Awful SNR... is this what i'm lumped with?

[Deathwish]

I already have a facew plate that looks like that was fitted in the late 90's by bt are these xt 2005 things any better? As its only a small amount to pay?

I can only speak for myself and it improved my SNR from an unsteady 10dB to a steady 28dB.

 

[Firegod]

The Master Socket is the demarcation point between your internal wiring which is your responsibiltiy and BT wirings which is theirs.

They don't like you messing around with the Master Socket, infact its illegal to do anything other than run extensions from it. If they find out you have changed it, or fiddled they can cancel your contract.

The XTE-2005 replaces the bottom half of the NTE5, so you dont invalidate your contract, and further extensions always come from the bottom half.

If you dont currently have an NTE5, BT will come and fit a new one for £30.

http://www.wark19.eclipse.co.uk/nte5a.jpg - The small from part is the bit you can change, and its where all extensions are wired from. This is the part the XTE-2005 replaces.

Sorry to ask another question on this, but I found my master socket yesterday after reading about the NTE5. Now, when the bottom half facia is replaced, do you need to do anything to the other connections around the house. For example, my router is in my room and the master socket is in the loft. So can I just plug direct as soon as I fit the XTE-2005 or do the other facia's need replacing on the other connections in the rooms?!?

I'm a little confused. Basically I have nothing connected to the master socket as I guess most people do, so what else do I need to change?



Many Thanks!!

 

[Gavin]

I can only speak for myself and it improved my SNR from an unsteady 10dB to a steady 28dB.

What from a normal bt installed one? wow

 

[Phemo]

Sorry to ask another question on this, but I found my master socket yesterday after reading about the NTE5. Now, when the bottom half facia is replaced, do you need to do anything to the other connections around the house. For example, my router is in my room and the master socket is in the loft. So can I just plug direct as soon as I fit the XTE-2005 or do the other facia's need replacing on the other connections in the rooms?!?

I'm a little confused. Basically I have nothing connected to the master socket as I guess most people do, so what else do I need to change?



Many Thanks!!

All other sockets are wired up as extensions to the lower half of the master socket. You should find that when the lower half is unplugged, all the other sockets won't actually work. The ADSL faceplate should go on the master socket.

This gives you two options, really:

1). Run the ADSL cable from your room to the loft where the faceplate will be fitted - this would be preferred, and generally less hassle to wire up.

2). The XTE-2005 allows you to wire up unfiltered extensions. You should be able to wire up all extensions to the filtered side and only the extension you need to the unfiltered side. Then you'll be able to use a regular filter, or the XTF-68/85, at the unfiltered extension.

 

[WOMBATWILSON]

if you are on adsl max then the target snr is 6db and the line speed will change to get the best connection whilst staying at 6snr

 

[Deathwish]

Sorry to ask another question on this, but I found my master socket yesterday after reading about the NTE5. Now, when the bottom half facia is replaced, do you need to do anything to the other connections around the house. For example, my router is in my room and the master socket is in the loft. So can I just plug direct as soon as I fit the XTE-2005 or do the other facia's need replacing on the other connections in the rooms?!?

I'm a little confused. Basically I have nothing connected to the master socket as I guess most people do, so what else do I need to change?



Many Thanks!!

The ADSL Face plate replaces the bottom half of the NTE5 socket and as such the modem is plugged into this new face plate. Any extensions further down the line will not have an ADSL signal unless you wire them specifically from the special extensions on the XTE-2005.

 

[dirtydog]

I can only speak for myself and it improved my SNR from an unsteady 10dB to a steady 28dB.

I find it a bit hard to believe that most people could expect more than a few dB improvement though? Perhaps your socket was in a poor state in the first place?

 

[Deathwish]

I find it a bit hard to believe that most people could expect more than a few dB improvement though? Perhaps your socket was in a poor state in the first place?

Perhaps it was, but it was only installed 5 years ago as it was a new line.

http://www.wark19.eclipse.co.uk/before.jpg
http://www.wark19.eclipse.co.uk/after.jpg

Thats the difference!

 

[Mercutio]

I find it a bit hard to believe that most people could expect more than a few dB improvement though? Perhaps your socket was in a poor state in the first place?

If you consider that a lot of folks might not be using amazing filters too, the filters in this are general designed to be first class. That alone improves things. The lack of a small wire certainly helps.

For those with extensions running off the main socket id really recommend trying to switch to a cordless phone and disconnect the extension if its feasible. Extension = huge aerial picking up interference and feeding it back into your line. Get a cordless and plug the ADSL in downstairs next to the master (with a short, shielded to death RJ11 cable) then wireless/homeplug/cat5 up to the computer as once the connections safely got to the router your network will 99% have better speed than your net connection even with less than perfect networking.

 

[bigredshark]

Simple answer, i did this for a friend today, call BT, complain there is noise on the line, say it comes and goes. They will usually send an engineer out, who will probably be a good bloke, have a chat with him and he'll run various line test (it'll also tell him the cable length - mine is 2.67km, despite being about 850m straight line from the exchange)

I got the engineer to fit a new NTE5 in place of the old master and run new cable outside to the distribution point, broadband speed went from 3.7mbps to 7.4mbps

result!

