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aDSL improving the connection / regular drops

Hi all
so having a bit or a mare with my line...
its always dropped a few times a day (was a brand new line from home to exchange in 2013 as we built a new house)... with BT it dropped maybe 3 times a day, with plusnet once a day, now with Origin about once every 2 hours... i think the Asus router is a bit aggressive with its adjustments...

anyway; here is what i see in the logs:
date/time - syslog: No response to 10 echo-requests
date/time - syslog: Serial Link appears to be disconnected
date/time - syslog: Connection time xxx minutes //(usually 50-250)
date/time - syslog: Sent xxxxx bytes, recieved xxxxx bytes.
date/time - syslog: LCP down.
date/time - kernel: Link State: PVC_0 logistic interface down.
date/time - WAN_Connection: Fail to connect with some issues.
date/time - stop_nat_rules: apply the redirect_rules! //assume this is for wan failover/redundancy - router has 2 wan ports
date/time - syslog: Connection terminated.
date/time - kernel: mt7510_config
date/time - syslog: modem hangup
date/time - syslog: LCP down.
date/time - kernel: tc3162_atm_close done
date/time - syslog: LCP is allowed to come up.
date/time - syslog: qos.txtp.pcr = qos.rxtp.pcr = 0
date/time - kernel: mt7510_atm_open
date/time - kernel: vpi: 0
date/time - kernel: vci: 38
date/time - kernel: mt7510_atm_open vc 0;
date/time - kernel: ATM over ADSL mode init
date/time - kernel: dslUpRate: 1057
date/time - kernel: enter pppoatm_init_hook function
date/time - kernel: mt7510_init_PPPOA
date/time - kernel: Init VC 0 MPOA Funtion
date/time - kernel: MPOA Mode: MODE_ROUTER
date/time - kernel: encapType: CON_PPPOA
date/time - kernel: MuxType: MUX_VC
etc...

at which point it reconnects.

the drop is about 15 seconds, and happening every 1-3 hours on average.

Line SNR Margin shows 10db when connected at 6688kbps/448kbps down/up respectively.
Line Attenuation is about 44db.

SNR ratio is about 23db down/19db up

so 6.6mbps with 44db sounds about right based on my understanding of distance and the fact we are about 3km from exchange.

anyone got any ideas what i can try?

Master socket is the only socket in the house, everything internal is cat 6. have tried test socket, no change in performance.

Router is Asus DSL-N16, maybe its being too agressive?

thanks!
Oz.
 
Buy a cheap TPLink router to try, in case it is a problem with the Asus.

Visually follow the phone line from your house, and look to see what buildings it gets close to; the drops might be related to radio interference from some machinery.

Also check your own/neighbours house for anything that might be powering up every 2 hours or so.


My experiences.

Neighbour had an antique microwave that would cause all sorts of RF issues when running.

Factory across the road had a compressor that caused wide band RF noise whenever it was running
 
Thank you. It’s not a regular interval for the drops, last night I saw drops at everything from 8 minutes to 252 minutes...

We are in the middle of nowhere, nearest neighbour is about 0.2km away.
There are some 12,000v overhead power lines, but that crosses the phone line pole at almost exactly 90 degrees, so shouldn’t be interfering.

We also get regular power cuts (6-10 a year)... but that’s a different story.

Joys of living in the countryside!
 
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I assume you've fitted the little splitter/microfilter adapters to every phone socket in your house? Also do you know what kind of Mastersocket you have, is it one of the old style NTE5's or something more modern with an Openreach logo? Fitting a filtered faceplate may help, although you do say that plugging into the test socket behind didn't produce any improvement so general line interference may not be the issue here.

It is NOT normal for a line to be dropping so often unless there's a fault somewhere. In fact a line shouldn't drop like that at all, except for rare network faults or sometimes during electrical storms.

Many years ago I had a similar performing line to yours and my stats back then were as follows, but it was rock solid (Q: Is your SNR margin 10db for both download and upload?)

Down Up
SNR (dB): 9.3 22.0
Attn(dB): 45.0 23.0
Pwr(dBm): 19.8 12.1
Max(Kbps): 7328 1128
Rate (Kbps): 6784 448

I'd definitely try another router and make sure to test via a wired and not wifi link (I'd also try a different microfilter as they can break and unplug any other extensions or cables to isolate your tests from other influences), but if you still see the drops on other routers then I think it's well past time for you to raise a fault with your ISP.

