Internet Goes Offline Whenever It Rains

[Bakershalfdozen]

Haha, dh and I were joking about affixing an umbrella over the box for them. Can you show me the link for your search results, LAF? I would love to send it to them.

[LAF]

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 557AAZrOf8

[gatorpreacher]

the reason for the lost signal is you are losing part of your "ground" in the circuit. A telephone uses a true ground through the line installation and the dsl utilizes the ground and the common ground of the phone system.......when it is wet, the signal is "hindered" because a percentage of it is going to ground through the wet wiring. The probable reason for still having your telephone working is two reasons (assuming that you are using a cordless phone like most do nowadays), the phone unit is plugged into the household 110 that goes back to the panel and this has a definite ground through a grounding rod in the ground. And the other thing is that all cordless phones have a signal amplifier built in that helps them under these conditions; that is why you can walk all over and still get good reception.

gatorpreacher

[Timothy]

This is why ISP people would make terrible doctors. You explain what is wrong to the best of your undestanding, and as a doctor, they would either insist that there is nothing wrong with you, no matter how much blood is spurting out, or they will operate anyway no matter how healthy you seem...

[JerryNumbers]

A long time back before I got dial up my phone would go out ever time it rained. They had came out and checked it and said nothing was wrong.

I knew a person who worked for the phone company and I spoke to him about it, he told me when to call in the problem so that he would be the one to check it out. I did.

He found a bad place in the phone line between my house and the junction box out by the road which is about 550 feet. He dug down to it with a sharp shooter, sure enough the insulation had a bad spot in it and water was getting in the line.

2 days later a new line was put down, end of the problem.

[pneu-engine]

I guess it just bugs me that this happens every time it rains but they won't listen. They say it has nothing to do with the rain.

What I am wanting to know is, is there a scientific reason for DSL to go out every time it rains?

Can water get inside those connection boxes down the street?

Not only can it get in, it does get in.

The reason those people have to say that it has nothing to do with the rain is that they would have a very great responsibilty to come up with better wiring and insulation.

There isn't anything on earth that is totally impervious to sun-damage caused by infra-red (heat) and ultra-violet radiation, and still cost-effective. Silicone-rubber covered conductors and "boots" around all junctions would be good and effective, but would be so cost-prohibitive that they would never do it. So then, the sun warps the box covers, and dries out the insulation which in turn permits moisture to penetrate the enclosure. When that happens, more rain can get in, and then there is the freezing and heaving which causes more warpage. Remember that it only takes a few thousandths of an inch gap to permit water to enter.

[Bakershalfdozen]

So true. Thanks for the input, everybody.

[pneu-engine]

You are most welcome. :thumb

I know what I would do if I were that service technician. I'd find that box, dry it out with a heat-gun, and then replace the gasket with a very compliant silicone-rubber gasket coated with silicone vacuum grease, of the type known as Dow-Corning 1-1-1. I'd also make sure all the cables coming into the box were sealed. This would eliminate the problem in that box for at least fifteen years or so.

[Timothy]

Are you suggesting, "If you want something done, then do it yourself?"