On Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:16:21 -0800 (PST), klem kedidelhopper
wrote:

On Feb 10, 1:24*am, "Geoffrey S. Mendelson"
wrote:
micky wrote:

A few ways later, *my phone continued to work, and the web radio
worked, but newsgroups, email, and web did not. * I was stumped, and
the Verizon DSL guy come over. *He said there is mor e than one level
of the phone line not working, and of DSL not working.. * So the fact
that the phone and the web radio worked, didn't mean DSL was fully
working. * * He said the wire going out the window was too thin. * (Or
maybe it had to do with too thin considering my aluminmum window
frames (both surrounding the glass and lining the window opening.

That's because DSL is "adaptive". The devices at each end are "smart" and
try the maximum speed they can. If that fails, or they get too many errors,
they try a lower speed until they can connect.

Analog modems do that too.

I can connect to the web browser interface of my DSL routers (which include
"modems") and see the exact speed the line is capable of, the speed it is
running at and the error rates. I can even run a BER (bit error rate) test
without disturbing the line.

In my case it's not very useful, as the DSL portion of my phone service
runs few hundred meters. It goes to a box somewhere near my home which
converts the DSL and analog voice to fiber optics.

That device is even smarter than you would expect, it opens its own
trouble tickets with the phone company and sends me SMSs when it does
or they are resolved.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, *N3OWJ/4X1GM/KBUH7245/KBUW5379
Gung Hay Fat Choy! (May the new year be prosperous).

Quiet line numbers are often like ANI numbers (for identifying the CO
line), which are "top secret" within the phone company. The phone
company will never give them to you, but a cooperative lineman might
after you've established a rap or with him on a job. Some of the older
local exchanges here in New England worked with 200-2222222. Lenny

How about that. Many 555-#### numbers are various diagnostic systems.

?-)