DSL microfilters ... attic room wiring

iplogger1

I've been over at my father in-laws troubleshooting his DSL
install (new from BT.. he got the 45Euro talk plus package).

His computer is situated in an attic room in a 1920s era 3 storey
town house. The trouble is his telephone connection makes its
way from the attic room down to the floor below in the hotpress
and down eventually to the front room on the ground floor where
his main telephone point coming into the house is sited.
We had awful trouble connecting at first. I had put the microfilter
at the telephone jack in the upstairs/attic room. It would
rarely manage to get PPP connection. I switched the microfilter
to the room downstairs (i.e first and main jack outlet in the house).

The only trouble is that he has a phone in that upstairs room/office
and I've found that the phone has digital hiss/interference now
because BT only supplied a single two-port microfilter (computer/phone)
and that one is now being used downstairs.
Does anyone know if it is possible to place another two connection
microfilter at the remote room location (attic room in this instance)
or will there be some kind of cancelling effect of using two of those
filters back to back or whatever.

I have a 2-port microfilter here (from my eircom broadband setup)
I plan to bring it over and just try it and see if phone and DSL
internet can coexist in better harmony. Just wondered if any
of you broadbank experts/gurus could tell me what I might expect.
I'm adopting a try-it-and-see approach for now.
If it doesn't work he has to either run a separate telecom cable
up 2 floors for his phone or else purchase a DECT phone and
base station (which is extra expense for him.. a pensioner).

~ipl

stanley1

Just my two cents worth, I think you should start by running a new cable to your computer in attic, try to keep it away from hot pipes etc.

jor el

iplogger1 wrote:

The only trouble is that he has a phone in that upstairs room/office and I've found that the phone has digital hiss/interference now
because BT only supplied a single two-port microfilter (computer/phone)
and that one is now being used downstairs.
Does anyone know if it is possible to place another two connection
micro-filter at the remote room location (attic room in this instance)
or will there be some kind of cancelling effect of using two of those
filters back to back or whatever.

The two port filter is just a splitter with one line filtered. You connect the phone/fax equipment to the filtered side and a DSL modem to the unfiltered side. If you bring along another splitter you can use that on the phone and modem upstairs. If you have two phones connected to the one downstairs (one is then filtered and one not) then you can't do that. All phones must be connected through a filter.

dub45

Given the distances involved have you thought of a wireless solution? (or even trying it if you could borrow the equipment?)

iplogger1

dub45 wrote:

Given the distances involved have you thought of a wireless solution? (or even trying it if you could borrow the equipment?)

Yes, I've considered it. Way less messy than the sort of ad-hoc
cabling he has running up to the three floors at the moment.
I wonder if BT would supply a wireless router (wishful thinking...
I have Eircom BB and they supplied a Netopia wireless router..
he just got a neat but very basic Zyxel USB/Ethernet)

I'd say wireless would work since his ceilings are timber joists
and not hollowcore like I'm getting put in to our new house
build.

pissed

BT offered me a wireless router for €40, thats just for the use of it. If you ever leave them you still have to return the router. Dont know if they would do a swap around though as you are already live with them, worth a phonecall to customer support ....... or on second thoughts