LowRider
join:2006-06-23
Dallas, GA
 ·Charter Pipeline
| [HSI] Signal good?
Downstream Value
Frequency 687000000 Hz
Signal To Noise Ratio 39.4 dB
Power Level 2.3 dBmV
The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading
Upstream Value
Channel ID 3
Frequency 30000000 Hz
Power 51.0 dBmV
i had two techs come out and the first one that seemed he new alot checked my signal inside and outside on the side of the house. when he checked the box in the yard he said the problem was coming from there. the other two techs (they came together) said they were going to put a amp on the line i told them i had no need for it for the last 4+ yrs i been hear. the lines were installed in about 4yrs ago. my neighbors house burnt down and i think when they rebuilt some dumba$$ hit the box and thats when i started to have problems. i'm tempted to call again but what tech do i tell them to come out here for the box in the yard not house? i'm still having problems |
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pbarrow
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Montgomery, AL
| I would be concerned with the Upstream Power level you have.
If you have a splitter in your modem line that you can remove - they that to lower your Upstream power - although that will raise your Downstream power.
One thing I woould look for is timeouts and packet loss on your 1st few hops - espically the CMTS (2nd hop if you use a router - 1st hop if you don't use a router).
Also Noranging Response T3 timeouts in the modem logs.
All pretty much indicative of a cable plant problem - connections, cables, splitters, Taps, etc outside between you and the headend. |
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LowRider
join:2006-06-23
Dallas, GA
·Charter Pipeline
1 edit | oh my god don't get me started on the logs.
2008-03-31 04:03:19 5-Warning D103.0 DHCP RENEW WARNING - Field invalid in response
1970-01-01 00:00:21 4-Error D004.3 ToD request sent- No Response received
1970-01-01 00:00:14 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
1970-01-01 00:01:48 4-Error D004.3 ToD request sent- No Response received
1970-01-01 00:01:43 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
1970-01-01 00:01:33 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing
1970-01-01 00:01:24 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing
1970-01-01 00:01:24 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing
1970-01-01 00:01:19 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing
1970-01-01 00:01:19 3-Critical T001.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing
2008-03-28 07:56:19 3-Critical R004.0 Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Unicast Maintenance o
2008-03-28 07:56:18 3-Critical T002.0 SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire FEC framing
1970-01-01 00:00:16 4-Error D004.3 ToD request sent- No Response received
1970-01-01 00:00:12 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
1970-01-01 00:01:09 4-Error D004.3 ToD request sent- No Response received
1970-01-01 00:01:04 3-Critical D003.0 DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
that's just a sample. it goes for about two pages + but i thought you would get the point. i think they never fixed the box in the yard, cause the first tech that came out said he would submit a ticket to whoever and they would send a crew out. but the second guys that came out said yea they came out already cause it looks like they kicked up the power on the box in the yard. I still don't believe it. i think it needs replaced totally not just lets do a temp fix on it.
edit: they put a new splitter in the box on the side of the house and where my cable modem is |
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LowRider
join:2006-06-23
Dallas, GA
·Charter Pipeline
1 edit | Downstream Value
Frequency 687000000 Hz
Signal To Noise Ratio 39.2 dB
Power Level 5.8 dBmV
The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading
Upstream Value
Channel ID 3
Frequency 30000000 Hz
Power 48.0 dBmV
this is with out a router and splitter. the power levels changed a little
this is just the modem and router again little change
Downstream Value
Frequency 687000000 Hz
Signal To Noise Ratio 39.5 dB
Power Level 5.7 dBmV
The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading
Upstream Value
Channel ID 3
Frequency 30000000 Hz
Power 48.0 dBmV
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pbarrow
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Montgomery, AL | what do you get when you ping the CMTS
example ping {your CMTS IP or Gateway IP} -l 1460 -t
Any timeouts or packet loss? |
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LowRider
join:2006-06-23
Dallas, GA | you mean cmt.com or what cause i have no clue what site your talking of |
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LowRider
join:2006-06-23
Dallas, GA
·Charter Pipeline
1 edit | default gateway
Pinging 192.168.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time1ms TTL=64
Ping statistics for 192.168.0.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms |
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LowRider
join:2006-06-23
Dallas, GA | i still say its the box in the yard. cause it was cracked open when i came home one day while they were building the house next door |
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pbarrow
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Montgomery, AL
1 edit | reply to LowRider
said by LowRider  :default gateway Pinging 192.168.0.1 with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time1ms TTL=64 Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time1ms TTL=64 Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time1ms TTL=64 Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time1ms TTL=64 Ping statistics for 192.168.0.1: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms That's not your gateway - that's youe router.
Ping the hop after that and use the parameters -l 1360 -t following the IP address.
