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[tarka]

Hi all. I have a fixed 512k unlimited download connection with zen. My neighbour is with zen too on ADSLmax 25gb limit. He gets a stable 2mb connection. The strange thing is all avaliability checkers tell me i MIGHT receive 1mb at best and for my neighbour 2mb no problem. Both our lines come off the same telephone pole and zen cant understand the difference in the checkers. Here are some details......

4.6 km from exchange
downstream attenuation 58
downstream margin varies from 20db in daytime to 7db at night but mostly hangs around 16db

Zen say with the fluctuating downstream margin i would get a very intermitent conection that at times may be less than 512k that i have now. I have tested for some time at the master socket and there appears to be no internal faults at all. So the question is do i risk putting a cap on my monthly allowance and an having an intermitent connection or stay with the fixed 512k unlimited. The package i have now does not exist anymore so there would be no going back.

[roseway]

Hi and welcome

I think I would agree with Zen's view that you could end up worse off if you changed over to ADSL Max. However it may be possible to improve your connection and reduce the fluctuations in noise margin. I suggest that you have a read of this page and the associated pages to check out what might be possible. I would particularly recommend getting a filtered master socket faceplate or (second best) disconnecting the ring wire at the master socket.

[kitz]

The 7dB at night is what puts your line at risk of perhaps being worse off on Max.
The difference between yours and your neighbours could possibly be something local/your internal wiring.  As roseway says check what may be possible and see if things are any better connected from the master socket etc

As regard to cap on monthly allowance - check what you do each month now from the zen portal, and see how much lee-way you have.  You may not go anywhere near the limit and have plenty of spare.

The BT checker always errs on the side of caution, its very likely that your nieghbours is showing at 2Mb simply because he has a stable 2Mb connection, because yours hasnt been on max yet, obviously BT wont know what its fully capable of.


PS
This isnt gospel and no guarantee.. but your attenuation should give you 2Mb..
If you can sort that fluctuating SNRM out and stabilise it a bit better then theres a very good chance you will get higher speeds than 512kb.
What router do you use?  That can also sometimes make a difference.

[tarka]

Thanks for the info guys. I did remove the ring wire yesterday. It was strange as my SNR was 7db, then as soon as i pulled out the orange wire it shot up to 20db, the highest ive seen it. But it slowly but surely dropped off again. Its now at 9db. I have tried all the tests in the master socket and the results are exactly the same.

Another strange thing is that if i use a hammer drill in the house my connection drops the second i pull the trigger. There is also a lathe in the garage which has the same effect.
But as i said, plugging into the master socket gets me the same figures.

I have a Linksys wag200g. Zen said that the speed touch has a different chipset that helps ADSLmax deal with fluctuation in SNR. Is this a possibility?
Other than that, the only difference i can think of between me and my neighbour is the piece of line between the pole and our houses as his is fairly new. I tried BT to get that piece changed but they wont until i can report a fault which would mean going to  ADSLmax and getting a bad result.

What should i try?

[b4dger]

It's a shame Zen don't let you have a trial - and if it doesn't work out let you return to your current package. I'm sure they would if you ask nicely 

My attention is 51db on a fairly noisy rural line. I was in a similar situation last summer. My provider Freeola (EntaNet) let me change to a MAX package and would have switched me back if things went bad.

I haven't looked back since - my service/speeds have been transformed.
My SNRM before I went MAX (with ring wire removed) was 16 down, 25 up.

After going to a MAX service I did see problems at night while I was using a Netgear router - but after switching to a Speedtouch things are much improved - see link in my sig. for details.

My IP Profile is 4000kbps - I still see some noisy periods but things always hang on with no disconnections or changes in profile 

Unless you need your 'unlimited' bandwidth I would say take a chance - but be prepared to do everything to optimise your connection.

NB. Kitz member Azzaka is Zen employee - I'm sure he/she will let you try a MAX package and switch you back if it goes pear shaped...

[tarka]

Thats my biggest problem, the ability to change back if things go bad on MAX. They say the package does not exist any more so its a one way ticket, but hey, i havent begged yet! I really cant see that there is any more i can do inside my house to improve things and i dont know how else i can improve a fluctuating SNR

[tarka]

Oh, another thing, i use my pc and router up stairs off another phone socket so if i get a filtered master socket, can i still do this or do i have to run a long cable upstairs from the adsl port on the master socket?

[tarka]

Oh bugger, sorry, another important question. We had the gain turned up on our line by BT a few years ago, before adsl, is that a bad thing for adsl/ max / SNR? Should i have it turned back down?

[Drefsab]

Hi guys, Azzaka im afraid will not be around as much though he may still be online from time to time. tarka if you could PM me your adsl username I will have a look at your line and with your permission call you tomorrow to go over what we can expect to get out of your line at the best of time and the worst. Im at home right now so dont have access to run the check's I would like.

On one point of the wag200g router, this uses an AR7 chipset that has been found to have stability issues with lines where there is a significant SNR fluctuation on DSL Max, while your router may work fine on your line it is a possible problem so worth bearing in mind. Would it be possible for you to get ahold of another make/model router for testing purposes (however I would not recommend buying a new one just yet unless you already intend to do so).

[Drefsab]

In response to your other 2 questions, if you have an SSFP (filtered faceplate) installed it usually stops the DSL signal at the master socket cutting the extensions out of the broadband loop. You can get SSFP's that allow you to have the other sockets unfiltered however this does loose a lot of the improvement you gain from having an SSFP in the first place. The ideal solution in terms of getting the best possible ADSL signal is to have the router at the master socket (with an SSFP) and run a long cat5 network cable to your pc.

On the issue about having the gain turned on, this should not have any impact on the broadband service, while its possible if there is a voice fault it could be service effecting that is something I can look for when I run some line test's for you. Its certainly not anything that is considered standard diagnostics for performance issues however now you have ADSL you could always call 151 and ask them to turn the gain to be sure.

Could I also ask if you have tried the router from the master test socket (where you remove the faceplace)? Link

[tarka]

Thanks for all input Drefsab. Yes i have tried from the master socket. The figures are identical. I take it you work for Zen?

[tarka]

Lol, just noticed your avatar. You have a pm 

[kitz]

>> I take it you work for Zen?

Yes I can guarantee that he does... so its fine for you contact him re your Zen account 

[tarka]

Thanks Kitz 

[Drefsab]

Yup Kitz met me recently plus a coulpe of other Zenites was good to finally meet her

Anyway I have replied to your PM tarka with the details of my investigation of your line and my recomendations.