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[tonyappuk]

My first post to this forum.
Does anyone here have any experience with this router? Is it the same or does it use the same chipset as the Voyager 2100? I have had very few problems with this router since it was supplied by my ISP in 2005 and recently it has been delivering a solid fixed 2 Meg download for at least a year.
Now I am on Maxdsl and after a recent electrical storm and power outage my initial 5 Meg profile keeps being reset to 500k. I want to try the DMT Tool and I wonder if this router will work with it and if so which version I should download. I managed to make the Routerstats program work with this router so I am hopeful that I could perform any necessary configuration.

[kitz]

>> Does anyone here have any experience with this router?

Sorry not me - its not one that Ive ever had my mitts on.

>> Is it the same or does it use the same chipset as the Voyager 2100?

No the 2 are different beasts.  The Voyager 2100 is a broadcom whilst I believe the Binatone is a conexant based chipset.

Im not sure if DMT works at all with the binatone tbh as Ive not seen any mention of it previously.  If any of them will then version 2 says it works with some conexant chipsets, a lot will depend on the binatones CLI command set.

I'm quite familiar with the command set used by the routers for DMTv2,  but unfortunately Ive not been able to find a CLI manual for the binatone 2100 to check and see if the commands look familiar - if theyre not the same then it wont work :/

[tonyappuk]

Thanks for your response Kitz. Unfortunately the "Manual" supplied by PN with the router is only a guide to setting up. There is no list of commands which made the configuration of Routerstats quite a challenge. I may be forced to buy a Netgear!

[kitz]

>>> Unfortunately the "Manual" supplied by PN with the router is only a guide to setting up

Unfortunately that was about the only "manual" I could find any where, despite it being sold at several retailers.
iirc it was not a bad router and generally worked well for most people - prior to maxdsl . :/

>> I may be forced to buy a Netgear!

Be careful which model you buy then if you wish to use the DMT tool with it. 
Although we very often recommend the DG834G because of its stability and features - unfortunately DMT tool doesn't work with it because it doesnt have the relevant command in the CLI to set the target SNR.

[tonyappuk]

Thanks for the warning about model numbers.
Normally to reboot the Binatone I power off but I assume the target SNR is stored. Is it possible that the separate reset button would reset the target SNR?

[roseway]

The target noise margin is set at the exchange. You can't reset it yourself, but with some routers you can override it to a degree using the router's command line interface, or a tool like DMT.

If you want a router which works with DMT there are quite a lot to choose from. See http://dmt.mhilfe.de/ (in German) for a full list. The Netgear DG834GT is supported by V8.x of DMT, and most Speedtouch routers are supported by V7.x.

[tickmike]

Hi and welcome.
I have not used one of these.
Have you tried putting http://192.168.1.2 in the address bar and press enter in your web browser and you should get at your stats there.
Eric. gave you the DMT site . I use Google to translate and open the pages so you can get an idea of what is said.

[tonyappuk]

Kitz
Thanks for your response. It looks like a new router!

Tickmike
My problem is a low profile with high sync speed after a local lightning strike and power outage. I suspect the target SNR being set high. I can access all my router stats quite happily and I'm using the Routerstats program to graph and record them. Unfortunately I can't make the DMT tool talk to my router. My ISP is chasing BT so I'll wait and see for a bit. Thanks for your interest

[roseway]

My problem is a low profile with high sync speed after a local lightning strike and power outage. I suspect the target SNR being set high.

I don't think so. What will probably have happened is that the storm caused your router to sync at a low speed, and your IP profile was reduced as a result. Now you're syncing at a high speed again, but it can take three days or more for your IP profile to recover.

[tonyappuk]

Roseway
I understand what you're saying but the timescale is wrong (I think). The change to Maxdsl was initiated in early June but my sync rate was stuck at 2 Meg until my ISP got its act together and on 22/6/07 I was syncing at 7.5 Meg. Unfortunately my profile was still stuck at 2 Megs until further poking of my ISP got me downloading at cver 5 Megs on 7/7/07.
Unfortunately on 9/7/07 after just two days of 5 Meg downloading, we had a major electrical storm followed by a 6 hour power outage. when the power came back the line was syncing at anything between 600k and 5 Megs and the download rate was 500k.
After getting the highest sync rate I can (around 5 Megs) and leaving the router on 24/7 the download rate is 1.5 Meg. This is from Netmeter - the BT checker is not talking to me!
Since at the moment I'm syncing at 5.3Megs and my downstream SNR margin is 13 dB and my downstream Atten is 38.8 dB I think there is a problem. My ISP has agreed to chase BT so I'll see what happens but I would be very grateful if you could offer an opinion on what is happening.
Of course it may be that us poor souls in the country with overhead phone lines and fragile power supplies may be unsuited to Maxdsl but I had a solid 2 Meg download service since 2005 and it's very disappointing.

