ADSL Filters dying

Hiya

A friend of mine has twice lost connectivity through her ADSL line only
to find that the culprit is the filter.

The filters were one supplied by her original BT-install (she's at a
fairly high distance from the exchange so can only get 512 with BT's
Extended Reach) and (when that died) the one supplied with her hardware.

What could cause the filters to fail? Perhaps a power surge from one
side or the other?

Is this a common fault or is it likely to be a fault with the hardware
she's using - a DLink DSL-G604T wireless all-in-one?

Any suggestions appreciated.

Geoff

I wrote:
> A friend of mine has twice lost connectivity through her ADSL line only
> to find that the culprit is the filter.
>
> The filters were one supplied by her original BT-install (she's at a
> fairly high distance from the exchange so can only get 512 with BT's
> Extended Reach) and (when that died) the one supplied with her hardware.
>
> What could cause the filters to fail? Perhaps a power surge from one
> side or the other?
>
> Is this a common fault or is it likely to be a fault with the hardware
> she's using - a DLink DSL-G604T wireless all-in-one?

In case it's helpful, these are the line stats reported by her router:

Upstream Rate (Kbps) 288
Downstream Rate (Kbps) 576
US Margin 20
DS Margin 8
DS Line Attenuation 63
US Line Attenuation 63

Geoff

Geoff Winkless wrote:
> I wrote:
> > A friend of mine has twice lost connectivity through her ADSL line only
> > to find that the culprit is the filter.
> >
> > The filters were one supplied by her original BT-install (she's at a
> > fairly high distance from the exchange so can only get 512 with BT's
> > Extended Reach) and (when that died) the one supplied with her hardware.
> >
> > What could cause the filters to fail? Perhaps a power surge from one
> > side or the other?
> >
> > Is this a common fault or is it likely to be a fault with the hardware
> > she's using - a DLink DSL-G604T wireless all-in-one?
>
> In case it's helpful, these are the line stats reported by her router:
>
> Upstream Rate (Kbps) 288
> Downstream Rate (Kbps) 576
> US Margin 20
> DS Margin 8
> DS Line Attenuation 63
> US Line Attenuation 63

The downstream margin is very close to the edge. AIUI 6 to 8 dB is the
figure where an ADSL connction will start to fall over. It's possible
one of the filter components drifted to such an extent it pushed the
noise margin 'over the cliff' ?

Mark Carver wrote:

> The downstream margin is very close to the edge. AIUI 6 to 8 dB is the
> figure where an ADSL connction will start to fall over. It's possible
> one of the filter components drifted to such an extent it pushed the
> noise margin 'over the cliff' ?

That makes sense. I suppose I could try using her (broken) filter in
place of mine at home (I have significantly better line stats!) and see
if you're right.

Does anyone make filters designed with this in mind - ie with less
tolerance in the component ratings?

Or should I just recommend she buys a job lot of cheap ones from ebay
knowing that she'll have to replace one every month or two?

Thanks for the reply

Geoff

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 11:47:15 +0000, Geoff Winkless wrote:

>Or should I just recommend she buys a job lot of cheap ones from ebay
>knowing that she'll have to replace one every month or two?

No, get *good* ones to start with:

<http://adslnation.com/products/xf-1e.php>


--
Nigel M

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 11:47:15 +0000, Geoff Winkless
<usenet-at-geoff-dot-dj@[127.0.0.1]> wrote:

>That makes sense. I suppose I could try using her (broken) filter in
>place of mine at home (I have significantly better line stats!) and see
>if you're right.

putting two in series may help. Its the thing behind the filter that
perhaps needs attention ie the phone.

Phil
--
Tiscali - dialup speeds at Broadband prices, see
http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/postlist...&Board=tiscali

AOL - the unlimited ISP of choice for heavy downloaders.

Nigel Molesworth wrote:

> On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 11:47:15 +0000, Geoff Winkless wrote:
>
>> Or should I just recommend she buys a job lot of cheap ones from ebay
>> knowing that she'll have to replace one every month or two?
>
> No, get *good* ones to start with:
>
> <http://adslnation.com/products/xf-1e.php>

Hmm... interesting! Anyone got some comparitive reviews as to the
validity of the advertised advantages?

Cheers

Geoff

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 14:34:39 +0000, Geoff Winkless
<usenet-at-geoff-dot-dj@[127.0.0.1]> wrote:

> Anyone got some comparitive reviews as to the
>validity of the advertised advantages?

plenty of anecdotal postings about stuff that didn't work then the
xf-1e fixed it.

it has a money back guarantee

Phil
--
Tiscali - dialup speeds at Broadband prices, see
http://bbs.adslguide.org.uk/postlist...&Board=tiscali

AOL - the unlimited ISP of choice for heavy downloaders.

Geoff Winkless wrote:
> Hiya
>
> A friend of mine has twice lost connectivity through her ADSL line only
> to find that the culprit is the filter.
>
> The filters were one supplied by her original BT-install (she's at a
> fairly high distance from the exchange so can only get 512 with BT's
> Extended Reach) and (when that died) the one supplied with her hardware.
>
> What could cause the filters to fail? Perhaps a power surge from one
> side or the other?
>
> Is this a common fault or is it likely to be a fault with the hardware
> she's using - a DLink DSL-G604T wireless all-in-one?
>
> Any suggestions appreciated.
>
> Geoff

you could always stick it in the phone line without a filter and see how
it goes. You'll need one of those adaptor thingies, but it'll work
alright. Might wanna unplug other phones etc from the line before hand
though

I've got an XF-1e and it does what it says on the tin. Microfilters can
die, probably due to cheap capacitors used not liking the 50v of DC on the
phone line.