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ADSL problems -- an expert's experiences
Sunday, 07 March, 2010
I've been following these HelpStation threads.
Why does my ADSL drop out?
Why does ADSL keep disconnecting?
Why does my ADSL drop out?
I am a line tech and regularly attend peoples houses that have these problems, Common causes can be:
- "The forgotten phone" in the garage "but we never use that one". (Often really old phones, or old PABX phones pinched from work)
- Alarms that people think don't need to be filtered because they are no longer monitored by an alarm company.
As stated by somebody in an earlier post "anything on the line other than the ADSL modem has to be filtered". A lot of people don't realize that they have a line going through the circuitry of an alarm until I actually open the box and show it to them.
Substandard wiring attached to the telephone line can also throw faults onto the line even without phones attached, (short circuits etc). Some people use telephone extension leads under their house as wiring, NO !! it doesn't stand up, rats chew it! Also, loose wires in telephone sockets are sometimes a cause as are telephone wires that are twisted together as a joining method. Any twist joint should be soldered and insulated well. I could list many more of these things but these ones are common.
If you suspect your Telstra line is at fault,You should be able to get your ISP to test your attenuation and signal to noise figures and tell you if they are in spec (defendant on variables such as cable length and quality) but this needs to be done at the end of the lead-in by a qualified cable tech.
Hope this helps.
Bob , , Australia
 It certainly does help Bob. Thanks for sharing those tips. Paul Zucker
 Reader solutions
piratepetePosted: 08/03/2010 re: ADSL problems -- an expert's experiences A wireless USB also will futureproof your internet access.
And you don't need the expense of a landline to run it. andrew peter collinsPosted: 07/03/2010 re: ADSL problems -- an expert's experiences Hi Bob. You're dead right. I'm living with my mum to look after her and while the house is beautiful, i had my electrician come in to check all the electrics and replace the switchboard. While he was doing this, he found another phone socket in the garage which was wired legally which means that all up we had 5 sockets on the property...five, and i didn't know it was there. Obviously the previous owner did work in the garage and got tired of running to grab the phone in the house all the time so he installed another socket. This is why ADSL in older homes is unwise because you never really know what is connected to the phone line. In this day and age, unless you have no choice, go cable because it's a new connection. Newer homes are being future proofed but i still prefer to run my internet connection separately to my land line. Good advice Bob. Cheers Andy :)
(That's why cordless phones are such a good idea. They only appear as one phone to the network yet you can have multiple extensions. We have a cheap set of four phones which cost an unbelievable $50 at Hardly Normal. Apart from the batteries going every couple of years they've been great. And only one ADSL filter is needed. -PZ) |