On Wed, 30 Nov 2016 18:27:33 -0800, "David Kaye"
<
sfdavi...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>"Jeff Liebermann" <
je...@cruzio.com> wrote
>
>> As I vaguely recall, the Alcatel 1000 modem used the pins for Line 2.
>> Plug an ordinary POTS phone into the end of the cord where the modem
>> plugs in. If you don't get dialtone, it's wired for Line 2.
>>
>> Manual
>> <
http://www.abusar.org.br/manuais/manual%20alcatel%20A1000.pdf>
>
>Yup, sure enough it says RJ14, which is the two-pair setup (3 and 4 for line
>1 and 2 and 5 for line 2). So, now I understand what was going on. The
>Alcatel 1000ADSL was plugged into the "data" jack and a phone was plugged
>into the "phone" jack.
Maybe. As I vaguely recall, both jacks have L1 (voice) connected
together, but L2 (data) only goes to the data jack. Swapping
connections won't work.
>All along I had assumed that both were on the center
>pair (RJ11) and the difference was a frequency splitter.
Nope. Note that in the bad old daze of the Alcatel 1000 (about 1998),
the common practice was to install a whole house DSL splitter, usually
made by Siecor, at the MPOE (minimum point of entry), and run a
dedicated pair from the splitter to the modem data port.
>But this doesn't
>explain why I got battery on the phone jack but not on the data jack.
Dunno. It should have been on both ports (unless my memory of how
they were wired is faulty). I don't have an Alcatel 1000 handy to
check and the manual isn't very helpful.
>I
>just figured that a filter was passing only the data and not the POTS
>battery. Instead, the jack itself had split connections. I got down on the
>floor behind the desk and unscrewed the cover of the jack and it was very
>confusing. All connections were punched down inside the little box and it
>looked very complicated.
>
>I tested the "phone" jack with the Alcatel and the new Netgear DM111 and
>neither of them would connect even though my tester showed battery (polarity
>reversed, though it shouldn't matter). I tried to explain what was going
>on, but the inability to get data over the conventional "phone" jack was
>mystifying as I didn't see a filter anywhere in the office unless it was
>hidden in the phone jack.
It's the L1 and L2 problem again. The cable coming from the wall jack
has the DSL signal on L2. The DM111 is looking for data on L1. I'm
lazy and carry a few L1 to L2 adapters for such problems.
>My client came back into the office, saw me sprawled out on the floor and
>said, "Okay, that's it. I'm going to subscribe to Comcast. This is too
>confusing." So, she's ordering Comcast. Three more days, and now I have to
>return yet another modem, the 111. Central Computer charges a restocking
>fee, but maybe they'll waive it. Or I might hang onto it in case I get
>another DSL customer with a problem, but nearly everyone has migrated to
>cable broadband...
Well, you tried.
>I made two visits about this aspect and I doubt I can rightfully charge for
>my time.
Yeah, that's the problem with changing strategy. The customer
effectively gets billed twice and usually doesn't like it. From her
point of view, you FAILED to get her DSL working, and therefore she
should not be paying for the labor involved. (No play, no pay). I
usually have to settle for half my hourly rate, or less.
>Funny that the AT&T folks didn't have any info on the uniqueness
>of the connection or any info on how to fix things.
I don't think there's anyone left at AT&T that even knows what an
Alcatel 1000 modem looks like. It was a piece of junk when it was
introduced and gave me quite a few headaches. The various wiring and
provisioning standards hadn't been ossified at the time and things
were changing. The Alcatel 1000 was no better than a prototype. I'm
really surprised that your customer still had one in operation. If
you called AT&T DSL support in the distant past, they would usually
refuse to support the Alcatel 1000 and demand that the customer get a
new modem. The problem was that they couldn't do remote diagnostics
with the Alcatel 1000 and some of the other early modems.