Master Sockt Rewire

I recently helped a friend to get his Broadband up and running,
re-using equipment that worked entirely satisfactory at another
address. Both locations connect via Nildram.

With syncing problems, the physical connections were re-checked,
connections pushed home, filters in place etc. from which it was
noticed that the internal wiring to the master socket was very DIY [by
the previous owner] and concluded it would be sensible to call out BT
to re-run the cabling to the master socket. A freebie wasn't required
and it was thought the charge for such a service would be around the
£50 mark, after all a brand new line costs £99 and that means,
presumably, a lot more work.

So far the response from BT has been beyond belief. They checked the
line remotely and stated that all was OK for both POTS and ADSL,
implying the hardware/software setup for the equipment was wrong and
that further assistance should be sought from the ISP.

Our response was OK, we will speak to them but meanwhile can you do
this rewiring job please? Response - if you wish, but it would be on
a T&M basis with the cost likely to be in the £250 region! No amount
of protesting about this 'silly' price has made one iota of
difference.

Any thoughts from this newsgroup how to bridge this breakdown in
communications?

DAVID BRADLEY

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
David Bradley <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I recently helped a friend to get his Broadband up and running,
> re-using equipment that worked entirely satisfactory at another
> address. Both locations connect via Nildram.
>
> With syncing problems, the physical connections were re-checked,
> connections pushed home, filters in place etc. from which it was
> noticed that the internal wiring to the master socket was very DIY [by
> the previous owner] and concluded it would be sensible to call out BT
> to re-run the cabling to the master socket. A freebie wasn't required
> and it was thought the charge for such a service would be around the
> £50 mark, after all a brand new line costs £99 and that means,
> presumably, a lot more work.
>
> So far the response from BT has been beyond belief. They checked the
> line remotely and stated that all was OK for both POTS and ADSL,
> implying the hardware/software setup for the equipment was wrong and
> that further assistance should be sought from the ISP.
>
> Our response was OK, we will speak to them but meanwhile can you do
> this rewiring job please? Response - if you wish, but it would be on
> a T&M basis with the cost likely to be in the £250 region! No amount
> of protesting about this 'silly' price has made one iota of
> difference.
>
> Any thoughts from this newsgroup how to bridge this breakdown in
> communications?
>
> DAVID BRADLEY


Not really, apart from doing it yourself! [BT clearly don't want the job]

Meanwhile, can you do a lash-up by connecting the BB equipment to the master
socket** - thus confirming or otherwise that the problem *is* due to the
suspect extension wiring?

**i.e. to the internal socket in the master, with a faceplate removed
--
Cheers,
Tim
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is Black Hole!

> With syncing problems, the physical connections were re-checked,
> connections pushed home, filters in place etc. from which it was
> noticed that the internal wiring to the master socket was very DIY [by
> the previous owner] and concluded it would be sensible to call out BT
> to re-run the cabling to the master socket.

Can you recap - do you mean the master socket or an extension wired from
it ?

If you mean its an extension, does the line work ok at the master ?

--
Please add "[newsgroup]" in the subject of any personal replies via email
* old email address "btiruseless" abandoned due to worm-generated spam *
--- My new email address has "ngspamtrap" & @btinternet.com in it ;-) ---

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 22:01:02 -0000, "Tiscali Tim" <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
>David Bradley <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>> I recently helped a friend to get his Broadband up and running,
>> re-using equipment that worked entirely satisfactory at another
>> address. Both locations connect via Nildram.
>>
>> With syncing problems, the physical connections were re-checked,
>> connections pushed home, filters in place etc. from which it was
>> noticed that the internal wiring to the master socket was very DIY [by
>> the previous owner] and concluded it would be sensible to call out BT
>> to re-run the cabling to the master socket. A freebie wasn't required
>> and it was thought the charge for such a service would be around the
>> £50 mark, after all a brand new line costs £99 and that means,
>> presumably, a lot more work.
>>
>> So far the response from BT has been beyond belief. They checked the
>> line remotely and stated that all was OK for both POTS and ADSL,
>> implying the hardware/software setup for the equipment was wrong and
>> that further assistance should be sought from the ISP.
>>
>> Our response was OK, we will speak to them but meanwhile can you do
>> this rewiring job please? Response - if you wish, but it would be on
>> a T&M basis with the cost likely to be in the £250 region! No amount
>> of protesting about this 'silly' price has made one iota of
>> difference.
>>
>> Any thoughts from this newsgroup how to bridge this breakdown in
>> communications?
>>
>> DAVID BRADLEY
>
>
>Not really, apart from doing it yourself! [BT clearly don't want the job]
>
>Meanwhile, can you do a lash-up by connecting the BB equipment to the master
>socket** - thus confirming or otherwise that the problem *is* due to the
>suspect extension wiring?
>
>**i.e. to the internal socket in the master, with a faceplate removed

Yes have done this, by using the master socket's normally hidden
outlet. The problem does seem to be very much the wiring to the pole
[or at the very least to the junction box of BT internal wiring to the
exterior wiring].

Have asked Nildram for help in resolving issue but BT are working in
the slow lane to report back to them. Instead I have to ring Nildram
ever 12 hours or so for a progress report; there's none so far.

DAVID BRADLEY

On Sat, 28 Feb 2004 22:08:00 -0000, Colin Wilson <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>> With syncing problems, the physical connections were re-checked,
>> connections pushed home, filters in place etc. from which it was
>> noticed that the internal wiring to the master socket was very DIY [by
>> the previous owner] and concluded it would be sensible to call out BT
>> to re-run the cabling to the master socket.
>
>Can you recap - do you mean the master socket or an extension wired from
>it ?

