Techsurvivors

Archives => 2006 => Topic started by: zodraz on August 29, 2006, 03:27:20 PM

Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: zodraz on August 29, 2006, 03:27:20 PM: I just installed SBC/Yahoo High Speed Internet and was very pleased with the speed (I was on dial-up).

Unfortunately my phone has gotten a LOT of static.

If I unplug the wireless "modem" ("2wire" branded) the phone is back to normal.

The static is there even if I use a "wired" phone.

I have yet to contact AT&T about this, but since I have Macs, it might be difficult for them.

Thanks!
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: Parker on August 29, 2006, 03:30:06 PM: you're probably not using your DSL filters that should have been provided free of charge.

-parker
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: Xairbusdriver on August 29, 2006, 05:51:14 PM: Nor should your Mac have any effect/cause as far as 'line noise' is concerned. Call them, that's part of their job/service. And don't take "It's your Mac" as a "solution".
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: Parker on August 29, 2006, 05:58:31 PM: ding!
i just realized that you said that
yes, when you unplug the modem, your phone is back to normal
it's the DSL connecting; you're not using your filters

ok problem solved (hopefully... knock on wood)

-parker
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: gunug on August 29, 2006, 06:11:05 PM: I have also found a problem or two with certain types of phones; mainly those with digital answering machines and other features. If you have access to plain old telephones (it can be touch tone but I find the old AT&T original fat bulky touch tone are best) you might strip the system down to just one of those and make sure it is plugged into the media or DSL filter and all other phones are unplugged. If you don't have noise at that point on the telephone then add in some of your other phones one at a time, each time plugged into the media filter and testing each time. If you find one of them that "seems" to cause the noise then unplug it and plug in the original phone you started with and see if the noise is still there (an indication that the problem might be in the wiring in that jack or leading up to that jack.

You might need to replace some (or all ) of your phone jacks or wiring. If your house isn't fully wired with modular jacks (that is if some of your phones are wired directly into a wall box or use strange pin type connections) you might need to replace them. The absolute best thing, if you live in a house that is recently built enough, is if you have a place where the phone line comes in from the outside and has a modular connection right there, is to test the phone there. If you have static right there then it's probably the phone companies problem and not yours.

Most modern places are wired with two pair so you can switch to the other pair if the first one is noisy. If you have questions about what I'm talking about (many people do ) you can find places on the internet that might explain it better or you can ask me questions here or at my personal email here! I've done this a few times with both DSL and cable and have solved a few problems this simply.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: Parker on August 30, 2006, 01:34:06 PM: are your cordless phones running on a 2.4ghz band?
do you have a wireless router??

this could also be caused by interferance between the two.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: zodraz on August 31, 2006, 08:59:40 AM: Thanks folks!

To answer your collective questions:

1- I installed the included filters on all the phones.

2- Yes I do have a 2 different 2.4 Ghz cordless phones:
a- Panasonic multi-phone unit (one remote phone) with digital
ansewering machine.
b- Panasonic single unit phone.

3- The house was built in 1959, and has had little done to the wiring
as far as I can tell. I believe that the "in-wall" is the old "3-wire" stuff.
I would also say that all the pone lines are spliced off of a single line
coming in the house.

4- I have my G5 tower and my son's MacBook Pro running wireless.
With the G5 file sharing over the AirPort.

I do have an "tank" of an AT&T touchtone that I rescued from the trash bin at work. I used to use it, so I'll plug it back in and run the "strip-down" test.

I think that there is a telephone "Patch Box" outside my house. I may try running a dedicated line from there. I was lucky a few years ago to have gotten a good supply of CAT-5 wire and I bought a RJ45/RJ11 plug installer.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: chriskleeman on August 31, 2006, 12:35:53 PM: I have had some of the same trouble after installing a newer ADSLx2 line, and it has been at the phone company end, almost 100 % of the time, fyi... I think they've finally fixed it... but if your wiring is on the older side, taking the time to make a dedicated line might work... Also, the outside box might be corroded...

Good luck!

Chris K
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: gunug on August 31, 2006, 12:48:29 PM: I just remembered something from when I worked for a computer leasing company in Kansas City. I had a Dedicated Service Line (maybe what ChrisK is calling a ADSL) hooked into the office server and we had a wild rainstorm and it flooded the ground out from around the buried phone lines and shorted them out. This was the phone companies problem to fix. The Patch Box is one name but the last phone guy I talked to called it the "Demarc" or point of demarcation and in new installations there should be a modular jack right in that box. I consider this kind of thing to be a learning experience but I know most people just get upset!

Later: My grandfather, in the days of the old solid bakelight phones with rotory dialing, used to crack the headset against the wall when he heard static on the lines and it usually cleared it up! Not a recommended repair procedure for less durable, more modern telephony!
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: D76 on August 31, 2006, 02:20:21 PM: How to dial one of them thar new-fangled teleeaphones:

Father Knows Best and Grampa Knows Nuttin'. Aw shucks.
Dial Comes to Town

Don't dial the hyphen!
Silent Movie

You, too, can make a phone out of parts.
From Parts

All from here. Break out the popcorn.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: gunug on August 31, 2006, 03:15:00 PM: I love Internet Archive and that one about Dial Comes To Town has the exact same telephone my grandfather used to wack against the wall to clear up static! I think that this worked on those old phones because either the speaker or microphone side just sat cradled on the connections instead of being soldered into place so it was easy to shake loose corrosion on the connections by wacking it. That's my theory and I'm sticking with it!
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: D76 on August 31, 2006, 08:56:36 PM: I've got a black dial desk phone, plastic, that I bought in the '70s, and the microphone sits on three connectors. The speaker is wired. The wire that plugs into the wall is removable, as is the coiled cord to the receiver, so it's post-four-prong plug-in. It still works.

