Diagnosing intermittent connection problems

A customer has been having intermittent ADSL connection problems ever since
she got broadband about 6 months ago (though I only learned of this a week
ago) and the symptoms have got much more frequent over the past couple of
weeks.

Can I check that I have done the correct diagnostic checks.

The router is a BT Voyager 210.

Symptoms are either:

1. Router DSL light remains on but Internet light (ADSL logon) goes out.
This is the more frequent symptom.

or

2. Router DSL light goes out and router retrains. This happens less
frequently.


Typically everything works fine for about an hour and then there is a flurry
of problems with failures maybe every 10 minutes or so, followed by another
long fault-free period.

Why would a router that has a good DSL carrier intermittently lose its logon
and need to be manually connected again, either by rebooting the router or
else by going into the router's config page and pressing the Connect button?

I have put the router in the master test socket with all other
wiring/equipment disconnected. I have replaced the RJ11-RJ11 cable and
microfilter with an RJ11-BT cable to elimiminate the effect of faults in the
cable or filter.

I have checked the line stats and they are good: downstream attenuation of
about 30 dB and noise margin of 8 dB, and upstream lower attenuation /
higher margin. The results for the router in the master test socket are only
about 2 dB better than those with the router in the normal house wiring with
everythign connected, which suggests that wiring/equipment is not the cause.

Despite these good figures, the router can be seen to lose sync at random -
the stats then disappear.

I have tried with another router (BT Voyager 220) and this reported the same
stats and failed in the same way. I wasn't able to check the loss of ADSL
logon connection when there was a good DSL carrier because this router was
locked to work only with BT lines - I've since learned how to re-flash it to
remove that restriction!


Does all of this point to a line fault between the master socket and the
exchange? It may be significant that when I was doing all my testing, there
was constant heavy rain which could cause water in cable joins on poles or
in underground ducts.


I've raised a call with the ISP but they haven't yet responded apart from
acknowledging the ticket and escalating it to the correct department.

"Mortimer" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:utydnYrRIfPBP9rVnZ2dnUVZ8qqlnZ2d@plusnet...
>A customer has been having intermittent ADSL connection problems ever since
>she got broadband about 6 months ago (though I only learned of this a week
>ago) and the symptoms have got much more frequent over the past couple of
>weeks.
>
> Can I check that I have done the correct diagnostic checks.
>
> The router is a BT Voyager 210.
>
> Symptoms are either:
>
> 1. Router DSL light remains on but Internet light (ADSL logon) goes out.
> This is the more frequent symptom.
>
> or
>
> 2. Router DSL light goes out and router retrains. This happens less
> frequently.

[snip details]


Have you tried a different make of router? (A reputable brand such as
Vigor)

Get the router to report to a local syslog so you can see exactly when the
failures occur and their nature.

Who is the ISP ?? If they don't respond to you within a few hours with a
sensible proposal for resolving the problem I suggest a change to a more
technically competent ISP is your first priority.

--
Graham J

Mortimer wrote:
> A customer has been having intermittent ADSL connection problems
> ever since she got broadband about 6 months ago (though I only
> learned of this a week ago) and the symptoms have got much more
> frequent over the past couple of weeks.
>
> Can I check that I have done the correct diagnostic checks.
>
> The router is a BT Voyager 210.
>
> Symptoms are either:
>
> 1. Router DSL light remains on but Internet light (ADSL logon) goes
> out. This is the more frequent symptom.
>
> or
>
> 2. Router DSL light goes out and router retrains. This happens less
> frequently.
>
>
> Typically everything works fine for about an hour and then there is
> a flurry of problems with failures maybe every 10 minutes or so,
> followed by another long fault-free period.
>
> Why would a router that has a good DSL carrier intermittently lose
> its logon and need to be manually connected again, either by
> rebooting the router or else by going into the router's config page
> and pressing the Connect button?
> I have put the router in the master test socket with all other
> wiring/equipment disconnected. I have replaced the RJ11-RJ11 cable
> and microfilter with an RJ11-BT cable to elimiminate the effect of
> faults in the cable or filter.
>
> I have checked the line stats and they are good: downstream
> attenuation of about 30 dB and noise margin of 8 dB, and upstream
> lower attenuation / higher margin. The results for the router in
> the master test socket are only about 2 dB better than those with
> the router in the normal house wiring with everythign connected,
> which suggests that wiring/equipment is not the cause.
> Despite these good figures, the router can be seen to lose sync at
> random - the stats then disappear.
>
> I have tried with another router (BT Voyager 220) and this reported
> the same stats and failed in the same way. I wasn't able to check
> the loss of ADSL logon connection when there was a good DSL carrier
> because this router was locked to work only with BT lines - I've
> since learned how to re-flash it to remove that restriction!
>
>
> Does all of this point to a line fault between the master socket
> and the exchange? It may be significant that when I was doing all
> my testing, there was constant heavy rain which could cause water
> in cable joins on poles or in underground ducts.
>
>
> I've raised a call with the ISP but they haven't yet responded
> apart from acknowledging the ticket and escalating it to the
> correct department.

