Line Attenuation and Speed and Noise ?

I am with Virgin.net and have just run Dr Speedtouch...it came up with the following information.

WANCommonInterfaceConfig
DSLUptime= 847
ErrorredSeconds= 5
LossOfFraming= 5
LossOfLink= 0
LossOfSignal= 5
PhysicalLinkStatus= Up
ReceiveAttenuation_dB= 23
ReceiveMargin_dB= 2
RxOutputPower_dBm= 0
SendAttenuation_dB= 13
SendMargin_dB= 10
TotalBytesReceived= 115540
TotalBytesSent= 125080
TotalPacketsReceived= 976
TotalPacketsSent= 976
TxOutputPower_dBm= 0
Uptime= 847
ChannelMode= Fast
Layer1DownstreamMaxBitRate= 6400000
Layer1UpstreamMaxBitRate= 448000
WANAccessType= DSL


Does this look normal ? any experts out there ?

Looks a little rubbish to me: -
23db line attenuation
2db noise margin
6400kbps sync

Should be a lot higher sync, and/or noise margin, at your line attenuation.
Are you using a Speedtouch USB modem, or a proper router?
Is your router/modem plugged into the BT master socket, or an extension?
Do you get better results if you take the lower front cover off the master (assuming you've the newer type with the split front plate), and plug the modem/router directly (use a micro-filter if needed) into the 'test' socket inside?

Speedtouch 330 modem ( no router ) its connected directly to the only phone socket in the house which i believe is an extension although i have tried taking the faceplate off the master socket and plugging directly in and it makes no difference and i don't have sky or any other equipment which could be causing problems.

I have noticed noise on my phone line for a while now whenever i make calls and reported this to BT who said there wasn't a fault ( could this be the problem ? )

I never used to have a problem with AOL but i seem to be getting these problems with Virgin.

I can't help but think the noise i'm experiencing on my phone line isn't normal...i'm only 690 metres from my local exchange too which is enabled for 8mb speeds although BT tells me i can get 6.5mbp/s max.

If there's noise on the voice line, with micro-filters in place and all ADSL equipment unplugged, then it sounds like there's a fault on the voice line, which you should report again to BT.
Before you do that, however, get hold of a different 'phone and micro-filter (just in case its not an equipment fault at your end).
If you're less than 1km from the exchange (remember the cable could go in the other direction and be a couple of km long) and have a line attenuation of 26db, you should be able to connect at the maximum 8128kbps with plenty of noise margin to spare.

You might want to try switching to a proper router (you can get a 'b' grade/refurbished Speedtouch 546 at DSL Depot for

I re-installed everything....apparently the latest drivers switched the speedtouch modem into a isochronous transfer mode and it was giving me just 1400kb/s of available USB bandwidth......after re-installing the software which came on the CD i found my USB bandwidth returned to 10530kb/s.......

it's still not right though and i think the speedtouch is eating up too much current...it requires a full 500ma and that is the max allowed and i think the computer is shutting the modem down.....i wonder if i can buy self powered USB hubs ? My current setup has USB 1.1 only.

Latest test shows this.

WANCommonInterfaceConfig
DSLUptime= 618
ErrorredSeconds= 19
LossOfFraming= 19
LossOfLink= 1
LossOfSignal= 19
PhysicalLinkStatus= Up
ReceiveAttenuation_dB= 18
ReceiveMargin_dB= 18
RxOutputPower_dBm= 0
SendAttenuation_dB= 10
SendMargin_dB= 25
TotalBytesReceived= 9891761
TotalBytesSent= 5572473
TotalPacketsReceived= 12253
TotalPacketsSent= 12253
TxOutputPower_dBm= 0
Uptime= 618
ChannelMode= Interleaved
Layer1DownstreamMaxBitRate= 8000000
Layer1UpstreamMaxBitRate= 448000
WANAccessType= DSL

I also read that my modem might be giving me under 4mb/s because i haven't got the latest drivers supporting faster speeds...when i download the latest from thomsons website my USB bandwidth collapses to 1400kb/s...what to do ?

Edited by disgruntled69 (Mon 16-Oct-06 03:33:45)

Get a modem with ethernet output. USB modems don't just eat current from the USB port, they make the processor work harder too. If you haven't got an erthernet port on your PC, you can purchase a PCI ethernet card for a tenner or less.