sebby, you've settled in sooo well!!   

[Sebby]