Since last Friday, yes. This is what they look like right now:

Connection Status Connected
Ds Rate (Kbps) 6464
Us Rate (Kbps) 448
DS Margin 12
US Margin 24
DS Line Attenuation 30
US Line Attenuation 31

Just refreshed a few times and DS Margin is fluctuating between 10 & 12.

Strange. There's certainly the potential there for more, but I couldn't say what's caused the drop in sync.

Aye. I just connected with the SpeedTouch 330 to see what that says about line attenuation and noise margins, and it's the same as the GWAR3000 stats I posted except for a 1db increase in DS attenuation. It also syncs at an even lower rate:

ReceiveAttenuation_dB= 31
SendAttenuation_dB= 31
ReceiveMargin_dB= 15
SendMargin_dB= 25
RxOutputPower_dBm= 0
TxOutputPower_dBm= 0
Layer1DownstreamMaxBitRate= 5664000
Layer1UpstreamMaxBitRate= 448000

Edited by dneb (Mon 05-Feb-07 20:52:25)

Make sure you're running the drivers for 8Mb lines.

http://www.speedtouch.co.uk/downloads/330/301/PPPoA_0-38_ISO_MODE.zip

You may well be running the the standard Windows driver package from SpeedTouch. Try this and if your sync improves, we know the router is to blame.

I did select the >4Mbps driver option from the CD, but gave this one a try anyway and my sync rate changed to 6.1 Mbps. Consistently too. This is what the router is syncing at lately around 10pm at night (it is 10:12pm right now). Previously the modem would sync at anything above 5.7 Mbps, whatever the time of day or night.

Modem stats are all the same except for:

Layer1DownstreamMaxBitRate= 6176000
Layer1UpstreamMaxBitRate= 448000

I wish I could find the original firmware for the Addon GWAR3000 so I could rollback the router and see if it syncs at 8128/448 again, but the manufacturer doesn't make it available. I thought I'd backed it up before reflashing, but I later discovered the bin file was useless (loaded with nothing but null bytes). :/

Okay, so it looks like the SpeedTouch issue was the drivers, and you're now getting the same performance from both devices. It really is bizarre because you're by no means using the full potential of your line. I think it might be a good idea to get in touch with your ISP if it is a problem for you. I can understand your frustration as you once had the highest possible sync rate, but what you're achieving now is still excellent.

Thanks a lot for the help and clarification Sebastian. I'll give them a call. =)

I don't mean to be negative, but don't get your hopes up. A family member of mine had downstream sync of less than the upload, millions of HEC and CRC errors, and an extremely unusable connection. Even after a BT engineer visited, it was apparently operating within the guidelines!

Well the XTE-2005 just arrived, and although the US Margin and Attenuation stats are the same, the DS Margin fluctuation is nowhere near as severe. Previously, it would move rapidly betwen 10 & 15 (dipping lower at night), now it's moving between 13 & 15 at a much slower rate. I switched back to the microfilters and the fluctuation got worse, so there's a definite improvement with the XTE-2005. I'm not certain a more stable DS Margin is something to shout about. Indeed, I'm still syncing at between 5.6 & 6.6...so I'm still scratching my head in that regard.

Also, Demon Tech support couldn't care less. Oh well. It's not like it wasn't expected.