It could be an intermitent noise on the line, buggers to find if there isn't
any other diagnostics. Had one today, in the end I had to swap a pair as
there were no fault conditions other than this intermitent noise (& before
anybody says, no I didn't give it a blast with my Mega as it's been taken
away from me so I have to use the infamous Hawk, looks like a ladies hand
bag stuffed with bricks & is twice as useless, most of the time).

On Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:08:09 +0100, kraftee passed an empty day by
writing:

> Mortimer wrote:
>> A customer has been having intermittent ADSL connection problems ever
>> since she got broadband about 6 months ago (though I only learned of
>> this a week ago) and the symptoms have got much more frequent over the
>> past couple of weeks.
>>
>> Can I check that I have done the correct diagnostic checks.
>>
>> The router is a BT Voyager 210.
>>
>> Symptoms are either:
>>
>> 1. Router DSL light remains on but Internet light (ADSL logon) goes
>> out. This is the more frequent symptom.
>>
>> or
>>
>> 2. Router DSL light goes out and router retrains. This happens less
>> frequently.
>>
>>
>> Typically everything works fine for about an hour and then there is a
>> flurry of problems with failures maybe every 10 minutes or so, followed
>> by another long fault-free period.
>>
>> Why would a router that has a good DSL carrier intermittently lose its
>> logon and need to be manually connected again, either by rebooting the
>> router or else by going into the router's config page and pressing the
>> Connect button?
>> I have put the router in the master test socket with all other
>> wiring/equipment disconnected. I have replaced the RJ11-RJ11 cable and
>> microfilter with an RJ11-BT cable to elimiminate the effect of faults
>> in the cable or filter.
>>
>> I have checked the line stats and they are good: downstream attenuation
>> of about 30 dB and noise margin of 8 dB, and upstream lower attenuation
>> / higher margin. The results for the router in the master test socket
>> are only about 2 dB better than those with the router in the normal
>> house wiring with everythign connected, which suggests that
>> wiring/equipment is not the cause. Despite these good figures, the
>> router can be seen to lose sync at random - the stats then disappear.
>>
>> I have tried with another router (BT Voyager 220) and this reported the
>> same stats and failed in the same way. I wasn't able to check the loss
>> of ADSL logon connection when there was a good DSL carrier because this
>> router was locked to work only with BT lines - I've since learned how
>> to re-flash it to remove that restriction!
>>
>>
>> Does all of this point to a line fault between the master socket and
>> the exchange? It may be significant that when I was doing all my
>> testing, there was constant heavy rain which could cause water in cable
>> joins on poles or in underground ducts.
>>
>>
>> I've raised a call with the ISP but they haven't yet responded apart
>> from acknowledging the ticket and escalating it to the correct
>> department.
>
> It could be an intermitent noise on the line, buggers to find if there
> isn't any other diagnostics. Had one today, in the end I had to swap a
> pair as there were no fault conditions other than this intermitent noise
> (& before anybody says, no I didn't give it a blast with my Mega as it's
> been taken away from me so I have to use the infamous Hawk, looks like a
> ladies hand bag stuffed with bricks & is twice as useless, most of the
> time).

