ADSL and Fax Machine Problem

Hi

A friend of mine having just returned from 2 weeks holiday now finds that
her fax machine won't pick up or send faxes successfully, and she is also
having difficulty connecting to the Internet.

The fax machine shares the BT line with her BT Yahoo ADSL connection. There
are NO voice calls made on this line. It is solely for her fax machine and
broadband connection.

I had a quick look yesterday. I swapped her filter with the spare that came
originally and everything started to work again.

However, this morning all is not well again.

I'm beginning to wonder if this is a line 'noise' problem. What would be
the best way to verify this? Should she report it to BT as a fault?

The ADSL connection is handled by a 3COM ADSL Wireless Router. Would there
be any info in the Router that would help to point out the source of the
problem?

There is info on the router status page such as 'Operation Data' and
'Defect Indication' but I am afraid I don't really understand what's what
with that!

--
Regards
Barry

"BJH" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:mf523pb72nsb$.1x2xmzvz6c386$.(E-Mail Removed).. .
> Hi
>
> A friend of mine having just returned from 2 weeks holiday now
finds that
> her fax machine won't pick up or send faxes successfully, and she
is also
> having difficulty connecting to the Internet.
>
> The fax machine shares the BT line with her BT Yahoo ADSL
connection. There
> are NO voice calls made on this line. It is solely for her fax
machine and
> broadband connection.
>
> I had a quick look yesterday. I swapped her filter with the spare
that came
> originally and everything started to work again.

I suspect this is a microfilter problem (but I don't claim to be an
expert on the subject). I did a quick search of Google Groups,
using:

adsl OR broadband filter fax problem

and one of threads there (this very Newsgroup, 17 April 2003)
proposed this link to a high quality microfilter that solved a
similar problem

http://www.adslnation.com/products/xf-1e.php
--
Oliver
("Reply-To:" address will send non-spam to me
and will delete spam sent to it.)

BJH wrote:
> Hi
>
> A friend of mine having just returned from 2 weeks holiday now finds
> that her fax machine won't pick up or send faxes successfully, and
> she is also having difficulty connecting to the Internet.
>
> The fax machine shares the BT line with her BT Yahoo ADSL connection.
> There are NO voice calls made on this line. It is solely for her fax
> machine and broadband connection.
>
> I had a quick look yesterday. I swapped her filter with the spare
> that came originally and everything started to work again.
>
> However, this morning all is not well again.
>
> I'm beginning to wonder if this is a line 'noise' problem. What would
> be the best way to verify this? Should she report it to BT as a fault?
>
> The ADSL connection is handled by a 3COM ADSL Wireless Router. Would
> there be any info in the Router that would help to point out the
> source of the problem?
>
> There is info on the router status page such as 'Operation Data' and
> 'Defect Indication' but I am afraid I don't really understand what's
> what with that!

This could very well be a line noise problem, induced by the ADSL signal....

Is the line noisey if you do try to use the line for a voice call when the
ADSL is up?
Is the line noise still present when the ADSL isn't in use?

There are some relatively minor line problems which can cause line noise if
ADSL is also in use on the line (normally loose or HR connections). Warning
although the actual fault can be relatively minor (a loose terminal, low
insulation etc) they can be difficult to find as all the standard tests (&
most of the unstandard ones as well) will indicate that the line is ok...


Just my 2 pence worth (if it's worth even that) but the problem is you don't
tell us what all the symptons actually are....

On Fri, 4 Mar 2005 13:08:45 -0000, kraftee wrote:

> BJH wrote:
>> Hi
>>
>> A friend of mine having just returned from 2 weeks holiday now finds
>> that her fax machine won't pick up or send faxes successfully, and
>> she is also having difficulty connecting to the Internet.
>>
>> The fax machine shares the BT line with her BT Yahoo ADSL connection.
>> There are NO voice calls made on this line. It is solely for her fax
>> machine and broadband connection.
>>
>> I had a quick look yesterday. I swapped her filter with the spare
>> that came originally and everything started to work again.
>>
>> However, this morning all is not well again.
>>
>> I'm beginning to wonder if this is a line 'noise' problem. What would
>> be the best way to verify this? Should she report it to BT as a fault?
>>
>> The ADSL connection is handled by a 3COM ADSL Wireless Router. Would
>> there be any info in the Router that would help to point out the
>> source of the problem?
>>
>> There is info on the router status page such as 'Operation Data' and
>> 'Defect Indication' but I am afraid I don't really understand what's
>> what with that!
>
> This could very well be a line noise problem, induced by the ADSL signal....
>
> Is the line noisey if you do try to use the line for a voice call when the
> ADSL is up?
> Is the line noise still present when the ADSL isn't in use?
>
> There are some relatively minor line problems which can cause line noise if
> ADSL is also in use on the line (normally loose or HR connections). Warning
> although the actual fault can be relatively minor (a loose terminal, low
> insulation etc) they can be difficult to find as all the standard tests (&
> most of the unstandard ones as well) will indicate that the line is ok...
>
>
> Just my 2 pence worth (if it's worth even that) but the problem is you don't
> tell us what all the symptons actually are....

OK, I'm going there this afternoon to fit a proper filtered face plate.
Just bothers me that everything's been fine for a couple of months until
now...

--
Regards
Barry

My own problem is similar... no fax but unreliable ADSL connect and
excessive noise on line.

