Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
|  Convincing AT&T?
After a few weeks of completely losing my DSL connection from around 12-6 AM (daily), I'm once again fed up with my AT&T service. (Surprise, surprise.) This reminded me of how bad my attenuation was, and if that had anything to do with this problem. With an attenuation of 69.7, I found out that I was just over 5000 ft from my CO. This makes sense, as on DSLR's local broadband maps it shows absolutely no COs north of 80 (the highway that separates my city into north and south). There are 5 COs south of 80, even though they really only service half of the city. I'm curious as to how I should go about bothering/persuading AT&T into building new COs north of 80 or even installing a repeater (because it seems that not one is on the line). Right now my broadband speeds make me want to order cable internet just for the heck of it (even though it would be difficult as I have satellite internet). In all reality, AT&T could get so much more business if they hooked up the new subdivisions that are all north of 80. But, alas, AT&T is too worried about large cities to care about me.
I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has ever had luck convincing AT&T to expand the DSL service in their city. |
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Gaff
Every Villain Is Lemons
join:1999-09-05
Mineral Wells, TX
clubs:
 ·AT&T Southwest
 ·Suddenlink
1 edit | I'm surprised you can even connect with an Attenuation of almost 70.
I've been told that I'm just under 12,000 feet yet I'm still able to maintain a solid Elite connection (I suspect that I'm the exception, rather than the rule, for examples at this distance though)
Are you sure there isn't anything you can do to clean up your line?
--
My PC Gaming Blog
»thegaffadin.blogspot.com |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| I've checked, double-checked, and even triple-checked my filters. I've moved my router to about fifty different locations in my house. (Might try connecting to the NID soon.) Other than that, I don't know what more I can do on my own to improve the line. I don't think it's an inside wiring issue (house is a 2006 new build). Perhaps it's a result of the two times that my line has been cut due to construction? I might just be that there's horribly bad wiring in my city. But nevertheless I just called up AT&T to dispatch a field tech to examine my connection. (And it's going to take until FRIDAY - that's 5 days from today!)  Meanwhile I'm still losing my signal. 
If you know any other way to improve a connection, I'd be glad to hear it. |
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Gaff
Every Villain Is Lemons
join:1999-09-05
Mineral Wells, TX
clubs:
·AT&T Southwest
·Suddenlink
1 edit | Testing from the NID would at least give you an indication of whether it's an internal or external wiring issue.
If you test and your Attenuation drops substantially then the likely culprit is somewhere inside your house; on the other hand if you test there and get the same results then the problem is likely further downstream from your house and would be AT&T's responsibility to fix.
What sort of modem do you have and how old is it? If it's a Motorola 2210 post the first two digits of the serial number as well.
--
My PC Gaming Blog
»thegaffadin.blogspot.com |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| 
From my usually connected jack. | 
From the NID, outside of my house. |
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Gaff
Every Villain Is Lemons
join:1999-09-05
Mineral Wells, TX
clubs:
·AT&T Southwest
·Suddenlink
| You certainly have something going on somewhere.
Show the tech those results and post back when you know more. I'd be interested to see what exactly they told you.
--
My PC Gaming Blog
»thegaffadin.blogspot.com |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| Field tech came out around 10. When she got here, she already had some data that said something was up with our line. She tested from the neighborhood crossbox and from our NID. Apparently, a guy down the street has 1.5Mbps service, so there's an issue with our line. Also, further down the street and across an avenue you cannot get service at all (strange?). Anyway, I'm directly connected to the CO since there's no RT (and will never be one). The field tech thought that since our line was cut, and that when the repaired sections contract at night, it loses connection. In any case, she dispatched a line tech to come out sometime later today. Still waiting on their visit. |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| Line tech got here about 1:30 (right after I posted). After knocking down my DSL for 30 minutes, he proceeded to call my phone and tell me that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my line (and he can tell that to the disconnects I get every morning). So I told him to consult with the field tech, because she knew that something was going on. There's absolutely no reason for the guy down the street to be pulling 1.5Mbps and I can barely pull .7Mbps. Anyway, he's packing up now and going to check at the CO (I hope). Seriously, if there was another option besides cable (or Clearwire...ugh) in my area, I'd jump at it faster than a bullet. AT&T is the first DSL I've had, but I can tell they're pretty horrible without any other experience. I wonder if I could pay for an RT to be installed... |
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NormanS
Premium,MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| said by Corei7Maniac  :Line tech got here about 1:30 (right after I posted). After knocking down my DSL for 30 I wonder if I could pay for an RT to be installed... Probably costs more than half a million dollars.
--
Norman
~Oh Lord, why have you come
~To Konnyu, with the Lion and the Drum |
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d_l
Barsoom
Premium,MVM
join:2002-12-08
Reno, NV
| reply to Corei7Maniac
It's strange that a huge hole (gap) opened up in your DMT chart at your NID test and that the maximum sync speed decreased slight there. Normally those results would be the other way around.