The 'infamous hawk' has a 500v insulation tester built in, just like the
old 18c megger. Don't say you missed that on the training and threw the
booklet in the back of your van ;-)

Klunk wrote:
> On Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:08:09 +0100, kraftee passed an empty day by
> writing:
>
>> Mortimer wrote:
>>> A customer has been having intermittent ADSL connection problems
>>> ever since she got broadband about 6 months ago (though I only
>>> learned of this a week ago) and the symptoms have got much more
>>> frequent over the past couple of weeks.
>>>
>>> Can I check that I have done the correct diagnostic checks.
>>>
>>> The router is a BT Voyager 210.
>>>
>>> Symptoms are either:
>>>
>>> 1. Router DSL light remains on but Internet light (ADSL logon)
>>> goes out. This is the more frequent symptom.
>>>
>>> or
>>>
>>> 2. Router DSL light goes out and router retrains. This happens
>>> less frequently.
>>>
>>>
>>> Typically everything works fine for about an hour and then there
>>> is a flurry of problems with failures maybe every 10 minutes or
>>> so, followed by another long fault-free period.
>>>
>>> Why would a router that has a good DSL carrier intermittently
>>> lose its logon and need to be manually connected again, either by
>>> rebooting the router or else by going into the router's config
>>> page and pressing the Connect button?
>>> I have put the router in the master test socket with all other
>>> wiring/equipment disconnected. I have replaced the RJ11-RJ11
>>> cable and microfilter with an RJ11-BT cable to elimiminate the
>>> effect of faults in the cable or filter.
>>>
>>> I have checked the line stats and they are good: downstream
>>> attenuation of about 30 dB and noise margin of 8 dB, and upstream
>>> lower attenuation / higher margin. The results for the router in
>>> the master test socket are only about 2 dB better than those with
>>> the router in the normal house wiring with everythign connected,
>>> which suggests that wiring/equipment is not the cause. Despite
>>> these good figures, the router can be seen to lose sync at random
>>> - the stats then disappear.
>>>
>>> I have tried with another router (BT Voyager 220) and this
>>> reported the same stats and failed in the same way. I wasn't able
>>> to check the loss of ADSL logon connection when there was a good
>>> DSL carrier because this router was locked to work only with BT
>>> lines - I've since learned how to re-flash it to remove that
>>> restriction!
>>>
>>>
>>> Does all of this point to a line fault between the master socket
>>> and the exchange? It may be significant that when I was doing all
>>> my testing, there was constant heavy rain which could cause water
>>> in cable joins on poles or in underground ducts.
>>>
>>>
>>> I've raised a call with the ISP but they haven't yet responded
>>> apart from acknowledging the ticket and escalating it to the
>>> correct department.
>>
>> It could be an intermitent noise on the line, buggers to find if
>> there isn't any other diagnostics. Had one today, in the end I
>> had to swap a pair as there were no fault conditions other than
>> this intermitent noise (& before anybody says, no I didn't give it
>> a blast with my Mega as it's been taken away from me so I have to
>> use the infamous Hawk, looks like a ladies hand bag stuffed with
>> bricks & is twice as useless, most of the time).
>
> The 'infamous hawk' has a 500v insulation tester built in, just
> like the old 18c megger. Don't say you missed that on the training
> and threw the booklet in the back of your van ;-)

Believe or not I'm still waiting for the advanced Hawk training for over 2
years & the no training was provided by 2 work shy coaches looking for a
couple of days out of the field.. As for coupling it to my PC via Bluetooth
or serial port I figured it out on my own but don't see a use for it until
they actually start to record the test readings, like never as with the
Harrier..

kraftee wrote:

>>The 'infamous hawk' has a 500v insulation tester built in, just
>>like the old 18c megger. Don't say you missed that on the training
>>and threw the booklet in the back of your van ;-)
>
>
> Believe or not I'm still waiting for the advanced Hawk training for over 2
> years & the no training was provided by 2 work shy coaches looking for a
> couple of days out of the field.. As for coupling it to my PC via Bluetooth
> or serial port I figured it out on my own but don't see a use for it until
> they actually start to record the test readings, like never as with the
> Harrier..
>
>
I am surprised you are allowed to use anything like 500v with all
today's Health and Safety.
The old original 'Meggers' with big handles were really good! I only
managed to leave work with smaller version.

The GPO safely madness even went as far as being the ecuse for not
renting unequipped fibres (like they used to do with coaxes) cos someone
said that there was adanger of looking down a 'lit' fibre it it was
provisioned by a third party.

