Microfilters are Important for a Great Broadband Connection

deefadog

Hi
Have a look at this one from svp, its a High Specification Cat5e RJ11 Cable, available in different lengths.
http://svp.co.uk/products-solo.php?pid=1354

Just ordered 20 meters of this from SVP - £8.32 delivered! I assume that the length of this should not effect any benefits?

Iffy_Wallet

Sorry deefadog.

Some of these glitches were getting me down a bit.

I hope your new cable gives you some significant improvements.

deefadog

No worries It's understandable - i'd be the same in your situation!

I'll let you know if the cable makes a difference!

Any ideas if the length effect the signal strength?

TimBuckTeeth

Long lengths of cable will reduce the signal slightly, so best to use the shortest cable you can. But bear in mind that there are usually several hundred metres between your house and the exchange.
If you need the 20 metres length then it is more important to use quality twisted-pair CAT5 cable rather than cheap phone wire as it should have lower loss and pick up less interference.

TimBuckTeeth

The filter separates the low frequency phone signals and the higher frequency broadband for two reasons - so you don't get noises on the phone from the broadband data, and also so that the broadband signal is not reduced or disrupted by phones on the line.
For fastest speed and least interference the amount of cable in the house that is connected to the broadband signal should be minimised. If an extension socket is only used for a phone then the filter is best placed before the wire to the extension, not at the extension socket.

As recommended in another post, a master socket with a built in filter is a good idea, as it also reduces the number of plug and socket connections in the broadband line, which can cause bad connections.
It is best to run a separate new cable (CAT5 computer type) direct from the broadband output of the filter connected to (or built into) the master socket to the broadband modem/router. With all phone extensions connected to the phone output of the filter, that way the broadband signal is blocked from travelling along the often long and poor quality phone extension wires. Also only one filter is needed then (so can be more expensive and better quality) rather than one on each extension socket.

[M]aster         == Broadband and phone signal
[F]ilter         -- Phone signal   + + Broadband signal
[E]xtension for phone


                    [E]----[E]
                    /
                   /
                  /
===[M]=[F]-----[E]----[E]-----[E]
        +
        +
        +
        + + + + + + Computer

espresso

TimBuckTeeth wrote:

so can be more expensive and better quality) rather than one on each extension socket.

I fully agree with this method but shouldn't it say less expensive and better quality? i.e. only one filter required rather than five.

TimBuckTeeth

espresso wrote:

I fully agree with this method but shouldn't it say less expensive and better quality? i.e. only one filter required rather than five.

Wasn't too clear. What I meant that for the same price you could get one top quality filter rather than spreading the cost over having to get 5 (or 3 additional) cheap ones. This set up will also have the benefit of best quality signal and maximum speed. The only disadvantage is having to route the extra broadband cable under floorboards, carpets etc.

duncansby

Hi - Having previoulsy assumed that microfilters were all the same, I changed my old BT microfilter that I had for a few years, to a new one that came with my router from madasafish. My speeds have now jumped from an average of 2.55Mps to average of 3.99Mps.

BruceS_2

I've set up many a ADSL service for friends, collegeues and family. The best solution iv'e come across is the NTE5 ADSL face plate adaptor and the best i've used is from Clarity at http://www.clarity.it/xcart/product.php?productid=16134&cat=262&page=1

If you cannot use these ie have the smaller master box or for whatever reason the best microfilter that is available is the Fujitsu FDX100 or the XF-1e.

isofa

Cheap / freebie ASDL filters supplied with routers or from ISPs are generally lower quality. By upgrading to either faceplates, or better quality ADSL filters from companies such as ADSL nation (mentioned earlier in this thread) you'll usually gain an improvement in your connection. Most gains give a better SNR (signal to noise ratio) and sometimes even a boost in Sync speed.

For much more detail in these topics, I'd recommend reviewing http://www.thinkbroadband.com

You'll always get the best connection from your master socket, especially when replacing with an XTE filtered socket - however for most people this isn't practical, as most people have their computers in different rooms off extensions, rather than where the master socket is!

Hope that helps.