Attenuation and SNR issue with Billion router

Until about 2 months ago I was using a Planet ADE-3100 ADSL router, which worked very well for me. Then my line started giving issues, and I had a Telkom techie fix it (took almost a week). During this time I kept my Planet on the line, and when the line was repaired my Planet would no longer sync. I suspect something done during the fixing destroyed the DSL hardware inside it. My mistake there.

I switched over to my backup modem (a Billion BiPAC 5200S RC). I did find it strange that my line attenuation was worse after the repair than before. I also had sporadic ADSL sync loss on the line, lasting about 3-4s. So I eventually (about 3 weeks ago) borrowed a friend's Billion BiPAC 5200S (non-RC model), and all my issues went away. So I decided to test two different lines (in the tables below, upstream is first, followed by downstream):

Line 1 (Home):
Billion 5200S
SNR Margin: 12.1 10.8 db
Line Attenuation: 44.0 27.0 db
Data Rate: 6144 635 kbps

Billion 5200S RC
SNR Margin: 16.5 16.6 db
Line Attenuation: 70.0 28.0 db
Data Rate: 6144 635 kbps

Line 2:
Billion 5200S
SNR Margin: 15.0 13.0 db
Line Attenuation: 43.0 19.0 db
Data Rate: 4096 512 kbps

Billion 5200S RC
SNR Margin: 22.5 13.0 db
Line Attenuation: 63.5 21.0 db
Data Rate: 4096 512 kbps

In both cases both the SNR Margin and the Line Attenuation is much worse on the RC than the non-RC. Obviously I can't return this, as the modem is working correctly.

Could this be a problem with the unit itself, or is this a general issue with the RC? Or perhaps the RC is reporting incorrect values?

One way to check if RC is reporting false is to call telkom and ask what their reading on SNR and attenuation is

Mineer said:

One way to check if RC is reporting false is to call telkom and ask what their reading on SNR and attenuation is

Click to expand...

I confirmed with Telkom - they get the same stats on their end as the modem reports.

MMMMM. Interesting. That could explain my high figures as well. I also have the RC.

Try making sure they're both using the same modulation settings. Another possiblity is just that the RC is a bad design/worse hardware.

UnUnOctium said:

Try making sure they're both using the same modulation settings. Another possiblity is just that the RC is a bad design/worse hardware.

Click to expand...

Both are running in bridged mode, and a quick comparison of the web interface show both are configured the same way. On the first line, both sync as ADSL2+, and on the second one as G.DMT. Obviously the second line has not yet been upgraded.

I'll have to look around for a replacement then, it seems. Anyone have any experience with a Planet ADE-3400A? My 3100 treated me very well for a few years.

Not all routers were created equal, that and the RC could be on its way out since your attenuation with it is unusable on both lines. Always better to go with the tried and tested routers.

I'm using a Netgear DG384, upgraded from my original Marconi crappy router that Telkom used to hand out a while back. My attenuation and margins improved drastically.

Had similar experiences with Billion, couldn't hang on to a connection, especially not on a bad line. Moved over to D-Link 2500u, day and night difference. On the Billion the connection could never reach full speed, had sporadic DL speeds (and dropped the line), then I switch over to the D-Link and suddenly the line is perfect, full dl speed, switch back, sporadic dl speeds and dropping (tested a few times but each time the tests where within the same hour).

I'll never buy Billion again, especially because the routers boot time is ridiculous, I refuse to accept that a router can take up to a minute and a half just to boot (not even synch'd after all that time).

I don't trust Billion routers all that much. Having had problems with my line in the past I found that the router would try and sync at whatever the exchange was set to regardless of the quality of the line resulting in it dropping every few minutes on a bad day. The Netgear I've got now will actually sync at a slower speed if the line quality is up to poop, giving me a slower but infinitely more stable connectiion.