Have to say anyone looking down a fibre is stupid anyway - although the
laser pointers are a very good quick way to see if a fibre is continuous.
We used them often on TV Outside Broadcasts to check the temporary .

Mikefibres

m wrote:
> kraftee wrote:
>
>>> The 'infamous hawk' has a 500v insulation tester built in, just
>>> like the old 18c megger. Don't say you missed that on the training
>>> and threw the booklet in the back of your van ;-)
>>
>>
>> Believe or not I'm still waiting for the advanced Hawk training
>> for over 2 years & the no training was provided by 2 work shy
>> coaches looking for a couple of days out of the field.. As for
>> coupling it to my PC via Bluetooth or serial port I figured it out
>> on my own but don't see a use for it until they actually start to
>> record the test readings, like never as with the Harrier..
>>
>>
> I am surprised you are allowed to use anything like 500v with all
> today's Health and Safety.
> The old original 'Meggers' with big handles were really good! I only
> managed to leave work with smaller version.
>
> The GPO safely madness even went as far as being the ecuse for not
> renting unequipped fibres (like they used to do with coaxes) cos
> someone said that there was adanger of looking down a 'lit' fibre
> it it was provisioned by a third party.
>
> Have to say anyone looking down a fibre is stupid anyway - although
> the laser pointers are a very good quick way to see if a fibre is
> continuous. We used them often on TV Outside Broadcasts to check
> the temporary .
> Mikefibres

Don't tell him it's nearer 150V as he will then have to make up something
else to grumble about.

But it is typical & is still going on, we've got new starters who have got
no idea what or how to test using equipment supposedly costing thousands of
pounds. 'Der Management' appear to have the believe that if you spend lots
of money on new equipment & nothing on training things are going to improve.
For me the most prominent one is the lack of DSL training now given to
supposed DSL trained engineers. When I was trained (& it was one of the few
you had to pass & yes some did fail) it was a residential 2 week course & it
still didn't cover all the areas required, nowadays it's 2 days in the local
'skill centre' being taught by someone who just wants an easy couple of days
& then they are sent out with the simple instruction if the green LED is on
everything is ok. I do really wish it was that simple.....

On Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:29:29 +0100, kraftee passed an empty day by
writing:

> Klunk wrote:
>> On Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:08:09 +0100, kraftee passed an empty day by
>> writing:
>>
>>> Mortimer wrote:
>>>> A customer has been having intermittent ADSL connection problems ever
>>>> since she got broadband about 6 months ago (though I only learned of
>>>> this a week ago) and the symptoms have got much more frequent over
>>>> the past couple of weeks.
>>>>
>>>> Can I check that I have done the correct diagnostic checks.
>>>>
>>>> The router is a BT Voyager 210.
>>>>
>>>> Symptoms are either:
>>>>
>>>> 1. Router DSL light remains on but Internet light (ADSL logon) goes
>>>> out. This is the more frequent symptom.
>>>>
>>>> or
>>>>
>>>> 2. Router DSL light goes out and router retrains. This happens less
>>>> frequently.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Typically everything works fine for about an hour and then there is a
>>>> flurry of problems with failures maybe every 10 minutes or so,
>>>> followed by another long fault-free period.
>>>>
>>>> Why would a router that has a good DSL carrier intermittently lose
>>>> its logon and need to be manually connected again, either by
>>>> rebooting the router or else by going into the router's config page
>>>> and pressing the Connect button? I have put the router in the master
>>>> test socket with all other wiring/equipment disconnected. I have
>>>> replaced the RJ11-RJ11 cable and microfilter with an RJ11-BT cable to
>>>> elimiminate the effect of faults in the cable or filter.
>>>>
>>>> I have checked the line stats and they are good: downstream
>>>> attenuation of about 30 dB and noise margin of 8 dB, and upstream
>>>> lower attenuation / higher margin. The results for the router in the
>>>> master test socket are only about 2 dB better than those with the
>>>> router in the normal house wiring with everythign connected, which
>>>> suggests that wiring/equipment is not the cause. Despite these good
>>>> figures, the router can be seen to lose sync at random - the stats
>>>> then disappear.
>>>>
>>>> I have tried with another router (BT Voyager 220) and this reported
>>>> the same stats and failed in the same way. I wasn't able to check the
>>>> loss of ADSL logon connection when there was a good DSL carrier
>>>> because this router was locked to work only with BT lines - I've
>>>> since learned how to re-flash it to remove that restriction!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Does all of this point to a line fault between the master socket and
>>>> the exchange? It may be significant that when I was doing all my
>>>> testing, there was constant heavy rain which could cause water in
>>>> cable joins on poles or in underground ducts.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I've raised a call with the ISP but they haven't yet responded apart
>>>> from acknowledging the ticket and escalating it to the correct
>>>> department.
>>>
>>> It could be an intermitent noise on the line, buggers to find if there
>>> isn't any other diagnostics. Had one today, in the end I had to swap
>>> a pair as there were no fault conditions other than this intermitent
>>> noise (& before anybody says, no I didn't give it a blast with my Mega
>>> as it's been taken away from me so I have to use the infamous Hawk,
>>> looks like a ladies hand bag stuffed with bricks & is twice as
>>> useless, most of the time).
>>
>> The 'infamous hawk' has a 500v insulation tester built in, just like
>> the old 18c megger. Don't say you missed that on the training and threw
>> the booklet in the back of your van ;-)
>
> Believe or not I'm still waiting for the advanced Hawk training for over
> 2 years & the no training was provided by 2 work shy coaches looking for
> a couple of days out of the field.. As for coupling it to my PC via
> Bluetooth or serial port I figured it out on my own but don't see a use
> for it until they actually start to record the test readings, like never
> as with the Harrier..

