Update phone line for DSL?

[Me]

I have been having trouble hooking up my DSL and am wondering if it is due to old phone lines. The tech support folks can't test the outside line until Tuesday and they seem to think everything is fine. I'm thinking it may be the quality of the line inside the house itself.

The house is from 1942 and the phone lines are probably pretty old. Does there have to be a certain type of phone line in the house for DSL to work? The line sounds clean when you use the phone, but I'm not sure whether or not DSL only works on 'modern' lines.

The tech guys asked me to plug the modem directly into the telephone box outside, but I don't have one! The line comes from the road and enters a plain junction box outside above the front door, and then goes into the house.

Should I bother rewiring the inside of the house with newer phone line? Or shouldn't it matter? In the meantime, I am paying for DSL that I can not use!

Thanks, Steve

[Wayne]

wire in a jack outside and run an extension cord outside to go around the wiring in your house if you wan to check. Tuesday is not far away. Do you get the link that shows a DSL signal at all?

I had one friend where I spent over an hour trying to get DSL to work only to discover it was not wired to the right place?

Wayne

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, What is the symptom with the DSL modem? Installed filters togo with it? You mean it does not work at all? Tony

[Greg]

They told me to run a twisted pair wiring method inside the house. You are probably using the standard "JK" that is not twisted and won't carry much bandwidth. CAT3 (sometimes called "2 line" wire at the home store) will work but CAT5e is about the same price and a lot better cable.

[Pick]

[e-mail] (Me) wrote in :

What kind of connection speeds to you get on the line with a regular modem? If you are getting 56k connection speeds on a regular modem, chances are the lines are good. If not, rewire a drop with no branches back to where the line comes into the house.

My house had the latter conditions, and when I rewired it, all worked great.

Pick

[Wa6tkq]

old phone lines.

Do you have any other devices plugged into your phone lines? Telephones, answering machines, security alarm lines, satellite tv boxes, TIVO boxes? If so, they have to be unplugged or isolated with a filter.

[J T]

If your phone works fine, chances are it isn't your inside wiring. DSL can run on a single pair of 24 gauge wire. Older wiring is probably bigger - and there's nothing smaller used for phones. It doesn't need to be a twisted pair to work effectively, especially at the distances likely involved in your house. Most of the point of twisted pairs is to reduce crosstalk among other pairs in the same cable, but you probably only have one (if you have one phone line).

I've had numerous DSL problems over the years and although the providers will always tell you it's your fault, it probably isn't. I would either get the phone company to install a network device (which they will probably do for free in most places) so you have an easy access outside your house, or just go to Radio Shack and get whatever you need to put a jack where the line enters the house. This way you can verify for yourself that it's not a problem with your wiring.

[Me]

The DSL modem is properly connected. It's power light and ethernet link light stay on.....the one that is not on is the DSL sync light. There are filters on the phone lines. There are no other devices linked into any of the lines. My 56k dial-up modem worked fine on the existing phone lines.

It sounds like the line inside the house is not the problem. I will try a direct connection to the outside.

S.

[Chet Hayes]

DSL is designed to work on average phone lines. That said, the signal quality depends on many things. One is how far you are from the DSL eqpt on the other end. Another is how many wire gauge changes and bridge taps there are on the line. A line that has more branchs tapped off it to go to other rooms, buildings, etc., is more difficult.

That said, I doubt it's the wiring in your house that's the problem. I sure wouldn't worry about the wiring inside the house until you can verify that it works on a line either outside or just after it enters the house, with nothing else connected.

[William Brown]

When I had mine put in quite a few years ago, all of the problems were within the local phone company's wiring, and my house is quite older than yours. At that time, DST service was sold by an ISP, but the local phone company had to handle their own lines, and coordination between the two was a hassle. Apparently, the phone company didn't have up to date information on how their lines were routed, and my service wouldn't work until they rerouted through certain switches and lines.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Is the modem known good? I live in a city of million, never heard DSL modem not working because of wiring quality. If dial up modem worked, wires are OK in your house. Phone co. has an ability to test the loop from their end. Tony

[Me]

Thanks for the insight, everyone. Very helpful. S.

[bill a]