I tracked the problem down to some fault in the connection to the extension
wiring or BT mastersocket faceplate.

I'm sot sure if all BT faceplates are the same but you could try removing
the bottom half of the faceplate and connecting the router and fax machine
to the socket behind the faceplate.

This solved my problem but still waiting for a BT engineer to come out. The
151 fault report just refered me to ISP and they are (apparently) arranging
for an engineer.

As for router reports the one that changed drastically in my case was the
Downstream margin" or "Downstream SNR or signal to noise". When I
disconnected the faceplate it jumped from 5dB to around 28dB.

Hope this helps

Stan wrote:
> My own problem is similar... no fax but unreliable ADSL connect and
> excessive noise on line.
>
> I tracked the problem down to some fault in the connection to the
> extension wiring or BT mastersocket faceplate.
>
> I'm sot sure if all BT faceplates are the same but you could try
> removing the bottom half of the faceplate and connecting the router
> and fax machine to the socket behind the faceplate.
>
> This solved my problem but still waiting for a BT engineer to come
> out. The 151 fault report just refered me to ISP and they are
> (apparently) arranging for an engineer.
>
> As for router reports the one that changed drastically in my case was
> the Downstream margin" or "Downstream SNR or signal to noise". When I
> disconnected the faceplate it jumped from 5dB to around 28dB.
>
> Hope this helps

If you want BT to rectify, you can expect charges to be raised as the fault
is apparently your side of the wiring...

Sorry but those are the rules which the engineers have to work with....

On Fri, 4 Mar 2005 15:23:07 +0000 (UTC), Stan wrote:

> My own problem is similar... no fax but unreliable ADSL connect and
> excessive noise on line.
>
> I tracked the problem down to some fault in the connection to the extension
> wiring or BT mastersocket faceplate.
>
> I'm sot sure if all BT faceplates are the same but you could try removing
> the bottom half of the faceplate and connecting the router and fax machine
> to the socket behind the faceplate.
>
> This solved my problem but still waiting for a BT engineer to come out. The
> 151 fault report just refered me to ISP and they are (apparently) arranging
> for an engineer.
>
> As for router reports the one that changed drastically in my case was the
> Downstream margin" or "Downstream SNR or signal to noise". When I
> disconnected the faceplate it jumped from 5dB to around 28dB.
>
> Hope this helps

Hi Stan

I've fitted a Clarity Filtered face plate and that *seems* to have *fixed*
the fax problem but the ADSL still is a bit flaky. The extension is fitted
about 4 metres from the master socket.

Picking up the fax handset the line sounds crystal clear. But I guess
that's because of the new filtered faceplate.

As the connection has been faultless for the last three months since
installation I suspect that the fault lies outside of her house. I've asked
her to see how she gets on with it over the weekend and if it doesn't
improve to report a fault to BTYahoo on Monday.

We'll wait and see...

--
Best regards
Barry

>
> If you want BT to rectify, you can expect charges to be raised as the
> fault is apparently your side of the wiring...
>
> Sorry but those are the rules which the engineers have to work with....
>

I know there is a risk of this but I have no other choice since the master
socket is in the most awkward place possible.

I'm hoping the actual BT fitted master faceplate is at fault and I can argue
thats BT's fault. I only get problems when the faceplate is connected.
When I connect my extension wiring through a phone socket in my house both
ADSL and phone works perfectly but as soon as the masterplate is fitted ADSL
connect gets ropey.

On Sat, 5 Mar 2005 10:05:31 +0000 (UTC), Stan wrote:

>>
>> If you want BT to rectify, you can expect charges to be raised as the
>> fault is apparently your side of the wiring...
>>
>> Sorry but those are the rules which the engineers have to work with....
>>
>
> I know there is a risk of this but I have no other choice since the master
> socket is in the most awkward place possible.
>
> I'm hoping the actual BT fitted master faceplate is at fault and I can argue
> thats BT's fault. I only get problems when the faceplate is connected.
> When I connect my extension wiring through a phone socket in my house both
> ADSL and phone works perfectly but as soon as the masterplate is fitted ADSL
> connect gets ropey.

When you say the 'face plate' do you mean the *whole* thing or just the
user bit that unplugs. If the latter why not buy a new one?

264-8064 CTE5 Master from RS http://rswww.com for £5.15 + VAT

Or better still ADSL adaptor for BT NTE5 £17.50
(I can recommend these units, top class)

http://www.clarity.it/telecoms/adsl_faceplate_mod.htm

--
Best regards
Barry

>
> When you say the 'face plate' do you mean the *whole* thing or just the
> user bit that unplugs. If the latter why not buy a new one?
>
> 264-8064 CTE5 Master from RS http://rswww.com for £5.15 + VAT
>
> Or better still ADSL adaptor for BT NTE5 £17.50
> (I can recommend these units, top class)
>
> http://www.clarity.it/telecoms/adsl_faceplate_mod.htm

Are clarity.it still functioning? I placed an order with them on the
11th of March and was expecting an email with a Paypal url to complete
the payment. So far I have received nothing other than the automated
confirmation email, and no response to the couple of email enquiries
I've made to (E-Mail Removed).

I'd quite like to get a replacement faceplate as soon as possible, as
our ADSL modem is currently attached directly to the test socket in
the NTE5, with a messy loop of adaptors going back to the phone
extensions hanging out of the wall.

I hope they are still around, they sounded promising, and I found
their website to be highly enjoyable reading.