Solutions to continuous drop in Broadband connection

keithrus

Recently acquired broadband from Eircom.

Live in Rush, Co. Dublin.

The problem that we are having is that we have more than one computer in the house and the router is closer to one of them. We do not want to have wires crawling around the walls of the house, so I acquired a wireless card. The problem is is that the signal continues to stop and start and services such as the internet disconnects quite frequently at peak times.

Is there anything I can do to solve this?

Sponge Bob

by default your wireless router uses channel 6 or 7, change it to 11 and see if that improves, it could be interference froma neighbour

have you any vido sender in the house which could also interfere on a large scale ( or a neighbour may have one)

I take it that if you PLUG a network cable into the router there is no problem with your dsl

keithrus

Where would i be able to find this setting?

Also, the internet red light comes on fair bit. Is this because of continuity or whatever its called on the line(sharing with others)

Sponge Bob

click

http://192.168.1.254/

expert mode
wireless

kaizersoze

While you're in expert mode as Sponge Bob directed, on the left pane click,
Configure-->Connection
On the main page, scroll to the bottom and change the connection type from 'On Demand' to 'Always On'. Click 'Save Settings' then yes to restart connection. That should take care of the red internet light unless it's some other problem causing the disconnections.

You need to figure out if it's the wireless connection thats dropping or if the modem is disconnecting.

Does it happen to the other pc on the wired connection?
What is the behaviour of the lights on the front of the modem when it happens?

Sponge Bob

Possible K ...but.

the wireless netopias are set to always on by default and are shipped with always on packages so cool.

the usb modem is not wireless and is only shipped with the 20 hour package so always on is a bad idea for the wallet .

I also hope he did not acquire a crap wireless card...such as a Belkin...but he never bothered telling us did he

kaizersoze

Belkin *shudders*.

The wireless jobbies are set to 'On Demand' out of the box.

Sponge Bob

whoops , better remote desktop onto one so!

dub45

It would be helpful if people complaining of drops in service gave the speed of the bb product they were on and the line stats - on the netopia they are on the main page in the form xx/yy and its http://192.168.1.254 to get in there.

keithrus

Ok got a 2mb line service. Will check again for the make of card. But how much should i be forking out for a decent wireless card?

Drapper

do good routers improve the signal receipt levels? what modem would be the best? Also, what % improvement would you notice?

dub45

Drapper wrote:

do good routers improve the signal receipt levels? what modem would be the best? Also, what % improvement would you notice?

The only predictable thing about routers, wireless equipment etc is its unpredictability - it really is impossible to predict how any equipment will behave in a particular situation. I have seen people swear by Netgear for instance and others damn it as awful. It really is impossible to say what modem will be the best and most of the improvements say where a bad line is involved will be 'passive' with less disconnects etc rather than leapting out at you.

Also adsl2 which Smart uses is more resilient and tolerant of bad lines.

keithrus

some network info

Line State Up
Modulation DMT
Data Path Fast



Downstream Upstream
Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 2048 256
SN Margin (dB) 8.00 15.00
Line Attenuation (dB) 58.50 31.50
CRC Errors 279 2

---

I changed the requested setting from 7 to 11 but is still cutting off. Its a belkin card. Would changing the computer to different location make it any better? I seen a card that can do 108mb instead of 54mb. Anyone got any suggestions on wirelss boosters.?

Noticed the signal as in 54mbps all the way down to 1mbps

Changed value from on demand to always on. Will test this evening. Have 2 go to work!

Also changed the setting to always on.