And it may be in the box outside and this ping could help confirm that. |
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neofate
Caveat Depascor
Premium
join:2003-11-11
Birmingham, AL
| reply to LowRider
Signals look fine. Upstream in the 40's is ideal. Your Downstream powerlevel is just fine as well.. No amp is needed for your HSI needs. If your Televisions look crisp then I don't know why they are trying to amp your line. Amps only amplify noise.
Several people have been asking about high Upstream powerlevels off say one 2 or 3 way splitter.. Sometimes it is just the way the system design is. Sometimes you have an upper 40dB upstream return from the tap.
If you have enough devices to warrant a 'fix' or 'change' -- They should, and will come out and adjust things to allow for proper operation if you have problems.
The main issue is your reliability -- Is your connection, generally , reliable? Or does it go out every hour?
Ignore the modem logs ,.. they spit out all kinds of garbage. It is the practical use that matters. What kind of uptime do you have,.. is it aggrivating you all the time because your modem is resetting? Stuff like that.
I'm guessing here,.. if it is resetting often,.. have you tried removing the splitter for a day -- and checking to see if it resets with a lower (in the 40's) Return power level?
--
Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. |
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LowRider
join:2006-06-23
Dallas, GA
·Charter Pipeline
| IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.177
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
pbarrow: i did the top one, it just times out.
Neofate: its my speeds and pings. they are out of whack. i was getting very good speed and reliable and when i mean good and reliable about the only time it would go out or haywire was when an outage occurred. it would only slow a little during peak time as alot of people in my neighborhood have At&T because it took Charter over 2yrs to run cable in our neighborhood. Like i said it has to be the box in the yard. I'm just fed up with this crap. for about the last two months or so this has been going on. the box in the yard had to be hit cause it was all caulk sided one day. when i notice the box that's when i noticed the problems. put two and two together its gotta be. so how do request a tech for that? i mean downloads take for ever and what not. about the only thing that was fixed when the techs came out is i don't have to refresh pages anymore. |
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Torador
join:2008-03-22
Euless, TX
| reply to LowRider
Ok just to clarify for all those giving advice..
The router will never change any of your levels (( I.E. receive power , SNR , Transmit power ))
Ever........ period..... the router is not the device comunicating with headend and/or WWW..
second off checking log files for critcal errors is 90pct of the time a complete waste of your precious time.. 80pct of the log files are typical errors that just are useless .. the only important errors to even address are t3 errors.. which again only tells you one thing... that you have a problem...
pinging CMTS is helpful if your having issues when you know all your fittings and drop are brand new and the problem you believe is one with plant or the head-end. otherwise its almost impossible without a QAM/QPSK meter to even figure out whats going on.
most basic problems are 99pct of the time a problem with your inside wiring being old crusty and in general need of repair , your drop cable in need of repair or replacement.. or a plant problem that needs to be addressed by a system tech.
Joker your probably exactly right about the problem thou.. however if your so inclined the best route for finding it out is to visually inspect all the connectors infront of your modem... from modem to tap.. remove any splitters in the way and heck your results (( if possible.. crawling thru attics sucks a bigone )) or caculate your loss backwards from the modem. I.E. count the db loss from each splitter (( typically 3.5db or 7db as DC's are rare inside of a customers premise. add .5 db for each splice in your line (( and this is being very very giving as most barrels are rated for only .25 db loss ethier way. if all your connectors look good .. dielectric is flush with the post and your can still see copper (( gold coloring for good strikers ... black indicates water damage and/or corrosion )) and you caculate that to the ground block at the begining of the drop is more then 40db return.. you more then likely have a problem with the plant. Return problems are very common and typically easily remedied by a knowedgleable System tech.
if you can route your cable directly to the modem and bypass all the splitters you can actually determine if its inside.. I.E. take results from no splitters and the most direct route to drop as possible .. then add each splitter back in checking your results each time.. mind you the modem is not an extremely accurate measuring device but does a good job.. if your results show a huge increase in return after adding a splitter or sharp drop in receieve power then swap the splitter and double check your results. typically your modem will add about 2 to 3 db on top of the overall return and will be about right on recieve power.
for more info refer to my posting on "16MBdown/2MBUp WHERE IS IT?" which will give a bit more info...
not trying to flame .. but alot of these postings about error log files , routers and such for bad signal is just silly and more or less a waste of time.
Been a field tech for 2 years and have yet seen one problem that i had to refer to log file for whats going on.
Most problems are completely obvious to a comptent tech with a DSAM and even intermittent problems almost always follow known patterns that can easily determine whats going on and the problem area ((rain repeaters , hum-bars , tempature or time of day specfic problems))
Wish you the best in someone coming to fix your mangled tap and feeder 
~Tora~
--
~Tora~
"EDDIE LIVES!!!!!!" |
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LowRider
join:2006-06-23
Dallas, GA
·Charter Pipeline
| well thursday i'm going down to the main office. To see if they even had anyone come out for it. which i doubt. i will try another room that is closer to the drop to the house, and get back to you on that. thanks for the info i'll post back in a few days. |
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pbarrow
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Montgomery, AL
1 edit | reply to LowRider
Joker - that's the IPs assigned by your router - you need to either look in your router status page to get the ones assigned by Charter - or hoke your PC direct to the mode and do an ipconfig -all to the the charter Gateway and IP
The room being closer to the drop is irrevelant.
