 | | Why Cable Guy Slapped On A Splitter? Just moved to Corpus Christi, TX.
Using Grande Communications Cable Internet.
»www.grandecom.com/ProductsServic···ates.jsp
Chose the "Standard High-Speed 3.0" service.
The installer put about a 8 inch cable piece from the wall to a 2-way cable splitter. Then, a cable to the cable modem.
I asked why he did that, and he said something to the effect of, "To slow down the transmit speed".
I'm usually pretty savy, but I wasn't sure if he meant to slow it down because I'm not paying for anything faster, or because it's something that has to be done to correctly moderate the transmissions.. or whatever.
Usually when I've had problems in the past with signals, first thing the techs ask is, "have you added in splitters". I know it degrades the signal.. that makes sense.
If anything, I thought he would give the excuse, "So you can hook a TV up to the other end." But it was the "tranmit" comment that got me wondering...
Suggestions/thoughts? | |
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 | j4yj4y
join:2004-06-29
Austin, TX | Re: Why Cable Guy Slapped On A Splitter? The technician's verbiage was a little misleading. More than likely, the reason that he added a splitter off the tap was to adjust the Tx / Rx Power levels and bring you closer to unity. When bringing a cable modem online, our tech's will try and get your Rx Power level as close to '0db' as possible. More than likely, you were probably Rx'ing at ~+3db and the tech added the splitter which caused 3db's of impedance on the line. This would have brought your Rx Power down to 0db and increased the Tx Power level by 3db. In a nutshell, he was just performing some final balancing before connecting the HFC interface to the Cable Modem. In doing this, your CM is now more acclimated to Power Fluctuations thus resulting in a more stable connection.
Adding / Removing attenuation won't have any effect on the speed that your Cable Modem Tx/Rx's at. All of that information is stored and verified in the MD5 Configuration file located on your Cable Modem.
Hopefully this answers your question and feel free to reply if you would like a more in-depth explanation. =)
JJ Stonebraker
Packet Networks // Grande Communications | |
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| | | | Re: Why Cable Guy Slapped On A Splitter? JJ,
Yeah, think that's it. Did some more research, ashed some friends, etc... they all said it was the "lazy" way to fix it. lol Meaning, he should have climbed a pole or something.
It's all good, hides behind my desk.
I must say, I love Grande.. I had MediaCom before in Florida, and while they were fast, Grande just seems a tad quicker.. of course, my upload is a tad quicker, and for about $6 less.. so I'm very satisfied.
Can't get the ESPN Broadband web site to let me in. I have the Standard 3.0 which is what is supposed to be required, and, eh.. won't let me budge.
Ah well.. hockey season is still a little off.. not much, though 
Thanks again!
Brad | |
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| | | | ESPN Broadband working this morning.. woot. | |
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| | | j4yj4y
join:2004-06-29
Austin, TX | Re: Why Cable Guy Slapped On A Splitter? Well I'm glad your enjoying the service and happy that the ESPN BB Site is working for you now! =)
As for the balancing process... It's not exactly that the tech was lazy... Think of it this way:
You have 24 Drops that are coming off the ONU (Optical Network Unit) that services your house. Depending on where you're located off the drop, there will be different levels of impedance causing the Signal Strength to fluctuate. In other words, if your close to the ONU, you're probably running pretty hot and need to have additional padding added to bring you closer to 0db. If you're further from the drop, we might have to add an amp to increase signal strength (This is actually very rare in our network since we're running Fiber all the way to your curb, rather having huge, lengthy drops of HFC all over the place.)
Our tech's will balance the lines so that we can get the most even power distribution for all 24 houses. Once that's established, you have to take into account the amount of loss that occurs when we drop the LM (Last Mile) HFC to your house. Again, this number can fluctuate, depending on how far the HFC Cable has to be run. When the tech finally gets everything run, he'll take a level reading to find out where here's hitting at the CM / Digital Receiver. Granted, he could climb the pool and add the additional attenuation up there, but he can actually get more granular by adding a small amount of pad right at the end of the drop. Some devices are more sensative to power levels (Cable Modem) than others (Digital Receivers) so by adjusting on the poll, you're making a global change to every drop when you could actually be adjusting Taps on an as needed basis. Make sense?
One more analogy... Say your sitting on a football field and you throw a ball towards your receiver. Unfortunately, you throw it a little short and it falls a few yards before your intended destination. Would it be easier to get the ball back, walk to your starting yard line, throw it again and hope to make up those few extra yards... Or just pick up the ball walk one yard and hand it to your buddy?
