ADSL problems
Charlieb000
New
hello all,
we have been getting good net for quite a while, then dad decided to get a better package, which comes with a speed increase, from 2000kbps to 8000kbps. we have a speedstream 6520. now we are getting disconnects, cant get sync (and other errors i cannot remember). and if it was working, it worked its speed down to 384k/384k (up/down), sometime it worked at this speed, sometimes it wouldnt connect, even while having the whole night trying. some times it was fine. when we first got the ADSL service we were warned about the distance to the exchange. we even got someone who didnt introduce themselves asking if we were having problems with our net, dad didnt want them knowing our business.
during my troubleshooting with the speedstream i tried every method i can think of:
>i have picked up the phone and heard static and played with the socket till good, enough of that caused the large socket to come from the wall.
>i have also heard the wireless phone base station noises as well, because it was close to the corded phone, which can also stop the ADSL. moving it away fixes that problem (now on a filing cabinet above).
>maybe there is static on the ADSL phone wire (when the phone's wire is clear)... nope
>maybe its RF radiation from the wireless station going inside the box.. nope
>the filter also acts as a splitter. so two lines leave the filter, one with the filter on it for the phone, one without for the ADSL box. i thought perhaps there is some form of additional interfereance added (probably from the additional plugs and sockts in the line) so i got a normal phone splitter, and plugged in the filter the adsl, i changed the adsl to a big plug rather than a little plug and an adaptor. this did increase the max speed (so i thought i saw) to beyond 4000 (prior, it was about 3800)
>there is another line coming from this socket to another socket in the house so i thought maybe there is signal reflection bouncing back from it so i disconnected it after the socket broke from the wall (this argument is given to people not putting devices on the end of the IDE cable, like SCSI termination). although it did work afterwards, it didnt stay working. now i beleive that i can reconnect the line, but with a filter on the end, despite it not being in use.
>i also noted there was no sound from the router coming through the phone after the above disconnection. so when i heard it again (it is intermittant), i suspected the filter but could do nothing about it as i had no others. i did try completely removing the filter and the phone and that didnt fix either (in case the phone was introducing frequencies not attenuated by the filter, this was done durng its spell of not connecting), although picking up the phone can cause it to drop out.
>changing to a new filter (same type) did little with a new box.
i had enough and decided to put my antique on it to give it a go. i have two used routers in my room, a Dlink DIR-615 and a Cayman 3220H. unfortunately i am on PPPoA and the Dlink is PPPoE only, but the cayman is both (and many others). so after putting together a powersupply for it...
i got the cayman from ebay for no apparent reason over four years ago, i added a supply being (deliberately) 7V (it has a 5v linear reg and a 3.3v switching reg, and there are heat complaints online so i chose a safe warm 7v, rather than the "9v" on the box)
... i connected it up and reset the software by RS232, and put my isp settings in and it works well, in fact, it initially connects at over 6900kbps! it does slow down to 1500 after a while, but thats a milestone. there is no firewall (its an option you pay for), so i password protected it and put firewalls on my machines. and i discovered weeks later that it does freeze up after some time of constant DSL use (perhaps P2P wasnt envisioned! it wont accept DHCP requests either). there is no wifi in this cayman, so i continued to use the DIR-615 to provide a wifi connection to the network (its DHCP must be disabled for this to work). if the cayman has the problem the others have, its rare.
I preferred to use a unit that has at least a firewall. Dad decided to not like my router with my modded switching power supply tied on top, and got another new one. and although it did perform better, it still had simular problems. in fact it sucked more than the ISP branded speedstream, the wifi channel couldnt be set, and the firewall was disabled, and when i tried to enable it, it said i was not allowed. some persistance convinced it to be changed to "standard". its completely ISP branded inside and out, a thomson TG782T. after a week and a bit dad decided to take it back. the storeperson, not wanting to refund, decided to exchange for another and also told dad there is a "better" one for more money.
===
now, if anyone has good ideas why the cayman works and the others do not, it would be appreciated.
if you have suggestions, then suggest and explain why! charlie.
PS -- I read about the wifi longest distance record, they used a WRT54G with linux inside - they modded ACK timing to 5mS... perhaps i need something as extreme as that (for the ADSL)... if i cant live with getting off my chair to flick the power of the cayman when it freezes.
