ADSL troubles

[killerkebab]

I've just moved house and after a week or two of downtime, I am back on the Internet. Hurrah for me. The new ISP is Be Online with their ADSL2+ unlimited package.

To cut a long story short, the speeds I am getting are nothing great. According to their supplied BeBox modem, my reported speed is of 1918/1148 (down/up, in kbps). Whilst it is an impressive upload speed, the download isn't quite what I was expecting. I was hoping to get at least 6Mb, which is what their customer services guy on the phone said I "should" be getting before I ordered the package.

I don't know if it is worth complaining about it since they activated my line a full three hours ago, and since they didn't actually promise any speed anyway, but I just wondered if there is anything I could or should do.

[Burble]

Does their BeBox modem thingy give you any line statistics? Attenuation and SNR in particular will be useful.

[killerkebab]

I put a microfilter on the telephone downstairs which helped speeds a little. Now all the phones in the house are filtered:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/KillerKebab/dmtm20070227_1606.png

[Daz]

That upstream is impressive. And the downstream now is common to what I've been seeing on DSL lines any reasonable distance from an exchange. Highest I saw was 7MB, but that site was practically next door to the kit.

Is the router straight into the 'master' phone socket (ie, not off any extensions around the house)?

[killerkebab]

Is the router straight into the 'master' phone socket (ie, not off any extensions around the house)?I've just moved in, so I don't know which is the master socket. The router is in my first floor bedroom. Another socket is located downstairs. The thing is, I'm going to need a huge stonking cable to reach me from down there. I'll try it and get back to you guys if I can find a LAN cable long enough...

[Burble]

I've got several kilometers of cat5e at work if you need a long cable making up KK.

You'd normally expect the master socket to be downstairs but that can vary depending on when lines were installed and for what purpose. 1 of my lines has the master socket in the lounge but the other 2 are in the office upstairs as they are work lines.

[Daz]

Ditto on the cable requirements, got a box in the garage :) And wireless is your friend.

[killerkebab]

Right. I found a cable that was only just long enough. My speed didn't change one single iota from ~3800kbps. I changed microfilter on the line to a filter I got with my netgear router a while back though and that upped my values to ~4100, with ~1250 for upspeed.

I'm thinking of trying my netgear router maybe, since there doesn't seem to be any difference between those two sockets. Unless neither of them were master sockets...

Edit: Three sockets tested in the house, none of them any different for speeds. A difference of 50kbps at most here.

[Feek]

That's a very nice graph, what made that?

[Mark]

That upstream is impressive. And the downstream now is common to what I've been seeing on DSL lines any reasonable distance from an exchange. Highest I saw was 7MB, but that site was practically next door to the kit.
I get 7MB, and I'm 1.2 miles from the exchange (as the crow flies, so cable likely to be longer). I am on ADSL though, and ADSL2+ has a bigger fall-off in performance as the line gets longer.

Looking at those numbers, ADSL doesn't tend to like SNR below 6, and you're pretty close to that. I'm not sure if ADSL2+ is any better in that respect, but I doubt it. So, your only option is to try and improve line conditions. Obviously, you have no control over what's outside your property, but you do over what's inside.

First thing you need to do is get acquainted with the phone layout at your place, so you know which sockets need filtering, whether you've already got some filtering installed by a previous occupant, etc. This means finding the master socket and working out what's connected to it and how.

If the master socket doesn't have an NTE5, XTE2005, or equivalent installed (which is the most likely option - Google if you're not sure what one looks like), then you need to put quality filters on all sockets that have things connected (don't forget the Sky box if you have one). Cheap filters really should be avoided, particularly if you want consistant speeds. ADSL Nation make what are widely considered the best, at a price. If you do have an NTE5, then you already have filtering, then you'll need to work with that.

[killerkebab]

How can I find out which socket is the master one, and then what is installed onto it?

[Mark]

Have a look at all the sockets. Look for the one with the most wires coming out, and if they're different sizes, look for the biggest. Not a guarantee, but it usually works.

[killerkebab]

I can't find the master socket (if I haven't unwittingly found it already), but I installed a piece of software called 'DMT' (which is what is making these graphs, Mr Feek :)) and turned my noise margin down a fraction for an improved speed. I dare not turn the margin all the way down for I heard my line could die, but I wondered if this is a good idea or not regardless:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v59/KillerKebab/dmtm20070227_1821.png

[Nutcase]

I believe master sockets tend to have a two piece plastic front to them (all the ones I've seen have), but then it just takes one to disprove that :D

[Mark]

Yes, usually that is true. BT have been known to install master-style sockets as non-master, but that's not the norm.

[Desmo]

Not sure if it's any help, but these are my figures...

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 8128 kbps 448 kbps
Line Attenuation 17 db 5 db
Noise Margin 12 db 22 db

[killerkebab]

Thanks Des, although having seen your figures I am convinced you should get an ADSL2+ package as soon as they're available in your area - if I am reading those figures correctly, you should be able to reach ludicrous speeds :D

[Nutcase]

Do my figures look good too? :embarassed: :D

ADSL Link Downstream Upstream
Connection Speed 8128 kbps 448 kbps
Line Attenuation 31 db 9 db
Noise Margin 11 db 20 db

Cos my code box don't :D

[Desmo]

Does now ;)

:D

[killerkebab]

Well I've messed around with my SNRM and I can get speeds ranging from 3000-4800 downstream depending on what I set it as. I have noticed I do get a few disconnects if I muck about too much so I've left it at 4000 (which is ~6dB SNRM). If it doesn't improve much in the next couple weeks I might give Be a call to ask them to test my line externally to see what I should be expecting. If they say I should be getting more then maybe I need to get someone with some know-how to take a closer look at my phone sockets at home.