Does anybody know what might be causing the following fault. Phoned the
wife at home from work yesterday and the line was terrible.
When I got home I checked my emails. The broadband connected ok but the
dial up wouldn't as there was no dialing tone. BT checked the line but
said that there was nothing wrong their end and suggested the
connection at my end was faulty. As far as I can see the connection in
the main box is ok. Also I don't follow this as the broadband is
working.
When phoning my number I get engaged. There is a connection in the
incoming line via a terminal block joining two cables under the eaves
of the house.
BT are coming to look but was just wondering what the problem could be.
Kevin

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
wrote:

Does anybody know what might be causing the following fault. Phoned
the wife at home from work yesterday and the line was terrible.
When I got home I checked my emails. The broadband connected ok but
the dial up wouldn't as there was no dialing tone. BT checked the
line but said that there was nothing wrong their end and suggested the
connection at my end was faulty. As far as I can see the connection in
the main box is ok. Also I don't follow this as the broadband is
working.
When phoning my number I get engaged. There is a connection in the
incoming line via a terminal block joining two cables under the eaves
of the house.
BT are coming to look but was just wondering what the problem could
be. Kevin

If you've got a standard NTE5 master socket, remove the faceplate and plug a
phone directly into the test socket inside (not through a filter).

If this works, the problem is in your internal/extension
wiring/micro-filters etc. - and BT will charge for sorting it. If it doesn't
work, the problem is between you and the exchange - and it is BT's
responsibility to sort it out.

It is not unknown for ADSL to continue to work even though there's a duff
joint somewhere which stops phones from working.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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wrote:
Does anybody know what might be causing the following fault. Phoned the

I should ask on uk.telecom if I were you: the fault is clearly playing
merry hell with your newsreader

wrote:
Does anybody know what might be causing the following fault. Phoned the
wife at home from work yesterday and the line was terrible.
When I got home I checked my emails. The broadband connected ok but the
dial up wouldn't as there was no dialing tone. BT checked the line but
said that there was nothing wrong their end and suggested the
connection at my end was faulty. As far as I can see the connection in
the main box is ok. Also I don't follow this as the broadband is
working.
When phoning my number I get engaged. There is a connection in the
incoming line via a terminal block joining two cables under the eaves
of the house.
BT are coming to look but was just wondering what the problem could be.
Kevin


For the number to be engaged there is probably a short circuit between
the A and B wires of the telephone line, or an earth on the B wire, the
DC resistance of which is low enough for the exchange to see it as being
off hook. (It could also be a fault in the exchange itself.) This could
be your side of the NTE5 master socket (if you have one) or BT's side.
Do what Set Square suggests to try and localise it.

Look out for any wet junction boxes that could be causing a short or an
earth or both. Squashed cables is another thing to look for. Look in any
screw terminal boxes to check that there are no loose wire (causing the
initial bad line) which has now become a short.

As BT have tested the line (hmmm?) they should be able to see an earth
that is big enough (or I guess that should be "low" enough - BT had, or
certainly used to have "big fat earths") to cause this problem. If it is
a short it may be just low enough to cause an off hook condition but
also be close to you house so that BT see a normal capacitance when
testing the line.

The box under the eaves is almost certainly BT's responsibility and if
it isn't a water proof connection it could well be causing the fault. If
it is this try to get them to run a new drop wire in one length from the
pole to the NTE5 rtaher than just "fix" the fault.

The ADSL works at high frequencies so can "pass through" a fault that
will not pass the DC that makes your telephone work. Hence ADSL working
but not voice.

Andy

In uk.d-i-y, Set Square wrote:
It is not unknown for ADSL to continue to work even though there's a duff
joint somewhere which stops phones from working.

Too true. Our phone was completely dead for a period of six days last
year, due to a BT fault, but the ADSL worked perfectly throughout.

We missed the phone a lot less that we'd have missed the ADSL.

--
Mike Barnes

Also I don't follow this as the broadband is working.

Check on google for similar posts in uk.telecom.broadband - I think it
may be something to do with a high resistance fault, but can`t remember
for sure.

Broadband has been known to work where the phone is otherwise knackered.

--
Please add "[newsgroup]" in the subject of any personal replies via email
--- My new email address has "ngspamtrap" & @btinternet.com in it ;-) ---

Well BT have just been and apparently it was a faulty ADSL filter. When
I get home I will try swapping filters around to see if it just the one
which I guess it is.

Kevin

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
wrote:

Well BT have just been and apparently it was a faulty ADSL filter.
When I get home I will try swapping filters around to see if it just
the one which I guess it is.

Kevin


In that case, it will cost you dear for having them come to fix it.

It really does pay to do your own basic diagnostics first, before sending
for BT - especially when you post in uk.d-i-y!
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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wrote:
Well BT have just been and apparently it was a faulty ADSL filter. When
I get home I will try swapping filters around to see if it just the one
which I guess it is.

Kevin


You say "apparently" it was a faulty ADSL filter. I assume that you were
not in when the BT engineer was there. If it was the filter that was
faulty, which it could be, you should be able to reproduce the fault. If
you cannot and all of the filters work okay then IF BT charge you for
the call out you should dispute the charge. Certain faults can clear
themselves or be fixed by another engineer doing work elsewhere. The BT
engineer may try and point the fault at your equipment rather than theirs.

Of course if a filter is faulty then you could have found this out
yourself before calling BT ;-)

Andy

I don't follow this as the broadband is working.
When phoning my number I get engaged. There is a connection in the
incoming line via a terminal block joining two cables under the eaves of
the house.
BT are coming to look but was just wondering what the problem could be.
Kevin

Braodband extends up to RF frequencies so will work where simple voice
wont. Can even work on only one leg of the line.

Dave

--
For what we are about to balls up may common sense prevent us doing it
again
in the future!!

I have now checked all the filters and one of them recreates the fault.
A pity BT didn't suggest that to me in the first place.

Kevin