adsl connection only works from test socket

Hi

My adsl router/modem has been working off my extension upstairs in my
house for years, it's connected to the wall socket upstairs by an adsl
cable (not telephone extension). Worked perfectly.

The other day it stopped working and my modem adsl light started
flashing. Tried another modem, same problem. I took the modem
downstairs to the main NTE5 socket and plugged it in, still nothing. I
took the faceplate off the NTE5 and plugged the modem into the test
socket. Joy...it worked!!

My question is what should I be looking for to fix the NTE5 faceplate
which seems to be causing the problem. What colour wire is the adsl
line?

I phoned BT, but because the line is ok and its my extension at fault
they said it would cost £116 callout + £99 per hour. Just the sort of
christmas pressie everyone wants.

Any advice to help me avoid this cost?

Thanks

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Hi
>
> My adsl router/modem has been working off my extension upstairs in my
> house for years, it's connected to the wall socket upstairs by an adsl
> cable (not telephone extension). Worked perfectly.
>
> The other day it stopped working and my modem adsl light started
> flashing. Tried another modem, same problem. I took the modem
> downstairs to the main NTE5 socket and plugged it in, still nothing. I
> took the faceplate off the NTE5 and plugged the modem into the test
> socket. Joy...it worked!!
>
> My question is what should I be looking for to fix the NTE5 faceplate
> which seems to be causing the problem. What colour wire is the adsl
> line?
>
> I phoned BT, but because the line is ok and its my extension at fault
> they said it would cost £116 callout + £99 per hour. Just the sort of
> christmas pressie everyone wants.
>
> Any advice to help me avoid this cost?


a) find someone who is trained on phone lines to do it in their spare time
for a mince pie and a sherry. There are lots of retired BT field staff
around.

b) search around to find how extension wiring is done around a house
properly.


There isn't an "adsl line" as such, just the wires for your telephone line
and extensions. The ADSL signal travels over those wires at frequencies
such that the microfilter removes them from the telephone sockets.


From your description, I suspect that problem is likely to be a faulty
micro-filter or possibly aparatus around the house. Assuming you'd not
changed/added anything just before the loss of service, its a matter of
disconnecting everything and working out where the fault may be.
Do it logically, unplug all telephones, extensions, microfilters, answer
machines. Try the ADSL modem in the master socket (not test socket).
Then slowly plug stuff back in until you find the faulty one.


These two URLs may help if you really want to rewire your side of the NTE-5

http://www.wppltd.demon.co.uk/WPP/Wi...telephone.html

http://www.readman.dsl.pipex.com/oth...ecatwiring.htm







- Nigel




--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:59b91217-cd65-47fb-b476-(E-Mail Removed)...
Hi

My adsl router/modem has been working off my extension upstairs in my
house for years, it's connected to the wall socket upstairs by an adsl
cable (not telephone extension). Worked perfectly.

The other day it stopped working and my modem adsl light started
flashing. Tried another modem, same problem. I took the modem
downstairs to the main NTE5 socket and plugged it in, still nothing. I
took the faceplate off the NTE5 and plugged the modem into the test
socket. Joy...it worked!!

My question is what should I be looking for to fix the NTE5 faceplate
which seems to be causing the problem. What colour wire is the adsl
line?

I phoned BT, but because the line is ok and its my extension at fault
they said it would cost £116 callout + £99 per hour. Just the sort of
christmas pressie everyone wants.

Any advice to help me avoid this cost?

Thanks

#########

Assuming you've ruled out filter and cable by swapping, you would seem to be
left with the faceplate as the cause. The NTE5 faceplates I've looked
inside are full of flimsy inter circuit board plugs/sockets which over the
years can give a poor through connection. The fix is just a complete
stripdown and cleanup but it involves releasing a few of those plastic clips
that feel like they're going to break. Or buy a new faceplate, you can get
a filtered one from http://www.adslnation.com/products/xte2005.php with
which you won't need any microfilters.

On Sat, 15 Dec 2007 07:54:41 -0000, "Steve B"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>The NTE5 faceplates I've looked
>inside are full of flimsy inter circuit board plugs/sockets which over the
>years can give a poor through connection. The fix is just a complete
>stripdown and cleanup but it involves releasing a few of those plastic clips
>that feel like they're going to break.

"full of flimsy inter circuit board plugs/sockets"

eh?????

