Conesmasher Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Well I currently use Road Runner and have encountered some connection problems within the past couple of days. I gave them a call and they said that my line has low signal strength. I don't fully understand what that means. Is there anyone that could explain that to me? It doesn't seem to be a problem that affects my area.....only my own personal line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck531 Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 I had the same problem with my RR a few years ago. They came out and changed everything.. from the cable modem all the way back to the pole (separate times of course). They ended up changing the line that goes from my house to the box on the pole. Fixed it. It could also be a connection on the outside connector. I can't remember exactly what they did, but they will fix it (eventually). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razorback Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 How old is your modem? If it's brand new then it's on their end or you got a bum modem. I had it happen to me a while back to my 5 year old cable modem and the modem was just starting to take a shit on me. Replaced the modem and no more problems. Low signal strength in many cases indicates a packet loss condition. This is where the modem has to re-transmit its data several times before it gets to its destination. This slows down browsing and gaming because the modem has to work harder. If the modem is the problem it's then what happens is that it's not strong enough to get the packet to the destination which results in again, packetloss. Have a tech come out and check everything. After all you're paying them for this shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conesmasher Posted July 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 Yea, it's pretty new about 8 months old. And I obviously have a conncection now.......I just don't want this to be a reoccuring problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
street pilot Posted July 10, 2004 Report Share Posted July 10, 2004 if you are in a development, most likely there has been an increase in subscribers. In other words, the signal is split that many more times. They will/should come out and install an amplifier on your line (or before it). Otherwise, the drop cable from the pole to your house could be damaged (but that rarely happens.) Try not to let them talk you into digging up your yard to replace the drop, then having a cable on your lawn for 6 weeks before they show up to re-bury it, only to find that was not the problem. (been there done that) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 Alright, there is some major misinformation in this thread. So instead of listening to people who are pulling shit out of their ass, listen to someone who works with this stuff EVERY DAY. There are technically two signals a to be concerned w/ on a modem. You have the receive signal and the transmit signal. As I have only worked w/ WOW, I can't specifically give info about Insight/TW data setups. For us, the guideline for RX (receive) signal levels is between -8 and +5 dBmv. Ideal is 0. On the transmit it is 40-50dbMv, with ideal being around 40-42 (for the transmit, below 40 can be perfectly acceptable in certain situations). Getting into signal loss, plant setup, etc. is going to get way too over the head/wordy for most people. Let me start by saying that just because some monkey call center tech says the signal is too low doesn't mean it is. They can basically log into the modem and see what the signal it is reading says. That means jack. I can watch a modem loose 4db on the RX while using my $1500 digtal Micro Stealth meter stays rock steady. I'll trust my $1500 meter over a $50 modem. Low signal, depending on the tap (where the signal is branched off of the outside hardline), can cause transmit problems as well. Too high of a transmit level basically means the modem has to push too hard to send info back. If too high, the modem will loose sync, causing it to never be able to communicate with the head end (think PC server). Now if your setup is at a low tap value, where transmit levels are naturally low, the transmit level may never have that problem. Rather, the receive lever will be so low that the modem just can't receive all info sent to it. Now let's get to packet loss. From the majority of cases I see of it that aren't PC related, it is caused by low signal. The modem will keep sync, but basically it doesn't have enough signal to constantly transmit data to the modem. Signal levels naturally fluctuate; there is a 2db variance to be considered just for weather temp. Normally packet loss is when your signal level is borderline. The levels can sustain a sync with the system, but still loose data. But don't count out a PC w/ packet loss problems; I've came across many PC's that have some sort of other issue that cause all sorts of packet loss problems, but when I hook my laptop to their modem, everything is peachy. Before I finish, let me explain something about signal. The majority of the time I come across low signal, the customers think it is something outside, though that is usually not the case. Every time you split a signal, you spilt it in 1/2, or 3.5db. Modems are designed to work within a specific signal range, and are sensitive to their setup. On our system, w/ the average setup, you want to be the first 3.5 db split w/ a dedicated line, or at least the first split and the out leg of a DC (directional coupler = a splitter that doesn't evenly split the signal, the out leg being the lowest signal loss leg of the DC). Okay, hopefully something can be learned from this. I am typing this drunk while I'm waiting for Tim and Mario to pick me up to do more drinking, so it may not all be clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conesmasher Posted July 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 Thanks for the info. Quite honestly it is beyond the lingo that I normally speak so it's kind of like you speaking hebrew to me . I do understand the splitting of the lines and something to that sort. Maybe I should pay you $59.95 to explain it to me on a per hour basis......I mean, cause that's how much per hour they fucking charge to tell me if it is