dsldan
join:2001-11-06
Forest Hills, NY
edit:
April 29th, @01:46AM
|  [connectivity] Confused about slow line speeds
Hi,
I've had DSL for a few years now on the 3.0 plan, and I've become used to rock solid speeds, except for one brief evening slowdown a while back. But for a good year or more, I've had no complaints. This is typical transceiver stats (»192.168.1.1/transtat.htm) on my Westell 2200:
Transceiver Information Down Stream Path Up Stream Path
DSL Speed (Kbits/Sec) 3360 864
Margin (db) 16.0 12.0
Line Attenuation (db) 40.0 18.5
Transmit Power (db/Hz) 13.0 11.0
Lately I've been getting slower speeds - but only in the evening.
First, I thought it was due to an oversubscribed router. But then I saw the Margin, a.k.a. (according to the modem help) Signal-to-Noise (S/N) ratio:
Transceiver Information Down Stream Path Up Stream Path
DSL Speed (Kbits/Sec) 1760 864
Margin (db) 0.5 12.0
Line Attenuation (db) 40.0 18.5
Transmit Power (db/Hz) 16.0 11.0
I've gotten slower connection speeds than this. But Margin 0.5? That's awful.
Here's what I'm confused about.....
If the problem is due to a noisy line, why does it clear up in the morning? You would think that a noisy line is a noisy line, and I would get terrible speeds all the time. Not so. In the morning, I'm back at 3360.
So why am I getting slow speeds only in the evening? Is it an oversubscribed router that is being falsely reported by the modem as a bad margin, or is it really a noisy line? If it's a noisy line, then why is it noisy only in the evening? I pick up the phone, dial 1, and... silence, no noise....
I'm confused....
loop length 8215 - 8215/250=32.86, so Line Attenuation 40 is ballpark.
Live in appt. building, can't get any closer to entry point.
Appt. has old style screw and post NID coming off the riser from the basement. NID has 3 extensions built into the wall when appt. was constructed (BRGY wire). The modem is on its own extension. Jack to modem is 10 feet of cat5e cable, made it myself. 2 phones on other 2 extensions have filters. No changes to physical setup for as long as I've had DSL.
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edit: and just this morning, a few hours later, I turn off and turn on the modem, and I get this:
Transceiver Information Down Stream Path Up Stream Path
DSL Speed (Kbits/Sec) 3360 864
Margin (db) 19.0 12.0
Line Attenuation (db) 40.0 18.5
Transmit Power (db/Hz) 13.0 11.0
Margin 19 is pretty good. Line tests at 2864 / 732 usable speed.
So why am I getting 0.5 a few hours earlier? Why is the margin bopping around all over the place? It makes no sense, unless it's a symptom of something else besides a noisy line... and if it's a noisy line, why isn't it noisy all the time?
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance...
-------------------------------------------------------
And here we go again, after staying at 3.0 all day, margin 16, I turn it on at 1:45 AM, and ...
Transceiver Information Down Stream Path Up Stream Path
DSL Speed (Kbits/Sec) 1696 864
Margin (db) 1.0 12.0
Line Attenuation (db) 40.0 18.5
Transmit Power (db/Hz) 16.0 11.0 |
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ajb62787
join:2005-05-28
Dundalk, MD
 ·Verizon Online DSL
edit:
April 29th, @03:26AM
| You're not the only one dealing with slow evening speeds. I live just outside of Baltimore and the past few months have been problem after problem figuring it was something going on with my connection to the point where they lied to me and told me "We can't handle the fastest tier internet in your area anymore, therefore, we will have to drop your speed back to 768K." Never did happen and after all this while for the past few months, its been growing more and more of a localized upgrade all up and down the East Coast of Verizon services rather than can't handle the workload as they first made assumptions of. Tonight, I think a bug bit the switch at my local Verizon CO like a spider-man like bug where I'm getting upload speeds 3 times my normal speed. This could mean for you on a possible 7.1Mbps DSL or FIOS push in your area in the not too distant future.
