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General discussion

embarq dsl and distance question

Feb 26, 2008 5:55AM PST

Embarq tells me I am within the distance to get dsl, albeit at the end of the line. They sent me the modem and a lineman came out. Once we got it set up, it downloaded at 56 - 66 kbs, uploaded at around 236 kbs. The lineman said I was just too far away and took the modem back with him. After some research, my next door neighbor is able to download at 1.4 something mbs. She then said that our other neighbor who is an Embarq lineman put something on the pole in front of her property. He told her not to call and try to get dsl before he told her too. So she waited, he did whatever he did, and voila, they both have good fast connections. She said he told her he wished he had not told me that because he could get in trouble. What could he have done at the pole to enable them to get it? They are both signed on for 1.5 service, Embarq says I can get 768. I am going to try again with another modem from Embarq. What do I need to tell the lineman when he comes?

Discussion is locked

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Ask the "lineman". . .
Feb 26, 2008 8:02AM PST
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Wayne. My neighbor had a "homerun" installed.
Feb 26, 2008 8:29AM PST

Can you comment what that was?

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does it deteriorate with distance?
Feb 26, 2008 8:54AM PST

Since both my neighbors are at the end of the line as well, say 2.5 miles, wouldn't their dsl speed be slowed down a bit by distance?
On another forum I was reading that there are things such as Adtran RTs which do mount on a pole or PED tinyurl.com/23lhw2 that deal with distance issues? I looked at the pole, and of course I don't know which lines are what, but there are 2 little rectangle boxes attached going in both directions, one toward my neighbor, and the other to lineman across the street.
Also, Embarq didn't "condition" the line the first try. Now they say they have done so for this attempt. Might that help and what does condioning mean?

Thanks

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DSL distance. . .
Feb 26, 2008 9:54AM PST

DSL is distance limited to about 17,500 feet. Because DSL is an analog signal it deteriorates with distance.

http://www.wayne2.net/dsl_course.htm

Conditioning a telephone line for DSL means to remove any extra wire called multiples, and if needed, cutting the pair dead to the field. The cable at your house probably travels beyond your home for some distance. This extra wire will cause transmission losses. Cutting it off will improve the transmission of the DSL signal. This extra wire is called bridge tap.

Telephones beyond 18,000 feet from a central office need a small device called a load coil to improve transmission (voice) qualities. Since voice frequencies are in the 200-3,400 Hz range, the load coil is designed for these frequencies. Because a load coil is actually a choke coil, specifically a band pass filter, it blocks the DSL frequencies which are in the bandwidth of 86 KHz - 1.1 MHz. Any phone line with a load coil cannot have DSL. Removing the load coil will allow DSL service, but if the phone is a long distance out, the voice quality will suffer.

An RT (Remote Terminal) is another story and to keep my typing short, look here http://www.dslreports.com/faq/pronto I contributed to some of these descriptions.

Wayne

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Home run. . .
Feb 26, 2008 9:38AM PST

When the batter. . .

Oh.

In the old days, pre-DSL, the house wire was run from the outside to the first outlet, then looped to the next outlet, then to the next, and so on. This is called "Daisy Chain". Fine for plain telephone service.

With the introduction of DSL, any extra wire could cause a loss in transmission and slow the connection. The home run is one wire run from the outside to one outlet. If you had say four outlets, a single wire was run from the outside to each outlet. It also makes for better placement of the filter. One filter could be put on the phone wire on the outside for all phones. With daisy chain you need a filter for each phone.

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In his case the homerun went...
Feb 26, 2008 9:44AM PST

To just one outlet. That was an attempt to avoid replacing the failing DSL modem...

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Sure. . .
Feb 26, 2008 10:00AM PST

A home run is simply one wire run from the outside to one jack. It may have helped the transmission characteristics, but it won't fix a broken modem. If he has a large house with old wire, the transmission qualities won't pass DSL. Specifically older inside wire with fewer twists per foot.

Ever notice the newer Cat-5 wire? Look closely at the number of twists on a pair per foot. About three times the number of older house wire. More twists mean less self induction which will degrade a telephone/DSL signal. More twists mean higher speed.

Wow! Just thinking about this brings back memories. I was teaching this stuff back in the 80s and DSL and ISDN in the 90s. Then T-1 and fiber optic multiplexers in the 2000s. I'm having to wrack my brain to bring this stuff to the front again. Gives me a headache. LOL

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3 miles is not the maximum range for dsl
Mar 4, 2008 10:57AM PST

The maxium range of dsl depends on alot of factors. Mostly the rule of thumb is 18000 ft with todays 24 gauge wire. If you live in an area out in the country with old but well maintained wire you probably have thicker gauge wire and dsl can be pushed alot farther. I often push dsl out to 22000 ft with 20 gauge wire. Also there are now devices that allow dsl to be pushed up to 27000 ft with plain old 24 gauge wire. The problem then becomes voice quality though.

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embarq dsl and distance question
Feb 27, 2008 11:05PM PST

Hello frankie1515,

This is a message from Lamont with Embarq Customer Support. We see that you had an issue with getting to the Embarq High Speed Internet service at your location and we are here to help. We would like the opportunity to assist you in resolving this issue you are having. Please provide your phone number in a private message or email and we will research and resolve your issue. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to help you.



Lamont L.
Embarq Customer Support
SMNP.Lamont.l@embarq.com
For additional support please visit www.embarq.com/support or call 1-877-646-3282
Voice | Data | Internet | Wireless | Entertainment

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I can't find how to send a pm to you Lamont
Feb 27, 2008 11:31PM PST

Tell me how to PM you! A lineman was here yesterday, said I could get fluctuating service and said he was going to go see if bumping me up to 1.5 would help, and he would be right back. That was yesterday at 3:30pm and he has not been seen again and won't answer his phone!

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consistent with my Embarq experience
Mar 4, 2008 9:38AM PST

Lamont, I emailed you, and in true Embarq tradition I got no response.

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Broadband: embarq dsl and distance question
Mar 26, 2008 6:56AM PDT

Hello frankie1515,

I would like to express my sincerest apologies to you for not contacting you sooner. I was alerted by one of the other staff that you had responded to the cnet post. I did not receive an alert that you had responded from cnet. If you are still willing to have me take a look please email me with your phone number at either SMNP.Lamont.l@embarq.com or lamont.o.lewis@embarq.com. Again, I apologize for missing this.

Lamont L.
Embarq Customer Support
SMNP.Lamont.l@embarq.com
For additional support please visit www.embarq.com/support or call 1-877-646-3282
Voice | Data | Internet | Wireless | Entertainment

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resolved
Mar 26, 2008 8:21AM PDT

Lamont, thanks for the reply. A friend of mine has a friend who is an Embarq lineman, and we arranged that he and another tech would check out my situation, and they were awesome. These 2 did their job right, checked the lines, found a break, fixed it and I now have dsl!

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Broadband: embarq dsl and distance question
Mar 26, 2008 9:56PM PDT

I am very glad to hear that. I appreciate you giving us the chance to make things right. Please let me know if you need assistance with our service in the future.

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ttt
Feb 6, 2009 11:34AM PST

I'm having similar problems as Frankie. I'll use the email given by Lamont to see if I can get help. Sure not getting it through any normal channels.