New house. Good attenuation. *** snr

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crudler

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Hi,

I just moved to a new house, and I am trying to get the most out of my adsl line. but I am a bit dissapointed with the results. I have a 4mb line, I am syncing at 2976, speed test gives me 2mb. not great.

So I have a few questions (I have read this forum about attentuations / snr etc etc and the "Neat Tricks" thread).
Apologies if my tech understanding is a bit poor on this.

So Essentially I am getting a decent attenuation value (32db) This tells me (as i understand it) that I am about 2.3km from the exchange, and in theory I could get 7.7mb. The forum puts 32db in the "Very Good" range

But my noise margin is 9.3db, which the forum rates as "Fair". So I assume this is why I am synching at 2.9 instead of 4, any higher and I hit the below 6db mark and kaput - no internet.

So the way I see this, at least their is room for improvement. Attenuation one could do nothing about, but snr is in theory something I can try tackle.

So options I have are
1. buy a better modem, I am on a cheapy netgear router.
2. Log a fault with telkom

Is it worth trying to log a telkom fault? This is an old house so the wiring looks a bit sketchy. I noticed that the adsl filter (which I connected my phone too) looks old and the case has come off of it. I thought to replace the filter but it is connected to the line which goes straight into the ceiling - so I cant just unplug it. Can a filter "wear out" and if yes, can I just add another filter onto it?

Many thanks!!!
 
You should be able to unplug the filter. They do break, and I wouldn't leave a broken filter in as that will cause more problems (not synching/connecting). Try and unplug the filter and all phones and test again.

People have also reported better success logging a fault for noise on the phone line than ADSL line faults. Can you hear any noise or static on the phone (if you have one)?
 
Not that I have noticed, but I dont really use the phone. ill try again tonight and listen more carefully.
The filter's case is completly cracked open and the circuitry is exposed - so it is possibly causing problems. with the circuitry being exposed i can see that the wires come straight into it from the cable in the wall and into the ceiling, no visible plugs anywhere. In theory could cut the wire, and re twist the copper wires into a new cable with a plug but I think ill just be inviting more noise into my problem if i do that
Thanks
 
The existing wiring sounds very dubious and could well be the cause of your low SNR.

Maybe you did an ADSL self install? In any event I suggest you log a fault and get Telkom out to check and replace wiring/jacks to bring it up to standard.
 
Are you sure that's the filter and not just a connection box? Cannot think why it would be a fixed installation, filters don't last forever (mine lasted a week).
 
I got a attenuation for 39dB and SNR of 3.8dB and syncing stable @ 14Mbps so yeah your line is faulty.....
 
Does anyone by any chance know what it costs for Telkom to come out and update/redo the wiring.
 
furpile said:
Are you sure that's the filter and not just a connection box? Cannot think why it would be a fixed installation, filters don't last forever (mine lasted a week).
Click to expand...

you are correct. There is just a mish mash of cables. i tidied it up. replaced the filter. And I am getting better stats.

Synching at 3.4mb, but now my snr is 6.3 so it is probably one good crackle away from dropping again.

Unfortunately eskom put a stop to my testing, so ill try again later
 
crudler said:
you are correct. There is just a mish mash of cables. i tidied it up. replaced the filter. And I am getting better stats.

Synching at 3.4mb, but now my snr is 6.3 so it is probably one good crackle away from dropping again.

Unfortunately eskom put a stop to my testing, so ill try again later
Click to expand...

Might be worth your while to rip it all out and run new wiring from where the cable that enters your house up to a new wall socket.
 
Just an update to this - essentially @ponder was right on the money. I eventually got a telkom guy to come out (a very knowledgeable guy btw).
And he tested my line at different point between the exchange, on my street, at the pole, at the entry point to my house, and at the phone jack. he localised the fault to some bad wiring on a specific wall. pulled it out, rewired, and I am now syncing at a fill 4mb.

Happy days!
 
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