Thought I'd try the Origo plus 4 again last night plugged into the new filtered faceplate an cable. No change. Noise was still present through the handset.

Swapping back to the DG834G made no difference either (I just wanted to check again that this wasn't faulty by using the Origo). Sync was at around 2.2 Mbps, noise at around 10 dB.

Anyway, sometime this morning sync's been lost (hadn't used Router Stats this time, but could see from the stats page of the router that noise margin was at 1 dB). Sync was re-established at 160 kbps again @ 15 dB. Now it's at 13 dB and probably will pop off again sometime!

And it's raining too!

Regarding Openreach, is it their responsibility to check things like wiring to the NTE5 backplate, at the pole or even the tie pair at the exchange?

I just wish that they'd check for signs of water ingress somewhere as it save them from having to come out every so often.

Phill

Hi

Openreach came this morning. He took a listen to the line through the
phone and his handset, disconnected my filter and Router modem and said line was clear.

He then proceeded to connect the router and goes "listen! It's your
modem that's faulty" Makes a change from filters I suppose!

He then proceeds to pull WAN cable out of router a goes "see, it's gone"

I swapped Routers in front of him & thankfully, the noise was still there. He
then tried to blame the cable until I told him it's new.

I said that this is a symptom of a HR Dis - He hasn't got a hawk with him. Told me a HAWK & MOLE are the same thing & there used to be a RAT????!!!!!

Don't think he knows what a HR Dis is somehow and just brought one of those handsets - no laptop this time.

He wouldn't go up the pole to check for corrosion/breaks as he said it is a sealed unit.

Anyway, he's gone off in a bit of a strop and said he's going to do some more tests. That was an hour and a half ago.

Can't believe I had to explain a HR Dis to him!

Help!!

Phill

yep nice one, like I said on the entanet thread (I am currently debating with systemx there how bad openreach are) that my impression of visits is the engineer especially on longer lines will go out there way to try and get end user fault diagnosis and you had that, he started off trying to blame your modem and then cable and now he is in a strop because he now has to look for the actual fault.

A engineer that doesnt know what a HR dis is, either bad training or playing dumb.

My only advise will be first wait for him to come back, if he then says he hasnt found anything wrong, tell him you will not accept that the pole has no fault until he goes up and checks, make it clear it is up to him to prove there is no fault.

Edited by Chrysalis (Thu 23-Jul-09 12:52:59)

My ISP isn't being much help either now. They're saying as they didn't arrange Openreach to call, then it's nothing to do with them.

The reason B.T. got involved is because I posted on another (non internet specific forum) and got a reply from somebody at BT Support who said to PM them, then they suggested Openreach coming out. Can't understand why they didn't contact me through here?

As things stand at the moment, the problem is still there. It's been pouring down and I don't expect them to come back. I'm really losing faith.

I think my only option (which isn't a great one due to who's available here) is Talk Talk.

I quite like the fact that they have a customer forum, which I haven't got with mine.

But until this problem is sorted, then I'm pretty screwed anyway and paying for the pleasure.

Good luck with your problem.

Phill

If it is an HR fault the engineer will not be able to detect it using an automated line test from his laptop. That interfaces with the TAM test head in the exchange and runs a single ended line test.

The only way to reliably test for an HR fault is by doing a double ended line test on the circuit. That is what the hawk is used for. I think the main reason engineers seem reluctant to do this is because it is time consuming. They need to travel back to the exchange first to setup one part of the hawk, then tramp back to the customer premises to run the test. If they know what they are doing and how to read the hawk then at this point they should see the HR and approximately where it is on the line. They then have to go back up the line and test towards the exchange from each cabinet etc. to find exactly which section of the cable it is. At which point the most likely thing they will do is move your line onto another pair in the bundle that runs from that cab to the next.

editted to add If it is an HR fault on the copper pair then moving to TalkTalk won't fix the problem..... they are still reliant on Openreach to fix faults like this.

Edited by deleted (Thu 23-Jul-09 13:34:23)

Time to change ISP I think.

If you have tried several filters in the master socket with the faceplate removed, different routers and cables what more can you do to prove its not your kit?

There is obviously a problem and BT need to sort it. You should not be (have been) charged for these muppets to just waste your time.

AAISP will take a line fault on and resolve it within a month, otherwise you can leave at no cost. They wont take any of this [censored] from BT.

Its pot luck with engineers that come round some are great and will actually fix the problem, some not! It has taken more than 10 visits to fix my fault, it should have been done first time, pure laziness on the part of the engineers!

If you are not tied into a contract give AAISP a try, be careful of the daytime usage allowance though, it does not suit everyone!

I've got no idea what's happening at the moment and am feeling pretty ground down.

In reply to a post by GeeTee:

If it is an HR fault on the copper pair then moving to TalkTalk won't fix the problem..... they are still reliant on Openreach to fix faults like this.

This is what I thought, so I am pretty stuck then!

I am definitely considering moving ISPs but due to the limited options here and because of the fault, well...

I'd seen AAISP metioned before somewhere & checked them out, looked pretty good.

At least my contract is up with my present ISP (whom I've been very careful not to mention. They're not cheap either - which really grinds now) is up.

I just cant believe simple things haven't been checked. Things like the A-B wires from the pole to the rear of the NTE5, or terminations at the pole. And to say that water isn't a problem because it's a sealed unit seems a bit "hmm..."

Are there any ISPs out there who use two paper cups with a length of string between them?!!!

I think Pipex/Tiscali a laughing at me for leaving them!

Phill

In reply to a post by Flip74:

I've got no idea what's happening at the moment and am feeling pretty ground down.

In reply to a post by GeeTee:

If it is an HR fault on the copper pair then moving to TalkTalk won't fix the problem..... they are still reliant on Openreach to fix faults like this.

This is what I thought, so I am pretty stuck then!

Do what I did - email BT's chairman, Ian Livingston. That's what I did last Saturday, and I got a reply within half an hour, and now I have one of the Openreach managers on the case of my line. Mind you, 4 days later, and it's still faulty !

You can get Ian Livingston's email by Googling. If you're on Facebook, you might want to join the "I hate BT" group, which has all the email addresses for the senior managers on it.

The DP at the top of the pole "should" be sealed, it depends if the last engineer refitted it correctly. It is not a sealed unit, he just couldn't be bothered to check. It does take some time getting all the PPE equipment on (hard hat, high vis vest, harness) then get his latter off the van. Much easier to just report "right when tested" and charge you. Looks good on his stats too.