One BT plug for the connection into the rear of the NTE5
One strip of 4 way IDC's for the extension wiring
One BT socket for the front panel
One single sided PCB
12 soldered joints


The BT plug and socket technology, with wiping gold plated contacts
has been proven in service for over 25 years, similarly the IDC's, the
pcb is 1950's proven technology and the Romans used soldering 2000
years ago. This is all contained in a device measuring 85mm x 50mm x
25mm.

So hardly full, hardly flimsy and all a single circuit board.


--

"Mike" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> On Sat, 15 Dec 2007 07:54:41 -0000, "Steve B"
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>The NTE5 faceplates I've looked
>>inside are full of flimsy inter circuit board plugs/sockets which over the
>>years can give a poor through connection. The fix is just a complete
>>stripdown and cleanup but it involves releasing a few of those plastic
>>clips
>>that feel like they're going to break.
>
> "full of flimsy inter circuit board plugs/sockets"
>
> eh?????
>
> One BT plug for the connection into the rear of the NTE5
> One strip of 4 way IDC's for the extension wiring
> One BT socket for the front panel
> One single sided PCB
> 12 soldered joints
>
>
> The BT plug and socket technology, with wiping gold plated contacts
> has been proven in service for over 25 years, similarly the IDC's, the
> pcb is 1950's proven technology and the Romans used soldering 2000
> years ago. This is all contained in a device measuring 85mm x 50mm x
> 25mm.
>
> So hardly full, hardly flimsy and all a single circuit board.
>
>
> --

Mine had 2 inter-circuit board multi-way connectors, you could change the
router SNR just by flexing it slightly. That's called hard physical
evidence. There's no such thing as a perfect connection between
self-cleaning gold contacts after a few years of non-movement, they need to
be plugged in/out a few times to do what they were designed for, i.e.
self-clean.

Steve B wrote:

> "Mike" wrote
> > "Steve B" wrote:
> >
> >>The NTE5 faceplates I've looked
> >>inside are full of flimsy inter circuit board plugs/sockets which over the
> >>years can give a poor through connection. The fix is just a complete
> >>stripdown and cleanup but it involves releasing a few of those plastic
> >>clips
> >>that feel like they're going to break.
> >
> > "full of flimsy inter circuit board plugs/sockets"
> >
> > eh?????
> >
> > One BT plug for the connection into the rear of the NTE5
> > One strip of 4 way IDC's for the extension wiring
> > One BT socket for the front panel
> > One single sided PCB
> > 12 soldered joints
> >
> >
> > The BT plug and socket technology, with wiping gold plated contacts
> > has been proven in service for over 25 years, similarly the IDC's, the
> > pcb is 1950's proven technology and the Romans used soldering 2000
> > years ago. This is all contained in a device measuring 85mm x 50mm x
> > 25mm.
> >
> > So hardly full, hardly flimsy and all a single circuit board.
>
>
> Mine had 2 inter-circuit board multi-way connectors, you could change the
> router SNR just by flexing it slightly. That's called hard physical
> evidence. There's no such thing as a perfect connection between
> self-cleaning gold contacts after a few years of non-movement, they need to
> be plugged in/out a few times to do what they were designed for, i.e.
> self-clean.

That shouldn't really be necessary, that's why gold is used. Or was it ?

Graham

On Sun, 16 Dec 2007 13:53:13 +0000, Eeyore wrote:

>> Mine had 2 inter-circuit board multi-way connectors, you could change the
>> router SNR just by flexing it slightly. That's called hard physical
>> evidence. There's no such thing as a perfect connection between
>> self-cleaning gold contacts after a few years of non-movement, they need to
>> be plugged in/out a few times to do what they were designed for, i.e.
>> self-clean.
>
> That shouldn't really be necessary, that's why gold is used. Or was it ?

Even gold gets a film of crud from the atmosphere, especially from
cooking/cleaning/smoking.
There's alway a miniscule amount of movement (footfall, traffic etc.) and
the crud slowly spreads in to the contact area.

At work, on military equipment, we had this problem when testing boards.
The answer was an impregnated tissue, called Goldwipe, from TI (I saw a
service eng. using it on the test equipment); it certainly cured the
problem.
--
Peter.
You don't understand Newton's Third Law of Motion?
It's not rocket science, you know.