It's how many splitters there are and whether allt he connections inside and outside the house are good and whether the Tap and lines are good.
They just had to replace a Tap outside my apartment to fix my signals issues - and they were supposed to have done that about 1 1/2 years ago when at that time a tech put me on a different leg of the Tap and saodn someone would come out to replace it and never did. |
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pbarrow
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Montgomery, AL
| reply to Torador
Sorry Torador but I totally disagree with you about the problems being inside most of the time. I've had nothgin but problems for 2+years and many many techs out and I'm on my 2nd Coporate Escaltion. And the problems have all been one of 2 places - either ouside Tap, connecions, etc between me and the headend or Capacity problems on my Node/Port.
if you suspect problems or are having stalls or timeouts - ping and trace your CMTS (2nd hop past your router if you use a router and see if you see any timeouts.
You should see NO timeouts on the CMTS.
And don't just use regular ping.
Use ping {yourcmts} -l 1460 -t the -l = lowercase L
That will give you a more realistic test since surfing and anythings you do on the web is using 1460 byte packets most of the time. Regular ping only uses 32 byte packets and may or may not show up a noise problem int he cable plant depending on how bad it is. |
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americanada
VIP
join:2001-12-19
Covina, CA
| said by pbarrow :if you suspect problems or are having stalls or timeouts - ping and trace your CMTS (2nd hop past your router if you use a router and see if you see any timeouts. You should see NO timeouts on the CMTS. And don't just use regular ping. Use ping {yourcmts} -l 1460 -t the -l = lowercase L That will give you a more realistic test since surfing and anythings you do on the web is using 1460 byte packets most of the time. Regular ping only uses 32 byte packets and may or may not show up a noise problem int he cable plant depending on how bad it is. This of course depends on whether the CMTS will even reply to ICMP... |
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sdante
join:2008-02-14
Allendale, MI
1 edit | reply to LowRider
pbarrow - are you a cable tech? Torador is right - most service calls I go to are cause by issues in the house or by drop problems. I probably do 6 or 7 jobs a day, and maybe refer issues to a system tech once or twice a month maximum. Plant and headend issues typically effect more than once customer, the TAC picks up on this pretty quickly when the service calls start coming in, in most cases they cancel the appointments and get the system techs right on it. In this instance it sounds like the tap took a hit - could just be a loose seizure screw, damaged tap plate, or the underground line got nicked. The best way to get a line tech out to look at the pedestal outside is a corporate escalation or talking to the tech supervisor at your local office - if you've had multiple inhouse techs out then they will probably push it straight to the system techs.
Sounds like the first tech who was out was on the right track, and may have referred it to a system tech but it didn't get resolved. I have no idea why the other tech would want to amp your line. The signal strength is fine, even a 51 return wont cause any problems, and your SNR is beautiful. Any tech who knows how to read QAM on a Trilithic 860 meter properly should be able to identify where the problem is. Even then, there's always the old school method of running a temporary line from the tap directly to the modem and see if it improves - that will tell you if its the in-house wiring. |
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pbarrow
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Montgomery, AL
| no I'm not a cable tech - but I am a computer tech - also I've had Charter service for 8 years and all the problems I have had - and there have been many - have all been either in the cable plant or the headend - never have I had a problem inside.
Charter has had to redo grounds outside, work ont he Tap several times and finally replace it last month and workon an amp down the street and split my node and upgrade the headend and track down intermittent noise problems.
All this I know from the results of 2 Charter Coporate Escalations. |
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sdante
join:2008-02-14
Allendale, MI
1 edit | reply to LowRider
It sounds like you've had a pretty bad experience, but it is rare for problems requiring that much system work to happen very often. The number of problems that techs fix first time inside the house compared to the number that require a system tech is huge. A lot of inexperienced techs actually overlook in-house stuff altogether and will assume something is a system issue when it isn't. Intermittant noise problems on the plant are a bitch to track down, system techs can measure CPD (common path distortion) and ingress on each node from the headend, then they can trace it backwards on the system, but sometimes simply touching a connector can cause it to temporarily disappear. It's hard to fix a problem when you can't find its source, kind of like taking your car to a mechanic only to find its not making the noise it has been for the last week when they look at it. |
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Tecklord
join:2001-01-27
Belleville, IL
| reply to LowRider
I have been having the same issue with Charter since I moved into this house. There have been a few occasions where it was something in my house but most of the time it was their hardware being oversold and to old to handle what they offer. Then U-verse shows up at my door and guess what?, I have decent service here finally. Thanks AT@T  |
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