 pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3 | [Signals] Balancing my own signal Currently my signals look roughly like this with a forward-path-only pad of some kind (doesn't affect US power levels):
down_channels: 8
down_power: 1.2 2.2 1.9 1.7 1.3 1.1 1.4 1.0
down_snr: 34.0 34.7 34.5 34.3 33.9 33.7 34.2 33.6
up_channels: 3
up_power: 41.7 41.7 41.7 NaN
down_channels: 8
down_power: 9.0 9.3 9.1 8.9 8.7 8.5 9.1 9.0
down_snr: 35.4 35.6 35.6 35.2 35.1 34.9 35.6 35.0
up_channels: 3
up_power: 41.5 41.5 41.5 NaN
I'd leave the device out, but then the downstream power is at 9 dB and when it cools off at night it'd be well over +10 dB. Would it make sense to add a splitter to knock the downstream down 3.5 dB which would hopefully not affect the DS SNR as much. I know over 33 is fine, but lately it's been dipping below 33 at times and I figured another 1-1.5 dB of SNR padding would help for those times when it dips a bit low.
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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 beachintechThere's sand in my tool bagPremium
join:2008-01-06
kudos:5
 ·Comcast
·Mediacom
 ·Comcast Digital ..
| You are fine in either respect, I would not worry about "balancing" anything. Leave the pad on, your problem most likely lies elsewhere. If your SNR is dipping that low, you may have a wiring issue going on. The only way you will ever know, is to schedule a service call and let the tech check things with his SLM.
You are watching your signal levels too closely. |
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pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3 | said by beachintech:You are fine in either respect, I would not worry about "balancing" anything. Leave the pad on, your problem most likely lies elsewhere. If your SNR is dipping that low, you may have a wiring issue going on. The only way you will ever know, is to schedule a service call and let the tech check things with his SLM.
You are watching your signal levels too closely.
I already know your opinion of what I do with my signal. I AM seeing packet loss, as I've mentioned.
My question is simple: is it worth swapping the pad for a splitter, thus putting my US up near 46 in order to keep DS SNR higher?
You can chose to ignore the question, that's fine. But the critiques of what I'm doing with my own connection that I pay hard-earned money for are not welcomed.
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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 JohkalCool CatPremium,MVM
join:2002-11-13
Happy Valley
kudos:5 | I'd rather have the US at 46 to improve DS SNR. I would say do it. |
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pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3 | said by Johkal:I'd rather have the US at 46 to improve DS SNR. I would say do it.
I suppose I can change it for a few days and see if the packet loss subsides. 46 still has some margin for US channel bonding on D3, right?
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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beachintechThere's sand in my tool bagPremium
join:2008-01-06
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Comcast
·Mediacom
·Comcast Digital ..
1 edit | Yes, about 4 DB, assuming your modem is reporting proper signal levels.
I would skip the splitter. It will not hurt anything either way. Make sure you properly terminate the unused ports. Wouldn't want to hurt the SNR further.
I think your opinion of my comment is off from the intention. Your packet loss may not be related to marginal signal. Until you follow through involving a tech with a real meter, there is no way to say otherwise.
Good luck as always. |
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JohkalCool CatPremium,MVM
join:2002-11-13
Happy Valley
kudos:5 | reply to pflog
You have the room with 46. 3-4 increase won't hurt a thing if it slides. Go ahead and experiment. |
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pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3
1 edit | reply to beachintech
said by beachintech:Yes, about 4 DB, assuming your modem is reporting proper signal levels. Yeah, I'm aware now (thanks to you from another thread) of the possibility the modem is misreporting it. I'm planning to call to get the CMTS numbers to see if they jive. Or are the CMTS numbers also suspect?
I would skip the splitter. It will not hurt anything either way. Make sure you properly terminate the unused ports. Wouldn't want to hurt the SNR further.
I think your opinion of my comment is off from the intention. Your packet loss may not be related to marginal signal. Until you follow through involving a tech with a real meter, there is no way to say otherwise.
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3 | reply to beachintech
Re: [Signals] Balancing my own signal Thanks, I'll call to see if their numbers at the CMTS jive with the modem. Can those be trusted, or is the meter on the prem the only legitimate numbers to trust?
Speaking of terminators...I have a 4-way splitter with them on there but wanted to move them to my 2-way splitter (or a 3-way with a -3.5dB leg) but do I need a special tool to remove the terminators?
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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beachintechThere's sand in my tool bagPremium
join:2008-01-06
kudos:5 Reviews:
·Comcast
·Mediacom
·Comcast Digital ..
| Meter is really the best number, modem will get close, but i've seen some be off by a good bit. You also get a lot more info than a number with a meter.
Are they locking terminators? If they are, yes you do, they can be had online pretty cheap. You can buy non-locking terminators as well very cheap. |
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pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3 | said by beachintech:Meter is really the best number, modem will get close, but i've seen some be off by a good bit. You also get a lot more info than a number with a meter.
Are they locking terminators? If they are, yes you do, they can be had online pretty cheap. You can buy non-locking terminators as well very cheap.
Thanks, I'll look around for some non-locking ones or purchase the tool and leave things as-is until I am able to properly terminate the unused connections on the splitter.
Just for everyone edification, I'll post the numbers this Netgear D3 device is reporting vs. the ones read from the CMTS so we can see how close this modem reports them (although I guess the degree to which they are accurate may vary over time, too, relative to the CMTS).
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3 | Well, take it with a grain of salt but the CMTS side shows the same US power (41.7), the same SNR (34.1) but the power level on their end is showing -1 whereas most of my channels are showing +1 on the modem's DS PWR.
So if they're off by 2 (again, assuming the CMTS is correct) then maybe I would be ok with taking the pad out entirely and sitting at +9 (+7 according to the CMTS).
I guess I'll give that a go for a bit until I can hook up the splitter 
Thanks for both of your responses and info!
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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beachintechThere's sand in my tool bagPremium
join:2008-01-06
kudos:5 | Was that downstream power or upstream receive power? Did you happen to ask what your upstream SNR was as well? |
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pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3 | said by beachintech:Was that downstream power or upstream receive power? Did you happen to ask what your upstream SNR was as well?
That was downstream power I believe.
Doh! I meant to ask about the uSNR, but got distracted by my kids coming home. I'll call them back to ask in a few. Thanks for the reminder.
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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 EGThe wings of lovePremium
join:2006-11-18
Union, NJ
kudos:9 | They gave you the wrong numbers as they usually do... |
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pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3 | said by EG:They gave you the wrong numbers as they usually do...
What exactly am I asking for when I call to get the right ones? I specifically asked for the numbers at the CMTS.
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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EGThe wings of lovePremium
join:2006-11-18
Union, NJ
kudos:9 | You are asking for the correct info its just that many if not most of the phone reps do not know what they are looking at. |
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pflogBueller? Bueller?Premium,MVM
join:2001-09-01
El Dorado Hills, CA
kudos:3 | Upstream SNR is 36.1. I asked if he was sure that was the upstream and then asked for the downstream and that's 35.8 (which jives with my modem's reported DS value).
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"I drank what?" -Socrates |
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