Author Topic: DSL troubleshooting (Read 5447 times)

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!

Parker · « **Reply #1 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

Xairbusdriver · « **Reply #2 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".

Parker · « **Reply #3 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

gunug · « **Reply #4 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.

Parker · « **Reply #5 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.

zodraz · « **Reply #6 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.

chriskleeman · « **Reply #7 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

gunug · « **Reply #8 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!

D76 · « **Reply #9 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.

gunug · « **Reply #10 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!

D76 · « **Reply #11 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.

gunug · « **Reply #12 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!

D76 · « **Reply #13 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.

sandbox · « **Reply #14 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!

News:

Author Topic: DSL troubleshooting (Read 5447 times)