It is not part of the advanced course. It is a basic feature of the unit.
Normally it tests at 95v but pressing the button next to that figure
cycles it through 95, 500, -500, -95. On later software they may have
removed it but it still exists in the 'bridge' mode enabling a nice blast
of 500v to be applied.

For intermittent noisy faults I bought a cheap Tempo Sidekick off of
eBay. The stress test was very useful and why BT have nothing like it I
don't know. It applies a 1khz tone across the pair at 140v and you can
watch the HR jump about on the meter. I picked it up for £30 (but I've
seen them go for a £1) and it gave me enough of an edge to spend more
valuable time drinking tea ;-)

Klunk wrote:
> On Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:29:29 +0100, kraftee passed an empty day by
> writing:
>
>> Klunk wrote:
>>> On Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:08:09 +0100, kraftee passed an empty day by
>>> writing:
>>>
>>>> Mortimer wrote:
>>>>> A customer has been having intermittent ADSL connection
>>>>> problems ever since she got broadband about 6 months ago
>>>>> (though I only learned of this a week ago) and the symptoms
>>>>> have got much more frequent over the past couple of weeks.
>>>>>
>>>>> Can I check that I have done the correct diagnostic checks.
>>>>>
>>>>> The router is a BT Voyager 210.
>>>>>
>>>>> Symptoms are either:
>>>>>
>>>>> 1. Router DSL light remains on but Internet light (ADSL logon)
>>>>> goes out. This is the more frequent symptom.
>>>>>
>>>>> or
>>>>>
>>>>> 2. Router DSL light goes out and router retrains. This happens
>>>>> less frequently.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Typically everything works fine for about an hour and then
>>>>> there is a flurry of problems with failures maybe every 10
>>>>> minutes or so, followed by another long fault-free period.
>>>>>
>>>>> Why would a router that has a good DSL carrier intermittently
>>>>> lose its logon and need to be manually connected again, either
>>>>> by rebooting the router or else by going into the router's
>>>>> config page and pressing the Connect button? I have put the
>>>>> router in the master test socket with all other
>>>>> wiring/equipment disconnected. I have replaced the RJ11-RJ11
>>>>> cable and microfilter with an RJ11-BT cable to elimiminate the
>>>>> effect of faults in the cable or filter.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have checked the line stats and they are good: downstream
>>>>> attenuation of about 30 dB and noise margin of 8 dB, and
>>>>> upstream lower attenuation / higher margin. The results for the
>>>>> router in the master test socket are only about 2 dB better
>>>>> than those with the router in the normal house wiring with
>>>>> everythign connected, which suggests that wiring/equipment is
>>>>> not the cause. Despite these good figures, the router can be
>>>>> seen to lose sync at random - the stats then disappear.
>>>>>
>>>>> I have tried with another router (BT Voyager 220) and this
>>>>> reported the same stats and failed in the same way. I wasn't
>>>>> able to check the loss of ADSL logon connection when there was
>>>>> a good DSL carrier because this router was locked to work only
>>>>> with BT lines - I've since learned how to re-flash it to remove
>>>>> that restriction!
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Does all of this point to a line fault between the master
>>>>> socket and the exchange? It may be significant that when I was
>>>>> doing all my testing, there was constant heavy rain which could
>>>>> cause water in cable joins on poles or in underground ducts.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> I've raised a call with the ISP but they haven't yet responded
>>>>> apart from acknowledging the ticket and escalating it to the
>>>>> correct department.
>>>>
>>>> It could be an intermitent noise on the line, buggers to find if
>>>> there isn't any other diagnostics. Had one today, in the end I
>>>> had to swap a pair as there were no fault conditions other than
>>>> this intermitent noise (& before anybody says, no I didn't give
>>>> it a blast with my Mega as it's been taken away from me so I
>>>> have to use the infamous Hawk, looks like a ladies hand bag
>>>> stuffed with bricks & is twice as useless, most of the time).
>>>
>>> The 'infamous hawk' has a 500v insulation tester built in, just
>>> like the old 18c megger. Don't say you missed that on the
>>> training and threw the booklet in the back of your van ;-)
>>
>> Believe or not I'm still waiting for the advanced Hawk training
>> for over 2 years & the no training was provided by 2 work shy
>> coaches looking for a couple of days out of the field.. As for
>> coupling it to my PC via Bluetooth or serial port I figured it out
>> on my own but don't see a use for it until they actually start to
>> record the test readings, like never as with the Harrier..
>
> It is not part of the advanced course. It is a basic feature of the
> unit. Normally it tests at 95v but pressing the button next to that
> figure cycles it through 95, 500, -500, -95. On later software they
> may have removed it but it still exists in the 'bridge' mode
> enabling a nice blast of 500v to be applied.

