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Cable modem help


sean5900xt

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I have been having a weird problem with my cable internet for over a month now. For some reason my internet connection will just stop working. The lights on the modem will all still look normal, but my internet connection completely stops. Rebooting the modem will fix it as soon as it reconnects. Nothing in particular seems to make it happen, sometimes I'm just browsing, sometimes it wont be working when I wake up in the morning. It used to happen about 2 or 3 times a week, but this week it has been about 3 to 4 times a day. Told the cable company but they wont be able to do anything till after thanksgiving which is fine since it just takes a reboot its just annoying. 

 

I can't imagine what it is. Tried two brand new cable modems one Arris, and my current one a Motorola. Both had the issue. Here is a pic of my signal page. From what I can tell it all looks fine but I'm not sure. My speeds are really good as well both up and down. Any ideas?

 

J0D8anB.jpg

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Yeah I did think that was kind of strange. From the research I have done I think -8 to 8 is ok on the power levels. But for a while now its pretty much always -1 to 1 on all the channels. I hope the cable company can figure this out when they come out, but I get the feeling this is gonna be a pain to get fixed.

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0 dB is good.. between -5 and 5 for the downstream power level is what you want. Your levels look okay but a bad splitter, loose connection or bad barrel connector can all appear okay and still have intermittent issues. I'd try switching out, by passing and checking connections leading from the side of the house to the modem. Also look for sharp turns in your coax... if it bends too sharp it can cause the signal to actually echo within the cable. Check behind any wallplates. Look for marred connections and sharp turns. Often electritions who prewire don't know sh!t about networking or coax... I've seen a lot of ugly stuff behind wallplates that HAD to be switched out. The wallplate barrel connections go bad... switch them with quality (no gold, gold is a great conductor.. so good that over air signals can bleed in... gold looks pretty but it's not good in a cable system application) connections while you're in there. They can oxidize and cause issues, most people don't think of those things... All things I'd check for.

Basically, make sure that the problem isn't between the modem and the dmark (where the cable company connects into your house). If the problem is inside, they're going to charge you. If they step foot inside in some cases... they charge you. Make sure that when the tech leaves your house you are on the same page about the work done and get it in writing. Trust me.

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Note this RG6 connector.

post-2-0-97684200-1385671368.jpg

see how the white inner insulation is nearly flush with the metal base. If it's pushed down and there is a bowl in the bottom... the signal echos off the walls within the connector. Fittings like that need to be adjusted or changed. Sometimes you can just firming grab and push it into better alignment... but if you have the ability and tools, put new compression fittings on. You also want the copper core to rise up above the rim by 2-3 pennies width. Too long... issues.. too short... issues.

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I'd trim that a little longer myself...

so many bad examples on google images

post-2-0-91129300-1385672008.jpgpost-2-0-32151300-1385672039.jpg

If you have cables like that.. throw them out. Good for antenna, bad for cable systems.

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Hey CA3LE, thank you for all the information! I checked the cord that hooks into the cable modem. It looks good. Don't have a wall plate for that cord, it just comes up from the floor. The cable company ran another line to the cable modem back around the time we first got cable internet. Thankfully the cable company here is really, really good about not charging for service calls. Only time I have had them charge us was when we asked them to install a new amp for the line that goes to the TV's.

 

I really appreciate you taking the time to put together all that information. I'll let you know how this all turns out. So far it has been close to 3 days since I have had to reboot the modem. If it keeps happening I'll have the cable co come out next week.

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