DUN Error 680

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Hi guys - Ive got a tricky networking problem that i cant seem to solve. My neighbour has just got ADSL and is very un-IT literate They have recently been getting a large number of Error 680's via ADSL which from the RAS list means no dial tone.

Now I have delt with a few of these at work and i normally check:
- Cabling, contacts, joins etc
- 1571 BT service
- Alarm systems built into the phone line

I found out they were using a microscopic cable - i mean thin, this was about 0.25mm thick! And after checking this had some nicks in it from being put under the carpet so i figured this was blocking/disrupting the signal. So i ordered a nice 5m cable of ebay with a decent plastic coating and i said leave this out from under the carpet for a few days and keep dialed up for as long as possible. They did this and were connected for 2days flat without any 680's so i thought great its the cable. Unfortunatly they mucked up their measurements and we needed another 10m cable from the same source, which I ordered and they plugged this in. This worked fine until a few days later when they started getting 680's again!

I guess it could be the new cable - but are there any other things anyone can think of? I also did a postcode check to see whether our area should have ADSL in, it says it can support up to 2mb, but i dont think that would get 680's even if it was an issue?

Also their ADSL provider is orange, who havnt been very helpfull! THey havent even sent out any engineers...

Hoping someone can help!

Cheers

 

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Yikes, that's more like a hair than a cable

How is the PC connected to the ADSL modem? USB? Ethernet?

I would recommend Ethernet every time.

Move the modem close to the phone line and use Ethernet to connect the PC to it.

 

steveh2001,

Questions:

1. Is there a DSL filter between the wall outlet and the DSL modem?
2. To rule out the new 10 m cable, have you temporarily gone back to the 5 m cable?
3. Is the computer directly connected to the DSL modem or is there a router involved?
4. What category is the telephone cabling inside the walls?

 

Hmm not sure about the modem - havent checked it out yet, i know USB power saving can muck about with these things.

RH Lee:

Is there a DSL filter between the wall outlet and the DSL modem? - Yes - they have several and operate three phones in the house. Also we have tried swapping the filters round which worked during the 5m cable period.

To rule out the new 10 m cable, have you temporarily gone back to the 5 m cable? - Not yet no - but will be doing so soon.

Is the computer directly connected to the DSL modem or is there a router involved? - No routing involved

What category is the telephone cabling inside the walls? - Unfortunatly I dont know. BT have checked the line however and say it is fine

 

For a DSL modem there should be NO DSL filter on the cable between the wall and the DSL modem. The purpose of the DSL filter is to filter out the DSL signals which aren't needed for regular phones. If you have a DSL filter between the wall and the DSL modem, you've effectively filtered out the part of the signal that you WANT to reach the DSL modem.

What kind of authentication is used with the DSL modem? PPPoE? PPPoA? Unknown? Why not recommend a router that can support the authentication method? Remember that Ethernet has a 100 m maximum distance. Also remember that the shorter the overall distance from DSL modem to the Central Office, the faster the overall DSL speed, even the distance from the DSL modem to wall outlet helps.

If the cabling in the walls is of both low category and degraded over time, then that may be a possible network bottleneck point.

I hope this helps.

 

Steve,

Does the DSL device display up and downstream noise (or attenuation) ?

I had a problem like this and although BT say they are only responsible for Voice quality, it is amazing what seems to *change* if the engineer calls back (on the phone) and you quote the figures displayed before you!

Before doing this, rule out any dodgy extensions or other problems that could be due to the current set-up, and nothing to do with BT. Unplug any extensions, phones and faxes and plug the DSL modem in to the master wall socket. Re-test.

Si

 

Not quite. All DSL filters I've ever seen have two sockets on them, one for a phone which filters out the DSL signal and one for the DSL modem which doesn't. So he could indeed have a DSL filter between his modem and the phone connection point.

Also, I'm not familar with the model in question but I don't think many DSL modems supplied by ISPs actually have ethernet ports on them. They are nearly always USB in my experience.

 

Originaly in the UK most ISP-supplied modems were USB - it was cheaper.

However, these days an increasing number of ISP are sending out modem/routers (for example - Sky sends out a badged modem/router/AP).

Harry.

 

Fair enough Harry, I haven't changed my broadband supplier for a couple of years.

 

My ISP here still sends out USB modems for cable and ADSL, they have just released a notice that they do not yet support Vista as their drivers do not work with Vista. Apparently it could take months to produce drivers that do.

With Ethernet you don't need drivers and with NAT you have another layer of protection as your PC will have a private IP address. As most new PCs and Laptops have built in NICs these days I see no need for ISPs to stick with USB.

 

Baba O'Riley,

My Speedstream 5100 DSL modem provided to me by SBC, now AT&T, has an Ethernet port.

 

Baba O'Riley,

Not all DSL filters have two sockets. Here's a picture of a DSL filter with only one socket. These single socket DSL filters go between the wall socket and telephones. The DSL modem is plugged directly into the wall outlet so that they get pure unfiltered signals from the telco.

Link:

• DSL Filters and Splitters - http://www.hometech.com/techwire/dsl.html

 

I see, but I suspect that is more to do with the sockets used for phones in America. Over here, no domestic phone socket will accept a DSL modem as domestic phones don't use RJ11 so a DSL filter has to convert the RJ11 from the modem into good old BS6312 (as wikipedia informs me is the specification - never had to look that up before, weird).

 

Those on CF who reside in the USA need to realize that a *lot* of things concerning telephones and things connected to them are different in the UK!

Harry.

 

Unfortunately that will not plug into a UK telephone socket.... :-(

Harry.

 

And you should see the stupid great big cluncky phone sockets they have here

Well here's the plug..

 

Yowser! Is that for real Pete? What kind of electrical sockets do they use?

 

Unfused upside down wanky three pin plugs which look like they were designed by Heath Robinson on a bad day.

 

LMAO, description of the year award goes to...