atcomsystems.ca/forum Forums Wiring - Telecom Carriers - Trunks & Services T1's, CSU's and DSU's Trouble shooting tips?

Well guys, dumb ole me again with some tech questions. I am trying to wrap my mind around troubleshooting HiCap circuits from within a CO environment. Are there rule of thumb areas to look for for certain errors. For example on a T-1 circuit if I am taking Bit errors and I have narrowed it down to coming from my Co, now what? Where should I look, I mean are bit errors most likely caused by equipment, cabling, provisioning, timing...
I am trying to narrow down possibilities, I mean if your car shakes when you drive it you know to look somewhere in the drivetrain and tires not necessarily for how much gas is in the tank. Can I think the same way with errors?
What about CRC errors, what is most likely these caused by? I have a million questions if someone deosn't mind me emailing them instead of these postings.
Thanks in advance......

Google "loopback plug" or "loopback jack" Either buy one or make one. The problem is either your equipment or the C.O.s. If you think it's the C.O.s then call up your carrier and tell them. A loopback will give you an indication if it's working good or not by you making it talk to itself.
A million questions and answers are not necessary. Troubleshooting 101 says "Isolate the problem".

Maybe I misread your original post. Are you saying that you are IN a CO?? ---- "I am trying to wrap my mind around troubleshooting HiCap circuits from within a CO environment."----.

Yes sir, I am in the CO and have looped circuit back to my CO to prove it is in my office. I do not currently have these trbls, I was just wondering if there was certain errors that could, as a rule of thumb, be associated with circuit packs, the cabling between equipment, timing issues....As I understand it if my Dsxdb levels are off it would be a indicator to check wiring ( jumpers, coax...)

I am trying to develop my troubleshooting skills by trying to learn from all of y'alls experience ( if you are willing to share it with this board) Not wanting someone to take me by the hand and fix it for me, just point me in the right direction.

If you can find a Tberd manual they are a pretty good source for error explanation. Off the top of my head. BPV's indicate errors in hardware or wiring. CRC's noise on the line or framing mismatch with little traffic. Failure of all 1's bad repeater. Slips timing, usually CPE, in theory source can't slip. That's about all I've got without looking stuff up.

If you're troubleshooting a copper circuit, go to the C card and pull PM data off of it to a laptop via serial port. After some practice you'll be able to get a pretty good idea where your trouble is coming from.

Someone *should* sit you down and walk you through it the first time around, laptop in hand, step by step. It's not rocket science by any stretch of imagination, but it does require grasping a few basic concepts.

Adtran had some great manuals regarding HDSL technology for both CO and field use, try to locate some of them.

Bill's suggestion on reading through T-Berd manuals is an excellent one as well.

Once you properly understand the concept of circuit design, you'll learn to troubleshoot from different points, and ability to properly interpret PM data will prove to be very important.

For the record: I'm not a COT/carrier tech/frame guy - but the dude "on the other end", staring at a blinking R card...LOL...

Don't forget to have fun while learning this stuff. Seriously. It can be pretty amusing and entertaining if you don't stress yourself blind over it.

My $0.02 only...

I would be glad to help you. I am a retired instructor and taught both CO and outside technicians in various transport technologies.

nightntwktech,

It is important to keep in mind that their are various forms of a T1. You have to keep that in mind when you troubleshoot them.

A conventional T1 is made up of an office repeater, line repeaters, better named line regenerators,a Smartjack, aka NID, Network Interface Device, NCTE Network Channel Terminating Equipment, NIU, Network Interface Unit.

A conventional T1 has limited Performance Monitoring capibilities because the office repeater the line repeaters and the smart jack are usually made by different manufacturers and there is no common "language" for them to speak.