Sponge Bob

thats a 1mbit line and NOT a 2mbit line according to those stats of yours

disconnect everything else from that line most especially sky boxes

check the netopia/filter is plugged in properly , ideally into the main socket with eircom logo on it

then turn it off and on again and once its up for 5 mins get those stats off it and paste them in here again to see if it improves.

do not plug anything back in until you do that and then pluge devices back in , one by one, and filter all of them as you do. You may eventually find that one device...a sky box or a phone with a big display, causes the stats to disimprove. Thats your problem then, even filters may not fix it and it may have to remain disconnected when you want to use BB

and belkin is crap....why did I just know it was a Belkin eh ??? but the line stats are the immediate issue at this point

GO!

kaizersoze

Sponge Bob wrote:

thats a 1mbit line and NOT a 2mbit line according to those stats of yours

How do you figure that Sponge?

keithrus wrote:

Downstream Upstream
Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 2048 256
SN Margin (dB) 8.00 15.00
Line Attenuation (dB) 58.50 31.50
CRC Errors 279 2

But I have a sneaking suspicion that a downgrade on his line would improve things if your instructions don't.

Sponge Bob

low SN margin (gap below 10 on the downlink)
high attenuation on same , 58db
lots of crc errors .

it sort of screams at me

were it 10-12 margin
45db-50db atten
double digit crc over a 1 week uptime

I would consider it a 2mbit line .

keithrus

The following are the results from a computer with ethernenet connection to the router. I got these after restarting the router.The router is approx 10 ft away from the actual connection at the wall so it could be the new telephone cable that goes from the router to the DSL filter at the phone connection. Is that possible and what can i do to resolve it? There is nothing else but the DSL router connected to the line


Line State Up
Modulation DMT
Data Path Fast



Downstream Upstream
Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 2048 256
SN Margin (dB) 9.00 16.00
Line Attenuation (dB) 59.50 31.50
CRC Errors 9 2

---

---

kaizersoze

Remove the filter and plug it directly into the phone socket. The modem doesn't actually need a filter, everything else does. At least it will rule out the filter.

Drapper

Line State Up
Modulation DMT
Data Path Fast


Downstream Upstream
Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 3072 384
SN Margin (dB) 11.50 12.00
Line Attenuation (dB) 54.50 31.50
CRC Errors 17 1


How'd you rate this ?

dub45

keithrus wrote:

The following are the results from a computer with ethernenet connection to the router. I got these after restarting the ......................


Downstream Upstream
Max Allowed Speed (kbps) 2048 256
SN Margin (dB) 9.00 16.00
Line Attenuation (dB) 59.50 31.50
CRC Errors 9 2

Your line is dire sad to say the line attenuation is 59.5 ideally you want this 50 and under and the SN margin is equally bad you need this getting over 10 at the very least. I have posted links to explanations for the impact of these stats many times and will add them for you later.http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/lowSNR.htm

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/linestats.htm

Drapper

dub45 wrote:

Your line is dire sad to say the line attenuation is 59.5 ideally you want this 50 and under and the SN margin is equally bad you need this getting over 10 at the very least. I have posted links to explanations for the impact of these stats many times and will add them for you later.

danka! its 12 during the day. the SNR margin.

Sponge Bob

when you plugged the modem in with no filter (things were a tadeen better but still crap ) was it the ONLY device plugged in in your entire house including filters???

were those stats from the main socket or out back somewhere ???

keithrus

stats coming from the main socket.....
i think there may be a problem with line degration
will post another stat listing later today

lucernarian

Not sure how it can be done, but you could get a master broadband socket fitted like they use on phonewatch installations and on dodgy lines aswell in the UK. It ensures that no bad internal wiring will affect the broadband signal, and you don't need any filters to use the remaining phone sockets.

philstar

i'm not techno savvy, so excuse my ignorance..but does a firewall affect bb connection speed??

lucernarian

No, assuming it's working okay.

keithrus

thanks for that one man.
Do you know how much they would cost?

Sponge Bob

every eircom van has them ( picture here), standard master socket for about 10 years now.

http://www.reci.ie/technicalinfo/eircominterface.pdf

you may have one yourself even .

lucernarian

Sponge Bob wrote:

every eircom van has them ( picture here), standard master socket for about 10 years now.

http://www.reci.ie/technicalinfo/eircominterface.pdf

you may have one yourself even .

They're the ordinary socket which has been around for about 5 years and which are indeed easily available from any eircom van.

I was referring him to the special master sockets with a DSL filter built in, like the NTE5 that BT use in the UK