Well that's where we differ, later software on mine which clearly states
95V, most probably HS have been involved

> For intermittent noisy faults I bought a cheap Tempo Sidekick off of
> eBay. The stress test was very useful and why BT have nothing like
> it I don't know. It applies a 1khz tone across the pair at 140v and
> you can watch the HR jump about on the meter. I picked it up for
> £30 (but I've seen them go for a £1) and it gave me enough of an
> edge to spend more valuable time drinking tea ;-)

So clearly you are one of the group you were slandering in previous post,
the one where you called field engineers lazy & drink tea all day. I
suppose it's ok if you have a box van (that makes you second stage then) but
all the end user facing engineers in this overall area have to put up with
panel vans where you don't have room to drinl tea let alone make it. before
you ask it, no the electric kettle (like a lot of other bits of kit) isn't
fit for puirpose.

On Sat, 07 Jun 2008 08:10:05 +0100, kraftee passed an empty day by
writing:

> Klunk wrote:
>> On Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:29:29 +0100, kraftee passed an empty day by
>> writing:
>>
>>> Klunk wrote:
>>>> On Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:08:09 +0100, kraftee passed an empty day by
>>>> writing:
>>>>
>>>>> Mortimer wrote:
>>>>>> A customer has been having intermittent ADSL connection problems
>>>>>> ever since she got broadband about 6 months ago (though I only
>>>>>> learned of this a week ago) and the symptoms have got much more
>>>>>> frequent over the past couple of weeks.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Can I check that I have done the correct diagnostic checks.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> The router is a BT Voyager 210.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Symptoms are either:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 1. Router DSL light remains on but Internet light (ADSL logon) goes
>>>>>> out. This is the more frequent symptom.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> or
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 2. Router DSL light goes out and router retrains. This happens less
>>>>>> frequently.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Typically everything works fine for about an hour and then there is
>>>>>> a flurry of problems with failures maybe every 10 minutes or so,
>>>>>> followed by another long fault-free period.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Why would a router that has a good DSL carrier intermittently lose
>>>>>> its logon and need to be manually connected again, either by
>>>>>> rebooting the router or else by going into the router's config page
>>>>>> and pressing the Connect button? I have put the router in the
>>>>>> master test socket with all other wiring/equipment disconnected. I
>>>>>> have replaced the RJ11-RJ11 cable and microfilter with an RJ11-BT
>>>>>> cable to elimiminate the effect of faults in the cable or filter.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I have checked the line stats and they are good: downstream
>>>>>> attenuation of about 30 dB and noise margin of 8 dB, and upstream
>>>>>> lower attenuation / higher margin. The results for the router in
>>>>>> the master test socket are only about 2 dB better than those with
>>>>>> the router in the normal house wiring with everythign connected,
>>>>>> which suggests that wiring/equipment is not the cause. Despite
>>>>>> these good figures, the router can be seen to lose sync at random -
>>>>>> the stats then disappear.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I have tried with another router (BT Voyager 220) and this reported
>>>>>> the same stats and failed in the same way. I wasn't able to check
>>>>>> the loss of ADSL logon connection when there was a good DSL carrier
>>>>>> because this router was locked to work only with BT lines - I've
