And if you live anywhere around Stockport, somewhere I have 10-20 metres of telephone extension cable. Don't think of BT, to fit an extension they charge

In reply to:

---

it has to be a problem with your extension cabling, that rise in attenuation and drop in SNR margin are huge. As well as checking the actual connections as he says, have you routed it close to anything electro-magnetic?

---

That would not bump up the attenuation.

In reply to:

---

I used what I believe is the correct (highest) standard of cabling - it's basically the thickness of a mains power cable, and thicker than the cable that a detachable extension uses.

---

So what exactly is this cable?

I don't know - I bought it as part of a kit from what looked like a very reputable source on the internet a few years back. Is there any way I can tell you what it is without actually sending you a sample?

Unfortunately I don't, but thanks for the offer.

I could connect to the master socket directly, it's not an ideal solution however. I'd rather try to sort out the extension.

A stroke of genius: it has the following printed along it! Hadn't occurred to me earlier.

SEN5E UTP Category 5e 4PR 24AWG 513-85-00202 0223M - sounds impressive!

Is this cable a single solid core, or multi-stranded. ? If you've used standed cable (burglar alarm cable, or similar), then you've done yourself no favours. ADSL is open to two problems

1. Attenuation, which is normally fixed, because cables in the house don't normally affect attenuation. The fact that yours does, points to something badly wrong.

2. Noise. ADSL uses the same frequencies as MW radio. Some wired burglar alarms can radiate signals from the alarm wiring, even when the alarm is disarmed. Extension wiring can act as an aerial for these unwanted signals. The best method for keeping noise levels low is to keep un-filtered wiring as short as possible. If necessary, connect the ADSL modem directly to a filtered master faceplate, and run Cat5 ethernet back to the PC('s).

Edited by deleted (Thu 19-Apr-07 10:45:05)

Thanks for your post.

I'm not sure I fully understand the question - the cable appears to be multi-stranded, i.e. there are a number of smaller, different coloured wires inside it. When I bought it (a few years back), it was sold as a kit specifically to enable a telephone extension to be used for broadband. The seller seemed very genuine - the website had a lot of very useful and technical information - no guarantee of course that it was correct.

Your solution (2) seems a possibility - if I understand correctly, you're proposing that I relocate the modem next to the master socket, and then run a long Cat5 ethernet cable up to the PC. Is that right?

In reply to:

---

UTP Category 5e

---

This looks good. But I am really puzzled by your description of it being as thick as a mains cable. Now, I was thinking ringmain or lighting cable, which is too thick for Cat 5.

Secondly, when people ask if the cable is stranded, they meanis the conductor in a core stranded. If it is, irt is likely to be burglar alarm cable, which is the downfall of many an ADSl installation.

Just on a hunch, try your telephone on the extension [if it's not too far to take it] and report back whether it works. If it doesn't, then report back also the wiring colurs on the terminals in the back of the socket.

Maybe I exaggerated the thickness slightly, but defintely thicker than regular extension cable.

I still don't really know how to tell if the cable is stranded - if it's important, perhaps you could let me know how I can determine this.

I can't immediately try a phone on the extension, as the socket is a vertical rather than horizontal one (sorry, don't know correct terms), and I don't have an adpater handy. Now that I think of it, I seem to remember opting for an installation kit that would be dedictaed ADSL, and not be wired for telephone use. Or something like that. Does that give any clues? The wiring colours are blue and white/blue, which are connected to the top right hand terminal and the one beneath it, both numbered "1".

I may have resolved the problem another way, as I have just discovered a second master terminal, which must have been used for a second line in to the property at some stage. Had assumed it was a redundant extension, but it turns out that it's a master socket and much closer to the PC. If I can switch my number from existing socket to this one, I could be laughing What are the odds it won't be that easy...?