60db SNR... 450db attenuation!!!

[The_Assimilator]

Yes, that's right. Four hundred and fifty freaking decibels of attenuation. WTF. I guess this explains why I can only sync at max 3Mbps (and get line drops all the time) despite being able to get 10Mbps when I originally got the line installed half a decade ago.

My setup is pretty simple: Telkom line running from a pole behind my house into my brother's room (~10m), then an RJ10 cable running from his room, through the ceiling, to the actual DSL-2750U router (another ~10m). I've had Telkom technicians out a number of times but they always say the line is fine.

I'm thinking of requesting that Telkom send out a tech to thoroughly investigate the line from end to end and replace things if necessary, but considering that the 3 faults I've reported in the last month have vanished into the ether, I'm not holding out much hope. I'm pretty sure there is something screwy up with the wiring on their end, because when it rains my connection gets even worse than usual.

And I have considered VDSL, except the coverage area stops literally 1 road away from my house. Seriously, I couldn't make this s**t up if I tried.

Any suggestions or comments? Is there anything I'm doing wrong that could be causing these woes, or is the ball firmly in Telkom's court? And if so, how do I get them to send out a competent tech who will do an end-to-end test and fix what needs fixing? I'm literally at my wits' end here...

 

[Mr.Jax]

Its a common problem with D-LINK ADSL modems/routers, just divide by 10.

So, you're actually seeing 6dB SNR and 45dB attenuation.

What were your stats when the line managed to SYNC at 10Mbps ?
When did this change ?
Any noise on the phone ?
ADSL SPLITTERS/FILTERS replaced yet ?
Checked all connections inside your house ?
More than one phone hooked up to the line ?

 

[yebocan]

Send Telkom_ZA a pm. Had an issue some while back, basically...my solid connection went all crap. Logged a call with Telkom, they sent someone out, and he could not find anything wrong, put it down to ageing copper/fatigue. Made contact with Telkom_ZA, explained the issue, another tech was booked. Guy came, did line test with his laptop...from my end and from the corner box. Concluded, issue is between corner box and my socket. He literally checked every inch of wiring , from my socket, right through the whole building, and found the culprit...exposed connection, that was corroding away...replaced the joint and my issue was cleared up. Maybe you have an exposed piece of wiring that is merrily corroding away, and increasing the noise on your line.

 

[The_Assimilator]

Its a common problem with D-LINK ADSL modems/routers, just divide by 10.

Did not know that, thanks, any link to where this is (un)officially documented? I knew I should've gone for NetGear...

So, you're actually seeing 6dB SNR and 45dB attenuation.

That would mean that the problem is not so much the attenuation as the SNR, which makes more sense to me.

What were your stats when the line managed to SYNC at 10Mbps ?

Not sure - of course at the time when all was good, I didn't bother to save that info... more fool me.

When did this change ?

It's steadily been getting worse and worse - there hasn't been a sharp drop, more a gradual decline.

Any noise on the phone ?

Don't have a phone.

ADSL SPLITTERS/FILTERS replaced yet ?

Don't have any.

Checked all connections inside your house ?

Have replaced the 10m cable in the ceiling already, no joy. Going to try connecting my router directly to the Telkom port in my brother's room and see if that makes any difference.

More than one phone hooked up to the line ?

Nope.

Send Telkom_ZA a pm. Had an issue some while back, basically...my solid connection went all crap. Logged a call with Telkom, they sent someone out, and he could not find anything wrong, put it down to ageing copper/fatigue. Made contact with Telkom_ZA, explained the issue, another tech was booked. Guy came, did line test with his laptop...from my end and from the corner box. Concluded, issue is between corner box and my socket. He literally checked every inch of wiring , from my socket, right through the whole building, and found the culprit...exposed connection, that was corroding away...replaced the joint and my issue was cleared up. Maybe you have an exposed piece of wiring that is merrily corroding away, and increasing the noise on your line.

Thanks! I will do some more testing tonight (connect router directly to the Telkom point) and see if that helps, if not I will drop Telkom_ZA a PM.

 

[Mr.Jax]

Good advice from Yebocan.

I've found that, if you can hear any noise on the phone, that you have a better case with Telkom; it's basically proof that there's a bad connection somewhere.

Regarding the D-LINK SNR/Attenuation details, on the stats page, the proof is in the measurement's label, e.g. "SNR Margin(0.1dB)" which means multiply by 0.1, or divide by 10

 

[The_Assimilator]

So a very helpful, very knowledgeable Telkom tech came out on Saturday. We both listened to the line and it was obvious it was hella noisy, when I told him the previous techs had said it was fine he just shook his head. He went over every inch of wiring in my house and outside to the pole, which lead him to replacing the connection between the pole and the underground cable.

Result: SNR now 14 (more than doubled from 6) and attenuation 37 (down 8), my line's attainable speed is now what it was when it was first installed a decade ago, and I'm finally getting the 4Mbps I'm paying for. I just wish all Telkom techs gave as many f**ks about making things work as this guy did.

 

[Polemus]

Anyone got a linikk to Telkom_ZA's profile so i can send him/her a PM?

UPDATE...... got it