my problem or not. This is pretty fucking annoying when it happens....because without the internet, my computer does nothing but take up some space. If this problem persists I will move on to WOW. The thing about WOW is that I called and they said that I can't get it in my area.........but my neighbor who has used them for the past year+ gets their service..........WTF???.......Oh yea and we live in a duplex style house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 Originally posted by Cone Smasher: Maybe I should pay you $59.95 to explain it to me on a per hour basis......I mean, cause that's how much per hour they fucking charge to tell me if it is my problem or not. If this problem persists I will move on to WOW. The thing about WOW is that I called and they said that I can't get it in my area.........but my neighbor who has used them for the past year+ gets their service..........WTF???.......Oh yea and we live in a duplex style house.They charge you for phone tech support???!!!! Seriously?!! OMG, I wouldn't stand for that. Since our internet doesn't go through a service like Road Runner, when you get WOW internet, you are GETTING WOW INTERNET service. If your neighbor has WOW in your duplex, you can get it too. I've ran across a few people being told by cust service that they can't get service in their area, when they really can. I think a lot of the problem is the resources we have for that are hand-me-downs from the Americast setup (WOW bought/improved on the Americast system), and there are some holes here and there. If you call back and say they don't have it, simply request a site survey to be done. They'll send someone out, verify there is a tap nearby, and that will be that. Or, you can get ahold of me, I can go over with a sales form, verfiy service is doable, and make a few bucks off a sale as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excell Posted July 11, 2004 Report Share Posted July 11, 2004 Originally posted by Nitrousbird: They charge you for phone tech support???!!!! Seriously?!! OMG, I wouldn't stand for that. Since our internet doesn't go through a service like Road Runner, when you get WOW internet, you are GETTING WOW INTERNET service. If your neighbor has WOW in your duplex, you can get it too. I've ran across a few people being told by cust service that they can't get service in their area, when they really can. I think a lot of the problem is the resources we have for that are hand-me-downs from the Americast setup (WOW bought/improved on the Americast system), and there are some holes here and there. If you call back and say they don't have it, simply request a site survey to be done. They'll send someone out, verify there is a tap nearby, and that will be that. Or, you can get ahold of me, I can go over with a sales form, verfiy service is doable, and make a few bucks off a sale as well. PM! smile.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted July 12, 2004 Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 Originally posted by Cone Smasher: Thanks for the info. Quite honestly it is beyond the lingo that I normally speak so it's kind of like you speaking hebrew to me . I do understand the splitting of the lines and something to that sort. Maybe I should pay you $59.95 to explain it to me on a per hour basis......I mean, cause that's how much per hour they fucking charge to tell me if it is my problem or not. This is pretty fucking annoying when it happens....because without the internet, my computer does nothing but take up some space. If this problem persists I will move on to WOW. The thing about WOW is that I called and they said that I can't get it in my area.........but my neighbor who has used them for the past year+ gets their service..........WTF???.......Oh yea and we live in a duplex style house. They shouldn't be charging you, I was on the phone with Road Runner for 3 hours the other day trying to get mine fixed, and it was all free. It should be free, because it is their service and their equipment. Someone is fucking you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conesmasher Posted July 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 Originally posted by Keyword: They shouldn't be charging you, I was on the phone with Road Runner for 3 hours the other day trying to get mine fixed, and it was all free. It should be free, because it is their service and their equipment. Someone is fucking you Sorry....might have misinterpreted me. When they told me that my signal strength is low, they said that they want to send someone out to check it out. If it was something that happened to my computer then they would charge me to fix it. If it happended on their property, ie their modem/lines etc, then it would be of no charge to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted July 12, 2004 Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 With us, even if it was your PC, we won't charge you. The Call Center techs might say something like that, but I've never heard of anyone being charged, and all I do is service calls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LJ Posted July 12, 2004 Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 Originally posted by Cone Smasher: Sorry....might have misinterpreted me. When they told me that my signal strength is low, they said that they want to send someone out to check it out. If it was something that happened to my computer then they would charge me to fix it. If it happended on their property, ie their modem/lines etc, then it would be of no charge to me. Still getting bent over. When I was working with them, they said they were going to have to send someone out to look at my computer and modem, and it would be free of charge. Oh ya, the problem turned out to be that the modem was remotely put into stand by (ie. their control center) and it took a level 3 tech 45 min to figure this out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buck531 Posted July 12, 2004 Report Share Posted July 12, 2004 Just on a side note.. My parents bought a DVD/VCR combo. Coudn't get it working with the surround sound system they had. They called Time Warner and they came out 3 times. Fixed it. Never charged them. It was the RCA jacks on the back were in wrong. Sorry, graemlins/offtopic.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.