retrains when it rains

PHM_verse · ‎04-28-2012

Hi

I got uverse for the first time a couple of weeks ago. While it's generally been pretty solid, we had some rain in SoCal earlier in the week and I got around 8 retrains in 48 hours. I rebooted the RGV and reset statistics about 36 hours ago. So far, rock solid. Based on these screen shots, do you think my profile should be 25/2?

Thanks

Stats

Error Table

Bitloading

mibrnsurg · ‎07-15-2008

You've got quite a big bridge tap/interference showing on your bitloading chart, the up/down sine wave. See this SomeJoe post detailing what to do:

http://forums.att.com/t5/Residential-Gateway/Frequent-Downtime/m-p/2796275#M1107

Good luck

Chris

Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
Need Help? 1-800-288-2020, After he gets acct info, press # a bunch of times, get a menu from Mr. Voice recognition
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more

PHM_verse · ‎04-28-2012

Hi Chris

Here's my stats and bitloading plugged straight into the NID. The power didn't get much better. What do you suppose my options are?

Thanks

PHM_verse · ‎04-28-2012

I checked the ground on the NID. It wasn't, but is now. I also pulled all the other house jacks (except of course the one where the RGW is attached) off the NID.

So once more, here's my stats.

mibrnsurg · ‎07-15-2008

It seems a higher max rate at the Nid, how is it connected from the Nid to the RG?

It still looks like there still is a bridge tap/interference problem before it gets to the Nid, follow the instructions in SomeJoe's post and call TS.

Chris

Please NO SD stretch-o-vision or 480 SD HD Channels
Need Help? 1-800-288-2020, After he gets acct info, press # a bunch of times, get a menu from Mr. Voice recognition
Your Results May Vary, In My Humble Opinion
I Call It Like I See It, Simply a U-verse user, nothing more

PHM_verse · ‎04-28-2012

When I attached to the NID direct, I used a 25' data cable.

The last set of pics is from the RG plugged back into house wiring. Thanks for your insights. Now that it's pretty clear the issue is between my NID and the VRAD, I'm inclined to watch it for awhile. Perhaps the faulty ground I found and repaired will help with rainy days. I did get the signal coherency up a litlle.

dhascall · ‎04-21-2008

Same issue as you back in the spring of 2010. It was a bad run of AT&T copper about a block from my house. If it rained or there was heavy dew or fog, the service would come and go. Tier 2 and Linesman finally nailed it down.

PHM_verse · ‎04-28-2012

I appreciate your insight. My installation is fairly new. While Alex (I PM'ed him) has been extremely helpful, I haven't actually suceeded in scheduling a linesman to investigate. There was someone at AT&T's "Social Media Team" that commited to doing that, but I haven't heard anything yet. The bummer is here in SoCal, we're past the rain until probably October or so. So it's possible I'll have to wait until the fall to get this resolved. I sure hope not.

RCSMG · ‎12-10-2007

Call TS and let the CSR know what was going on with your service. Give them the dates and they can go back and see the errors for those days. Request a prem tech be sent out to check the lines between your home and the VRAD. I had that problem a year or so ago and it tuned out there was water getting into one of the lines running to my house.

dhascall · ‎04-21-2008

PHM_verse wrote:
I appreciate your insight. My installation is fairly new. While Alex (I PM'ed him) has been extremely helpful, I haven't actually suceeded in scheduling a linesman to investigate. There was someone at AT&T's "Social Media Team" that commited to doing that, but I haven't heard anything yet. The bummer is here in SoCal, we're past the rain until probably October or so. So it's possible I'll have to wait until the fall to get this resolved. I sure hope not.

The Social Media team are (IMO) miracle workers. Before linesmen get involved, normally a U-Verse premisis technician verifies that the weak link is from the main line or the drop to your home. They should be able to test the line quality, wet or dry. AND sometimes it's apparent, an obvious tear in the wiring's cover or something that should be closed., that is wide open.

PHM_verse · ‎04-28-2012

As I kind of suspected, the alleged technican dispatch that the Social Media Team arranged for Saturday didn't happen. I have reached out to my contact there (and Alex) to let them know that no one has actually looked at my issue yet.

I'll be sure to keep this thread updated as my issue (hopefully) progresses.

RCSMG · ‎12-10-2007

They should get in touch with you, if they don't let us know.

PHM_verse · ‎04-28-2012

So my suspicions were correct. Since I have had no retrains in 8 days, they closed my ticket. It looks like I'll have to wait for the rain and more retrains to get anyone in my local service area to care about this.

Again, I appreciate all the help that Alex and the Social Networks Team have provided. I just wish they wielded more power with the actual dispatchers and technicians. Unfortunately, this experience is great example of why so many are unhappy with AT&T customer service.

RCSMG · ‎12-10-2007

Send Alex another PM and let him know what is going on. You are a paying customer and you are well within your right to get your issues resolved. Here is the link again.

http://forums.att.com/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/318276

dhascall · ‎04-21-2008

PHM: You have lots of suspicions, lol. At any rate, I have been a reasonably happy (95%) U-Verse customer but what I read of yours is quite interesting - I have probably had 10 or so tech visits in 3 1/2 years and have had exactly one no show and one erroneous ticket closing - and the ticket closing led to the no show. Hopefully that is all that you have. What I have been told (by Social Media) is that if there is a systemic fix that they feel should alleviate your concern, they will close the ticket. The rub is that (AFAIK) they do not tell you that. SO maybe there was a known issue at your local VHO or VRAD that is now fixed, that might eliminate the recurrence. I would query Alex for specifics of your tickets closing.

AND - just because you have a relatively new installation, doesn't mean that there couldn't be some old, junk copper between you and the VRAD.

PHM_verse · ‎04-28-2012

I appreciate the feedback. Yes, there's no doubt that the copper between me and the VRAD is old. My house was built in the 1920s. But I think the issue is that I haven't had a single retrain since I started this tread (which is when I crawled under the house and properly grounded the NID). I've worked in IT since the 80s, and I can tell you that, "you can't fix what ain't broke".

But, it also hasn't rained and all of you knowlegeable telecom people tell me, "your bit loading graph shows a bridge tap". I know it costs AT&T money to dispatch people. I'm sure AT&T's diagnostics show that I haven't had a retrain since 4/28. So they're saying, "no problem found". Current VDSL technology is pretty good at adapting to less than ideal wiring. And it seems to have adapted well in my case.

So I suppose I can't be too disappointed with the current situation. All of this AT&T love is out the window if, when the rain returns, I start getting retrains again.

dhascall · ‎04-21-2008

Feel your pain. Or more importantly, felt your pain. Ever since I had the rain related issues in 2010, it has been pretty good. The linesman should be able to tell you if the line is junk, if it's raining or not.

Grounding is a big concern. My initial install wasn't grounded right and a nearby (but not direct) lightning strike, melted a diplexor. The tech that fixed it, could not believe how "junky" the original install was.

PHM_verse · ‎04-28-2012

A follow up

Last weekend, I got several retrains after over two months of stability. This apparently met the threshold of getting a lineman out. As several of you pointed out, there was definitely a bridge tap. About 90 feet worth. He removed it, and the new uvrealtime graphs follow. For some reason I expected to see the higher frequencies more populated, but it definitely looks more like the "ideal" graph. Thanks again to everyone!