So why you�re obviously not a �Belieber�, my post is a valid one, I go out and hunt these things using an am radio and a 444 meter.

Any word on the voice line noise? Is this still happening or was it fixed?

I've not updated for a while as I've been making changes and didn't want to jinx any of them however, I've now come to the realisation that there is definitely an issue with the line!

Things I've done:

Replaced trusty Billion 8800AXL with brand spankers Billion 8800AXL R2 with latest 'test FW'. Result - Slight improvement in upstream sync but still have stability issues. Conclusion - modem/ router not at fault.

Swapped out NTE5C and MK4 SSFP for NTE5A and MK3 SSFP. Result - nothing initially then after a couple of re-syncs, the line maxed out for both up and down streams. Sync hadn't been this good since G.INP kicked in a week or so after I was first connected. Curious as this change hasn't improved line stability but, it has increased upstream sync to around where it was before the issues started. Conclusion - NTEC and/ or MK4 SSFP were faulty?!

Re-cabled where the overhead cable comes into a plastic box on the side of the house to the master socket using CW1308 cable and OR 'DREX' gel crimps. Result - No change other than my feel good factor that the installation looks like it could have been done by OR. This also means that everything just before and on my side of the demarcation point has been changed for new or for parts that have shown an improvement.

Observations I've made:

In a post further up, I included a DSLstats screen dump of an event where the SNRM looks bad. I managed to perform a quiet line test when I noticed another one of these events occurring and the line was very noisy. It sounded like someone was blowing across the mouth piece, or using the phone in very windy weather and there was a defined crackle. Whilst listening, it stopped completely and went silent and then started up again. I've performed a number of quiet line tests at other times, including when I had the contact fault and never heard this before. I'm continuously monitoring the line via DSLstats and the Billion via syslog (link to log below) now. The obvious conclusion here is that the issue is very sporadic and doesn't happen at regular intervals.

I've also noticed recently that when the DSL link drops, the modem takes a number of attempts to re-connect with enough stability to maintain sync. This can be seen in the syslog here.

So my latest plan is to hope that I catch another noise event and contact IDNet when it' happening for them to perform a line test.


Paul

Edited by deleted (Tue 15-May-18 15:49:22)

In reply to a post by youngsyp:

<snip>
I managed to perform a quiet line test when I noticed another one of these events occurring and the line was very noisy. It sounded like someone was blowing across the mouth piece, or using the phone in very windy weather and there was a defined crackle. Whilst listening, it stopped completely and then started up again.
<snip>

What you have described is a strong indicator of one (or more) joint(s) in the metallic pathway showing intermittent HR or semi-conductive tendencies.

In reply to a post by burakkucat:

What you have described is a strong indicator of one (or more) joint(s) in the metallic pathway showing intermittent HR or semi-conductive tendencies.

Indeed and I'd wager it's probably at the same point that was causing the previous contact fault issue.

I just need to find a way to make it less intermittent!

Paul

In reply to a post by youngsyp:

Replaced trusty Billion 8800AXL with brand spankers Billion 8800AXL R2 with latest 'test FW'. Result - Slight improvement in upstream sync but still have stability issues. Conclusion - modem/ router not at fault.

I was never that impressed with the R2 versions of the 8800NL and AXL because they both use a cheaper chipset than their predecessors (confirmed by Billion's tech support) which seems to cause instability in the SNRM. The link has dslstat plots from the 8800NL R2 and the original which shows what I mean.
Link.

In reply to a post by simon194:

I was never that impressed with the R2 versions of the 8800NL and AXL because they both use a cheaper chipset than their predecessors (confirmed by Billion's tech support) which seems to cause instability in the SNRM. The link has dslstat plots from the 8800NL R2 and the original which shows what I mean.
Link.

I know the 8800NL R2 does use the inferior BCM chipset (BCM63381 I believe), when compared to the original but my understanding and experience, is that the AXL R2 uses the same BCM 63167/8 chipset as the original AXL. As stated above, I've seen an increase upstream sync with the AXL R2 over the AXL, with stability (hampered by the current issue) appearing the same, which would support this.
I'm also comparing both Billions with the ZyXel VMG8924-B10A another device renowned for achieving the best sync and reliability (which also uses the BCM63168 chipset). The AXL R2 is better than this in the former respect but I can't compare the latter currently.

Do you have a similar graph with the 8800AXL R2 in situ, on your line? It would be good to see the comparison.

Paul

I don't have an AXL R2 anymore. I'm trying to remember when I was using it because I have about three years of archived dslstats output on my fileserver.