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Line booster

I am sure that I am not alone in having my computer upstairs in the bedroom whilst the main BT socket is down in the living room. Lack of space necessitates this.
I understand that this may cause my broadband signal to be weaker than it should.
Is there any device on the market that can somehow boost the signal
 
There are ways to boost the signal but you need to explain what you use for internal network, IE wireless, telephone extension or RJ45 cable?

Wireless then you will find information about increasing the range ect on these forums.
If Telephone wire have you checked the master socket to see if the bell wire is connected this can cause noise on the line.
RJ45 is the way if not using wireless since it can mean router is connected at master with cable running to pc.
 
The problem with having your ADSL modem/router connected to a telephone extension is that the telephone extension (particularily its ring wire) tends to act like a giant aerial and pick up interference from electrical appliances and radio signals and often the wrong sort of wire is used in DIY phone extensions (it should be twisted pair) and even by builders and electricians which makes things worse.

You can often significantly improve things at no cost just by disconnecting your telephone extension's ring wire at the master socket http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk/WPP/Wiring/UK_telephone/uk_telephone.html



For the very best result have your adsl router next to your master socket, and run ethernet cable or use homeplugs (ethernet over mains) or wireless to connect it to your PC(s), and filter any telephone extensions you need to keep at the master socket. (if you have a modern master socket, then you can buy a filtered faceplate adaptor that replaces the lower panel for this purpose from various sources - http://www.adslnation.com/products/xte2005.php ).
 
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..or if the box is a BT NTE5 then just fit an iPlate for about £10.

If however you're really new to this then you need a Wireless Router and of course a Wireless Adaptor to recieve the signal upstairs. If you already have a router, be it wireless or not, then another technology that might be worth trying is Powerline. These ethernet adaptors use the power cables in your home to disribute the network, most are very plug and play friendly too.
 
Kits:
I have a wire from my BT master socket all way up to the modem upstairs and not an extension.
Mark:
I am pretty sure that I have an NTE5 fitted as my master socket and I recently fitted a new filter. There is quite a bit of crackling on my BT line. A linecheck by BT produced no results, but I am quite confident that this could be the snag.

The problem is that I am currently suffering from my broadband (Tiscali -Yes, I know) dropping off all the time, if appearing at all. The 'wonderful' people at 'customer support' reckon it could be due to the distance between the master socket and my modem, yet it has been working perfectly (for Tiscali) well for the last six years.

I have already forked out for a new modem to no avail and it is getting to the 'pulling out of hair 'stage. :crap:

And Yes, I will be migrating away from Tiscali to Fast.co.uk ASAP
 
Certainly you shouldn't have any crackling on the line unless there's a problem. Do you also hear this when you plug a phone directly into the socket? If so then it may be that one of your lines extension boxes does not have a microfilter (splitter) fitted; you have to put one on each box the line goes into, not just the one you use for broadband.
 
Mark:
The crackling is there with just a phone plugged into the test socket and nothing else connected.
I do not have any extension boxes.
 
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Have you tried a new extension incase one of the wires has been damaged if it is just telephone wire extension it is easy to damage.
Have you also tried the just a phone in the master to see if the crackling is from outside the home?
Did you try the quiet line test? number 13 link below
http://www.ispreview.co.uk/articles/adsltips/03.shtml
 
Kits:
No
Yes, and there is still crackling on the line. And I used another phone beside my usual one.
No. That looks scary. When, or if I can get online at home (presently at work) I shall attempt this.
 
The crackling is there with just a phone plugged into the test socket and nothing else connected.
I do not have any extension boxes.

Sounds like a problem with your BT line. I had similar problems a few years ago on dialup. After a few visits from BT, their 'engineers' telling me that it was my equipment that was faulty, a big argument with BT over their charging me for a fault which they hadn't cured, eventually they sent somebody who knew what he was doing. He plugged a phone into the test socket & heard noise on the line. He said: 'I'll just be a few minutes -I need to go to the box at the end of the street - don't try to use the phone until I go back, as it may go dead'. A few minutes later he came back & said that the noise was audible there, so he'd connected our line to a different exchange line, but he'd need to connect it at the exchange before the line was usable, which would take about a quarter of an hour. Ten minutes or so he rang from the exchange to tell us that the job was done & to confirm that we now had a noisefree line, which we had.

The moral of this story? To get good service out of BT you've got to persevere!
 
Sounds like a problem with your BT line. I had similar problems a few years ago on dialup. After a few visits from BT, their 'engineers' telling me that it was my equipment that was faulty, a big argument with BT over their charging me for a fault which they hadn't cured, eventually they sent somebody who knew what he was doing. He plugged a phone into the test socket & heard noise on the line. He said: 'I'll just be a few minutes -I need to go to the box at the end of the street - don't try to use the phone until I go back, as it may go dead'. A few minutes later he came back & said that the noise was audible there, so he'd connected our line to a different exchange line, but he'd need to connect it at the exchange before the line was usable, which would take about a quarter of an hour. Ten minutes or so he rang from the exchange to tell us that the job was done & to confirm that we now had a noisefree line, which we had.

The moral of this story? To get good service out of BT you've got to persevere!

You've hit the nail on the head Dave. After plugging in a phone in their test socket and still receiving noise, I promptly informed BT yesterday, whereupon an engineer was dispatched today and fixed my problem.

The line from my house to the junction box had deteriorated significantly to render the line pretty useless. He put in a new line and box and I'm back on line.

Many thanks for everyone's advice concerning this matter.

Cheers:D
 
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