 

[Richdog]

If you consider that a lot of folks might not be using amazing filters too, the filters in this are general designed to be first class. That alone improves things. The lack of a small wire certainly helps.

For those with extensions running off the main socket id really recommend trying to switch to a cordless phone and disconnect the extension if its feasible. Extension = huge aerial picking up interference and feeding it back into your line. Get a cordless and plug the ADSL in downstairs next to the master (with a short, shielded to death RJ11 cable) then wireless/homeplug/cat5 up to the computer as once the connections safely got to the router your network will 99% have better speed than your net connection even with less than perfect networking.

Mate I have an extension in my room and an extension in my dads room, both of which aren't used due to us having cordless phones. Will removing them form the loop increase SNR noticeably?

I get that too - usually when I'm running loads of connections to downloads. Very rare for me, but does happen as you say.

Mine can be anytime, whether downloading or not. Wishing I didn't buy this router now, especially due to Belkins support should I ever need to use them.

 

[Mercutio]

Mate I have an extension in my room and an extension in my dads room, both of which aren't used due to us having cordless phones. Will removing them form the loop increase SNR noticeably?

I dont know about noticably but considering a coat hanger picks up enough RF to get terrastrial TV it really cant be helping?
Its easy to connect back up if needed.
If its connected directly to an original BT faceplate (or in fact any faceplate that doesnt have the seperate voice/dsl extension terminals the XTE-2005 has) its unlikely to be shielded so it's an aeriel feeding "noise" into the unfiltered part of the signal. It IS noise so it HAS to effect SNR - just to what degree is the only thing worth thinking about.

Even 1 or 2 SNR can mean speed improvements/stability so gotta be worth a try at least? Let us know how you get on

 

[Mercutio]

Simple answer, i did this for a friend today, call BT, complain there is noise on the line, say it comes and goes. They will usually send an engineer out, who will probably be a good bloke, have a chat with him and he'll run various line test (it'll also tell him the cable length - mine is 2.67km, despite being about 850m straight line from the exchange)

I got the engineer to fit a new NTE5 in place of the old master and run new cable outside to the distribution point, broadband speed went from 3.7mbps to 7.4mbps

result!

How does this work when on an LLU - id pay good money for a new cable tween me and the pole

 

[BoomAM]

if you are on adsl max then the target snr is 6db and the line speed will change to get the best connection whilst staying at 6snr

Ah.
That explains a lot of things for me.
I used to get 15db+ from my downstream, and 25+ on my upstream IIRC.
Since i moved to ADSL Max, my downstream dropped to 6db, where it stays for a while, and occasionally drops down to 1 at various increments, and then back up to 6. Im still in the 'training' period though, so i'd imagine it'll stick at, or near to, 6db evantually.

How does this work when on an LLU - id pay good money for a new cable tween me and the pole

That'd cost you a fortune!

 

[tolien]

Im still in the 'training' period though, so i'd imagine it'll stick at, or near to, 6db evantually.

It'll continue to vary until the end of time.

 

[Richdog]

Simple answer, i did this for a friend today, call BT, complain there is noise on the line, say it comes and goes. They will usually send an engineer out, who will probably be a good bloke, have a chat with him and he'll run various line test (it'll also tell him the cable length - mine is 2.67km, despite being about 850m straight line from the exchange)

I got the engineer to fit a new NTE5 in place of the old master and run new cable outside to the distribution point, broadband speed went from 3.7mbps to 7.4mbps

result!

Run a new cable... how much did that cost?

I dont know about noticably but considering a coat hanger picks up enough RF to get terrastrial TV it really cant be helping?
Its easy to connect back up if needed.
If its connected directly to an original BT faceplate (or in fact any faceplate that doesnt have the seperate voice/dsl extension terminals the XTE-2005 has) its unlikely to be shielded so it's an aeriel feeding "noise" into the unfiltered part of the signal. It IS noise so it HAS to effect SNR - just to what degree is the only thing worth thinking about.

Even 1 or 2 SNR can mean speed improvements/stability so gotta be worth a try at least? Let us know how you get on

I'll do that tonight when I get home, cheers dude!

 

[tolien]

Run a new cable... how much did that cost?

From the DP to the master socket, not from the exchange.
Costs peanuts, but unless the drop cable's screwed it's not worthwhile.

 

[#Chri5#]

On a long / iffy line, I found a SpeedTouch 510 v4 worked much better than a 546 v4 or v5. It was a tip off I got from here - IIRC the 510 v4 has an Alcatel ADSL chipset which is better than the Broadcom in the 546.

 

[smids]

On a long / iffy line, I found a SpeedTouch 510 v4 worked much better than a 546 v4 or v5. It was a tip off I got from here - IIRC the 510 v4 has an Alcatel ADSL chipset which is better than the Broadcom in the 546.

Does it not depend on what chipset is used at the exchange though? Most of the BT exchanges use Broadcom hence the good line stats when coupled with the same manufactured chipset.

 

[Richdog]

Wow ADSL MAX was killing my SNR man... I got "downgraded" to 1MB IPstream by ISNet and now my router has "settled" down I am getting an SNR of 23.3 downstream!

What's the minimum requirement for 2MB IPstream?

EDIT - Is there any way to improve attenuation?