BT adsl dropping out - doubler vs splitter and problems with sky box?

got a problem with my BT broadband, and just had a slightly confusing
phonecall to their technical support people about it. any tips on this
most welcome.

got a Netgear wireless router connected to an extension (BT fitted, not
DIY) upstairs, and a phone & Sky box connected downstairs to master
socket. both extensions have microfilters. 90% of the time my bb is
fine, but every couple of days it will have a couple of hours where the
ADSL connection will keep dropping as soon as I attempt any network
activity. this happens even when the router is connected directly to
the master socket with nothing else connected. one line test indicated
problems with 'synchronisation' I think they said, but line tests since
have been OK.

tonight, BT support at first tried to tell me that my problems were due
to the fact that my router is set-up to not respond to pings. I
pointed out that responding to pings is a security risk and why on
earth would that cause a proble, since it's worked fine for 18 months.
they then said the firewall on my mac had to be turned off. I refused,
and asked to speak to someone else.

the someone else went through my physical set-up and said I need to try
a doubler rather than a splitter on the line where my Sky box is
connected. what's the difference, and why is this problem
intermittent? when the sky box was first installed I had problems with
interference but that was solved by buying a decent ferrite core filter
for that socket.

last bit of advice from BT was to connect the router directly to the
rj11 socket inside the master socket and see if it works then. problem
is the bb is fine right now and only seems to drop when I really can't
be bothered to call BT, ie 10pm at night.

any suggestions most welcome...

TIA

Peter

On 22 Jun 2005 11:57:25 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>tonight, BT support at first tried to tell me that my problems were due
>to the fact that my router is set-up to not respond to pings. I
>pointed out that responding to pings is a security risk and why on
>earth would that cause a proble, since it's worked fine for 18 months.
>they then said the firewall on my mac had to be turned off. I refused,
>and asked to speak to someone else.

pings are not a security risk, if you want people to diagnose network
issues then responding to pings is useful - that is why they exist
after all.

>the someone else went through my physical set-up and said I need to try
>a doubler rather than a splitter on the line where my Sky box is
>connected. what's the difference, and why is this problem
>intermittent? when the sky box was first installed I had problems with
>interference but that was solved by buying a decent ferrite core filter
>for that socket.

Sky boxes make calls, so intermittency might be it doing just that ?
Language like doublers and splitters isn't helpful, especially as some
people call microfilters splitters.

>last bit of advice from BT was to connect the router directly to the
>rj11 socket inside the master socket and see if it works then. problem
>is the bb is fine right now and only seems to drop when I really can't
>be bothered to call BT, ie 10pm at night.

the test socket is a BT socket behind the master faceplate, plug in
there and see if the symptoms go away. If they do then the solution is
easier to identify.
http://www.clarity.it/telecoms/adsl_faceplate.htm#part3

With what are you connecting, and does it give you line statistics. If
you know what the SNR/Noise margin is and monitor it you may see why
the connection drops.
http://www.pipexsupport.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=3408

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.

Sounds like your line quality is not up to scratch.

Has this started since you had an upgrade in speed?

If so that's the problem, you could try updated firmware for the router some
say it helps.

Other than that you are stuck with a poor line until BT replace it.

Don't hold your breath.

"Phil Thompson" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> On 22 Jun 2005 11:57:25 -0700, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>
> >tonight, BT support at first tried to tell me that my problems were due
> >to the fact that my router is set-up to not respond to pings. I
> >pointed out that responding to pings is a security risk and why on
> >earth would that cause a proble, since it's worked fine for 18 months.
> >they then said the firewall on my mac had to be turned off. I refused,
> >and asked to speak to someone else.
>
> pings are not a security risk, if you want people to diagnose network
> issues then responding to pings is useful - that is why they exist
> after all.
>
> >the someone else went through my physical set-up and said I need to try
> >a doubler rather than a splitter on the line where my Sky box is
> >connected. what's the difference, and why is this problem
> >intermittent? when the sky box was first installed I had problems with
> >interference but that was solved by buying a decent ferrite core filter
> >for that socket.
>
> Sky boxes make calls, so intermittency might be it doing just that ?
> Language like doublers and splitters isn't helpful, especially as some
> people call microfilters splitters.
>
> >last bit of advice from BT was to connect the router directly to the
> >rj11 socket inside the master socket and see if it works then. problem
> >is the bb is fine right now and only seems to drop when I really can't
> >be bothered to call BT, ie 10pm at night.
>
> the test socket is a BT socket behind the master faceplate, plug in
> there and see if the symptoms go away. If they do then the solution is
> easier to identify.
> http://www.clarity.it/telecoms/adsl_faceplate.htm#part3
>
> With what are you connecting, and does it give you line statistics. If
> you know what the SNR/Noise margin is and monitor it you may see why
> the connection drops.
> http://www.pipexsupport.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=3408
>
> 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.