Kitz Forum

Broadband Related => Telephony Wiring + Equipment => Topic started by: displaced on August 28, 2017, 07:47:28 PM

Title: Clicking and Echo-y Line
Post by: displaced on August 28, 2017, 07:47:28 PM
Hi,

I posted a little while back about an occasional, regular clicking on my line.  This went away for a while but now is back.  I did eventually get a corded phone to test with and it too had the noise.

This has now been joined by another symptom.  Every now and then the caller will sound 'distant', whilst my own voice will be echoed back to me a fraction of a second after speaking.  This makes it very hard indeed to hold a conversation!

Neither problem is present all the time.  The clicks are probably there 1-in-10 calls, the echoing probably 1-in-20.  If the clicking or echoing is present, hanging up and redialling does not get rid of the problem.  However, the problems disappear within 10-20 mins.

Any ideas what kind of a fault either of these could be?  Neither seem to affect my VDSL service from what I can see on MDWS.

Thanks!
Chris
Title: Re: Clicking and Echo-y Line
Post by: burakkucat on August 28, 2017, 10:34:40 PM
Are you located in a rural area? If yes, are there any electric fences anywhere in your immediate vicinity? If yes, that may be the source of the clicks.

As for the echo effect, I suspect that there is a problem on the telephony line card.

Would you be able to make a recording when the problem(s) next appear? You would then have some evidence to play back to an Openreach technician, tasked to clear the fault.
Title: Re: Clicking and Echo-y Line
Post by: displaced on August 28, 2017, 11:27:44 PM
Thanks, burakkucat -- I'll definitely get a recording next time it happens, although the echo-effect might be tough to capture!

We're in a pretty urban location -- nearest farmland is about 1.5 miles away and it's all crops, no livestock that needs shoo'ing away from roads.

My wife says that the clicking's happened recently, but the echoing hasn't happened for a bit.  Would there be some incredibly cool-looking monitoring system that would alert OR to a fault with the line card and perhaps they've already replaced it?

Cheers!
Title: Re: Clicking and Echo-y Line
Post by: burakkucat on August 28, 2017, 11:41:01 PM
We're in a pretty urban location -- nearest farmland is about 1.5 miles away and it's all crops, no livestock that needs shoo'ing away from roads.

I think, therefore, we can rule that out.

Quote
<snip> . . . the echoing hasn't happened for a bit.  Would there be some incredibly cool-looking monitoring system that would alert OR to a fault with the line card and perhaps they've already replaced it?

There might be. Perhaps Black Sheep would be able to enlighten us on that subject?  :-\
Title: Re: Clicking and Echo-y Line
Post by: Iam_TJ on August 29, 2017, 09:15:51 AM
I posted a little while back about an occasional, regular clicking on my line.  This went away for a while but now is back.  I did eventually get a corded phone to test with and it too had the noise.
How regular? E.g. 24 hours a day at 30 second intervals? If you can be specific about the duration and period it may be possible to correlate that to some electricial equipment in your home or others nearby, or some local industrial/workshop facility.
Quote
This has now been joined by another symptom.  Every now and then the caller will sound 'distant', whilst my own voice will be echoed back to me a fraction of a second after speaking.  This makes it very hard indeed to hold a conversation!
This suggests an intermittent "line fault" caused by signal reflection and should be enough reason to open a fault report with your communications provider especially if, as has been said, you can capture a recording of it. It would also be very very useful for engineers if you keep a diary and record times and dates you notice it.
Title: Re: Clicking and Echo-y Line
Post by: 4candles on August 29, 2017, 04:11:27 PM
Would there be some incredibly cool-looking monitoring system that would alert OR to a fault with the line card and perhaps they've already replaced it?

Cheers!


More likely I suspect a dodgy digital path in the switching system which you picked up about one time in twenty - at least that was my first thought.


BUT, the OP states that re-dialling didn't clear the problem, which 9 times in 10 I would have thought it would.


So maybe it was the line card. Would be interested to see what Mr Sheep thinks. Are line cards individual to the customer these days?
Title: Re: Clicking and Echo-y Line
Post by: Black Sheep on August 29, 2017, 06:07:20 PM
Ha ha ..... I was waiting to see what your reply would be, Mr Candles.  :) :)

My initial thoughts too, are that it is a port/line card fault ........ taking everything into consideration about what has been said ??.

You may (or may not ??), remember from your halcyon days in the Exchange, that port/card issues are the remit of the OMC (Operation Maintenance Centre), not we front-line engineers.
Don't get me wrong, if we find a faulty port 'on the day', then we will contact the OMC and have them allocate a new port, to which we will just re-jumper on the MDF .............. but regarding a 'monitoring system' I haven't got the foggiest idea, as it has never, ever been something 'outside engineers' have been privy to ??

A simple RAT (Remote Access Test) on BT classic circuits will generally pick up faulty exchange equipment ..... however, we don't know if the OP is LLU at this point ?? If they are, then it introduces another possibility into the fray ...... TAMS equipment (Test Access Matrix System), if the fault IS proved to be in the Exchange, it really is a 50-50 on whether it is the LLU's port or the TAMS equipment ??.  :)   
Title: Re: Clicking and Echo-y Line
Post by: displaced on August 29, 2017, 06:30:33 PM
Hehe, I'm a sad git who could listen to this chat all day, despite having no idea!

Anyway, the clicking is a quick ~100msec noise, repeated slightly faster than once per second.  About 800ms if I had to put a number on it.

These happen about 1-in-10 calls, any time of day.  I haven't been able to trigger it by repeatedly picking/hanging up either.

I should also note that both faults are audible at the dialling tone, before a call is placed, as well as during a call.

I'll try to keep a log of when either fault occurs and a recording if possible. 

And I am on a LLU line (Vodafone).  The clicking pre-dates our move from BT, but the echoing is new.

...and there was I, in my comfortable yet naive hope that I would never have to call Vodafone again...