There could be an issue with noise spikes or a high resistance fault, which might need Openreach to investigate.
 
Thanks Mark.

Only 1 socket in the house; brand new openreach unit as line was only put in in 2013. Using BT branded microfilter & approx 30cm rj11 cable which has been changed (as has the microfilter).

As I mentioned has done similar with BT home hub 3, and plusnet’s routers, but less frequently...

So tried 3 routers so far.
 
A mastersocket that new probably already has a filtered faceplate, so by the sounds of it you should raise this as a fault with your ISP.

Out of interest, have you done a quiet line test or do you hear cracking on the line when you pick-up the phone (assuming it's not a DECT phone)? Usually you dial 17070 and I think select Option 2 for this, but it doesn't work on all operators and I suppose that if your problem is intermittent then it may not help (if there's a constant issue then you'd hear something like cracking, a buzz or similar). But always worth a try.
 
A mastersocket that new probably already has a filtered faceplate, so by the sounds of it you should raise this as a fault with your ISP.

Out of interest, have you done a quiet line test or do you hear cracking on the line when you pick-up the phone (assuming it's not a DECT phone)? Usually you dial 17070 and I think select Option 2 for this, but it doesn't work on all operators and I suppose that if your problem is intermittent then it may not help (if there's a constant issue then you'd hear something like cracking, a buzz or similar). But always worth a try.

no obvious noise on the line on the phone... the faceplate actually isnt a filtered one at the moment, although i do have a filtered one, just been swapping bits about and testing.
see some peaks/troughs on the monitoring but nothing obvious...


Details from Router:
TCM : ON (up/down)
SNR Margin: 10.0db down / 21.0db up
Line Attenuation : 44.0db down / 19.0db up
Data rate : 7712kbps down / 448kbps up
Power : 20.0dbm down / 12dbm up

i have raised as a fault with ISP but engineer isnt due until 29th Jan. also getting a 2nd line installed as i plan to get a decent load balancing router and run 2 lines in parallel so a single download doesnt wipe out the whole connection for everything in the house!
 
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Squirrels and pigeons also spring to mind; I too lived in a remote cottage one; and if there has been any chance of tree branch strikes on the line; there is the possibility of micro fractures.
Are there more drop outs when it is windy, or a large/fast vehicle passing under or near the line??

Also had a case, many, many years ago, where rain was getting into the cabinet and dripping onto the terminals, shorting them out.
 
That is definitely applicable to my install.

Line runs through a woodland to get to me and 100% has branches touching it...

Could be related it guess, no idea how I would resolve it as it’s council owned.
 
Openreach can prune tree branches if they are touching / disrupting their lines.
 
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Openreach can prune tree branches if they are touching / disrupting their lines.

OR USED to prune trees, but my recent experience is that they fob you off and tell you to contact whoever owns the land.

Back in the 80's and 90's they used to come prune the trees back from my phone line (and those of several others nearby), then they stopped.

In the 2000's, in a different property they refused point blank, and I had to threaten to sue the land owners to get the tree trimmed.


Branches hitting the cable are like you bending a wire back and forth, the metal eventually snaps; but the insulation holds it together - until something makes the cable move:- the wind, draught from a passing vehicle, a large bird landing on it, or a tree rat scampering along it.
Then the signal path is momentarily broken, or severely degraded and your modem has a fit.
 
So we had Openreach engineers out, they saw loads of CRC errors on the line (over 100 in 1 minute), replaced the overhead line and we have seen much more stable connection since, however still goes over the branches of some trees, and i am still seeing drops, though less frequent... we also got a new faceplate on the master socket.

These combined have upped our speed from 6.5mbps to 13.5mbps negociated by the modem, although speedtest.net is still showing about 5mbps...

2nd line still being installed, and the guys prepped for that 2nd line so they only need to do a new socket and exchange work now, no messing with the line is needed.

still not sure what to do about these line drops and the fact the line goes over a tree branch (is literally rested on it)
 
Do you know who owns the land that the tree/branch resides on? Maybe you could get access to chop it or get them to do it.
 
They are above the main road which is about 40m from the front of the house. They also have TPO’s on them just to make things easy too!!!

One of the trees without TPO is on my property but again overhanging the road. But the main issue is one with a TPO and over the road.
 
We have a large Oak that is also under a TPO and often you can still apply via the council to get them pruned. I'd say a modest prune for branches that are causing you disruption would be acceptable.
 
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