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[Black Sheep]

Hence ........... I will say it again, GET AN SFI ENGINEERING VISIT. 

[burakkucat]

 

[Black Sheep]

 

[Basil]

Hence ........... I will say it again, GET AN SFI ENGINEERING VISIT. 

You're undoubtedly correct, my issue right now is being able to say I'll be here. My father in law is terminally ill, in care, miles away. I am on a moments notice to drop everything and just disappear on errands and mercy visits, if not worse. Normally I would wash my hands of this and just wait in for "the man". `Tis a bit tricky at the moment......

[Black Sheep]

Is there no other trusted key-holder that could hold the fort, should you need to disappear ??

[Basil]

Is there no other trusted key-holder that could hold the fort, should you need to disappear ??

Unfortunately not. One of the joys of being in the sticks with the neighbour in her nineties and infirm. Normally I am pretty flexible and can have days at home at short notice.

[kitz]

Oh my!  Just doing a quick login and noticed the other thread. I'm afraid I'm having a hectic few weeks atm and although I haven't read it all I did look at one of those graphs, which to me would be indicative of EMI.  There's some serious spiking going on there. 

I won't comment on the electrical stuff because that isn't my forte, but rizla seems to have covered it.

I notice you are with zen...  If azaka is around, I wonder if he can add something.  We may have to poke him if he doesn't see this because I know he's seriously busy atm too.

I sympathise with your situation with your dad.  I know all too well the situation of being 'on call', although I'm more fortunate in that things are more local.  I hope everything goes ok for you... Of course family must come first.

[Black Sheep]

I'm wondering if those 'spikes' are interference that a normalised, balanced circuit would otherwise dismiss ?? I really can't make head nor tail of how the internal wiring set up is installed, but the mere mention of an outside bell strikes fear into me. 

A decent engineer would be able to confirm or deny the circuits integrity, and whether it is harmful REIN that is causing the issue ??

[Basil]

I'm wondering if those 'spikes' are interference that a normalised, balanced circuit would otherwise dismiss ?? I really can't make head nor tail of how the internal wiring set up is installed, but the mere mention of an outside bell strikes fear into me. 

A decent engineer would be able to confirm or deny the circuits integrity, and whether it is harmful REIN that is causing the issue ??

I have disconnected all three normal phone wire pairs from the master socket, and the auto dialler for the alarm panel. Only the router is now connected to the ADSL master socket box. Left overnight from about 1.00 AM to 7.00 AM this morning the noise has settled. I rang Zen and they agreed to initiate a reset of bRAS or whatever it's called. I am now enjoying a low noise level and downloads from the likes of YouTube at a normal speed (for here.... ). They were very helpful as you all have been here, but warned that if the line noise started again the exchange would automatically drop the connection speed and they would be unable to initiate another reset for ten days.

Now, I am pretty sure the issue is either something to do with the master socket, or, more likely, the wiring to phone extensions, the outside bell, or my best guess, the standalone auto dialler for the alarm panel. I can investigate the external bell wiring, which I suspect is spurred off the phone socket in the hall, as the switch for it is by the side of this single socket. I can have a look inside the single phone socket in the lounge, and I am pretty sure the socket in my office is OK. I am not sure how to assess the auto dialler though.

I can say that when I reconnect the internal phone lines at the master socket the noise immediately starts and the router connection will drop every minute or so, and I feel this must indicate the fault is here at my property?

My next question is:

What happens if after a physical examination shows nothing obvious, and the bell is disconnected, the phone lines are connected one by one? Will disrupting the router connection cause the exchange to drop the speed again? Is there a way of testing each extension wiring with it isolated from the ADSL socket, as in resistance testing, or anything. I have pretty good test gear at my disposal, but I am not into ADSL and phone line faults at all, being much more of an RF person.

Thanks to all here I feel I am much closer to resolving this now, without going to a radical solution like a satellite link.  8)

[Basil]

Oh my!  Just doing a quick login and noticed the other thread. I'm afraid I'm having a hectic few weeks atm and although I haven't read it all I did look at one of those graphs, which to me would be indicative of EMI.  There's some serious spiking going on there. 

