Speed Dropping - Connection Dropping

[#1]

New to this broad bandy thing but I've noticed in the few weeks I've had it that the speed is gradually going down. Still an massive increase on dial up though.
I suppose this is due to the fact that it doesn't/hasn't stayed connected for longer than around two and a half days max before the connection drops.
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 23.0 / 42.5     which if I read here correctly is high for a line less than 2k from the exchange.
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 22.5 / 5.0  was  22.5 / 12.5    earlier in the day before nightfall.
Estimated line speed:  5      Current line speed:    2000
One other thing is a faint but noticeable hum on the line. Pretty sure it wasn't there before the ADSL thingy was turned on. I first noticed the hum when using the phone yesterday. You can hear it in the quiet line test, on any phone, even if I disconnect everything including the router. Is a noticeable hum on the line normal? Should it be well, like quiet, in the quiet line test?
Any advice appreciated.

[#2]

Hi billnotben,
You do have a few dropped connections but the first thing I would do is have a look here for a few tips on troubleshooting the dropping connections, this will help make sure your set up is best configured. I would definitely expect more from your line with that attenuation, so have a go at that and I'll run another line check and see if it's improved any and we'll take it from there.
Jojo

[#3]

This is the router log from a few days ago:-
Uptime: 0 days, 7:30:35
DSL Type: G.992.3 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 444 / 4,238
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/kB]: 0.00 / 0.00
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 13.0 / 0.0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 23.0 / 39.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 23.5 / 9.0
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / IFTN
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 1 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 123,265
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 86
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 74
The second connection drop last night was when I decided to try changing the router to see if it made any difference.
Uptime: 0 days, 13:04:24
DSL Type: G.992.5 annex A
Bandwidth (Up/Down) [kbps/kbps]: 444 / 3,854
Data Transferred (Sent/Received) [kB/kB]: 0.00 / 0.00
Output Power (Up/Down) [dBm]: 13.0 / 0.0
Line Attenuation (Up/Down) [dB]: 23.0 / 42.5
SN Margin (Up/Down) [dB]: 22.5 / 4.0
Vendor ID (Local/Remote): TMMB / IFTN
Loss of Framing (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Signal (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Power (Local/Remote): 0 / 0
Loss of Link (Remote): 0
Error Seconds (Local/Remote): 4 / 0
FEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 72,944
CRC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 291
HEC Errors (Up/Down): 0 / 236
This follows on from the first stats and you can see the margin is still dropping.
If left to itself I've no doubt it will rise back to 3000 but still periodically disconnect.
Are those errors normal?
My router is currently connected to a BT extension which comes out of the back of the master socket.
If you think it's worth connecting direct to the master socket to get a set of router stats I'll give it a go.

[#4]

Definitely connect it to the master, extensions are notorious for causing issues. If you have a test socket that would be even better. Once you've done that it's the sync rate you should look at, that would be the indicator of whether there's any improvement.
Jojo