Hope this explains the idea a little better and feel free to let us know if you have any problems. We're here to help. =) | |
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| | Internet Connection Speed of Grande Comm. I just recently switched to Grande Communications from Time Warner Road Runner. The only reason a switched was because Grande was "so called" advertising they had 6.0 megabit high speed over Road Runners 5.0. Not once did i ever have a problem with RR's connection but for some reason the connection with Grande has been trash. I dont watch T.V. so i dont care about the cable (thats for the wife), i have 2 cell phones so i dont need the phone. All i cared about was the faster internet speed, but just my luck, not even close. Ive been on the phone with supervisors for 2 weeks now. They tried to tell me the problem was fixed after a week. Yeah right! I work with PCs for a living and i know my equipment is not faulty. They even sent a Tech out to check things out and he got the same results i did. Seriously though, if i knew i was gonna have this much trouble with Grande i would have never switched. The tests seem to show my speeds at 3.40 megabits. Why is my connection (Grande)trash? Should i switch back or pray the High Speed Gods will save me?
FuriousMan | |
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| j4yj4y
join:2004-06-29
Austin, TX | Re: Internet Connection Speed of Grande Comm. First off, let me apologies for the issue's been having. I'm sure the support organization has been investigating your issue but I'd be happy to give it a look as well (I work for the department that they escalate too.)
If you would like to email me your HFC Mac Address (Should be on a sticker located on the side or base of the modem) I will start looking into your issue:
jack.stonebraker@grandecom.com
Thanks in advance. | |
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| | | | Re: Internet Connection Speed of Grande Comm. I just got Internet with Grande here in Corpus as well... Apartment complex so the only choice was SWBell DSL or Grande.
The download speeds are OK but the browsing is horrible....
Comparing the settings/numbers from the modem to acceptable values found on the net seem to indicate the modem is OK...
Anything I should look at to resolve that?
Thank. | |
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| | | j4yj4y
join:2004-06-29
Austin, TX | Re: Internet Connection Speed of Grande Comm. I'd be happy to look at your modem as well. If you can provide the HFC Mac Address located on the modem, I will start looking into any potential issues. | |
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| | | I am seeing similar troubles. Time Warner cable modem (rated 5.0 Mbps) in my apartment scores around 4600 Kbps. Using the same computer directly connected to the newly-installed Grande cable modem (ostensibly 6.0 Mbps) in our new house shows only around 3100 Kbps or so on the various speed tests. The installer seemed to indicate that he saw this a lot, and that I should take it up with customer service. *Not* the answer I wanted to hear. (In his defense, it was 8 PM by that point, but I still feel like he should have showed some interest in seeing it corrected.)
Also, I don't believe I received any information on what my email address will be, how to set up web space, etc. Was there supposed to be some documentation left with me on that? I don't think I received anything on the phone or cable service, either. I only have the receipt and the cable modem box. (The phone number was on the receipt, so at least that was given.) | |
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| |  FTTH?
Thanks! | |
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| | port 25 blocked? I just got Grande, and my connect speeds are fast. Took 24 hours to get my static IP address, and now they cannot seem to successfully unblock port 25.
Anyone else seen this and have a solution? | |
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| | | Re: port 25 blocked? wow, at least they admitted to them blocking it 
I asked them to unblock it, then changed plans to increase my speed and it got re-blocked so I gave up. I just use their SMTP host to relay out.
If you are looking for inbound, you can find some services that will relay port 25 traffic to you on alternate ports | |
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| | Speed unreliable at best. . . I'm stuck with Grande as my only choice in my area, and pretty dissapointed with the "advanced high-speed" connection I have. First, they only offer 1.5/768 to my apartment...half of what I was getting for half the money with verizon in the same area. And to top it off, unless its early in the morning, I don't even get close to the promised speed...usually only half as fast on the download.
This is in the Dallas area. | |
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| mobbo
join:2005-04-13
Denton, TX | Re: Speed unreliable at best. . . Ya, I think I am in the same situation. I would have to pay $34.95/month for 1.5Mbps/384Kbps and I have no other options. SBC/ATT is offering 3Mbps/512Kbps for $17.99/month!!!! I heard Frisco is "SBC Country" but it is apparent my only option, unfortunately, is this price gouging company. I will be sure to make their lives miserable daily if my connection is not 1.5Mbps and 384Kbps.
Grande, please for the love of God, come up with a more REASONABLE price... this is not fair. | |
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| | | »speedtest.grandecom.net/
Have you had the pleasure of using Grande's own speed-test site?