The wiring from the pole to the master socket looks VERY dodgy!
>
>If you mean its an extension, does the line work ok at the master ?

Plugged into the Master Socket's hidden outlook is a known good
fillter and then the supplied cable to the router, a Draytek 2600. No
POTS equipment attched to the line. The Draytek online status
sometimes gives "SHOW TIME" but usually goes round in a loop with
"INTIALISING" > "READY" > "FAIL" > .....

DAVID BRADLEY

On 28/02/2004 David Bradley a wrote :
> The wiring from the pole to the master socket looks VERY dodgy!
>>
>> If you mean its an extension, does the line work ok at the master ?
>
> Plugged into the Master Socket's hidden outlook is a known good
> fillter and then the supplied cable to the router, a Draytek 2600. No
> POTS equipment attched to the line. The Draytek online status
> sometimes gives "SHOW TIME" but usually goes round in a loop with
> "INTIALISING" > "READY" > "FAIL" > .....

If it really is dodgy, then it will be BT's responsibility to
repair/replace and at no cost to you. That is part of the line rental
serive you are paying for.

Try dialling 17070 then selecting 'Quiet line test' from the menu. If
you here crackles and noises, especially when the wind blows the line
to the pole about, then report a fault to BT on 150. Tell them you
suspect the above bit of wiring as the cause.

--

Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.org

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
David Bradley <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
> Yes have done this, by using the master socket's normally hidden
> outlet. The problem does seem to be very much the wiring to the pole
> [or at the very least to the junction box of BT internal wiring to the
> exterior wiring].
>
> Have asked Nildram for help in resolving issue but BT are working in
> the slow lane to report back to them. Instead I have to ring Nildram
> ever 12 hours or so for a progress report; there's none so far.
>
> DAVID BRADLEY


Sorry, I misunderstood your original post and assumed that you were
referring to internal wiring between the master and an extension into which
the BB equipment was plugged - rather than the incoming wiring to the
master. I guess I was thrown by the DIY bit - because you're only supposed
to DIY extension wiring - with everything on the incoming side of the master
being BT's prerogative!

As others have said, you'll have to get BT to fix it - but you'll have
somehow to convince them that there's a problem - even though their remote
tests don't find one.

The other alternative is to DIY the repair - probably illegal, but probably
the quickest and cheapest solution. How accessible is the junction box
between the external and internal wiring. Can you easily check/clean
up/tighten the connections?
--
Cheers,
Tim
______
Please reply to newsgroup. Reply address is Black Hole!

Having read your thread this advice would be a bit drastic/last resort
stuff!
Identify your dropwire - put a ladder up the pole - and snap it!
Their linetest won't work after that - and they won't rejoin the dropwire.
A bit vandalistic, but it *WILL* work!

Thinking about it, the dropwire is usually fairly stiff, rigid, flat-twin
cable. If yours is like this, you could try breaking it by flexing it back
and forth between the fingers so that it snaps internally - not breaking the
outer insulation!. Try to do this somewhere up high on your own property.
This will force BT to replace the dropwire.

No flames from the community please - this guy *IS* desparate!

--
(E-Mail Removed)
Reply address is spamtrapped. Remove theobvious for valid e-mail address

Paul King wrote:
> Having read your thread this advice would be a bit drastic/last
> resort stuff!
> Identify your dropwire - put a ladder up the pole - and snap it!
> Their linetest won't work after that - and they won't rejoin the
> dropwire. A bit vandalistic, but it *WILL* work!
>
> Thinking about it, the dropwire is usually fairly stiff, rigid,
> flat-twin cable. If yours is like this, you could try breaking it
> by flexing it back and forth between the fingers so that it snaps
> internally - not breaking the outer insulation!. Try to do this
> somewhere up high on your own property. This will force BT to
> replace the dropwire.
>
> No flames from the community please - this guy *IS* desparate!

No flames other than to say that you are around 10years plus out of date,
all dropwire is round nowadays & has been for some considerable time...

To the OP, there are a number of faults which give a false test ok, so if
you are sure that the wiring is faulty then keep on at 151 till they send
you an engineer & don't be put off by the 'possible charges'. The engineer
is asked to give a reason why he hasn't charged any customer nowadays so
will be used to giving reasons why they are not being raised......

On Sun, 29 Feb 2004 05:34:00 -0000, "Kráftéé"
<kraftee@spam_off_&_die_ntlworld.com> wrote:

>Paul King wrote:
>> Having read your thread this advice would be a bit drastic/last
>> resort stuff!
>> Identify your dropwire - put a ladder up the pole - and snap it!
>> Their linetest won't work after that - and they won't rejoin the
>> dropwire. A bit vandalistic, but it *WILL* work!
>>
>> Thinking about it, the dropwire is usually fairly stiff, rigid,
>> flat-twin cable. If yours is like this, you could try breaking it
>> by flexing it back and forth between the fingers so that it snaps
>> internally - not breaking the outer insulation!. Try to do this
>> somewhere up high on your own property. This will force BT to
>> replace the dropwire.
>>
>> No flames from the community please - this guy *IS* desparate!
>
>No flames other than to say that you are around 10years plus out of date,
>all dropwire is round nowadays & has been for some considerable time...
>
>To the OP, there are a number of faults which give a false test ok, so if
>you are sure that the wiring is faulty then keep on at 151 till they send
>you an engineer & don't be put off by the 'possible charges'. The engineer
>is asked to give a reason why he hasn't charged any customer nowadays so
>will be used to giving reasons why they are not being raised......
>
Many thanks for all the observations and comments - I'll get the lines
open and tell you how I get on.

DAVID BRADLEY