I won't comment on the electrical stuff because that isn't my forte, but rizla seems to have covered it.

I notice you are with zen...  If azaka is around, I wonder if he can add something.  We may have to poke him if he doesn't see this because I know he's seriously busy atm too.

I sympathise with your situation with your dad.  I know all too well the situation of being 'on call', although I'm more fortunate in that things are more local.  I hope everything goes ok for you... Of course family must come first.

Thanks for the kind words of sympathy, it's a difficult time for my wife, she had to watch her grandmother succumb rather unpleasantly to cancer, so she knows what's coming. Life can be cruel.

[rbz5416]

I'm no expert in phone wiring but I'd be inclined to remake all the connections to the extensions using just the required two wires (blue/white & white/blue). All you'll need is an IDC insertion tool & multimeter. Short the pair at the extension socket & then check resistance at the master. If resistance is OK then make the new connections at the extension & reconnect to the master one at a time.

Even if that does cause the sync speed to drop a little during the testing process, the important thing is to get the line stable. You can always get Zen to reset again later on to get the speed back.

Given how cheap they are, maybe buy replacement extension sockets as well.

A thought with the alarm - is it a monitored service? Wondering if it's configured to dial out as a routine at the times you're experiencing disturbance?  And does it have a filter on it or is it hard wired straight to the master? You may well have answered this already.

And what about Sky? If you have it is the box also connected to the phone line & if so, is it filtered?

[Basil]

I'm no expert in phone wiring but I'd be inclined to remake all the connections to the extensions using just the required two wires (blue/white & white/blue). All you'll need is an IDC insertion tool & multimeter. Short the pair at the extension socket & then check resistance at the master. If resistance is OK then make the new connections at the extension & reconnect to the master one at a time.

Even if that does cause the sync speed to drop a little during the testing process, the important thing is to get the line stable. You can always get Zen to reset again later on to get the speed back.

Given how cheap they are, maybe buy replacement extension sockets as well.

A thought with the alarm - is it a monitored service? Wondering if it's configured to dial out as a routine at the times you're experiencing disturbance?  And does it have a filter on it or is it hard wired straight to the master? You may well have answered this already.

And what about Sky? If you have it is the box also connected to the phone line & if so, is it filtered?

I may well just renew the boxes. To be honest the one in the lounge is pretty redundant. In fact, if it were not for internet access, I could live without a fixed landline altogether, and would. No Sky, and the alarm is not monitored, it just rings our mobiles, so we can sit and worry miles away and impotent

The dialler is separate to the alarm panel, I fitted it 12 years ago, it's hard wired to the master socket as if it were an extension, and the alarm end is hard wired straight into the dialler. Unless it has an internal filter, it doesn't have one. Zen checked their logs and reckoned line noise started about April this year, which seems right, from memory of slow downs and occasional drop outs. I recall nothing physical being done or added to the phone set up.

No Sky, so it can't be that, thanks for the ideas!

[Black Sheep]

Unfiltered alarm dialler and O/S bell = very poor DSL connection. You really need a SSFP to feed these beggars with. 

[Basil]

Hmmm, off to Google SSFP.... The outside bell will be history soon. For now I have work to do, spent too long fiddling with this yesterday. Connection is now solid and fast. I need to find the alarm panel folder to recall the master password, so I don't set the damned thing off when I open the dialler box! Thanks Black Sheep.

Ohh! Quick question, you'll see lots of remote phones. Is there a particular make and model that is simple, basic and reliable? I would rather have a base station with a couple of remote stations with hand portable phones, and the one "normal" phone in my office upstairs. We did have a 3 remote station BT one years ago at another house, and it was very unreliable and battery hungry. Good range would be handy, I am often outside and that can mean well away from the house itself. Cheers.

[rbz5416]

Panasonic DECT phones are generally well regarded but I've never owned any.

Not all BT phones are created equal. The better ones (Diverse) were made by Siemens & decent units but not sure what's what now. Most recent reviews for BT branded stuff seem to be pretty poor.

Siemens rebranded their phone business as Gigaset. I'd expect them to still be quality.