Finally decided to drop DSL... but Cable modem won't connect due to poor signal even though house cable not old. Advice?

[BRealistic]

Yeah- after chatting/holding with India for three hours Thursday night only to be told my connection was working "within acceptable parameters" even though neither of my PCs could even load the speed test page they told me to use to check.... I decided it was time for Cable internet- and digital HD TV since I actually have one.

But after spending three hours on the phones with Charter getting my HD box working and then trying to get my cable modem working (two different people with two different long waits on hold.. sigh) I was told my cable connection must not be good enough for the modem to activate. HD TV box works fine...

Ok- I replaced my cable from the cable connection from the street to my TV as one cable two years ago due to poor cable performance. So I am perplexed as to why I would need to change that cable again (costs money for a good cable, and crawling around the tight crawlspace is a pain).
Could it just be the connections?

Here is the cable from street to cable to box connection.




It seems poor.. I also noticed my "new" cable end was a bit lose on the end at the box.
Replace entire cable, just the connection and possibly change the ends to higher quality ends?

Just looking for advice as I hate to change the cable and still have the same issue... and I want to enjoy the 30 GB internet versus my 2.8 on a good day DSL (with very poor and unreliable upload speeds).

[Angry_Birds]

Shouldn't that stuff be the telco's responsibility?

[BRealistic]

Shouldn't that stuff be the telco's responsibility?

Telco?

Charter is a Cable TV/ISP/phone company.
I was (well.. still) using AT&T DSL.

And I was wanting to get this taken care of this weekend.
My week work schedule doesn't allow me to sit around the house waiting for a cable guy.
Though I guess they can come by and check the outside cables.

[zhenya00]

Shouldn't that stuff be the telco's responsibility?

If it was a traditional telco, then no, actually they'd tell you that their responsibility ends at the box outside your house. Interior wiring is your responsibility.

My experience with Time Warner has been good though - they are always willing to send someone out to troubleshoot things (rarely needed), and they replace wiring/splitters/whatever is necessary inside or out.

BRealistic - they are going to need to get inside the house to measure signal levels. Again, with Time Warner anyways, they now give you a small window when they will arrive - and they even come as late as 9pm and on weekends. They'll also call you when they are on their way or if running late.

[BRealistic]

If it was a traditional telco, then no, actually they'd tell you that their responsibility ends at the box outside your house. Interior wiring is your responsibility.

My experience with Time Warner has been good though - they are always willing to send someone out to troubleshoot things (rarely needed), and they replace wiring/splitters/whatever is necessary inside or out.

BRealistic - they are going to need to get inside the house to measure signal levels. Again, with Time Warner anyways, they now give you a small window when they will arrive - and they even come as late as 9pm and on weekends. They'll also call you when they are on their way or if running late.

So I spend and evening with the cable guy just to have him tell me I need to replace my house cable line.
Sounds great.

[SAPJetta]

Try and minimize the number of splits between your incoming cable and your modem. If that doesn't work or can't be done, you've got a date with the cable guy.

[BRealistic]

Try and minimize the number of splits between your incoming cable and your modem. If that doesn't work or can't be done, you've got a date with the cable guy.

The exterior connection shown is the only one.

And I want the best connection possible after dealing with iffy DSL for do long.
To be honest, the cable from the junction to my box is a good cable but the ends are poor. They are shallow and spin on the cable when twisted. I'll just replace the cable and possible the exterior junction shown.
That seems like it should be protected from the weather.

[zhenya00]

So I spend and evening with the cable guy just to have him tell me I need to replace my house cable line.
Sounds great.

Sounds better than blindly replacing things that you don't even know are the problem.

If you want the best connection possible, you should have a tech out who can actually diagnose the issue and fix what's necessary.

[Egilbe]

I'd make sure you were replacing whatever cables with RG6 and not some older stuff that may be incompatible with digital signals.

[BRealistic]

Sounds better than blindly replacing things that you don't even know are the problem.

If you want the best connection possible, you should have a tech out who can actually diagnose the issue and fix what's necessary.

If the cable ISP techs are anything like the DSL ISP techs... Then that is debatable.
The dsl tech told me the issue was with my house wiring when it later turned out to be the line from the house to the street.

[BRealistic]

I'd make sure you were replacing whatever cables with RG6 and not some older stuff that may be incompatible with digital signals.

Is RG6U worth the extra?

I was actually looking at some RG6 outdoor burial grade.
The bad thing is I need 75 feet, and all I can find premade that long are 100 Foot length cables.

[Egilbe]

Is RG6U worth the extra?

I was actually looking at some RG6 outdoor burial grade.
The bad thing is I need 75 feet, and all I can find premade that long are 100 Foot length cables.

It's designed for digital signals and cable modems. An extra 25ft is not going to make a difference as far as signal quality for that short a run. Quality of cable, though, probably will. There are three different types of RG-6 depending on application, in house, in ground (or underground) and strung through the air. Cheaper stuff that's designed for in house, will not have the waterproofing necessary and the stuff designed to be strung in the air has a wire to carry the strain of the cable weight.

It looks like your terminating connectors are bad, change those out first. If that doesn't fix the problem, change the cabling.

Ask the cable company if there are any filters on the drop. They did that to me, once. Left the filter on so I was only getting digital channels and not broadcast channels. My internet worked, nothing else did.

[BRealistic]

Wow- finally got around to fixing this (long work days plus procrastination)....

It was the cable ends (and possibly that old ground block). I guess I loosened them up feeding them through the holes in the block and floors. Added some gold plated screw on Radio Shack type F ends and good to go.

What a difference from my DSL... (more than 10 X the up and down speeds )

I ran this four times and it was this basically each time- though the first time my ping was just 21 ms.

[BRealistic]

Ok- just added a splitter and rechecked my speed.
It went up!



If after I add the router it goes up again I am going to stop drinking....

[Power5]

Holy crap, what are you paying for monthly service?

[Slayer]

Charter has some pretty good speeds if you have good wiring. I just had an issue last week, ended up being the ground block and a loose connector on mine.. and my stuff was all fairly new.

What package are you paying for? I think they recently went to only 30mb and 100mb packages. I have the 100mb, and can get over that on tests on occasion

[PhReE]

What are your signal levels? You can tell from those whether or not adding a splitter (or attenuator) is going to be beneficial or not in the long run.

[ATL_Av8r]

If after I add the router it goes up again I am going to stop drinking....

Whoa there.....let's not go and start taking it out on the booze!