ISDN to ADSL Fails ! :( :(

AMDX23800+

AMDX23800+

AMDX23800+

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Joined
11 Mar 2006
Posts
673
Hi ,
BT came to convert my line from ISDN to ADSL today, There is 5km of wire to my house (max possible is 8km for adsl).
When the engineer plugged the modem into his laptop, the modem wouldn't even Sync !
WHY ?
5km is plenty in range, if the cables are rubbish shouldn't BT have to replace them with new cables ?
Thanks :(
 
It also depends what your line is made of. If there is aluminium in there then that'll kill an ADSL signal pretty quickly.

BT won't go replacing cables just so you can get ADSL.
 
What ISP did you order through?

If you're really desperate for ADSL, you could try a new simultaneous provision order.. they'll install a new PSTN line on the condition that it works for ADSL. If it doesn't, they will remove it and won't charge you a penny.

I'd also recommend trying a Max service, it might just be able to sync at say 288k, which is still better than ISDN!
 
Possibly there are aluminium cables in use somewhere between you and the exchange. ALu cabling is a real DSL killer.... and as far as i know BT are not obliged in any way to make sure you can get a broadband service. Ie they wont replace the cables if you can recieve a voice signal and a 14,000bps modem connection. Sucks but thats how it is.

I assume you arent in an area with Cable TV etc? the only other option is, like you say, and expensive IDSN connection or moving house!

Where do you live? rural area or near a town?
 
Rural area. We have ISDN and have had no problems with it.
I wouldn't of thought there would be Alum in the lines, they are really old overhead lines though.
Here is a story,
I am on the end of an 01543 line.
A guy 1/4 of a mile up my road is on the end of an 0121 line, he has 1mb adsl ! What a joke ! Maybe i should run a wireless router with a coverage extension aerial from his house ! :p

Why can't BT just stick us on that 0121 line !? its only 1/4 mile of copper cable ! I'll pay for it myself ! :(

Would this ISP work for ISDN 64k ? only £7 unlimited ! http://www.fast4.net/_files/dial.asp Thanks
 
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BT used to have dept for this sort of thing, but that was a while back and i dunno if its still around now. Your best bet is to nicely ask a BT workman if you see one in your area and he MAY give you a number to phone that isnt the damn indian call center. Dont even bother calling the usual numbers as you will get nowhere fast.

Is it a country lane from his house to yours? as a last desparate measure if its feasable you could string some networking cable between the houses lol... i have actually known someone to do this in Ireland over about 300meters and it worked!!.... obviously it wasnt 100mb or anthing but the 1mb adsl shared just great and he got 60k/sec usually. Bit overboard but it worked!
 
Insane though it sounds it could work... get him a dsl router and just get some cable and route it from the router to the outside and stick a socket somewhere....

someone will eventually come in here ranting and raving about how it cant be done but it can... AS A LAST RESORT of course. Talk to BT first and explore all avenues.

Oh and remember should you be mad enough to attempt it remember that usual cat5e or whatever you use is not deigned for outdoor use... it WILL degrade over time from water and sunlight exposure... maybe 2 years max id say. There is outdoor cable you can buy but ive never got any so i dunno how much more expsensive it is.
 
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Well...

Running ethernet cable between two different buildings isn't advised for various reasons, including grounding differentials, as they're very unlikely to have the same electrical feed.

Also, there's no way you can run CAT5e for 200m and it still work... the maximum quoted is 100m, you may be able to push it a bit further, but 200m... no chance.

Why not try a simultaneous ADSL + PSTN order anyway? You've got nothing to loose if it doesn't work.
 
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They install a brand new PSTN line, try and get ADSL working, if it doesn't, you pay nothing, if it does, sorted.

They might go a bit further and try pair swapping etc. if they have a spare available, for example.

Also, order Max from a decent ISP that actually knows what they're talking about, rather than IPStream Home 500. It can rate adapt right down to 160kbps. Some people on ADSLguide have got Home 250 (288k sync) working on lines where 512k didn't. It's got to be worth a shot!
 
Can i get MAX from BT ?
I don't want to go through another ISP because it is a nightmare cancelling the account if the ADSL does not connect because the ISP has to contact BT and they get confused. Took me 4 weeks to cancel my AOL ADSL !
 
No idea, I know BT won't do a simultaneous provide though.

Going with BT won't make any difference anyway. You'd be buying through BT Retail, who have to contact a different company (BT Wholesale) anyway. Just because it's sold under the BT brand doesn't mean they can do anything special.

Anyway, if a simultaneous provide fails, the BT engineer will leave and mark the job as failed... you won't be stuck with ADSL that won't work that you're then charged for.
 
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