DLM period now over....any tips to boost sync + speed... (ADSL2+)

[#1]

What are the implications for a high HEC error rate? what causes them and how can I eliminate/reduce them.  I suppose same goes with crc errors too.
I tried routerstats but couldn't get it to work. Routerstats lite is installed and working now.
From what I can tell from the graphs SNRM has been at between 6.0 and 6.3 for the last 4 hrs. Tv's on/off, spot lights, extractor fans, kitchen appliances, pc's etc no effect.
I'll try again tomorrow. I'll start it first thing and monitor all day.
cheers

[#2]

Great start.  It will be interesting to see what happens as dawn breaks and the day progresses.

[#3]

Right, so routerstats lite has been happily logging away all day...  I was fortunately (unfortunately!!) working on the pc all day so kept an eye on it and SNRM was practically steady all morning/afternoon and early evening at around 6.2.
It was practically a straight line till around 5/6pm ish when it started to move around, again we are only talking about +/- 0.2 SNRM so nothing really. I've attached a graph. The scale is quite zoomed in so movements are exaggerated. So daytime, everyone was in, pc's on, hair dryers, dishwashers, homeplugs streaming everywhere, microwave....basically everything! the SNRM did not budge.
So, I'm not quite sure what to do next. Can anyone decipher those screenshots? Hopefully, one of the DCT will be able to look at the line and see why sync is 13500 instead of closer to 16000 and look into all these HEC/CRC errors.
cheers!
PJ

[#4]

Your expectations of what the DCT team can do may be too high.  If, for example, your Xmas tree lights are causing a problem, how can they know that?  Xmas tree lights have a bad reputation because they  tend to use switched-mode power supplies and poorly-made examples of these can inject huge quantities of high frequency noise onto your mains.
Now you are monitoring with Routerstats (Lite), does anything happen if you unplug your telephone?

[#5]

Hi,
Maybe, but I'm hoping they may have encountered a similar issue in the past and at least have a set of suggestions they or I can try. (3db profile, SNRM reset, line reset..., investigate error count on the line?) I have (had) another line to the same house with near enough the same attenuation, same pole, cabinet, cable infact, one cable two pairs? I think for two different numbers/BB) and that was nearer 16000kbps (sync), so I know its possible.
I thought about the xmas tree lights, they do look cheap, hahahha! but I have turned everything off (apart from the fridge freezer + router) I mean everything. I even tried the other way round and turned everything on, The routerstats tool you mention is great by the way 😉
I haven't tried unplugging the phone, I will do that today though. I will have to get one of those vdsl faceplates.  Oh well, if all else fails will have to live with it for 11 months 2 weeks, then move back to sky BB. No fibre here, well, its in the area not at my cabinet though 😞
Large family, lots of bandwidth used up in d/l's, streaming, Skype, gaming  so every Mbps counts 🙂 I recall downloading updates 2 weeks ago, it rendered everyone else's online tasks to a crawl, this was on a BT2700HGV router (no QoS) so I switched back to plusnets router (not much better!)
cheers! PJ

[#6]

PJ,
You are making useful progress!  The SNRM graph you posted is only for the evening - I would have liked to see the day to night transition.  What you have posted shows the SNRM to be above 6dB - I would thus conclude that either the last resynch was done during dark hours r, the target SNRM is 9dB and the last resynch was during day light hours.  Either of these would depress your synch speed.  Really need to fully review this post, but right now I'm short of time and have a seriously sick PC to attend too.  iPads are great but limited!
Cheers,
Kevin

[#7]

Quote from: pj2014

.... a set of suggestions they or I can try. ...3db profile

Only appropriate on a line with very little noise i.e. to make a good line better.  Your line seems to have excess noise so might well become unstable with a 3dB profile. 

Quote from: pj2014

SNRM reset, line reset..

Would not serve any purpose unless it turns out that your target SNRM is 9dB.  Plusnet DCT can tell you if your target is 6 or 9 dB

Quote from: pj2014

investigate error count on the line

I don't think Plusnet get any information on this, other than what you report here.