I have been telling as many people as possible to go to this site. Username=E-mail address
Password=Password for e-mail address | |
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| |  Grande Sucks!!!
and test their internet connection speed. I'm sure through my experience you will find that you are getting one quarter to half of what you expect. When it asks you for a username and password all you have to type in is your e-mail address and password. Must be a Grande e-mail address. | |
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| ccbadd
join:2005-07-03
Corpus Christi, TX | Well, I guess this is a tale of two cities because I live in Corpus Christi and have been very happy with Grande. The only complaint I have is evening bandwidth is half of the day time bandwidth. I use cable internet from them and have no idea how well there DSL is in area's that it is offered. | |
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| | Discontinued Modem When I got Grande first installed everything worked fine. But after a few months of service the DSL modem I received started acting up. the internet light would be flashing anytime it was important that I get on the internet, so I decided that it was time to update the firmware. I get to the Speedstream site and it says that I have to go through the ISP for updates. I emailed Tech support about the drivers/firmware and they said that it doesn't use any and that it sounded like a problem that needed to be fixed over the phone. Now I have found out that my modem is "discontinued" on the Speedstream site. Does anyone know where I can find firmware for Grande issued Speedstream 5100? | |
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| | Grande Sattelite TV | |
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| | Incoming Port 80 now blocked? Anyone noticed that port 80 inbound is now blocked? No more hosting your own webserver I guess.  | |
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| | | Re: Incoming Port 80 now blocked? surprisingly it only took about 30 minutes for them to remove the restriction this time. I guess they are getting better at it...baby steps | |
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mobbo
join:2005-04-13
Denton, TX |  Grande speed increase (Frisco)
I called after I saw this because they have new bundles out for digital cable with HD-DVR! So I talked to the guy and he said that the speed increase was leaked a little too soon and it will be available Tuesday. I saw that I can get all the channels, plus the HD tier (they just added ESPN2 HD... still waiting on National Geographic HD), plus DVR along with 6.0Mbps cable internet and my regular phone service for about $104/month. Not bad
It's getting better... I used to really hate Grande for the limited services and the fact that they were the only one my apartment allowed but at least they are attempting to get with the competition. The upstream could use a little higher increase for us gamers using custom codec VoIP while gaming. If they had a 6/1 or 8/1 package for internet, I'd hop right on it! | |
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| | Grande and earthlink-help.net? I've recently started getting the »earthlink-help.net page instead of my standard error message when I attempt to go to an invalid domain. However, I'm not using Earthlink: I'm on Grande's cable modem service. My DNS is configured via DHCP, and my servers show up as follows:
66.90.132.162 (dal-cflow2.lsn.net)
66.90.130.10 (ns2.lsn.net)
The dal-cflow2.lsn.net seems to be the culprit. In a static DNS setup, I replaced it with ns1.lsn.net (66.90.133.117). Now I get the standard error message.
Is Grande somehow tied up with Earthlink? Static DNS solves my problem, but is there some way to disable this functionality altogether? It is highly unwanted. | |
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| | bad service and speeds not good I in most points am happy with grande EXCEPT for promised
net speeds ( i pay for the 6meg pkg) and only average get 3-4 if I am lucky at 2-3am usually. Call support to get a tech out. been thru the reset pc do this and that stuff 5-6 times now and frankly I am tired of being asked to do same stupid tests Like i am a dummy.
well 1st 2 tickets i put into system thru san angelo never made it anyplace fast, called back and found they were never even put into the system at all.
ok 3rd try got tech to house after 2 months of trying.
he comes in uses his own laptop to check directly and said yep you got problems. I will pass it on to my boss and see if he can fix it. Ok what was he here for then to tell them what I been saying for 2 1/2 months going to be 3 months real soon.
I would even be happy with a steady 3-4 megline in and peak to the rest be ok for what I pay for the services.
cant expect 6 meg 24/7 I dont think ANYONE can do that so not ecxpecting it. BUT why pay for 6 and get 1/2 of your service.
I'll be back on phoine again on monday and maybe just maybe i will get a tech support that seems to care. the last guy at least put ticket into system and was nice and friendly towards me in general. kinda of a surprise to be honest.
next call on monday not going to be pretty for sure. Its time to yell and ask for a credit back for lack of service on there part, and this is just web side.
Now the tv is part of my lease deal at the apartment. thats why i went with there PKG deals and was just easier in the end for me being disabled.
TV basic no box sucks also. Quality 1/2 the time just garbage. i have even had other tv channels on top of each other for days. but course tech dont show up when its bad and if he cant see it it is a cant fix whats not broken today. and leave.
i was going to upgrade tv and all. but I got permission to put a dish up and lucky enough i can get a signal for dishnet at leats and will probably use it real soon. or move completely.
But in general phones OK No problems in billing yet and not alot I can say about the tv side since its an apartment contract. BUT the manager does take complaints in writing and is supposed to forward them to grande. ( not happening either I suppose)
So as I stand i dont recommend grande to my friends if they have a choice till they get support and services up to par I will not tell friends to use them.
for tv or Web
if anyone can give me a # or place or name to contact with my concerns in Odessa tx please let me know. cause so far I havent hit the right person that actually knows anything here.
grande Stop the passing the buck work loads and get t echs trained that can fix things right !!!!! | |
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mobbo
join:2005-04-13
Denton, TX
2 edits | MLB Extra Innings MLB and iNdemand finally agreed to terms to allow us cable people to watch MLB Extra Innings. However, Grande does not have this programming activated yet. I called in about this and they are "reviewing" whether or not they want to pay the licensing fee to show it.