[roseway]

It looks as though your target noise margin has been increased to 12 dB (probably) because of previous instability, but this isn't the main cause of your problem. You're syncing at 5.3 Mbps, so you should be able to download at up to about this speed.

You've probably got a stuck IP profile again, and your ISP should be able to get this unstuck for you. There are other possibilities of course, such as exchange congestion or throttling as a result of a 'fair usage' policy, but I think a stuck IP profile is the most likely explanation.

I wouldn't bother about the target noise margin at this stage. If this were reset to its default 6 dB you would get a somewhat higher sync speed, but it wouldn't change your actual download speeds until the other things mentioned above are resolved. In the meantime you could check out your internal wiring and connections to make sure that these aren't contributing to the instability. There's some good advice on this subject at http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/lowSNR.htm

[tonyappuk]

Roseway
Thank you for your comments. As a retired broadcasting and telecoms engineer I am annoyed that modern comms are not as transparent or as straightforward as electronics used to be for me. However Maxdsl is dragging me into the future although kicking and struggling. I agree entirely that the problem is a stuck profile, indeed now, syncing at 5.4 Megs my download speed is 3.5 Megs. Great while it lasts but I suspect there will be another line degradation probably due to overhead country lines and I'll drop right down again and have to wait the pesky 3 (or more) days again.
I did do a test running my router direct from the BT test socket just now (and a few times before!) and there was only a dB or so improvement in the noise so I don't think my equipment is at fault.
Unless any other kind soul has anything to say I think I have to sit and see how long I get a good  download speed and what happens after an electrical storm. I will let the forum know progress when I have any news.
Many thanks to all.

[kitz]

>> I'm syncing at 5.3Megs and my downstream SNR margin is 13 dB and my downstream Atten is 38.8 dB.

I also think it sounds like you have a target SNR of around 12db, which is keeping your speeds a bit lower than they could be. 
mr_chris on here has a 39dB line which used to be able to sync at the full 8128kb.. then after a few hiccups the DLM had also increased his target SNR and like you was syncing at around 5.5Mb and couldnt get any higher.

>> the BT checker is not talking to me!

What does your profile on the portal say
https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=stable_rate

Re the target SNR, need to make sure your profile is correct first. If youre downloading at around 3.5Mbps it sounds like its not stuck and is still moving around, youre probably just being hit by the 3-4 day thing. 

These days BTw dont seem to be as obliging either to setting the target SNR back down to the default. One of the guys at PN was playing ticket tennis with BTw for ages - in the end they agreed to reduce it to 9dB as a compromise.  He's currently using a ST router and DMT tool to get it to sync back at what it used to be.

[tonyappuk]

The portal confirms 3.5Meg
I have made a bid on ebay for a Speedtouch 546 and if I get it I will have a further play with DMT. It does seem that the Maxdsl system was not designed to take into account overhead lines and electric storms. The 3 day wait is entirely out of proportion. Any engineer worth his salt could design a system with a graceful but rapid return to the normal profile without causing congestion (or whatever the excuse is).

Thanks for your interest, Kitz.

[kitz]

>> It does seem that the Maxdsl system was not designed to take into account overhead lines and electric storms.

Nope it doesnt :/
Because of the way max works it pushes many lines to the limits so there are likely to be periods of instability even on the best of lines.  The IP profiling thing is a bain to many since many cant understand why you have to see 3-4 days of stable speeds again before its reduced.

BTw did introduce something called blip logic which is supposed to help the one off situations, but again blip logic really is a "1 off".  Im on a very good line and for over a year its always sync'd at 8128 stable.   Yet an incident with a blown fuse soon put me back down to lower speeds despite resyncing back at 8128 when the fuse had been replaced.

It is one of the reasons why some people prefer LLU, since the IP/bRAS profile is purely a BTw thing.