=========
cayman software info:
Cayman-DSL Model 3220-H, DMT-ADSL (Alcatel) plus 4-port hub
Running GatorSurf version 5.6.0 (build R0)
Serial number 1711***, CPU MPC850SAR, firmware 2.6, PID 0829
=========
cayman info after it has slowed down to 2500kbps
DSL Statistics:
Type : ALC DMT CP
Datapump HW Rev : f
Datapump FW Rev : 2.5.8
Datapump Vendor ID : 1f9
Current Status : LINK UP
Data Path : Interleave
Downstream Upstream
Current Rate : 2592 Kbps 384 Kbps
Maximum Rate : 2618 Kbps 581 Kbps
Noise Margin : 20.5 dB 18.0 dB
Attenuation : 24.5 dB 15.0 dB
Out Power : 12.5 dB 12.0 dB
Near Far
FEC Counts Interleave : 13 0
CRC Counts Interleave : 0 1
HEC Counts Interleave : 0 0
we have been getting good net for quite a while, then dad decided to get a better package, which comes with a speed increase, from 2000kbps to 8000kbps. we have a speedstream 6520. now we are getting disconnects, cant get sync (and other errors i cannot remember). and if it was working, it worked its speed down to 384k/384k (up/down), sometime it worked at this speed, sometimes it wouldnt connect, even while having the whole night trying. some times it was fine. when we first got the ADSL service we were warned about the distance to the exchange. we even got someone who didnt introduce themselves asking if we were having problems with our net, dad didnt want them knowing our business.
during my troubleshooting with the speedstream i tried every method i can think of:
>i have picked up the phone and heard static and played with the socket till good, enough of that caused the large socket to come from the wall.
>i have also heard the wireless phone base station noises as well, because it was close to the corded phone, which can also stop the ADSL. moving it away fixes that problem (now on a filing cabinet above).
>maybe there is static on the ADSL phone wire (when the phone's wire is clear)... nope
>maybe its RF radiation from the wireless station going inside the box.. nope
>the filter also acts as a splitter. so two lines leave the filter, one with the filter on it for the phone, one without for the ADSL box. i thought perhaps there is some form of additional interfereance added (probably from the additional plugs and sockts in the line) so i got a normal phone splitter, and plugged in the filter the adsl, i changed the adsl to a big plug rather than a little plug and an adaptor. this did increase the max speed (so i thought i saw) to beyond 4000 (prior, it was about 3800)
>there is another line coming from this socket to another socket in the house so i thought maybe there is signal reflection bouncing back from it so i disconnected it after the socket broke from the wall (this argument is given to people not putting devices on the end of the IDE cable, like SCSI termination). although it did work afterwards, it didnt stay working. now i beleive that i can reconnect the line, but with a filter on the end, despite it not being in use.
>i also noted there was no sound from the router coming through the phone after the above disconnection. so when i heard it again (it is intermittant), i suspected the filter but could do nothing about it as i had no others. i did try completely removing the filter and the phone and that didnt fix either (in case the phone was introducing frequencies not attenuated by the filter, this was done durng its spell of not connecting), although picking up the phone can cause it to drop out.
>changing to a new filter (same type) did little with a new box.
i had enough and decided to put my antique on it to give it a go. i have two used routers in my room, a Dlink DIR-615 and a Cayman 3220H. unfortunately i am on PPPoA and the Dlink is PPPoE only, but the cayman is both (and many others). so after putting together a powersupply for it...
i got the cayman from ebay for no apparent reason over four years ago, i added a supply being (deliberately) 7V (it has a 5v linear reg and a 3.3v switching reg, and there are heat complaints online so i chose a safe warm 7v, rather than the "9v" on the box)
... i connected it up and reset the software by RS232, and put my isp settings in and it works well, in fact, it initially connects at over 6900kbps! it does slow down to 1500 after a while, but thats a milestone. there is no firewall (its an option you pay for), so i password protected it and put firewalls on my machines. and i discovered weeks later that it does freeze up after some time of constant DSL use (perhaps P2P wasnt envisioned! it wont accept DHCP requests either). there is no wifi in this cayman, so i continued to use the DIR-615 to provide a wifi connection to the network (its DHCP must be disabled for this to work). if the cayman has the problem the others have, its rare.
