Changing Wiring for DSL Retest?

Calibos

I posted in another thread about my fail on the webchat dsl line test. The Eircom guy said that the 'filters' for isdn testing had been installed the week previously, that both channels/lines/phone numbers had failed and that the test tested for both adsl and the new radsl product.

As those that read my post in that thread will know I have a 'Notorious' dect answer machine/wirless handset connected. I also have reasonably convoluted wiring. The wiring comes into the hall of the house into a white Eircon box with 'Eircom Access Only' printed on the front and a screw off panel. Out of this comes 2 thin wires into a small beige box mounted directly below. This box has an RJ11 socket on the bottom into which I think the dect phone is connected with a 5m + cable into another similar beige box with RJ11 socket in the kitchen were the dect phone is. Also coming out of the side of first beige box in the hall (ie not connected by RJ11 but goes through a hole cut into side of box and thus obviously wired directly to the terminals?) is another 5m + phone cable which goes into the sitting room into the ISDN box on the wall into which the PC via a serial ISDN ta is connected. An analogue (not ISDN) Phone/Fax machine is connected to the second isdn (Phone number) analogue port of this box.

So my question is do you think one or all of these cables and devices are causing me to fail the test or could the Eircom guy be right about line quality or distance from the exchange. If its a problem with my internal wiring/devices should I maybe disconnect the extra wiring that goes to the ISDN box, Unplug the extension cabling and thus the kitchen dect phone and then plug my 'perfect' normal phone that I still have directly into the RJ11 socket on that first beige box in the hall. Thus the new wiring scheme would be - Line comes into hall into white eircon box then via two thin 2inch long wires into beige box with normal phone connected directly to this box via RJ11 plug??

Will they even give me a retest or would I be wasting my time even asking??

Mods feel free to move this to BB forum, I just thought that seeing as failures and retests were being discussed here............

Dangger

Yup, your wiring can cause you to fail. Apparently the best chance you have to pass is to have your line tested with all other equipment unplugged from your phone sockets, which is a difficult task unless you know exactly when they are going to test the line.

Have a look at this recent ie.comp posting also.

zz03

I was in a hotel in Dublin 4 recently. Room had two phones with dataports (RJ11 sockets for analog modem connection).

The modem would not connect at all or only at about 24k bps using the dataports. Two out of three calls failed.

I plugged out the two phones and plugged the modem directly into the RJ11 on the wall (the one used by the phone with all the failures via its dataport). After which I connected at 52k bps!

Home wiring can be far more of a problem to passing the DSL test than "distance from the exchange". I have seen some pretty awful stuff in friends houses that built up over the years as new computers and other things were bought that required attachment to the eircom network. One household couldn't get even ISDN (3km from exchange) and eircom installer didn't bother to advise them to disconnect their maze of in house copper.

If you have a testing problem you must be ruthless. Disconnect all home wiring at the point of entry. Connect a single, CE approved (ie not 20 years old), made for the Irish market, non fancy (no features such as handsfree dialling) phone to the eircom line where it enters the house. While virtually all phones sold in Europe now have a CE mark and can be used everywhere, there are different specifications in each market.


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Calibos

Originally posted by Dangger
Yup, your wiring can cause you to fail. Apparently the best chance you have to pass is to have your line tested with all other equipment unplugged from your phone sockets, which is a difficult task unless you know exactly when they are going to test the line.

Have a look at this ]recent ie.comp posting [/URL] also.

So what you are saying Dangger is that they will refuse to do an on the spot retest for me but will consult their test database and that my only hope is to have the wiring/equipment disconnected when they do the automated retest every few weeks or so. Say I got lucky and everything was disconnected and I passed the automated test, what would happen when they came out to install and did an on-site test with all the gear reconnected? Would it mean the engineer would say "sorry mate" and hop back into as van or would it be a case of "No problem, it'll still work no problem mate, that DSL test is too strict anyway??

Redshift

Another thing you can do is try to get hold of or get installed a new type eircom master socket the white one that has the logo embossed on it and the bevelled edge. If you have this socket that is what is tested and it will give the best chance of a pass. Don't know how you will get one but it's worth a try if you see an eircom engineer on your street try talking nicely/bull****ting him into giving you or fitting a socket for you. If you get one connect this to the phoneline where it enters your house and plug one good phone into it.

zz03

Originally posted by Redshift
Don't know how you will get one but it's worth a try

Order a 2nd phone line, and get rid of your first line a few months later.... as a last resort. It would simplify the 2nd test issue too.

As far as the original line is concerned I would take it up with ComReg if they refused to re-test you on the basis that your line had a defect at the time of the original test (subsequently discovered).

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