| [Troubles] Intermittent service Howdy all,
I live in S. Central KY and have been a Windstream customer for a few months. I am on their "best effort" plan, with a static IP. I can usually connect at 1533/383 with the 4200 modem reporting a snr of 11-13 and line att of 61 or 62. Yes I live way out in the sticks.
The issue I am having is that nearly every evening between 9pm and 10 pm the snr gets cut in half and the line attn stays about the same. This plays heck on the connection. It usually returns sometime in the early hours of the morning.....sometimes as late as 9 am.
Does anyone have a decent explanation for what could be going on here? I have called tech support several times only to be told that it is traffic, or line quality or whatever they want to tell me at the time.
I have a hard time believing that a typically stable connection just goes from workable to not working at nearly the same time everyday, only to return to great and working several hours later.
Any ideas anybody?
TIA
Brad |
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 PiggieI Actually use WindstreamPremium
join:2005-11-23
Orange Springs, FL
1 edit | Sounds like a classic case of expanding and contracting copper and connections. Gets hot, expands and makes a better connection. Cools off things shrink, connection is not as good.
They often happen on aerial paths to your house but they can happen at posts. Normally the buried cable doesn't change temp that fast but even it can.
One of the field techs should be able to tell you how to report it.
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said by bradslinux4:Does anyone have a decent explanation for what could be going on here? I have called tech support several times only to be told that it is traffic, or line quality or whatever they want to tell me at the time. I have a hard time believing that a typically stable connection just goes from workable to not working at nearly the same time everyday, only to return to great and working several hours later. Any ideas anybody? TIA Brad In the post I put up about Twitter to Tech Support, this is exactly what I mean about multiple calls to tech support. Having them make up answers. I can't believe in their script books there is a flow chart from S/N gets worse all night to lots of traffic. That was some CRs personal jump, only to confuse a customer.
The hours this Gentleman (OP) gave to all of the CRs should have a flow chart in their book to send out a field tech to test the line. Might have to test it at night to find the point that changes with most likely temperature.
The other and better alternative is to hire people that know networking and can think on their feet. Make working conditions good enough people (CRs) stay with Windstream for 10, 15 or 20 years. However this model no longer fits into a market driven bottom line economy.
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| said by Piggie:Sounds like a classic case of expanding and contracting copper and connections. Gets hot, expands and makes a better connection. Cools off things shrink, connection is not as good. They often happen on aerial paths to your house but they can happen at posts. Normally the buried cable doesn't change temp that fast but even it can. One of the field techs should be able to tell you how to report it. I had actually considered the temp variation. It is probably a combination of both temp and traffic. The temp falls in the evening, more people at home and active on their connections.......both adding noise to the line, and the temp effecting attenuation.
Since I have a static IP, I get to talk to some VERY knowledgeable techs at the dedicated support dept. Definitely not reading from scripts, It does surprise me that one of them hadn't mentioned the temp variable. I guess they don't want to muddy the issue too much, and if telling that to a non-technically inclined person, it could be perceived as a lame excuse.
Thanks for bringing more light on this for me. It's nice to have confirmation on ideas. (great minds think alike; and all that)
In whole, I am glad to have DSL after being a DirectPC, Gilat2home Pilot tester/starband, and wildblue sat user for the last 10 years, it sure is nice to have DSL after riding on the satellite merry-go-round.
In my opinion and experience, Windstream support (both tech and biz) have been great to deal with. |
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 Doctor OldsI Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.Premium,VIP
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30
kudos:18 | reply to bradslinux4
said by bradslinux4: Howdy all, I live in S. Central KY and have been a Windstream customer for a few months. I am on their "best effort" plan, with a static IP. I can usually connect at 1533/383 with the 4200 modem reporting a snr of 11-13 and line att of 61 or 62. Yes I live way out in the sticks. The issue I am having is that nearly every evening between 9pm and 10 pm the snr gets cut in half and the line attn stays about the same. This plays heck on the connection. It usually returns sometime in the early hours of the morning.....sometimes as late as 9 am. Actually it sounds like something else other than temperature. Are they exact every time? What else is changing around the same times that the SNR changes? Are you having Security lights or Street lights come on? Do any timers come on/dimmer switches start being used? Are you hearing any AM Radio station bleed through on the phone line? Are there any noises that are audible on the phone line when you press 1 to dismiss the dial tone? Do you have a new HD Plasma screen TV? Is there a local Ham Operator or a repeater tower nearby? Are all the devices that plug into a phone jack (TiVo, FAX, Satellite TV, Answering Machine, Alarm System, Corded and Cordless phones) all on separate DSL Filters or do you have a Whole House splitter/filter installed?
You are already on a Marginal line with 61 to 62 dB Attenuation which means that you are far way from the DSLAM itself. That is the important part as you can be out in the sticks and real close to a remote DSLAM which would give you excellent service quality. Have you ever tested at the NID to see if that improves by showing lower Attenuation numbers?
»Windstream DSL FAQ »Modem DSL Statistics? What do the SNR and ATTN numbers show me about my line?
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What’s the point of owning a supercar if you can’t scare yourself stupid from time to time? |
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| It is usually around the same time. There are no events in the house that happen at the same time the problem starts.
I have tested at the NID shows the same SNR/ATTN. All the wiring in the house is high quality wire, I even run cat5e for the telephones RJ11's. I do live on the fringe of getting service, but for the most part, it works like a charm. Profile at the DSLAM is Interleaved Line type and Mode is READSL. The problem seems to run in spurts, and when it does happen, it is at nearly the same time within an hour.
Accorging to a tech I talked to, Windstream has been doing upgrades in the area, and so far, so good. The last two nights have been rock solid with no outages even with several torrential downpours of rain.
Maybe the upgrades fixed the problem, time will tell.
Now all I have to do is wait for them to install a remote DSLAM between the CO I connect to now, and I will be in high cotton! 
Thanks for all the input.
Brad |
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 WindstreamPremium,VIP
join:2009-03-31
Twinsburg, OH
kudos:28 | Hi Brad, I'm glad your connection has been stable for the last couple days. If you do notice the problem happening again, I would certainly like to help resolve this.
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We're here to help! wci.broadbandhelp@windstream.com |
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| Hi Windstream..........
I got to doing some checking here at the house, and ran a line from the modem, directly to the NID.....It would appear that some of my house wiring is not up to snuff. Considering that a tech from windstream checked it after the initial DSL install and said everything was green, I am not sure what to say. What I am doing is ordering and installing a splitter at the NID and running a dedicated line to the modem.
When I ran it direct, the SNR went from 7 to 15!!!! YEEHAAA
after pulling my hair out trying to figure out what was wrong.
It was the wiring all along. Right now, during peak time, the SNR is 14 and everything looks great.
Weird how this stuff works.......or doesn't.
Thanks for the help everyone.
Brad |
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Doctor OldsI Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.Premium,VIP
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30
kudos:18 | said by bradslinux4:It would appear that some of my house wiring is not up to snuff. Considering that a tech from windstream checked it after the initial DSL install and said everything was green, I am not sure what to say. What I am doing is ordering and installing a splitter at the NID and running a dedicated line to the modem. When I ran it direct, the SNR went from 7 to 15!!!! YEEHAAA Inside wiring can degrade with age. Glad you found an easy to implement fix to increase signal strength to the Modem.
Regards,
Doctor Olds
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What’s the point of owning a supercar if you can’t scare yourself stupid from time to time? |
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