DSL losing connection whenever theres thunder..

[Megamuffin]

So its summer time.. and every summer my internet my internet dc's like crazy, ive always wondered why but now i think i've finally figured it out. i thought it was because of the rain that was causing it. but now during the day there was a random thunder noise and my net dropped instantly...

I've googled the problem and people are saying that happens because of interior grounding issues... but it's odd because when we moved into this house we never got this issue after the first year of staying here.

Im really lost as of what i should be doing to fix this, ive called telkom their not sending anyone over anytime soon, they actually sms'd me today saying the problem is fixed after a week... when its clearly not i got a dc 30 min's ago. Also speaking with mweb guy.. but the vibe im getting from him is "**** you its not our problem speak to telkom" so i really dont know what to do about this. its really frustrating because its starting to cause issues because its ruining appointments ive got when i need the internet but then it just so happens to be a storm...

 

[Segg]

Its definitely a noise issue, whats your attenuation, if it is high there is nothing one can really do except hope Telkom move you to a closer DSLAM, or to a MSAN, if it is lowish (below 50db and not greater than 4mbps) then there is more than likely a physical problem with the line such as interference or a faulty POTS filter e.t.c

 

[Megamuffin]

well as my equipment goes.. last week i just bought a new d-link 2750U, got a new filter with that and used it on the phones just incase the old one was faulty. so i dont think its a fault on my side.

Line attunation i have no clue what this stuff means but here :


Downstream Upstream
Line Coding(Trellis): On On
SNR Margin (dB): 135 141
Attenuation (dB): 360 192
Output Power (dBm): 0 12
Attainable Rate (Kbps): 9612 1064
Rate (Kbps): 4096 507
D (interleaver depth): 1 1
Delay (msec): 0.25 0.24


that looks much higher than 50 db so im guessing thats bad.... im no expert on this stuff so maybe just tell me what i should be asking telkom the next time i speak to them

 

[Yotch]

I find that running your ADSL with the telephone off hook (on dialling tone) usually helps to stabilise the line. In summer the rain and lightning cause my 10Mbps line to become very unstable. Luckily I'm with WebAfrica and can change my linespeed when necessary otherwise there would be times that it was completely unusable. You can also try to remove the line filter to see if that helps.

PS You need to divide those figures by ten to get the correct values. They aren't too bad. What are the CRC, FEC, HEC errors like?

 

[Segg]

Your attenuation is 36db down and 19.2 up which are actually quite good, you shouldn't really be having any issues, however your SNR margin is relatively low for the attenuation, which is an indication of noise, when you listen to the phone off the hook do you hear crackling or a "fuzz"?

 

[Rickster]

Your attenuation is 36db down and 19.2 up which are actually quite good

Actually, lower is better.

 

[Megamuffin]

Your attenuation is 36db down and 19.2 up which are actually quite good, you shouldn't really be having any issues, however your SNR margin is relatively low for the attenuation, which is an indication of noise, when you listen to the phone off the hook do you hear crackling or a "fuzz"?

yea there is a crackling noise.

 

[Megamuffin]

I find that running your ADSL with the telephone off hook (on dialling tone) usually helps to stabilise the line. In summer the rain and lightning cause my 10Mbps line to become very unstable. Luckily I'm with WebAfrica and can change my linespeed when necessary otherwise there would be times that it was completely unusable. You can also try to remove the line filter to see if that helps.

PS You need to divide those figures by ten to get the correct values. They aren't too bad. What are the CRC, FEC, HEC errors like?

Like i said im no expert at this stuff... so explain to me where to check CRC, FEC, HEC errors.. and ill get back to you on that

 

[Segg]

Actually, lower is better.

Yes you want them as low as possible, but from experience I've seen many many people with attenuation in the mid 50's and my cousins is actually at 73! The ADSL barely works

As for the cracking that's a good indication of noise, just report it to telkom, under their fault report tool, that could help if they eliminate it

 

[DominionZA]

I lose mine with heavy lightening. Worst is it often happens while playing Ghosts online - sigh.
Restart of the router sorts of out. Annoying if on a kill spree though.

 

[Megamuffin]

Ok so basicly it sounds like a noise problem... so if i want to call telkom again what should i say to them? the noise levels are high and my phones making a crackling sound?

 

[JonesY]

so if i want to call telkom again what should i say

Mention that there's an audible noise on the line and you would like to get it fixed.

They'll ask you to remove everything from your line and plug a corded handset into the first available phone socket in your home. It's recommended to check for noise on the line like this, at multiple sockets if available and if you have a spare, test with a second corded handset too.

 

[sburrell]

Check that you dont have dry joins on any extension on your line, if you do make sure that they are securely joined to the line. It may be possible that if you have a filter on the line, one of the capaciters has blown and is causing fluctuations on the line, remove all the filters and telephones to check.

High attenuation is bad / High SNR is good.

Attenuation is an indication of resistance on the line, ie poor quality copper, bad joins, dry joints, wet joints.

SNR is an indication of Signal strength, ie distance from exchange.

Make sure you send everything to Telkom when reporting to clearly explain whats the problem you are expereiencing as they go through a reporting matrix to check everything, if one thing is not clearly indicated, they will begin testing or send the fault back up the chain which delays the whole process.