I wonder how long it'll be before the phone companies allow pulse dialling to flat line.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: gunug on August 31, 2006, 09:17:29 PM: Pulse dialing is essentially the same as clicking the on hook button repeatedly so as long as there is a need for an onhook signal there will be at least the capability of pulse dialing. When I was in high school journalism class (1970's) they locked a telephone that we wanted to use with a dial lock and we used to dial the phone with the hook button. They finally had to take the phone out entirely!
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: D76 on August 31, 2006, 09:31:45 PM: I knew of a phone near a university dorm that had the dial removed. I used it once in a while on the job for local calls because the nearest pay phones were too far away.

I heard that "they" couldn't figure out how direct long distance calls were being billed to it. Finally, they yanked the phone. Not too bright for people running a university.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: sandbox on August 31, 2006, 11:10:18 PM: QUOTE
The static is there even if I use a "wired" phone.

it's not a radio signal issue.
bad connection, wire or contact.*
bad filter.**
When I used DSL I collected a bunch of filters.

Good luck!
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: krissel on September 01, 2006, 01:09:51 AM: Oh, did that first film bring back memories of when dialing came to my town. We had special lessons in class (1st or 2nd grade) on how to use the dial. It was at that point my folks decided to get a 'private' line, no more party line.

It's funny how things change in your dreams, too.
I used to have nightmares in which I was trying to dial for help but my fingers kept slipping on the dial and I could never get the number right.
Today those same dreams involve not pressing the number hard enough on my handset or the buttons getting stuck and not registering.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: chriskleeman on September 01, 2006, 09:35:19 AM: GUNUG,

ADSL= Asymetric Digital Service Line.... X2 is the newest version. ADSL will only run on copper phone lines... It's not dedicated, but its d... fast!!! It runs on our regular phone line, and the newest version has one filter at the in-box that takes care of all the phones. No other filters need apply!

Any luck yet Zodraz?

Chris K
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: gunug on September 01, 2006, 08:53:28 PM: Chris - To tell you the truth it's been 10 years or more since I had the job that had the dedicated line I'm talking about so I can't remember the exact initials. It was pre-DSL I'm pretty certain and the called it a Dedicated line and it was much faster than dialup and it belonged to the phone company!
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: jcarter on September 02, 2006, 07:30:52 AM: What an interesting topic, Ive learned a lot reading your posts.

Verizon just gave us DSL here, but Ive not hooked up, as our cable system is great.
One of my kids hooked up DSL at their house and its working very well, and a lot cheaper than our cable.

The Verizon trucks are all over the place here, so I asked them "whats cookin'" and they said that they will be installing FiberOptic system here soon. I guess its sort of a trial or something. He said we just wont believe what they will be offering us within the next year or so. Speeds will be amazing too.
Maybe the cable rates will come down a bit, once this competition gets up and running.
Jane
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: swhitset on September 02, 2006, 08:10:39 AM: I wish I lived in a place where FIOS (Fiber optic...) was available. As I understand it, the people that already have it are getting around 30 megabits/second down!!

Steve
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: jcarter on September 02, 2006, 08:16:51 AM: Hi Steve,
Its at least a year away. But tis interesting that last year, the Verizon truck guys told me it would be 4 or 5 years.
I sure am looking forward to it!
Jane
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: sandbox on September 03, 2006, 01:06:10 AM: I've been looking forward to FIOS myself. Installed in new road construction, they like it underground. I know it's in the north end of the county now but it hasn't reached the beaches yet.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: jcarter on September 03, 2006, 07:27:50 AM: Thats what I heard too, underground is better. All our utilities are above here, except for some of the newly developed areas.
Jane
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: gunug on September 03, 2006, 11:26:11 AM: Our school district is entirely fiber between all of the buildings which is great except for all of the times it has been broken by contractors working on roads and such. We've got a plan in place to put spokes into the big loop so we can speed things up and have a little redundancy!
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: Mayo on September 03, 2006, 03:45:39 PM: A fiber-optic cable was strung in our neighborhhod around two years ago by a locally-owned Charter competitor. Unfortunately, the company has elected to focus on educational and government contracts instead of competing directly with Charter at this point. (The line serves an elementary school up the street from us.)

I hope that someday the fiber optic company will begin serving regular folks!

BTW, DSL can be problematic for some brands of wireless routers; Apple Extreme Base Stations don't have such limitations. So current and future DSL subscribers should keep this in mind when selecting a router or trouble-shooting problematic DSL/wireless setups.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: zodraz on September 20, 2006, 12:42:56 PM: So I've learned something.

As I was tellin my wife what I was considering doing (getting a dmarc (MPOE) DSL splitter and rewireing (re-connecting) my internal phone connections – I ended up explaining how the self-install "line filters" worked.

Then I had a revelation! In my kitchen we have a wall mounted phone that I installed the "wall-mount" filter on. This filter also had a phone socket that I then plugged my cordless phone into.

Do you get it?

That socket was a "pass-through" – no filtering was being done!

So I added a line filter between it and the cordless phone.

And now it's all quite on the phone lines.

In my own defense I gotta knock AT&T/SBC for having such lightweight instructions. They did not explain, or even show the wall-mount filter in their instruction manual.

Thanks again for all your help, and I enjoyed the tangents this thread went on.
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: gunug on September 20, 2006, 12:58:43 PM: JOB WELL DONE!!!
Title: DSL troubleshooting
Post by: krissel on September 20, 2006, 11:48:17 PM: zodraz, thanks for the follow-up. We all learn from these threads even if we don't have the same problem.

Someday we might.