PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => General Tech Discussion, News & Q&A => Topic started by: Clive on November 22, 2007, 09:01
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Almost nine out of 10 UK net users are connecting via broadband services, official figures reveal.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7105242.stm
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And some of them actually get above dial-up speeds! :devil:
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Mine rarely does these days! Today is an exception as I'm getting 3 meg but 0.2 meg has been the norm these past few weeks. :bawl:
Good old BT. It was fine until I locked myself in for another 18 months. :bawl:
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Surely it's only the first 18 months that counts as the minimum term, Clive? You've been with then forever, so I can't see how you're still tied to them, unless you have entered into a new contract for another service.
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Yes, I did when I signed up for Home Hub and a cut of 2 quid on my extortionate monthly charge. At this point in time it's no big deal because Mrs Clive's employers pay the bill. But I wasn't prepared for the debilitating drop in speed that has frequently taken place since I signed up.
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Thought so... it's dropped to 0.234 meg.
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Line stats?
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Good heavens it's now leapt up to 6.208 Meg! Upstream is 0.448 meg. Data transmitted 68.78 Received 274.32 meg.
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:dunno:
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Must admit I am a little disappointed in my speeds since I moved to BeThere.co.uk
I was expecting around 14 to 18mbs but seems to be only around 11 to 12mb down and 1.2mb up.
Its a lot better and cheaper than I was getting off Pipex and I have had some torrents coming in at over 550kbps and a few downloads off MS sites at 1.2mbps, I had never seen the download window show anything in mbps before and thought it was slow until I noticed it was in mbps and not kbps :)
I dont really understand the router stats, apart from the bandwith ones Rik but if you can make any sense of them here are mine :
Link Information
Uptime: 2 days, 7:04:35
Modulation: G.992.5 Annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 1,152 / 12,328
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [MB/MB]: 613.58 / 757.66
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 12.0 / 19.0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 15.0 / 31.0
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 8.5 / 5.5
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / µ
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 4 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 1 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 3,135 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 860,321,556
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 7,570 / 6,557
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 3,738 / 2,283
Apparently they have DLAM running or something like that for the first 15 days to try and get the best speed and most stable connection.
I think I am past that so may ask them to remove it as some people have noticed an increases in speed after they have removed their monitoring thing.
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Hi Sandra
The DSLAM is the bit of kit you connect to, the monitoring is usually done by separate software - though I'm not that strong on LLU products.
For the attenuation you have, 31db, a sync speed of 12,328k at a noise margin of 5.5db seems pretty fair. LLU operators don't use the BT profile system, so your line is running as fast as it can.
The one thing that would concern me is the FEC error count. At 860M in 2.3 days, it's a bit high, and suggests you are probably losing some packets to noise, thus reducing your overall throughput.
How is your router connected, eg to the master socket, or at the end of an extension? It may be that a few internal wiring tweaks would help.
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Good heavens it's now leapt up to 6.208 Meg! Upstream is 0.448 meg. Data transmitted 68.78 Received 274.32 meg.
How about attenuation and noise margin, Clive?
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Its a router direct into the BT master socket via a splitter Rik.
The Be forums have suggested that some people try removing the face plate and connecting directly into the socket behind it so as to elimiminate any extensions to see if that improves things but I only have one extension so I dont think that would affect it.
Some have suggested disconnecting the bell wire can improve things as well.
A few people have mentioned getting high FEC errors but the Be people dont seem to be too worried about them for some reason ?
To be honest I am quite happy with the speeds I get but you know us gals, we always like a bit more than we can usually get ;)
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Seems detached compared with the old school methods for keeping busy during a snow in. :crazy:
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How about attenuation and noise margin, Clive?
Sorry Rik. Computer says "no". :dunno:
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The Be forums have suggested that some people try removing the face plate and connecting directly into the socket behind it so as to elimiminate any extensions to see if that improves things but I only have one extension so I dont think that would affect it.
ADSL works in the AM RF band, Sandra, so is suceptible to both RF propagation and general electrical noise. Hence, noise generally increases after dark, and winter performance is generally worse than summer. The extension wiring acts as an antenna, especially if the ring wire is connected. I recommend connecting at the test socket and seeing what your figures are compared to normal. If they improve, the extension wiring is having an impact.
Some have suggested disconnecting the bell wire can improve things as well.
It is one of the simplest and most effective improvements you can make to your system. The signal, or exchange pair, are carried on one 'twisted pair' of cables. That twisting cancels out much of the noise pickup. The ring wire, however, is a single wire and, therefore, simply acts as a giant antenna, bringing noise into the circuit. If you look at the removable face plate of you master socket, you should find the extension wired to terminal 2 & 5 with a pair, eg blue/white and white/blue. The ring wire is on terminal three, often orange/white. Just gently wiggle the ring wire out, using a small pair of pliers, and curl it up out of the way. Repeat that at the other socket. Note that, if you find the wires on terminals 2 & 5 are not a pair, eg blue/white and green/white, then you should switch one of them (at both ends) to make it a pair.
A few people have mentioned getting high FEC errors but the Be people dont seem to be too worried about them for some reason ?
Well, if it were an IPStream product, I'd definitely be worried, but if Be are happy... ;)
To be honest I am quite happy with the speeds I get but you know us gals, we always like a bit more than we can usually get ;)
There's a fair few men who are the same when it comes to ADSL. ;D
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You really need to take your computer to obedience school, Clive. ;D
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Thanks for that Rik, I may investigate those options this weekend if I get chance :)
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You really need to take your computer to obedience school, Clive. ;D
Yeah right! I tried that with my wife once! ;D
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Just the once, eh... Says it all really. ;)
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I was born a wimp and I shall remain one - if I know what's good for me! :)
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Wise man. ;)