My Internet Server Is Lousy!

[DnStClr]

I've been having so much trouble accessing the internet in the last month that I'm thinking about ditching my service with  Charter Cable. Anybody have a suggeston for another server?
 

Don St.Clair
Culleoka Tn

[roundedline]

Wow, I have had great service from Charter.  What did they say when you reported it?

Chris Lucas
www.73-87chevytrucks.com
www.captkaoscustoms.com
Project Su
Jimmy 2WD Project

[toplessblazer]

I work for Cox Communications here in the Phoenix area and I install and service cable internet, phone and TV. What kind (brand and model#) of cable modem do you have? How many times is the cable wire from outside split before it reaches the cable modem? Do you have cable TV also and are the pictures fuzzy on the higher channels? Do any of you neighbors have the service and are they having the same problems you are? ( 9 out of 10 trouble calls for internet usually end up being the way the house wiring is configured). Too many splitters will cause your transmit levels to be too high and the gateway server ( first point of contact your modem talks to ) receives a unusable distorted signal. This is referred to as packet loss.

Another thing it might be is the modem itself. How old is your modem? Out here they seem to last for about 3-4 years on average.

I can walk you through how to check some of these levels once I find out what modem you have and what operating sytem you have on your computer.

Edited by: toplessblazer at: 8/7/06 3:26 pm

[DnStClr]

Hmm lots of questions. Let's see-
We're not having trouble with the cable reception for the TVs. Only with internet. I've called for a service rep 3 times prior to this-last time was about a year ago. This time (last week) they said they were working on the cable in my area, and when they were finished we had terrific reception (internet) for 2 days. Then the computers- 2 desktops and 2 laptops all had difficulty getting connected. The two desktops are connected to the modem via cable and the two laptops are via a 624 D-Link router.
The internet cable comes into the 2nd story of the house and connects to the modem. No splitter. The 2nd desktop is hard wired to the router.
The modem is a Surfboard (Motorola). Don't know the model #-(I'm at work). It was replaced a year ago.
All of the cable connectors on the tv and internet wiring have been replaced with heavy duty connectors.
Decibel checks have been taken and are always well within specs.
Serviceman said last week that he was coming out to our neighborhood to see what was wrong- so apparently neighbors have trouble too. we haven't seen him yet. I haven't asked any of them tho-
The signal from the router to the laptops is always very strong-54 dps  (or whatever the signal is called) until we start losing connectivity- then it loses strength to @ 24 to 36 dps.
All the computers have Windows XP operating systems.

Don St.Clair
Culleoka Tn

Edited by: DnStClr at: 8/7/06 9:07 pm

[toplessblazer]

Your modem is probably a 5100 surfboard. Open up internet explorer or firefox, whatever you use, and in the address bar type in 192.168.100.1 and press enter. Then click on the tab that says signal. Most cable companies are close to same so your levels should be as follows. Your TX or upstream level should be between 38-48 dbMv. On our system we start having problems when this gets into the mid 50s. Your RX or downstream should be between -10 and +5 dbMv. If this gets down to -18 then you are going to have packet loss and not be able to get online. The SNR (signal to Noise Ratio) should be above 30 db. Our system runs around 36. All this info is the cox system but like I said it is pretty much a standard as to how it works.

Do you know how to go into your router and find your IP address info? If so I can tell you how to do a ping test to check your packet loss.

When you can't get online are the send and receive lights blinking.

I am just trying to offer what little knowledge I have to help you out. I would keep calling the cable company and make sure they aren't giving you the run around. I know the customer service people at cox are held accountable for sales quotas when people call in. Therefore if the call doesn't look like it is going to lead to a sale they will say whatever it takes to get you off the phone. If it turns out to be an area problem make sure they give you a credit on your bill for not receiving the service you are paying for

[DnStClr]

You're a big help Topless Blazer. I sure appreciate the info
Over the past year I have routinely checked the 192.168.100.1 address for problems, and today the signals are-
              SNR=              33db
              Upstream=      54dBmV
              Downstream= -11dBmV
Looks like they're out of spec a little bit,huh?

