Can a tree trash my ADSL connection?

Hi

Apologies in advance for the non techie language

I have been with my ISP for 4y
My connection has been solid until about 6 months ago when it started dropping out
It is usually in the evenings and now has reached the point where it is unusable from 6-11pm yet is OK during the day

As far as I know nothing has changed in my house or locally

My router logs the drops
Ive spoken to my ADSL provider who can see the drops and say all is well with everything up to my phone line

Now the phone line runs through about 6 of my neighbours trees and bushes and so has to be an obvious contender for the problem

My hesitation is that BT want £130 if they find nothing wrong when I call them out
Surely running my phone line through trees and bushes is the problem isnt it?
As described they are my neighbours not on my land and pruning them will be a major headache and expense
There is no other easy access from the nearest telegraph pole to my house

How is this likely to pan out please?
Im about to call BT and book the appointment but am curious about what they will suggest not to mention if they will charge my £130 if and when they find nothing wrong with my equipment

Many thanks

Well you may be right and the best thing to do would be to report the problem to your ISP, or if the phone line is noise with normal voice calls, to whoever you pay your line rental to.
The problem with trees is that they grow and in theory BT could clam from the owner of the trees if they have allowed them to damage BT's line (obviously the trees were not a problem when the line was installed and have grown around it) .

£130/£180/£200 the amount varies.

But they say word for word " if they find nothing wrong when I call them out"

The charge is normally levied where no fault is fault on their side of the network, but the fault is found in the wiring you are responsible e.g. your extension wiring, a phone plugged in without a filter etc

The tree/hedge may be a problem, but generally only if the outer insultation has been rubbed off the cable, or a branch is resting on cable and thus causing stress to the joints at the poles.

intermittent adsl usually always comes down to cables through trees if they exist.

phone your house from a mob and chat to someone, whilst doing this get a big pole and gently hit the cable from side to side, if the dw is the issue you may be able to hear noise on the call when you strike the cable

Isn't that just microphony which all cables exhibit?

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Isn't that just microphony which all cables exhibit?

No. Overhead lines are well packed. If there is noise it will be due to wear on the trees.

In reply to a post by systemx:

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Isn't that just microphony which all cables exhibit?

No. Overhead lines are well packed. If there is noise it will be due to wear on the trees.

Well if they're packed, I would have thought the effect would be even worse. I'm not convinced this is a valid test. Would BT be convinced?

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

In reply to a post by systemx:

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

Isn't that just microphony which all cables exhibit?

No. Overhead lines are well packed. If there is noise it will be due to wear on the trees.

Well if they're packed, I would have thought the effect would be even worse. I'm not convinced this is a valid test. Would BT be convinced?

Yes, and you are wrong Microphony is caused by movement of the individual conductors within in a cable, not movement of the whole cable itself. Microphone and signal cables have cotton or other non-conducting packing for this reason.

In reply to a post by systemx:

Yes, and you are wrong Microphony is caused by movement of the individual conductors within in a cable, not movement of the whole cable itself. Microphone and signal cables have cotton or other non-conducting packing for this reason.

So you're saying that overhead telephone cables are packed with cotton? This gets stranger and stranger.

I guess as long as BT will accept that "I hit it with a stick" is a vaild fault finding technique, the line will get replaced.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

In reply to a post by systemx:

Yes, and you are wrong Microphony is caused by movement of the individual conductors within in a cable, not movement of the whole cable itself. Microphone and signal cables have cotton or other non-conducting packing for this reason.

So you're saying that overhead telephone cables are packed with cotton? This gets stranger and stranger.

I guess as long as BT will accept that "I hit it with a stick" is a vaild fault finding technique, the line will get replaced.

At no point did I say that overhead telephone lines are packed with cotton, however I was using this as an example of other cables where the cable geometry is impotant to prevent the conductors from moving within in the cable.
Overhead telephone cable is packed with grease to help keep out damp and prevent the conductors from moving within in the cable. If they were as loose as internal phone cable conductors within the cable sheath, they could cause noise as the cable moves in the wind.
Its not a question of "hiting it with a stick" but trying to simulate conditions which may prove the cable is at fault.

In reply to a post by systemx:

Its not a question of "hiting it with a stick" but trying to simulate conditions which may prove the cable is at fault.

What I'm saying is that hitting any overhead phone cable with a stick will produce noise on the phone, tree or no tree.

In reply to a post by BatBoy:

In reply to a post by systemx:

Its not a question of "hiting it with a stick" but trying to simulate conditions which may prove the cable is at fault.

What I'm saying is that hitting any overhead phone cable with a stick will produce noise on the phone, tree or no tree.

You have not considered the circumstances under which an overhead phone cable must operate. They are constantly being moved by wind and stress is applied as birds land and take off from them. But in this case the cable runs through some trees which may have worn through the cable insulation as they and the cable move.

'Overhead telephone cable is packed with grease to help keep out damp and prevent the conductors from moving within in the cable. '

Depends which, 'normal' dropwire, pole to house is not grease filled, never has been.

Aerial cable, 10, 20 pair, etc is.

'What I'm saying is that hitting any overhead phone cable with a stick will produce noise on the phone, tree or no tree. '

No it won't. If there's an HR fault in the dropwire, it will often highlight the issue, producing the otherwise intermittent crackle. If it's not faulty, it won't. Engineers don't usually use a stick. You tap on the end of the pair, and give the span a firm shake.

Remove the detachable part of your master socket, then phone BT and ask them to test your voice phone line. If they find a fault you can then ask them to fix it.

I have had my phone line repaired several times. Most likely the faults are caused by trees pressing on the overhead cables.

do it everyday mate.

i have been up poles shaking 20pr aerial cables to try and prove a noise fault, you get some strange looks from people driving by.

There's a clue in the fact that it's worse after 6 pm. After dusk the phone line may be picking up RF interference (usually from medium wave broadcasts and other nearby sources). This could be more pronounced if the phone line is damaged, for instance if one leg of it was not well connected.
If this is the case then the slowing of the broadband would occur after 9 pm in summer but i don't suppose you can wait that long.

In reply to a post by mikkoyan:

There's a clue in the fact that it's worse after 6 pm. After dusk the phone line may be picking up RF interference (usually from medium wave broadcasts and other nearby sources). This could be more pronounced if the phone line is damaged, for instance if one leg of it was not well connected.
If this is the case then the slowing of the broadband would occur after 9 pm in summer but i don't suppose you can wait that long.

How will hitting the line with a stick help?

you what?

In reply to a post by andyboygsi:

you what?

Will BT accept a report of hitting a line with a stick as a reason to take action?

You have reverted to your annoying mode, can I suggest for your and everyone elses sanity dropping it

if you were onto the phone and shaking it, and it was making the noise then yes they would, better than that it would have also been confirmed with the operator.