[#8]

Hi guys!
Ah, ok, I was unaware of the 3db profile conditions. Looks like I'm gonna have to try locate this cause of noise on the line. Regarding the target SNRM, I thought I was on the 6db profile, but I'll ask the DCT tomorrow. 
Is it possible that there is noise/interference coming onto the line from outside? Dropbox, street lights, neighbours electrics?
I will run routerstats lite overnight tonight. The phone has been unplugged all day and the SNRM has been the same within +/- 0.2db of 6.2db. I cannot hear any crackling or noise on the handset itself. The last resync was probably Sat morning (by me when I switched it all off to swop with the new shielded adsl cable)
Another point, (although it maybe totally irrelevant) when this line was reactivated by BT just over a month ago, I tested it with the BT adsl checker and it said line was good for between 13-16 mbps. Then a week later it suddenly said  7Mb (This may vary between 6.5Mb and 8.5Mb).
It now says (checked again today)
WBC ADSL 2+ Annex M d/stream upto 8Mbps, d/stream range 5.5 to 12.5. Confused? You bet I am! 
cheers
PJ

[#9]

Didn't know how to edit previous post.....
just did the bt adsl checker on my other line coming in from the same cabinet/pole/cable but different master socket (I am ceasing this line in the day or so, phone line BT/ BB with sky)
WBC ADSL 2+ Annex M
d/stream line rate Up to 12mbps  d/stream range 8 to 15.5 mbps
which are the speeds I was seeing. Could/would external noise only affect one phone/BB service and not the other? Master sockets are 3 feet apart. Anyway, all this may be totally insignificant, just thought I'd add it for additional info.
cheers

[#10]

I don't think the BT ADSL Checker checks anything more than a database.  The database may get updated with information on the recent performance of your line if BT can access that information (so not if you are with an LUU supplier).  Thus you are likely to get a less optimistic estimate on a line that is in use.
I recently had a big problem with noise from a cheap television set owned by my next -door-neighbour-but-one.  Routerstats made it very obvious when that was turned on and off.  On the other hand, I was once told very assertively on this forum that street lights do not cause a problem but rather things get worse at night because radio pick-up causes problems and radio waves travel further at night.  It was actually Townman who had the problem then under discussion although it was not he who told me off.. 

[#11]

Ok, so I forgot to turn Rousterstats on the night before last (PC was on but program was left off), a nice waste of electricity lol!
Program was run last night from early evening, I can see the nearest street lamp (15m) from my study window, its switching on caused no increase/decrease in the chart. Charts are all steady for the whole period through to right now, apart from one incident around 3am. I have attached the log and chart. From the router login page I can see that the connection did not drop, or re-sync (is that the correct term?) Connection time is now nearly 4 days, so I do not know how to explain the event of 3am this morning. Oh yeah, the telephone pole is only 2 doors down without any street lights etc around it...
Again, I checked, all my immediate neighbours were in + probably using their electrics 6pm - 11:30pm (I was again unfortunately on the pc all day!), Street light came on, my own family used everything as normal, SNRM was steady (+/- 0.2db from 6.2db) so I'm not too sure where this noise is coming from or what to do next?
cheers
PJ

[#12]

PJ,
"Where next" is continious logging of router stats to get a clearer picture of what is happening.  The last graph you showed was only for the early hours of the day and it showed circa 6dB.  Other daytime reports you have provided suggest 22dB - this is a big difference.  Edit: Sorry confusion with another user's line issue.
If your last resynch was during dark hours where noise was present and was at 6dB, then this would fit with what I think you are seeing.  We need to see a continious DS SNRM plot (with overlaid synch speed - right click the graph and select the overlay option).
Note that night time interference does not primerially come from just street lighting, much of it comes from MW radio transmissions and is seen as a gradual drift down (evening) or up (dawn) of the SNRM.
Have you raised a fault at http://faults.plus.net ?
NB: To edit a previous post (if you get back to it soon enough) just click the MODIFY link to the top right of your post.

Cheers,
Kevin

[#13]

Looks to me like your router just stopped responding for about a minute 12 minutes in the middle of the night.  Don't ask me why. [Edited because I must have misread a 2 as a 3 or vice versa].
I'm not sure reporting this as a fault will get you anywhere.  You have a nice stable connection, just one that syncs at around 80% of the speed you might expect to achieve.  Plusnet promised you some help last week but have not come back to this thread.  I think an input from them might be helpful at this juncture.    

[#14]

@Townman
Hi, yeah I'll try continuous logging. I did yesterday, 98% of the charts were unremarkable (no deviation more than +/- 0.2db ). Apart from that one unexplainable event 03:30am. When I right clicked the graph I could not see an option for overlay for sync speed? I'm using router stats lite? is this option there?
I haven't raised a fault, I figured DCT would pick this up sometime this week, its only wed so I'll give it till Friday incase they are busy.
@ ReedRichards
It looks like the router just stopped for closer to 15 minutes, it is odd. I wonder if the router could be faulty? Yeah, hoping DCT come back to the thread, if not I'll call them on Fri.
thank you both for your help 
PJ

[#15]

Yes, it was a bit rotten of the team here on the forum to promise some help last week then not follow-up. Maybe there isn't actually a lot they can do but the Plusnet staff who man the forum are all very skilled and helpful so it is worth a little effort to get their attention.