The hole is caused by some sort of RFI interference. If the interference is strong enough, it would explain your sync losses. |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| 
Another shot for your viewing pleasure. (After supposed cleaning.) |
At first the line tech was going to re-run the line, but then he connected to the NID as said there's nothing wrong. He left after I told him to talk to the earlier tech. After waiting for a few hours with no response, I called him back up. Apparently he didn't bother to tell me what he did and how the earlier tech followed him up with a line test that said everything was fine.
The situation is that my line starts at a box across the street and then is tunneled under the street to my NID. Supposedly he cleaned out the contacts where it goes from the box under the road. (They were corroded or something.) I don't see any difference in the MDC, but he closed the trouble ticket anyway. Strangely enough, I called up AT&T to see what speeds I could get now. The rep said I could get all the way up to Elite, according to her database. Which is funny since my modem reports max sync at 2500. I'm going to wait until this overnight trouble clears up before I even start thinking about upgrading my package (plus I'm still fuming at that price hike a while ago). I wonder if upping my speed level would clean up my line? I've heard that a very high SNR (I'm getting about 16 right now) causes imbalances in the line. No matter what they say, I still think there's something just right quite right with this whole thing.
I'll check my log in the morning to see if the line went down again. (If it does, there WILL be a new line run to my house.) |
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d_l
Barsoom
Premium,MVM
join:2002-12-08
Reno, NV
| reply to Corei7Maniac
Is that a NID shot or the regular jack shot?
You should be able to get 1536 speeds, but that is nonsense about the Elite speeds with those line stats. It is possible the rep's database is wrong and your phone line has been re-routed to a longer run.
Your upload attenuation says the loop is about 10.7 Kft long which won't qualify for Elite. The download attenuation of such a distance should be about 50-51 dB so there is something seriously wrong with either the modem or your line at the frequencies higher than those used for uploads. |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| It's just a normal jack shot.
What do you mean about a longer run? (There's the possibility of a shorter one?)
Anyway, I tried telling both techs about my attenuation, but they said they were going to have a look. Even if my line doesn't go down tonight (knowing me, it probably will), I'm going to call tech support and ask them about why my attenuation is off. |
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d_l
Barsoom
Premium,MVM
join:2002-12-08
Reno, NV
| reply to Corei7Maniac
Sometimes there could be several different cables feeding a cross connect box. The might have been installed at different times and have different routes. So depending on which cable bundle your line is connected to at the box, the total length to the CO would vary.
The techs in Direct should be able to tell you something about why your download attenuation is so much higher than it should be. Bridge taps can cause that. The line tech should have seen a bridge tap though. |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| reply to Corei7Maniac
My NID. Right next to power 'thingy'. (Excuse my ignorance.) | 
Top of NID. Blacc wire goes to power 'thingy'. | 
Bottom of NID. | 
'Drop box' in my front yard. Supposedly not connected to this one. Near power transformer. | 
Box across the street. Supposedly connected to this one. Another power transformer nearby. | 
The random open hole and weird sheating look threatening to me. |
Speaking of cross boxes, the field tech did mention something about that. She said everything tested fine from there and it was just on the next street over and down a few blocks. Might have to pursue that route.
In any case, I had an unreplied couple day old thread in Direct asking about my loop length. I edited in asking them about attenuation/cross box. Hopefully they'll reply soon.
And apparently black is spelled with two Cs and sheathing is missing an H now...oh well... |
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d_l
Barsoom
Premium,MVM
join:2002-12-08
Reno, NV
| reply to Corei7Maniac
I don't see anything obvious in those photos that would cause interference.
You might check your MDC frequently when connected at your regular jack to see if the hole opens up during normal DSL operation. Look for it to appear just before or right about when you lose sync. Maybe it was just a fluke coincidence it appeared when you happened to be checking at your NID. |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| 
Regular jack, a few hours before usual sync loss. |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| 
When I first noticed loss of sync. | 
A few minutes later, when tones started coming back in around 80. | 
Again, with tones avoiding 80 again. Notice upload is always solid. |
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d_l
Barsoom
Premium,MVM
join:2002-12-08
Reno, NV
| reply to Corei7Maniac
Well that's an interference source. If it only happens at night, have you any lighting devices around that only come on at those times? Say something like a timer-controlled, outdoor sodium lamp that can't start up properly, e.g flickers a lot before starting. |
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Corei7Maniac
join:2009-06-05
Longview, TX
| As far as outdoor lighting sources go, there's a light-sensitive light at the front of our house. There's two motion-sensitive lights attached to the back of our house. (One of them is about ten feet from the NID.) Also, two fixed timer-controlled lights are attached to our fence near the back. There's really no interference near there that I can think of. Well, I'll wait for the tech to get back to me. Maybe she can physically look at it for possible sources. I wonder where my indoor line goes from the NID to my regular jack... Perhaps I should check the stats from my NID at night too... |
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