Transceiver Information Down Stream Path Up Stream Path
DSL Speed (Kbits/Sec) 3360 768
Margin (dB) 14.0 10.0
Line Attenuation (dB) 46.5 31.5
Transmit Power (dBm) 16.4 11.9
As you can see my DSL speed for upload is 768 but in another post, I posted my upload speed close to 1.9Mbps and its not cached and the weird part is that my loop length is 9200ft.
If I was you, I would get a Westell 6100 modem. I dislike the 2200 because it overheats too quickly and it almost caused a fire in my house. The 6100 is more of a warm feel compared to keeping your coffee at a boil or hot when putting it on top of your 2200 modem. |
|
mb
join:2000-07-23
Washington, NJ
 ·Vonage
·ViaTalk
·Verizon Online DSL
| reply to dsldan
If I remember correctly, under certain circumstances, your signal to noise ratio (margin) can be adversely affected if your circuit pair is physically close to a T1 bundle in a cable. I had a similar situation a while back that would cause an occasional loss of sync. There was no obvious rhyme or reason to it. I ended up getting a second dry loop installed, then I cancelled the account in question. I should note that the telco un-successfully tried a variety of fixes on the original pair including clearing it's bridged taps and swapping out a section of the pair thought to be bad. Good luck, obviously it is a line related condition...
--
"When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?"
Pete Seeger 1961
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dsldan
join:2001-11-06
Forest Hills, NY
edit:
May 1st, @01:08AM
| reply to dsldan
I noticed something else strange....
When the modem is turned on by the power strip ... i.e., the rocker switch on the back of the modem is on but the power strip is off and then turned on ... I am more likely to get a downstream margin of 0.5 or 1.0... but when i turn the modem on separately by the rocker switch, even just a few minutes later... i get 16. this has happened more than a few times.
and when it is left on all the time... more likely to get 16.
is there a problem with its syncing or initialization? Is my 2200 going? can I get a replacement? |
|
tschmidt
Premium,MVM
join:2000-11-12
Milford, NH
·Verizon Online DSL
| said by dsldan  :When the modem is turned on by the power strip ... i.e., the rocker switch on the back of the modem is on but the power strip is off and then turned on ... I am more likely to get a downstream margin of 0.5 or 1.0... but when i turn the modem on separately by the rocker switch, even just a few minutes later... i get 16. Is anything else powered by the Power strip? If what you are seeing a reproducible condition it may be noise from other equipment is affecting phone line.
May want to check wiring and modem/router location. Try moving things around a little.
/tom |
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NJxxxJon
something good. or your mom.
Premium
join:2005-10-22
00000
·Skype
 ·GoDaddy Hosting
·Verizon Online DSL
| Ill have to take a pic of my setup. Never had problems -but....My modem and wireless router are RIGHT NEXT TO my stereo speakers -Its too late too move this things NOW, heh? 
--
___________Post a VIDEO...or it DIDN'T HAPPEN_____ |
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dsldan
join:2001-11-06
Forest Hills, NY
| reply to tschmidt
said by tschmidt :said by dsldan :When the modem is turned on by the power strip ... i.e., the rocker switch on the back of the modem is on but the power strip is off and then turned on ... I am more likely to get a downstream margin of 0.5 or 1.0... but when i turn the modem on separately by the rocker switch, even just a few minutes later... i get 16. Is anything else powered by the Power strip? If what you are seeing a reproducible condition it may be noise from other equipment is affecting phone line. May want to check wiring and modem/router location. Try moving things around a little. /tom When I leave the modem on, it seems to be able to retain 3360 with a margin of 15.5 or 16 for several days.
But when I turn the modem off, it will come on with a margin of 0.5 or 1 until I turn it off and on a few times, and then it will finally come up to 15.5 or 16.
Weird. It's almost like a car that has to warm up....
Got a computer, monitor, inkjet printer and speakers on the power strip. Usual stuff, nothing special. |
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