[The Final Dakar]

Sek should appreciate this.

A few (5?) years ago I upgraded to 7Mbs internet (DSL), which started at 6.5Mbs but has been degrading ever since. In the last year I've been struggling to get 5Mbs, and more recently I'm seeing more problems trying to game online. So I finally decided to tweak my internet as best I could.

After fixing up ports on the PS4 did nothing two months ago, I decided to make sure my modem was in bridge mode. Did that last week and things still weren't any better. Which is when I learned about Transceiver status.

Hook up to the modem, grab the stats and what do I see:


I do the internet sleuthing and what do I find out? 6 db is considered the minimum margin to maintain the integrity of the connection. I have 5.5 db. This would explain occasional stuttering and my dropping out during voice chat.

But look at the attenuation: 20 db. This is considered outstanding. Heartening, but also paradoxical. Obviously, I'm getting noise from somewhere. A few years ago Verizon had to fix my line because every time there was a storm, the connection would drop.

So, I followed advice and disconnected the splitter and plugged the modem directly to the extension. Same. Directly to the outlet that is being extended. Same. Trace the outlet to where its coming from and I find this:

 

Oh yeah, I had forgotten about this. For the record, this has always been the way my house is wired, even when I was getting the 'blazing' 6.5 Mbs. Anyway, I did my usual test. Put the phone on speaker and squeeze the wiring. Instant crackling.

To make sure this is the real problem, though, I head outside and jack into the Network Interface Device as is recommended. If I still get noise here, it's Verizon's fault. I jack in and what do I get?



God dammit. I'd rather deal with my landlord than Verizon. I'd rather go to the dentist than deal with Verizon. I had read somewhere that it's advisable to let the line settle in, though as sometimes the initial stats will change. So I waited six minutes on the off chance things would improve. That's when I got this:



It's not awe-inspiring, but it is kind of a huge improvement. The noise has dropped by over 50% (to 8.5 db which is firmly in the "fair" or reliable range) but incredibly, my already outstanding attenuation went to 19 db.

So I took some pictures of my awesome wiring and sent them to my landlord.

tl;dr I emailed my landlord pictures of my current telephone wiring because I think it's killing my internet

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Let me get this straight. You live in a shitty area of the Earth with shitty available broadband, and something to do with a tin can, string and electrical tape for technology? And, decibels.

Just claim refugee status, man.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

Just claim refugee status, man.

That's just the excuse the Republicans are looking for to deport me.

[Laminar]

For better decibels, you should probably just get a bigger subwoofer.

[BadKosh]

Solder the wires, not just twist them. Also Scream to Verizon and refuse to pay anymore until they get it fixed. Call them every day for as long as it takes. A good friend of mine did this and they redid the entire block and gave him brand new components just to get him to shut up.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

For better decibels, you should probably just get a bigger subwoofer.

My knee jerk reaction is to post a picture of my subwoofer, but this being the internet and all, this can only lead to being told how bad the model I have is, and after writing the post above it's obvious I can't take any more heart-ache.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by BadKosh 

Solder the wires, not just twist them. Also Scream to Verizon and refuse to pay anymore until they get it fixed.

The internal wiring isn't verizon's problem.

[andi*pandi]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

For the record, this has always been the way my house is wired, even when I was getting the 'blazing' 6.5 Mbs.

as horrendous as that pic is, this confuses me.

However, when we switched to Verizon a nice person came and installed everything and set up the wiring, INSIDE the house, so I think a call to Verizon might be more effective than your landlord.

[The Final Dakar]

You guys aren't considering:
Landlord fixing the issue = Free
Verizon fixing the issue = Squeal like a pig, boy

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by andi*pandi 

as horrendous as that pic is, this confuses me.

I have a feeling I'll be bugging Verizon after this – various articles have cited that they're doing the minimum necessary to maintain their copper network, so I figure whatever they did to fix my line last year was likely subpar. But the current state of my interior lines is dreadful so I want to have that aspect covered for when I inevitably harass them.

[mattyb]

I'm disappointed that nobody has told you to move.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

I'm disappointed that nobody has told you to move.

I think being told to claim refugee status surpasses that.

[subego]

Spheric needs to come in this thread and brag. He lives inside a DSLAM.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I think being told to claim refugee status surpasses that.

Do refugees get good net access?

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

My knee jerk reaction is to post a picture of my subwoofer, but this being the internet and all, this can only lead to being told how bad the model I have is, and after writing the post above it's obvious I can't take any more heart-ache.

No kidding.

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Do refugees get good net access?

They get deported, but not fast enough.

[iMOTOR]

You don't have monster cable???

[reader50]

@Dakar, most of your problem is not the connections. The cables are old phone-type, not network-rated twisted pairs. Don't bother with solder, replace the cables. No doubt the connections are causing some noise, but mostly it's the cross-talk.

[Jawbone54]

Originally Posted by reader50 

@Dakar, most of your problem is not the connections. The cables are old phone-type, not network-rated twisted pairs. Don't bother with solder, replace the cables. No doubt the connections are causing some noise, but mostly it's the cross-talk.

I hate cables of every type, and know next to nothing about wiring, but these look like the words of someone who knows what he's talking about.

[Cap'n Tightpants]

Originally Posted by reader50 

@Dakar, most of your problem is not the connections. The cables are old phone-type, not network-rated twisted pairs. Don't bother with solder, replace the cables. No doubt the connections are causing some noise, but mostly it's the cross-talk.

Yes, the solution is to nuke & pave.

[subego]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

It's not awe-inspiring, but it is kind of a huge improvement. The noise has dropped by over 50% (to 8.5 db which is firmly in the "fair" or reliable range) but incredibly, my already outstanding attenuation went to 19 db.

Isn't this almost 90%?

/pedant

[The Final Dakar]

Originally Posted by reader50 

@Dakar, most of your problem is not the connections. The cables are old phone-type, not network-rated twisted pairs. Don't bother with solder, replace the cables. No doubt the connections are causing some noise, but mostly it's the cross-talk.

Oh yeah, I'm way ahead of you on that. I asked the landlord to have the new line come right into my living room.

Originally Posted by subego 

Isn't this almost 90%?

/pedant

I have a Bachelors of Fine Arts. I don't care.

[subego]

I'm a dropout. Go figure.

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

I have a Bachelors of Fine Arts.

Originally Posted by subego 

I'm a dropout.

Same thing mate.

[boy8cookie]

Originally Posted by The Final Dakar 

(DSL)

Found your problem

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by mattyb 

Same thing mate.

STEM master race amirite?

[jmiddel]

I laughed when I saw the pic of your connection. Of course its slow. Think about how inadequate copper is for high bandwidth transmission. Then take all the junctures you show, which slow everything down because of the material discontinuities, and the presence of multiple different levels of contact between wires twisted and screws meeting sockets. Traffic jam on the e-interstate

[mattyb]

Originally Posted by Laminar 

STEM master race amirite?

Of course. Mech Eng.