[YLUG] Broadband Internet Advice

[Gaffer]

Hi John,

On Saturday 28 October 2006 17:23, hxi3 Inscribed Thus:
> Hello,

> I have been having some frustrating difficutlies with my ADSL
> connection, and was hoping that you might be able to spare a few
> minutes and give me some advice.
>
> About two weeks ago, I signed up for Virgin broadband.  My decision
> was based upon their unlimited download allowance, one month
> contract, and availability in Halifax.  Since that time, I have
> experienced frequent dropped connections--while I'm surfing the
> internet, the connection will be cut off out of the blue.  There is
> no rhyme or reason as to when the connection is dropped.  It can
> happen during a download, or when the connection is idle.  It can
> happen at peak usage times and during the low usage times.
>
> I have contacted Virgin, and they have suggested that I plug directly
> into the BT test socket in my home--it is the socket just after the
> BT line enters the house.  To be fair, this fix has dramatically
> reduced the dropped connections.  However, I'm still experiencing
> some interruption in service.  Do you have any ideas on what could be
> causing the dropped connections?

The "Test or Master" socket has a removable section.  I assume that you 
mean that you have removed it and plugged into the socket behind it !

If not try it !   I have found that simply removing and replacing the 
small section can improve things !  No guarantees !  Sometimes slight 
corrosion on the connector causes noise that upsets BB but doesn't 
affect the normal voice signal.

BT actually replaced mine for that reason !  The engineer left the old 
socket assembly.  I took it apart and was shocked to see that the wires 
on the internal part were blue with corrosion.

> I am using a Speedtouch USB ADSL modem that was supplied free of
> charge by Virgin.  It is worth noting that my USB modem is located at
> the end of a 15m telephone extension cable.  Could this be corrupting
> the signal in any way?

Whilst the above could also apply to the connectors on the ends of your 
cable, more likely the cable quality would cause signal loss along its 
length !  How much would depend upon the cable.  For instance, cotton 
filled tape wound flexible cable would loose far more signal than a 
solid cored semi rigid cable, like CAT5 !

> It has been suggested to me that a broadband 
> router would provide a more stable connection

Not always !  The Speedtouch 330 is quite good. 

> and that network cable 
> is much better at carrying a signal over long distances, however I
> don't want to spend money chasing this potential solution without
> getting some feedback first.
>
>
> Finally, have I made a mistake in chosing Virigin for my broadband
> service?  Is there a better company out there that you could
> recommend if my troubleshooting efforts don't work out?  I have
> considered cable, but unfortunately, it is not available in my area.

It all comes over BT lines !  So I would be more inclined to look at the 
quality of service provided by Virgin rather than signal issues,  
although some may disagree with me on that

>
> Any help, advice or recommendations would be very much appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> John

As an aside I too have a Virgin account !  Although I don't use it as 
much as I could !  My current provider is "TalkTalk"  formally "Onetel"  
Simply because the connection and calls are free.

HTH.
-- 
Best Regards:
     Derrick.