I preferred to use a unit that has at least a firewall. Dad decided to not like my router with my modded switching power supply tied on top, and got another new one. and although it did perform better, it still had simular problems. in fact it sucked more than the ISP branded speedstream, the wifi channel couldnt be set, and the firewall was disabled, and when i tried to enable it, it said i was not allowed. some persistance convinced it to be changed to "standard". its completely ISP branded inside and out, a thomson TG782T. after a week and a bit dad decided to take it back. the storeperson, not wanting to refund, decided to exchange for another and also told dad there is a "better" one for more money.
===
now, if anyone has good ideas why the cayman works and the others do not, it would be appreciated.
if you have suggestions, then suggest and explain why! charlie.
PS -- I read about the wifi longest distance record, they used a WRT54G with linux inside - they modded ACK timing to 5mS... perhaps i need something as extreme as that (for the ADSL)... if i cant live with getting off my chair to flick the power of the cayman when it freezes.
=========
cayman software info:
Cayman-DSL Model 3220-H, DMT-ADSL (Alcatel) plus 4-port hub
Running GatorSurf version 5.6.0 (build R0)
Serial number 1711***, CPU MPC850SAR, firmware 2.6, PID 0829
=========
cayman info after it has slowed down to 2500kbps
DSL Statistics:
Type : ALC DMT CP
Datapump HW Rev : f
Datapump FW Rev : 2.5.8
Datapump Vendor ID : 1f9
Current Status : LINK UP
Data Path : Interleave
Downstream Upstream
Current Rate : 2592 Kbps 384 Kbps
Maximum Rate : 2618 Kbps 581 Kbps
Noise Margin : 20.5 dB 18.0 dB
Attenuation : 24.5 dB 15.0 dB
Out Power : 12.5 dB 12.0 dB
Near Far
FEC Counts Interleave : 13 0
CRC Counts Interleave : 0 1
HEC Counts Interleave : 0 0
0
Comments
1. EFI entering your setup. Try a UPS for the Cayman, and it might stay up if that is an issue. The cayman might well stay up now due to you: a) babying it with power some, and b) having internal surge suppression circuitry that handles most surges.
2. This could explain the cayman settling some: corrosion at the network interface connection or in last-mile wiring can make signal strength suffer a lot, and it appears from what you said that the cayman is detecting poor signal and compensating to its limit. What you get are its attempts to maintain sync at high speed and then slowly syncing slower and slower.
not sure why you are blaming the cayman when the others are at fault...
Cayman - GOOD (my antique, with custom PSU)
SEIMENS - BAD
THOMPSON - BAD
the power board is a surge protected one and the light is still lit. surges tend to come from lightning strikes
===
i am using the power supplies that came with the (bad) modems.
the reason why i said "explain your suggestions" is because i have thoroughly tested this situation and your reasoning has to comply with i have said, eg (in your case), why did the seimens work well until the speed was changed to 8000. or why is it effecting two modems from different manufacturers with two different PSUs, while not effecting the computer - plus SMPS supplies tend to remove any of this sort of stuff - the filtering is quite thorough, plus we havnt been experiencing any other problems in the house (other than the tv but changing arials seems to fix that).
222:: i do suspect a noisy phone line which might explain the problem (after reading a simple article about getting sync), but still why is the cayman not effected? the (real) cayman has not even slowed down to that horrid speed of the seimens, and connects at higher speeds than the others, and had extremely little down time. what makes it more resiliant?
Charlie.
They will do what is called a line test to make sure that everything up until the box outside your house is OK. If there is a problem, ie. they need to rewire you at the CO, they will take care of it. If your modem needs replacing, they will figure that out and send a replacement.
If the problem is due to line noise and comes from your own home (due to poor wiring, house alarms, or a large number of other potential issues) they will tell you to call your phone company. The ISP is not responsible for the lines inside your house. The phone company is, but you have to pay for any work they do inside your home if you do not have a line contract.
That's it, good luck.
CB