Date   : Wed, 12 May 2010 15:45:44 +0100
From   : adsb@... (Andrew Benham)
Subject: [OT] ADSL capabilities

On 11/05/10 18:17, Andrew Hancock wrote:

> Is a "better" different router (Netgear, 2Wire) going to help us, with
> variable intermittent SNR/Att, when 90% of the time it's okay.

Well, it's the classic engineers' response: when faced with a piece of
hardware which used to work and now doesn't, attempt to completely
redesign the area in which the fault has occurred.  You don't want
an electronic design engineer trying to mend your TV...

Your ADSL used to work properly, now it doesn't.  So something has
changed, and finding that is the most useful action.  Changing your
router might make some difference, but you'll still have the real
fault hanging around.

> Telephone Line warms up later a real drop in temperature, gets cold,
> contracts problem occurs.
> 
> Line is cold, warms up, expands problem occurs.
> 
> This what we've observed over the last few days, when temp dropped to -2
> Degrees C. I can only hypothise about contracting and expansion, but the
> problems occur with rise and fall of temp.

That's a possible situation.  If it is temperature related, I think it's
more likely to be a cable join "out in the open" rather than underground
(where it would be more insulated from temperature changes).  Without
knowing your installation it's hard to come up with likely candidates,
but I'd reckon good places to look are the overhead/drop wire joint
(especially if it's an old "twist the wires together" joint rather than
the newer weatherproof closure), and then the connections at the top of
the pole.
I gather that the wiring at the top of poles can be pretty awful
sometimes.  Certainly ours is - essentially every time an Openreach
employee goes up the pole our line stops working.

> PS Good News is BT are back on Friday, to "walk the line" and I don't think
> that's anything to do with Johnny Cash!

I'll keep my fingers crossed on Friday for you.

-- 
Andrew Benham         adsb@...       
Southgate, London N14, United Kingdom

The gates in my computer are AND OR and NOT, not "Bill"