>>>>>> since learned how to re-flash it to remove that restriction!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Does all of this point to a line fault between the master socket
>>>>>> and the exchange? It may be significant that when I was doing all
>>>>>> my testing, there was constant heavy rain which could cause water
>>>>>> in cable joins on poles or in underground ducts.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've raised a call with the ISP but they haven't yet responded
>>>>>> apart from acknowledging the ticket and escalating it to the
>>>>>> correct department.
>>>>>
>>>>> It could be an intermitent noise on the line, buggers to find if
>>>>> there isn't any other diagnostics. Had one today, in the end I had
>>>>> to swap a pair as there were no fault conditions other than this
>>>>> intermitent noise (& before anybody says, no I didn't give it a
>>>>> blast with my Mega as it's been taken away from me so I have to use
>>>>> the infamous Hawk, looks like a ladies hand bag stuffed with bricks
>>>>> & is twice as useless, most of the time).
>>>>
>>>> The 'infamous hawk' has a 500v insulation tester built in, just like
>>>> the old 18c megger. Don't say you missed that on the training and
>>>> threw the booklet in the back of your van ;-)
>>>
>>> Believe or not I'm still waiting for the advanced Hawk training for
>>> over 2 years & the no training was provided by 2 work shy coaches
>>> looking for a couple of days out of the field.. As for coupling it to
>>> my PC via Bluetooth or serial port I figured it out on my own but
>>> don't see a use for it until they actually start to record the test
>>> readings, like never as with the Harrier..
>>
>> It is not part of the advanced course. It is a basic feature of the
>> unit. Normally it tests at 95v but pressing the button next to that
>> figure cycles it through 95, 500, -500, -95. On later software they may
>> have removed it but it still exists in the 'bridge' mode enabling a
>> nice blast of 500v to be applied.
>
> Well that's where we differ, later software on mine which clearly states
> 95V, most probably HS have been involved
>
>> For intermittent noisy faults I bought a cheap Tempo Sidekick off of
>> eBay. The stress test was very useful and why BT have nothing like it I
>> don't know. It applies a 1khz tone across the pair at 140v and you can
>> watch the HR jump about on the meter. I picked it up for 30 (but I've
>> seen them go for a 1) and it gave me enough of an edge to spend more
>> valuable time drinking tea ;-)
>
> So clearly you are one of the group you were slandering in previous
> post, the one where you called field engineers lazy & drink tea all day.
> I suppose it's ok if you have a box van (that makes you second stage
> then) but all the end user facing engineers in this overall area have to
> put up with panel vans where you don't have room to drinl tea let alone
> make it. before you ask it, no the electric kettle (like a lot of other
> bits of kit) isn't fit for puirpose.

There you go jumping the gun and making wild assumptions again, in all
the years you have been posting here you've not gotten over doing that.

To answer your points before you disappear up your own arse:
1) I slandered nobody. I told the truth.
2) Yes, I had plenty of days drinking tea and dodging work. I also had
plenty of days doing work other people were dodging or f**king up.
3) I've always gone that 'extra mile'. Buying your own test kit to
resolve multiple repeat reports and basic things like actually knowing
how to use the kit you have tends to be helpful.
4) Customer facing always. Always apologising for lazy, overpaid, thick
engineers who spent the day cutting and running.
4) I don't recall ever driving a box van. They were for the extremely
lazy twats (PPO's, PTO's etc.)
5) All electric kettles are fit for their purpose and PAT tested.

I've covered your points, keep digging - anything else?