How do you work out line attenuation?

Efaws · 6 Apr 2006 at 18:47

Just signed up for 24mb broadband, and itll be live on my exchange in 2 weeks :eek:

Found this tho

http://www.beforum.co.uk/forum/default.aspx?f=2&m=3875

Little off putting that it might not be any faster than normal ADSL! Anyway of easily calculating line attenuation ?

Scottland · 6 Apr 2006 at 18:50

Assuming you currently have ADSL, it should be either

a) In your modem tools/information/diagnostics if its a USB modem
b) Somewhere on your routers setup page.

What modem or router do you have?

Efaws · 6 Apr 2006 at 18:55

Some sort of mentor router, with an alcatel modem inside - looked in the utility menus and cant find anything

Scottland · 6 Apr 2006 at 19:00

Log onto the web interface, and look for something like ADSL status, or line status.

It might also be called Downstream Loop Loss, Downstream Attenuation or similar.

Efaws · 6 Apr 2006 at 19:03

Thats what Im in

Can't find anything at all, been thru every menu, closest to that I can find is

Table of data rate information:
Stream Type

Actual Data Rate
Up Stream Duplex

288 (Kbps.)
Down Stream Duplex

608 (Kbps.)

Which is just the connection speed I think - is there any other way of calculating it, from distance from exchange maybe? Or is the router the only way ?

Scottland · 6 Apr 2006 at 19:09

This any help?

There's not really any other way of knowing. BTW can see it their side of things, but you can't exactly call BT Wholesale up, and even if you did they wouldn't tell you.

You can get a rough estimate with line lenght, but you don't know that either.

Efaws · 6 Apr 2006 at 19:12

Nope

Its a different chipset to that and is totally different, it really doesnt seem to have it on.... do you think if I upgraded the firmware there might be an option? And if I did, would I have to reenter my passwords and alloweed lists etc?

Efaws · 9 Apr 2006 at 22:41

Its absoultey not in the router anywhere

I've found out im 1.44km straight line distance, is there anyone else a similar length away who can give me a rough estimate of what my up and down attenuation might be?

tolien · 9 Apr 2006 at 22:47

No, because it wouldn't be meaningful.

Efaws · 9 Apr 2006 at 22:57

Wouldnt it give a rough idea tho ? I thought attenuation was how the signal decreased with cable length? Althought straight length could be 1.44 the real length might be 3, I imagine it wouldnt be that different?

tolien · 9 Apr 2006 at 23:02

Efaws said:
Wouldnt it give a rough idea tho ?

No - since the straight line distance doesn't have any relation to the length your line takes...

I thought attenuation was how the signal decreased with cable length?

Pretty much. It varies with the length of your pair, the material its made of, its diameter, etc etc

Althought straight length could be 1.44 the real length might be 3, I imagine it wouldnt be that different?

Might.

Not that your attenuation has that much to do with what you'll get anyway...