static on the line..tried everything


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Old 04-05-08, 07:51 PM
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static on the line..tried everything

This is a continuation of a previous post/problem, so please bear with me..

I've had static on the line for a while now. At first I thought it was just on my cordless, but it is now (or always was) on the corded phones as well, regardless of which jack they are plugged into.

I've got DSL, so filters in the jacks where the phones are. The static got so bad that we finally called a repairman.

So what he did was install a DSL filter, out by the bell box. I don't remember the configuration before, now all distribution lines go thru the filter first, then there is one run of cable from the filter to the bell box terminals. Those terminals also include the incoming line from the pole.

Still, nothing got better. The problem was compounded because I was not home and my wife seems to think there isn't a problem....go figure. Doesn't make for very good troubleshooting.

So I plan to have him come back out next week (he's a good guy and won't charge me...he has stated that if he cannot fix the problem, it's free). In the meantime, I tried a few things.

I took the one distribution line that goes directly to a phone jack (no DSL), and connected it directly to the line from the pole, not on the terminals. No static. At this point the filter was bypassed, so I put a filter on the jack inside.

Then I did the same thing, but used the terminals. No static. But also no DSL; that distribution line was not connected yet.

So then I moved the distribution line that goes to the DSL from the 'data' terminals on the filter outside, to the 'voice' terminals, and then connected the 'bridge' cable from the voice terminals to the bell box terminals. No static on the phone side, but no DSL.

Then I bypassed the filter entirely. Connected everything straight to the bell box terminals. All distribution lines (2) and the line from the pole. Static returned, but so did DSL.

I have no idea what is going on at this point. Shouldn't the DSL/phone connection be that the line from the pole, plus all other lines, go on the bell box terminals, then the filters are applied at the jacks? I guess I want to know what the correct way to do the setup is. Problem is, when I put it back to that config, there was still static.

Something I did eliminated the static, but them why would the DSL not work? I did not check the DSL jack to see if I had a dial tone though (Just thought of that...), but I would assume I did because a phone jack downstream of that one had a dial tone.


I just can't connect the dots...

Any help would be appreciated (if you're able to decipher this post..!)

Thanks,
Matt
 
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Old 04-05-08, 10:23 PM
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This is what I had configured with a Wilcom ADSL Pots Filter at the block.

Main line (red & green) to Line in of the pots filter.

Phone output (red & green) of the pots filter to main block.

Modem output (yellow & black) of the pots filter to the black and yellow main part of the block.

The rest of the house runs on green and red so normal phone usage will be filtered.

Where your DSL modem is, I used a dual wall phone plug, where one is used for the phone and the other is for the DSL Modem.

I connected the black and yellow leads to the 2nd wall phone plug (red & green) as they are the center pins.

Now the data from the phone line is not filtered and goes only to the 2nd wall phone plug which is pluged into the DSL Modem, thus DSL on one line, regular phones on another.

Hope this helps.
 
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Old 04-06-08, 04:43 AM
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I took the one distribution line that goes directly to a phone jack (no DSL), and connected it directly to the line from the pole, not on the terminals. No static.
That's your starting point. From there, it's a process of elimination. Disconnect both (g/r and b/y) pairs at every jack in the house and forget the DSL for now.

Connect the g/r at one jack at a time to see if it's a jack or a cable that's causing a problem. Use only one known-working phone to test the jacks one by one as you hook them back up.

If no trouble is found, connect a DSL filter only to the one jack where the computer lives. Connect the phone. If the static returns, try a different filter. They do fail. (Instructions say to replace them once a year, but I think that's a bit aggressive.)

Once you've eliminated problems on the green/red pair, go to work on the black/yellow. You'll need a cable to go from the jack to the phone that swaps the pairs so line 2 will be active. (The cable will connect black/yellow at the jack to green/red at the phone.)

The important thing is to disconnect everything and connect one thing at a time until you ID the problem.
 
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Old 04-06-08, 08:21 AM
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Thanks for the advice guys. I suspect since I only have one phone line hooked up (red/green pair), then the first scenario would not be plausable. Now, I'm not sure WHY I only have one line (I don't have call waiting, or anything like that), but all the jacks and the connection at the DSL filter block has only the red/green pair connected, and the yellow/black pair is twisted around the cable, out of the way.

In response to Rick's post, I believe I've established two things:

1) When I connect the one line from the jack that goes directly to a phone (no junctions, no DSL) to the bell box, thru the DSL filter block, or directly to the line from the pole, I get no static.

2)When I connect the distribution line which goes to the DSL modem on the 'voice' terminals on the DSL block (along with the red/green pair), I get no static, but no DSL. But when I put the distribution line pair back on the 'data' terminals, I get static, but DSL as well.

What I remembered last night is that distribution line goes under the house, and is split someplace, because that one line from the bell box feeds two distribution lines in the house. So it's split someplace (don't know what the proper telephone term is, but 'junction block' comes to mind). This block is under the house somewhere, and, from what I've concluded, is probably the problem, since when I remove that distribution line at the bell box, I get no static.

What do you think?
 
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Old 04-06-08, 10:06 AM
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weird things are happening...

So this morning, the phone is clear; as clear as it was yesterday when I was testing it. No problems. DSL works fine (obviously).

The only difference between yesterday and today is that I replaced a bad screw on the bottom of the bell box, which allowed me to close and 'lock' the bell box cover. Previously it had just been sitting there. It's under and eve, but condensate would still get in there if it's cold enough (and it is) at night.

So that is the only thing that differed from yesterday. Is this cause even plausable? I have my doubts, but it's the only think I can think of at this point.

Thoughts?
 
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Old 04-07-08, 04:09 AM
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Condensation can certainly cause the problem. Very high humidity can also do it. Is the Bell box the old style with four nuts making the connection? You may want to work those connections to clean out any corrosion.

I misread your post. For some reason I thought you were using the black/yellow for the DSL and filtering it at the demarc before it junctioned to the voice line.
 
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Old 04-07-08, 07:18 AM
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Actually, the bell box only has two 'posts' to connect to. Both the wire from the pole and any other distribution wires connect to these posts.

Thanks for the input. I'll definately use a wire brush to clean off the posts and replace the washers.

Thanks again.
 
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Old 04-16-08, 03:22 PM
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Does the static go away when you turn your DSL modem off or unplug it?

If no, then you are not hearing DSL noise.

If no, does the noise sound more like bacon frying?
 
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Old 04-17-08, 03:32 AM
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Scoob,
Thanks for replying, but fuente's problem has been solved.
 
 

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