Wierd power deal

[mapes]

So my wife went and bought a Nordictrac Treadmill for home use. The only problem is when she uses it my DSL modem loses sync. Sounds crazy but its true. I'm kinda baffled why this is. I've tested it over and over and the only time my stellar DSL service has an issue is when that damn treadmill is running. Now my DSL is setup slightly different than most. Basically I have a demux unit in the phone box and it splits the DSL from the incoming line off onto the 2nd pair. I currently don't have a surge suppressor on the DSL line or any phone line in the house. Although I think I have a couple of surge supressor strips that have phone jacks on em. I'm tempted to put one on the dSL modem and then one on the base station that connects all of the cordless phones to the phone line. Any other ideas? BTW the power for the modem is plugged into a APCC Data center grade UPS (4u rack mountable). So I don't think it's the AC power to the modem.

[Savage_Hobo]

Isn't it obvious..... the Treadmill is Skynet! Just kidding, that is a very weird problem. I haven't encountered this one before, maybe the UPS is affected by a brown-out as opposed to a complete power failure or power surge? Have you had any problems with the DSL modem around other high amperage devices?

[mapes]

Isn't it obvious..... the Treadmill is Skynet! Just kidding, that is a very weird problem. I haven't encountered this one before, maybe the UPS is affected by a brown-out as opposed to a complete power failure or power surge? Have you had any problems with the DSL modem around other high amperage devices?

No never any problem using like the whole house fan or heater or dryer. The UPS I'm using is an older APC UPS but it's meant for data centers....it's huge. I've also pluged the modem into a apc smart ups 1500. Same problem. I'm wondering if the treadmill is affecting the analoge phone causing it to freak out the demux?

[WalkinTarget]

Simple .. just add one of the supplied DSL filters that came with your modem to the modem RJ11 port on the Nordic Track !!!

Dang, I offer up awesome troubleshooting skillz !

That treadmill must be tossing off some serious EMI to affect the DSL.

[DougBob]

Well, the weird thing is if there is a feedback in your phone line from the grounding system for the house it's weird the 60Hz and amp wave would be causing it, but possible.
What I suspect is one of the following!

Trace your house grounding and determine if the phone line is using the same ground post as the AC system. If so I would seperate the phone system from it and ground it outside the house seperately. If may be that a combination of the 60 hz with the treadmills constant amp up amp down while it's running is causing the demux to not hold sync to the signal due to it changing, not too rapidly, but too much of a variance for it to keep a lock.
Or here's a better one, the change in the magnetic field of the AC lines while the treadmill is in use are causing the field to ramp up to a level that is affecting the signal coming thru the phone line. This of course would only be possible if the lines run parallel for a foot or more.
I have a question also, does it only affect the unit when she is walking on the treadmill, when it's running with no one on it or both?

[Jeffro]

did a 5 year old wire your house? lol j/k

[mapes]

did a 5 year old wire your house? lol j/k

Nope I did. I ran Cat5e to all rooms and to a central patch panel. I also ran phone to a punch down by the patch panel. I used a cable tester on each run. There is no problem with my cable plant

[Trooper110]

Did you put the Cat5e on the opposite side of a stud from power cables? I haven't experienced it but I've heard of instances where having power cables run along side cat5e (or any ethernet cable for that matter) can cause interference. Also, unsure if it would be a cause, but are all of your cables properly terminated, and not plugged in to anything if they aren't being used? I've actually seen some weird effects where an ethernet cable is plugged in to a router or switch without having any connection at the other end. Unplugged them is a simple test to do.

[BlackArrow]

mapes, i have no idea whether or not it is motorized in some way, but many motors on house appliances, like refrigerators emit sound at the same frequency as cordless phones and can cause interference.........only a thought.

Do a google search.....a quick one came up with this:

BT announce that household appliances could affect broadband speeed – Broadband Genie reports

[mapes]

Think I found the answer. The treadmill is sending noise into the power lines of the house. The power lines then irradiate the noise as RF all over the premise and is picked up by the dsl phone line. If your all interested here is a good discussion

[Line Problem] Elite works fine, until the treadmill is started. - dslreports.com

BTW solution is to buy a filter to block the noise from the treadmill to the premise wiring.

[Trooper110]

Or you could just throw the treadmill away I'd suggest buying some heavily padded clothing if you go that way though

[DougBob]

Woo Hoo, let me know what kind of filter you wind up getting

Think I found the answer. The treadmill is sending noise into the power lines of the house. The power lines then irradiate the noise as RF all over the premise and is picked up by the dsl phone line. If your all interested here is a good discussion

[Line Problem] Elite works fine, until the treadmill is started. - dslreports.com

BTW solution is to buy a filter to block the noise from the treadmill to the premise wiring.

[mapes]

This is what I got. When it arrives I'll let you know if it works
APC-Power Filter Surge Protector-C2

[BlackArrow]

Hope it works......

[mapes]

Hope it works......

Yep my wife can run her little heart out and I stay connected...... I'm happy