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[Connectivity] Too close to electrical box?Over the past 5 or so months I have been experiencing an issue with random bursts of packet loss, which really affects gaming severely when it starts. I have had several techs to the house, and maintenance has been trying to find the issue for the past 2 months. I have been in contact with the lead maintenance tech in my area, and yesterday he went to the extent of running RG11 from another neighborhoods cable system(brand new neighborhood) that is literally on the other side of the fence in my backyard. While this gave me unbelievably low ping times, I am still getting these bursts of packet loss. All lines in my house have been replaced, the cable modem has it's own line coming into the house separate of the line that feeds all the tvs. My modem levels are great! SNR both up and down around 38. So at this point I have NO idea what to do. I don't want to keep bothering this guy (even though he swears he doesn't mind and encourages me to let him know how it goes). I was reading the cable modems and wiring faq on this website, and I came across a section where the author mentioned that the cable wiring being too close to the electrical could cause an issue. The line from the tap and the grounding block are literally directly next to 2 electrical boxes (mine and my neighbors as I am in a Duplex). Is this really something that can cause a problem? Is it even worth trying to move it over a few feet to see if it clears it up since the RG11 run yesterday hasn't been buried so it wouldn't be a problem to move over a few feet. If this isn't a possibility I am open to ANY and ALL suggestions guys! Thank you for your time. |
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 gar187erI DID this for a living
join:2006-06-24
Seattle, WA |
no it wont cause any issue. there could be other electrical issues at hand, or something on the plant. but 90% of cable installs are within a couple feet of the meter pans. |
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thanks figured as much. Only thing about it being something in the plant is that he ran that RG11 from a different neighborhood that he said took me off the "trunk" cable. Also, I have a friend that lives on that street, who is also a gamer and has no issues. So I'm really confused at this point |
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to relli843
Have you tried another modem, another router, another PC, different ethernet cables, etc? |
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Yes, all of the above. Comcast supplied modem worse results than my SB 6141. Bypass router same problem. and as I said, all downstream channels power level either 0 or 1. downstream SNR all close to 40. Upstream Power Levels stay between 45 and 48 depending on how cold it gets outside, and Upstream SNR has been 36-38 everytime maintenance has been out (he showed me on his computer) and he has been out several times |
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to relli843
I have to ask because you didn't mention, but are you using your own router, or their supplied router? Are you connecting directly with a wired connection? Because wireless is completely unreliable. |
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Asus RT-AC88
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to relli843
Do you still get those same numbers when in the middle of a packet loss "event"? Random stuff like this can be really hard to figure out, something like a microwave oven or a very noisy (electrically speaking) motor in a refrigerator could be sending noise spikes into your electrical system. said by relli843:Yes, all of the above. Comcast supplied modem worse results than my SB 6141. Bypass router same problem. and as I said, all downstream channels power level either 0 or 1. downstream SNR all close to 40. Upstream Power Levels stay between 45 and 48 depending on how cold it gets outside, and Upstream SNR has been 36-38 everytime maintenance has been out (he showed me on his computer) and he has been out several times |
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 Devious
Premium Member
join:2002-08-22
Seattle, WA
1 recommendation |
to relli843
What about the heat pump? |
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Robyn79
Premium Member
join:2014-12-09 |
to relli843
What's the other stuff in that picture (besides the 2 electrical meters - and the heat pump)? FWIW - I've had my CC box next to my electrical box (and phone box) for 20 years (since we built our house). Never had a problem. But all of the stuff is enclosed - shielded from the elements. With wires running directly from the boxes into the house - nothing dangling on exterior wires.
Where's the air handler for your compressor - and where do you put the water flow that comes out of the system? If I ran the water that comes off my HVAC stuff anywhere near my other wiring (my HVAC stuff is on the other side of the house) - it would probably rot out in 6 months. Robyn |
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 alchav
join:2002-05-17
Saint George, UT |
to relli843
said by relli843: I have been in contact with the lead maintenance tech in my area, and yesterday he went to the extent of running RG11 from another neighborhoods cable system(brand new neighborhood) that is literally on the other side of the fence in my backyard. While this gave me unbelievably low ping times, I am still getting these bursts of packet loss.
I was reading the cable modems and wiring faq on this website, and I came across a section where the author mentioned that the cable wiring being too close to the electrical could cause an issue. The line from the tap and the grounding block are literally directly next to 2 electrical boxes (mine and my neighbors as I am in a Duplex). Is this really something that can cause a problem?
said by: Robyn
What's the other stuff in that picture (besides the 2 electrical meters - and the heat pump)? FWIW - I've had my CC box next to my electrical box (and phone box) for 20 years (since we built our house). Never had a problem. But all of the stuff is enclosed - shielded from the elements. With wires running directly from the boxes into the house - nothing dangling on exterior wires. Electrical will definitely cause problems with Data, and your set up doesn't look good at all. Like Robyn said, all that stuff all exposed is just trouble waiting to happen. I worked for a Telco in Service Management, and remember working on a Data Error issue for a Customer. No one could find the problem, we had to put monitors on the circuit and it turned out to be a faulty Florescent Light connected to the same Power Outlet. Changed the Outlet, problem solved. So if I were you, I'd make some changes. |
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to relli843
One thing I noticed in your picture is that the electric meters look like the one I have and it uses RF to communicate its readings. Some have reported it does this on a regular basis, maybe every 10 minutes. The round, brown box could be a similar outfit for a water meter or maybe the gas meter, although in my town the RF is a replacement for the dials on the old gas meter. Some have worried these RF meter reading systems can interfere with WiFi and cable signals.