I think that is total crap. I pay just as much as DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner, etc. subscribers... I should have access to this programming too. Unless Grande wants to be known as a second rate cable provider, they need to give it's customers more programming and stop skimping out on us.
I love Grande's quality and tech support, but lately their content has been lacking (HD channels, MLB, etc.).
If you are pissed off about this, please call into their offices at (877) 238-6891. Press 1 for English, then press 2 to speak to a rep about this. There is supposed to be a FREE PREVIEW from now until April 15th that we are all missing out on as we speak, so please call in and complain. | |
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mobbo
join:2005-04-13
Denton, TX | Astros/Rangers frustration - CEO email After getting fed up with no action on the MLB issue and not being able to see Houston Astros games (FSN Houston feed) in the Dallas area, I finally guessed on the email addresses of the CEO and other officers and sent an email. I requested that the Houston Astros games on FSN Houston be put on Channel 98 when Rangers games forced them off FSN Southwest in our area.
I got a phone call from someone at their corporate office and was told that they already do that. I told them that I had not received ANY notification, even after my previous 3 EMAILS about the subject. Also, it is NOT shown on the On-Screen Guide in any fashion (just says "To Be Announced", even when they ARE on the channel 98). So she emailed me a .PDF file listing all Astros games that will be shown on Channel 98 this year, prepared atleast prior to April 1, 2007, but NOT put on any website or emailed to any other customer.
It's just a nice looking PDF obviously MADE for us customers with valuable information, but not made available in any fashion to customers or even customer service reps (I've called 2 times about the subject only to reach clueless reps).
It wasn't until I emailed the freakin' CEO that something got done. I am quite frustrated about it because I've missed 6 games so far that I COULD have enjoyed if that PDF was somehow given to customers or if they would have taken the time to actually read my 3 emails.
If you ever have a problem, I sent the email to:
roy.chestnutt[at]corp.grandecom.com, chad.jones[at]corp.grandecom.com, scott.ferguson[at]corp.grandecom.com | |
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| | How to setup wireless router on Grande commn. Internet? I've a dsl modem from Grande communications for the Internet. Now How do I setup wireless router so that I can use internet on more than 2 computers? | |
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| | | Re: How to setup wireless router on Grande commn. Internet? The wireless router must be configured using PPPOE (username/password)connection, the DSL modem must be set to bridge. | |
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| | | Thanks Babydrak. May I know how to setup DSL modem as a bridge? | |
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| | | | Re: How to setup wireless router on Grande commn. Internet? depending on the modem model/features, it may have a dhcp feature which would enable you to use the wireless router w/out setting bridge mode in the modem, although it's a viable option. many resources exist with screen shots and walk throughs for this type of connectivity. | |
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| | P2P upload packet capping? Does anyone else seem to have a problem with Grande limiting their upload speed on P2P transfers using programs like dc++, bittorrent, or bitwise? I can't EVER get over a maximum of just above 50 MB/sec upload speed in a direct peer to peer file share. But when I test my bandwidth my upload speed tests MUCH higher.
Any ideas? | |
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| | | Re: P2P upload packet capping? Sorry for the brain-dead moment there... I meant to say 50 KB/sec... if i was getting 50 MB/sec there would be no complaints lol
progcode2 (a) grandenetworks , net is not my email address | |
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ioda006
join:2002-03-27
Springfield, IL | slowdown when connecting through router
prerouter speeds: 6-10mbit
postrouter speeds: 300-500kbit
anyone else have this issue or any advice? i know my router is working fine because local transfers i can do at 10mbyte
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»ifakedit.com
»jessecrouch.com | |
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| | Does Grande block any inbound ports?
Anyone know if GrandeComm blocks any inbound ports (ie. port 80, 21, 8080, 5300, etc...)?
Thx! | |
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| | Latency on Dallas are grande DSL service I'm not so much interested on download speeds as I am of how much latency the connection has. I tend to monitor the latency constantly while I'm connected and I have noticed a big increase in latency after Christmas.
Generally I get about 50-60 ms latency to close network locations, but when prime time starts in the evening, the latency can go all the way to 800-1000 ms, which makes any kind of competitive reaction based gaming over the internet practically impossible. I know DSL can have some latency in the prime time hours and 300ms is what I can expect but 800+ is downright ridiculous.
Anyone else had the same issues and have you been able to get any real help from Grande support? | |
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