weird dropout problems dg834g

hi all, here`s one to think about.my connection keeps dropping out at random times but usually 2 or 3 times per week.I am using an 834dg connected directly to a split adsl/phone faceplate supplied by BT. I have just switched ISPs from AOL to Plusnet,who between them have sent out 4 engineers to do a line test ,which is always ok. obviously,this is causing my downspeed to be very hit and miss,the best is 1.2,the worst 130kpbs. The wierdest thing is that when I lose sync,if I swap the RJ11 cable over between the router and socket,then the connection immediately re-syncs! You guys have helped me before,can anyone help this time please? BTW,only wires 2 and 5 are hooked up to the faceplate.

Line stats? http://www.dslzoneuk.net/adsl_line_stats.php

Any pattern to the drop outs? Time of day, atmospheric conditions, rain, neighbours coming home, cooking?

Might be worth monitoring the noise on the line with routerstats software

doesn`t seem to be, but it normally happens about 3 days apart. is it worth buying a better RJ11 ? here are my test results ; connection rate: 1504 kbps(DOWN-STREAM), 448 kbps(UP-STREAM)
IP profile for your line is - 135 kbps
Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 118 kbps

my downstream attn is 60 db , margin 12 db. upstream is 15.5 db,margin 19 db ( this looks strange)

Is your modem lead very long? If it isn't I doubt it'll make any difference.

It looks like you have suffered a noise event which has caused a poor sync thus knocking your IP profile down. Perhaps the 3 day cycle you notice is your profile recovering for a while and then dropping again. See http://www.dslzoneuk.net/adslmax_explained.php for an explanation.

Your stats don't look abnormal. You expect a lower attenuation and larger margin on the upstream.

The default downstream margin is 6dB. It seems to have been raised by two 3dB steps to 12dB in an automatic attempt to stabilise your line.

just checking with routerstats, the noise margin seems to be dropping to 8db every 5 minutes,then coming back up again. is this important? sorry if i sound like a doofus

Potentially. If it's regular it might help pin-point the device causing the noise. e.g. knowing something happens every 310 seconds for 5 seconds would be useful.

yep, something`s happening every 200 seconds, when the margin drops to between 9 and 11 db,it seems to mostly occur for around 20 seconds - a bit of an estimate-. can i do anything my end or does my ISP have to sort it?

It's very unlikely to be anything that either BT or your ISP should resolve. If I was you I would monitor the situation for a day or two to really establish the pattern. I think it more likely that the noise source (if indeed it is contributing to your problem) is pretty local or even inside your house.

thanks john for your time. i just had a call from plusnet telling me that BT have identified an exchange fault after running a PSTN test,and they`ll get back to me. what does pstn mean? many thanks again