Modem is an SB4100 model.
The signal lights on the modem work ok. Send and receive lights are steady when we're not able to access the internet. the activity light comes and goes. It's normally blinking on and off.
Router IP address is 192.100.0.1 I'll go there and nose around to see if I can ping it-
.

Don St.Clair
Culleoka Tn

[DnStClr]

Hmm. Wouldn't ya know- it's askin for my username and password on the router IP address.. Don't know if I ever set one up- I better call D-Link to see if they can help-

Don St.Clair
Culleoka Tn

[toplessblazer]

dlink routers are usually
User: dlink
Pass: dlink
If that doesn't work try
user: (leave blank)
pass: admin
and last try
user: (leave blank)
pass: dlink

One of these 3 should get you in there

[ChevyGuy]

This is a funny topic I work for Suddenlink which was formaly Cox which in turn Suddenlink bought Charter as well.

[DnStClr]

Yes sir. I laugh every time I can't get online. Day after day. So does my daughter who is taking online college courses.

Don St.Clair
Culleoka Tn

[toplessblazer]

Can you go outside and trace the wire down that feeds your internet and tell me what kind of splitter it is going through? (for example a 2 way or 3 way or 4 way splitter). The different splitters have different effects on your TX level that you are currently at 54. How many TVs do you have hooked up to cable? If you have more than 4 cable outlets including your internet outlet then chances are you need an amplifier. If this turns out to be the case I can send you the parts to fix your problem for free.

While tracing down the internet line make sure that there are no splitters along the way.

A rule of thumb is your internet line should not be split more than one time. So what I do is use a 2 way splitter, one side for the data line and the other side usually feeds the amplifier for the rest of the cable outlets. Once you tell me how many lines and splitters you have I can go more in depth and try to help you get this fixed.

[DnStClr]

The internet feed line is separate from the cable tv line coming to the house. that is, we have two feeds coming in from the road- one for internet and one for cable tv. No splitters on the internet line. Cable tv line is another story. 5 tvs. I installed an amplifier in the basement some yrs ago for two of them.They all have good pictures.
The phone help tech from Charter says he sees no problem with signals on our line for the internet. He says as you, that it's most likely a problem in the house wiring. I tend to believe him so yesterday I removed the the router and hooked only one computer up to the modem. Still have a slow performance. It starts to load a page and stops loading. I try another computer. Same thing . 3rd computer- same thing. So now I'm out of time and off to work. get home from work and my son had reset the router, reconfigured it, and hooked his computer back up through the router. Worked fine. So I hooked up my computer through the router and it works fine today too.  So I'll see how things go tomorrow and if everything's ok I guess the router is at fault.
Your offer to help is awesome ToplessBlazer. Thanks .  

Don St.Clair
Culleoka Tn

[toplessblazer]

If you have a line straight to the modem from the road then your transmit levels should not be in the 50s. I would try a different cable modem.

I have a perfect working motorola sb 4100 sitting here. I used it for a little over a year. The 4100 works on our system but will only handle up to I think 4 meg download speeds. Cox is at 6 meg download now so I got a new modem from work. If you want this modem pm me your address and I will send it to you. No charge. (someday I might need something you have so don't worry about money). All you have to do is call your cable company and tell them you bought a new modem and they will ask for the serial number and mac address of the modem. That info is on the sticker that is on the bottom.

I have seen modems go bad and transmit really high. What do you have to lose. Try it out and you might get lucky and fix your problem.

[DnStClr]

Well I do have this single daughter. I guess we could trade..










 

Don St.Clair
Culleoka Tn

[toplessblazer]

I'll talk to the wife and she if she will let me trade? I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. I am foreseeing difficulties trying to get the wife to go for this.
Seriously though if you want the modem just let me know and it is yours.