Re: noise level and lost connection

Question

I am with Sky Broadband on a BT leased line (who I pay for my BT Telephone bill).
I have had terrible problems with my ADSL connection ever since I subscribed for Sky broadband over 5 years ago and more.
I live in Halton Village in Runcorn, Cheshire and because I live in the village this means I'm miles away from the telephone exchange which is in the main town of Runcorn.. According to an BT Outreach Engineer I'm approximately 2-3 miles from the exchange which affects my broadband signal and the quality of broadband speed my ADSL connection can provide to a BT Master socket and finally a Netgear DG834PN router. I only a single BT Master Socket in the house for my phone line and ADSL Broadband. So there is no other phone sockets or extensions in the home.
I've experienced dropouts for years. Phoned Sky Broadband Support countless times over the years to get them to test the phone line and quality of Broadband signal.
When experiencing continuous drop outs on my Sky Broadband the main Sky Rambo computer (which monitors the broadband bandwidth connection for signal strength and speed and drop outs, if your broadband connection experiences continual drop outs the Rambo computer re-adjusts and lowers your broadband speed accordingly until this stabilizes the phone line and stabilizes the drop outs. In other words, dropping the Broadband speed from 3MB or 4MB my line can handle to 2.6MB or sometimes even lower will temporarily stop the broadband sync drop outs.
This is to say, even though the BT phone line has no errors or faults simply reducing the broadband bandwidth to 50 Per Cent is a generic method of dealing with unknown factors which could indeed be affecting the Broadband drop outs.
If there is no faults on the phone line causing drop outs, no issues with your router then I would suggest you check the mains "electrical earthing" in your home because any electrical interference, spikes or surges could be affecting your broadband and causing it to intermittently drop out.
I purchased an anti-surge and anti-spike surge protected 3 meter, 4-way (13 amp socket) power extension lead and ensured this was used for my Neatgear router to prevent power spikes and or power surges from causing my router to drop out.
I also purchased an anti-surge and anti-spike 3 socket mains adapter which my 3 meter, 4-way (13 amp sockets) power extension lead plugged into ensuring that the mains socket providing power to my router was fully protected from power surges and spikes.
I also discovered the metal back box for the double mains socket providing 240v mains to my router was not earthed to the back box (original electrician who fitted the back box and double 13 amp 3-pin socket had not earthed the back box) and this was causing a build-up of electrical static on those 2 13 amp sockets and preventing and electrical surge or spike to cause the Netgear DG834PN router to drop out.
Moreover, I have to laptops in the kitchen where my Netgear DG834PN router is situated and when either or both of the laptops were switched on or pluged into the PSU (Power Supply Unit) this caused an electrical spike and consequently resulted in the Netgear DG834PN router from losing electrical power, losing Broadband sync and consequently dropping out.
I also use 4 x TP-Link mains to Ethernet broadband devices around the house, one in the kitchen to feed another T-Link mains to Ethernet broadband connection for my Sky TV distributed through an Netgear GS104 Ethernet Switcher, 1 connection for my Sky HD box, one for my Sony Blu-Ray (for updating firmware and BD ROM data from the internet) and a 3rd Ethernet connection for a laptop of Ethernet networked hardrive containing *.MOV or other video files which I stream via HDMI to my Sony 40 Inch flatscreen HD LCD TV..
I have another TP-Link mains to Ethernet broadband device upstairs in a bedroom studio connected to a Netgear GS108 Ethernet switcher which provides broadband for 7 devices, 1 Windows XP based tower PC, an Apple Mac G5 system and an Apple MacBook Pro and a Ethernet network based harddrive which all the computers on the network can access..
If anything on the electrical mains Ethernet network experiences an electrical surge or electrical spike this will be transported down the TP-Link mains to Ethernet broadband devices (as a complete network circuit) back to the Netgear DG834PN router and cause it to switch off (power down) for a second or two (lose its electrical power "on" status) the Netgear DG834PN router which consequently loses its Broadband sync. It then resets upon powering up only for the static to build up in the mains electrical circuit in the home/house. This static causes electrical spikes and surges and finds its way to the mains electrical socket or mains extension lead which you have your router power supply unit plugged into causing the router to effectively crash/lose its power "on" status then it resets again and powers up to an "on" status thereby attempting to find the broadband sync. This becomes a loop and the drop out problem becomes a continual issue/problem and won't go away until you check your mains earth wiring for any earth faults, particularly in the mains socket providing 240v mains to the Netgear router power supply.
This is why I added anti-surge and anti-spike protection directly from the mains sockets providing mains power in the kitchen in the circuit to my Netgear DG834PN router to prevent any build up electrical static causing any electrical spikes and surges from the mains causing the Netgear DG834PN router to power off and thereby causing the broadband sync to drop out.
Basically, the Netgear DG834PN router power supply switches off during an electrical surge or spike to protect the Netgear DG834PN router otherwise the surge or spike will fry the router (pretty logical when you think about it).
So, in order to ensure other electrical circuits in the house do not also cause a build-up of static or send any electrical surges or spikes down my TP-Link mains to Ethernet broadband plugs I also was required to ensure I inserted an electrical mains anti-surge and anti-spike protector adapter or multiple mains extension lead into the circuit thereby eliminating any build-up of mains electrical static, any electrical mains surges or spikes so those do not get transmitted down the mains circuit compounding the issue.. In other words all the mains sockets connected to the broadband circuit in the house are protected with anti-surge and spike adapters and multiple socket mains leads to prevent the Netgear DG834PN router Power Supply from switching off, the Netgear DG834PN router from dropping out, ensuring the Netgear DG834PN router remains powered up, even when a mains electrical surge or spike occurs, so the electrical mains are anti-surge and anti-spike protected and the Netgear DG834PN router remains in the powered "on" state thereby retaining its Broadband sync and does not drop out.
You will discover you no longer experience Broadband Drop Outs!
Solution, check your electrical mains Earthing in your house and all sockets, particularly the mains socket or sockets providing a 240v electrical mains to your Netgear router Power Supply and ensure all electrical sockets which are connected to any Ethernet broadband circuit in the house is surge and spike protected to stop the Broadband router from dropping out!
If you find you are still experiencing Earthing problems with your electrical mains in your property then engage a qualified electrician to check your electrical circuits in your house and indeed your electrical mains earth. You may even require a new “Earth Rod” ramming into the ground outside your property. Since the advent of plastic water pipes this has compromised a lot of electrical mains earthing when entering house properties and could be an additional issue adding to the issues you are already experiencing..
Like I say, if you are not a technical competent person seek advice and help from a qualified person and or even better from a qualified Electrician..

Answer 1

Some very good advice in your post.
Another very common source of noise in any line is caused by water ingress to the conductors. I was a telephone lineman for 12 years of my 23 years service in the telco industry and I lost count of the intermittent telephone faults that only showed up when it rained!