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[cashssz]

Hello all,

I have been following this site for a few weeks as I've been having noisy line/broadband speed issues.  All of you guys/girls seem very knowledgable, so I thought I would pitch in with my own problems to see if anyone can advise me further.

I have BT broadband option 3 and BT Vision installed and I'm about 1.2km from the Hitchin exchange as the crow flies.

Over the last few weeks Ive noticed intermittent crackle on the telephone line.  I did some troubleshooting and identified that the crackle only appeared on the line when the BT Home Hub (HH) was switched on and booted up.  If I switch the HH off (or just disconnect the cable from the filter) the crackle disappears almost immediately.  I tested all this via the master socket and test socket beneath, with the same results.  My broadband speeds have been fairly poor since the problem, ranging between 1 and 1.8M.  The IP profile has been changing up and down almost daily.  I have not been able to use the BT Vision on demand facility as the broadband conn has been up and down.

I have 2 extensions off the master.  One runs upstairs, but nothing is connected to it.  The other runs into another room downstairs where the PC and HH are.  I reported this to BT who agreed to send and engineer, who came today while I was at work.  My wife was in and so I managed to speak on the phone to him.  He said he had tested the line and all was fine, but that he had detected a fault with the extension that went upstairs (loop fault or similar ?)  Anyway he said he was 99% sure this was causing the problem.  He tested the other extension to the HH and that was fine.  Realising I was about to be charged with the bill anyway, I asked him to disconnect the extension cable going upstairs from the master socket which he did.  He then said he tested at the socket, whilst the HH was on, and that the line was clear from crackle.  Obviously, he then believed the problem was solved and off he went.  I came home from work at 3pm and tested the telephone and initially all seemed clear and HH stats were as below:

Uptime: 0 days, 1:53:40
Modulation: G.992.1 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 5,344
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 2.72 / 15.47
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 11.5 / 19.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 19.0 / 32.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 9.0 / 14.5
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / ALCB
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 1 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 4 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 44,210
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 246
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 64
Line Profile: Interleaved
 
Software version: 6.2.6.E  Time: 21/01/2009 15:16 

Straight after I did a BT speedtest and got the following readings:

DSL conn rate 5344Kbps
IP Profile 1750Kbps
Actual throughput 1620Kbps.

As said before, I haven't been getting a DSL conn rate of anything more than about 2700KBps and the IP profile has been switching between 1500Kbps and 2500Kbps, so I was surprised with the 5344 reading, although concerned about the diff between that and 1750.  I thought all was well and would wait a few days to see if the IP profile would steadily rise.  Anyway this evening the crackle and hiss are back and it continues as before even when tested at the test socket.

Have just taken some more stats (sorry to bore you all!!):

Stats taken 21/1/09 at 2049hrs
   
Uptime: 0 days, 0:05:36 
Modulation: G.992.1 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 5,920
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [KB/MB]: 483.00 / 1.39
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 11.5 / 19.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 18.0 / 31.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 20.0 / 11.0
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / ALCB
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 617
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 5
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 5
Line Profile: Interleaved
 
And finally, a BT speedtest again:

DSL Conn rate 5920kbps
IP profile 1750kbps
Actual throughput 1628kbps.

So to finally get to the point (many thanks for those of you still reading!), do you think the fault may be the HH?  Or is it more likely to be a line fault outside somewhere? I have read on other forums of high resistance line faults and the need to complete a Hawk test? Also mention has been made that it would be best to ask for a broadband engineer to visit and test properly (LLU SFI ??)  These terms are a bit lost on me, so apologies for being a noobie!! Oh and before I forget I have tested via 4 or 5 different filters and all at the test socket.


I will ring BT tomorrow anyway and ensure they dont charge me and try and get another engineer to visit.  Any help you guys can give will be gratefully received!!

Many thanks.
 

[kitz]

I notice that your sync speed still seems up in the high 5Mb region which is good in one way that your IP profile should soon follow - it can take anything up to 5 days.

However, that line has only been up for 5 mins - did you do a manual reboot?  Have you noticed any drops in connection?
I would also expect a 31dB line to sync higher than you currently are, but this is likely to be because it looks like you may be on a 12dB Target SNR profile due to the past problems with the line.  It may be worthwhile grabbing a copy of routerstats and letting it monitor your line to make sure all is stable.

I'm not happy that youre still hearing crackling on the line - particularly if you just  paid to get it fixed. :/

[cashssz]

Hi Kitz, thanks for looking.  I have switched the HH off whilst moving it between rooms testing. I havent noticed any drops in connection.  I've just been looking at routerstats lite but can't get the URL to work during setup with my HH. I'll keep trying! 

I haven't actually paid yet, as the engineer said he would report back to BT retail and they would decide. I'll be ringing them tomorrow am anyway.

[roseway]

I've had rather similar experiences, with intermittent crackling on the line which is only present when the router is connected. Like you I've found the same symptoms when plugged into the test socket. Like you I've tried different filters, and also different routers. My belief is that only a line fault can really account for this, although it's extremely difficult to prove. I suspect that the fault is a high resistance type, and the extra loading of the router on the line explains why the crackling is only present when the router is connected.

If you get any joy from BT I would be very interested to hear.

[cashssz]

Glad to hear I'm not alone!!  Did the crackling affect your BB connection adversely? 

This morning the line was terrible, indeed most of the day, but I've just come home from work and listened and its pretty clear!!  I've just run some stats:

22/1/09 1654hrs

Uptime: 0 days, 5:10:08
Modulation: G.992.1 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 448 / 5,760
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [KB/MB]: 734.00 / 2.01
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 11.5 / 19.5
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 18.0 / 32.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 12.0 / 12.0
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / ALCB
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 3 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 63 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 69,061
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 81
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 62
Line Profile: Interleaved

Bt Speedtester:

DSL conn 5760Kbps
IP profile 3000kbps
Actual throughput 2774kbps

(I had similar speedtest figures at 0700 this morning)

I rang BT this afternoon and rather stupidly mentioned that it was linked to the HH and they refused to deal, saying I need to speak with BT Broadband support - my mistake I know!!  I'll see what its like this evening and ring tomorrow if need be.  At least my speeds have increased since yesterday (about 1M better) - not holding my breath though!

[roseway]

>> Did the crackling affect your BB connection adversely?

Yes, it's happened two or three times, and each time it messed up my ADSL connection.

[cashssz]

Well I'm still crackle free at present...strange!  Anyway I have everything crossed - lets see what happens!

[cashssz]

Well, I did speak to soon, the crackle is back and has been for over an hour - wish I could routerstats lite to work with the HH!!

[cashssz]

Got routerstats working - used the Speedtouch 510v6. Might be useful to know for others with a HH.