Phone or ADSL Problem?

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Wilko

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#91279 10-Oct-2011 15:40

I have a problem with my phone line which seems to be linked to my ADSL wiring. It started out only intermittently, but is now happening virtually all the time.

When someone rings me, my phone often rings once then cuts out, It is always possible for me to phone out with no problem. I have been told that this is often caused by a short in the phone line which causes a voltage drop that makes the phone think that it has been answered. Telecom have checked up to my phone entry point and say all is ok up to there, so the fault is in my house. I do not have a wiring contract with them.

The only way I can reliably receive calls is by diverting the phone to my cell phone. I am on ADSL2+, and connection speeds are excellent.

The 3 year old house has a wired-in master ADSL filter, with structured CAT5 distribution for both phone and computer network. I have found that by unpluging the ADSL connection to the modem, the problem disappears. I have tried using another old modem but the problem re-appears, so the modem is not causing it.

I am wondering whether the problem may be caused by a fault in the ADSL filter. Is there a way of checking whether it has a fault? The wiring to it appears complicated! The other thought I have is to go to VOIP (I am on XNET). Do voice calls over VOIP require the POTS line voltage to make the phone ring? If not, that may solve the problem.

Does anyone have any ideas on the cause or solution - and whether VOIP is the answer?

cyril7

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#531564 10-Oct-2011 15:49

Hi, central DSL filters are typically pretty reliable, however I have seen some exhibit similar behavour, probably worth having it replaced.

Cyril

chevrolux

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#531606 10-Oct-2011 17:35

Its just a case of isolating it at each point. splitters do go faulty. the are supposedly waterproof but i have removed plenty that put a high resistance fault on the line. there is a joint some where along the way on your line that is about to give out. whats happening is that the joint can sustain 50V no problem but when the ringing voltage comes through (~70V) it cuts out. So you say when you remove your modem it works fine. Is it the line cord to them modem? No? Then check the jackpoints. Any green stuff on the contacts? Unscrew them and check the back too for green corrosion. No corrosion? go to the splitter. is it a two pair or 3 pair splitter? If two pair then then the blue wire is feeding the phones to your house. If 3 pair then then again the blue is doing phone and the green is doing dsl. Orange is always the feeder. With a two pair splitter the DSL wire is just multipled up with feeder cable on the ornage wire. cut off all wires going to your jacks and smash a jack on the feeder cable. Do a ring test (137) still got the fault? No? well then you have found you problem. Or yes? Its in the telecom network. The other thing i just thought of, is the splitter in the etp or internal? If its internal then go and check the joint in the etp. Very common for them to corrode but for a 3 year old house wouldnt have thought so.

I realise that might be hard to follow but its is pretty much my thoughts as i thunk them lol.

And no you dont needs POTS to make a voip phone ring.

Wilko

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#531615 10-Oct-2011 18:00

Thanks for your quick replies.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that it is the filter gone bad. The Chorus serviceman checked right up to my internal data cupboard before deciding that it was an internal problem.

I have been considering going to VOIP for a while, and this may be the incentive to make the change. The cost of diverting the phone is getting a bit too high!

chevrolux

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#531665 10-Oct-2011 20:57

It would still be worth fixing the line fault. ADSL is a wonderful service and will work over a short circuit or even one wire (but speed takes a dive with just one leg). But one thing it wont tolerate much is an imbalance on the line. ie. resistance is different over the a leg compared to the b leg. when you have a fault like yours an imbalance can occur very easily. Sooner or later your connection will drop out and you will think your modem has gone faulty.

Wilko

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#531821 11-Oct-2011 10:20

Thanks Chevrolux. I will look for a telephone maintenance person to check the system out. There aren't many in the Yellow Pages where I live (Kapiti) but will look around.

Wilko

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#536441 22-Oct-2011 14:00

Finally had the phone problem sorted out. 2 Chorus technicians who had previously visited us, had seperately said that the problem was in our house. I had a telephone specialist come out yesterday to check the house out and within 2 minutes he had confirmed that it was definitely a telecom fault, not in our house. Phoned telecom faults who still seemed to think it was not their problem but said they would check it. A few hours later had a call from a technician to say that they had found a fault at the exchange and it was now fixed. It makes me wonder just how qualified some Chorus technicians are.

We are not too happy with Telecom - we have had to have our phone diverted to our cellphone for much of the last 4 months which has been rather expensive, as well as paying for the chap to visit our house.

As well as that, last week we had no phone or internet connection at all one day. Telecom fixed that within 24 hours - apparently they were working on the cabinet down the road and had knocked our wires which disconnected them.

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trig42

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#536448 22-Oct-2011 14:26

Telecom should have diverted your phone for free if you logged a fault with them.

They did that for me last time we had a fault (only 2 days until Chorus came and sorted it).

Actually, problem was pretty much exactly what you described (phone would ring once then nothing), but I do not have a master splitter. Chorus bloke found it was a splitter plugged into the phone jack behind our bed (that had no phone connected to it), unplugged the splitter and problem was solved. Chorus guy was cool about it, because I knew that if the fault was on my side of the phone jack then I should have been charged - he didn't charge me ;)

Wilko

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#536450 22-Oct-2011 14:36

They diverted the phone but as the Chorus guys had said that the fault was on our side of the entry point it was our problem, we would have to pay for the diversion. I don't think that I will have much luck getting Telecom to pay for all the diverted calls over the last 4 months!

sbiddle

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#536451 22-Oct-2011 14:39

trig42: Telecom should have diverted your phone for free if you logged a fault with them.

They did that for me last time we had a fault (only 2 days until Chorus came and sorted it).

Actually, problem was pretty much exactly what you described (phone would ring once then nothing), but I do not have a master splitter. Chorus bloke found it was a splitter plugged into the phone jack behind our bed (that had no phone connected to it), unplugged the splitter and problem was solved. Chorus guy was cool about it, because I knew that if the fault was on my side of the phone jack then I should have been charged - he didn't charge me ;)

If you pay a wiring maintenance fee then Chorus will repair faults in your home wiring for free.

SCM

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#536453 22-Oct-2011 14:49

I'd recommend getting in touch with http://tdr.org.nz, they might be able to help you get some reparation from Telecom

chevrolux

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#536524 22-Oct-2011 19:01

That ridiculous. All the tech from chorus had to do was cut the wire at the etp and do a ring test. You learn that on your first day.
About a year ago we took a shipment of 'techs' from zimbabwe. They can hardly speak english and there technical skills are zero.

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Wilko

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#536547 22-Oct-2011 20:19

That is exactly what the tech that I engaged did. The Chorus techs just seemed to do voltage checks at the entry point.

webwat

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#536582 22-Oct-2011 22:11

chevrolux: cut off all wires going to your jacks and smash a jack on the feeder cable. Do a ring test (137) still got the fault?

Since you have structured cabling in your house, you should be able to do an initial test directly on the line before the point where it goes into your structured wiring, just by unplugging it from the phone side of your network in the cabinet.

Wilko: They diverted the phone but as the Chorus guys had said that the fault was on our side of the entry point it was our problem, we would have to pay for the diversion. I don't think that I will have much luck getting Telecom to pay for all the diverted calls over the last 4 months!

Since they have now proven it to be a telecom fault, I reckon its worth a try. You can't be held responsible for the competency of their techs. But when you switch to VoIP you can still keep the landline there as a backup if you really want to. You may want a landline whenever your internet goes down, and you might also have an "FXO" port on your VoIP system that connects to the landline as a backup. I usually recommend that anyway.

Time to find a new industry!