Another problem Comcast has had results from the advent of LTE cell phone signals. Is there a nearby cell tower? In our area Comcast had to change download frequencies because of the over lap with LTE.
None of these may be a problem. Just sayn'. |
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I actually had an electrician out today and all neutrals in the circuit breaker box were on the same circuit. He fixed that but when you put a non contact voltage tester up to any coax inside my house that is coming from a device it lights up like crazy is that normal? Same thing with Ethernet cables. Also apparently there is no ground to my stove so landlord is gonna have to pay for that one I don't have 500 to shell out for that and I don't really like idea of 240v stove being ungrounded. |
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| relli843 |
Also electrician couldn't figure out why the coax was setting off the voltage meter |
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to relli843
Sounds like you've got more serious and potentially dangerous -problems than an intermittent Internet!
Did the electrician check whether there are grounds to the wall electric outlets? And the voltage between ground and the neutral at the outlets if there were ground connections? How old is the house and its wiring? Really old houses may not have grounds to two prong electric outlets. |
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He checked all wall outlets and all were grounded. House is pretty old. |
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 bobjohnson
Premium Member
join:2007-02-03
Spartanburg, SC |
Sounds like a TV or STB is sending voltage back into your coax. |
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That much voltage though to set off a nom contact detector. Not the 24v setting the 100 plus setting |
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nonymous (banned)
join:2003-09-08
Glendale, AZ |
to relli843
As already said seen that or closer many times. But any other electric issues. Large ham radio doing what not supposed to be on same power transformer. Industrial old dirty motors winning on same transformer. |
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Not that I know of |
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 NetFixerFrom My Cold Dead Hands
Premium Member
join:2004-06-24
The Boro
Pace 5268AC
TRENDnet TEW-829DRU
1 edit |
to relli843
said by relli843:That much voltage though to set off a nom contact detector. Not the 24v setting the 100 plus setting Yes, that much voltage if you have an older TV that is malfunctioning (or if you have a floating neutral line). I would suggest that you wear heavy leather gloves and disconnect your in-house coax wiring from the first wall jack (or from the first incoming coax cable if you have no wall jack). Once that is done, get an inexpensive LED/neon voltage tester from almost any place that sells electrical/hardware supplies, and then check both the incoming coax lines and your in-house coax lines for any high voltage (check both the shield and the center conductor to a known ground connection) -- there should be no high voltage present. If you detect voltage on the incoming line, then Comcast needs to get involved. If you detect voltage on your in-house coax wiring, then start disconnecting attached devices one by one (be sure to wear your heavy leather gloves) and that should tell you which device (if any) is feeding voltage into the coax cabling. If you detect high voltage on the coax when everything is connected, but can't isolate it to a specific device using the methods described above, get your electrician back out, because he may have not previously detected something serious (and dangerous) such as an open (or high resistance) neutral line. |
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We tried to track to specific device last night with no luck. He said stove not being grounded is bad but wouldn't cause that unless something was reversed and it wasn't. Any plugged in device does this. Today I'm going to turn breakers off one by one to appliances and see if it goes away on one |
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bobjohnson
Premium Member
join:2007-02-03
Spartanburg, SC |
Sorry I didn't get back sooner but Netfixer said exactly what I was thinking and explained it better. Old TV or VCR and the like have the potential to put the whole 110v back into the system under the right conditions. You're heading in the right direction by eliminating appliances and such. |
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No old tvs or vcrs in the house about to start switching off breakers in about 30 minutes and ill post back. Not as concerned about cable right now I have kids in the house and want to make sure everything is safe |
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| relli843 |
line feeding pan |
Electrician just left again. We can't find what is feeding coax but found this. This what is feeding electrical panel |
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 ironweaselWeezy
Premium Member
join:2000-09-13
Belen, NM |
That's a big chunk of insulation missing. :O
You don't have rats or anything do you? Just wondering if maybe something is eating / using the insulation off the wires for a nest. |
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to relli843
Do you know what this cable is used for? I assume this gnawed on cable is between the meter and the panel containing the circuit breakers. Or is it the cable to the stove? It's not clear where this view is - ceiling rafters, basement, garage - but there may be other places with damage. If those shiny metal strings are the electric conductors things are really serious. These wires may just be some kind of outer shielding protecting the conductor wires. Also, I wouldn't be sure this damage is causing your Internet problem unless the critter got beyond the metal we can see or there's more significant damage elsewhere. If a critter got at the main feed line one may have gotten to the romex in the walls feeding the electric outlets. If the romex feed lines are shorted the breaker should have tripped unless it's damaged and locked on. You or an electrician should be able to find that with the proper meter or other tools. Hopefully the house won't burn down.
If this view is between the utility's transformer and the meter, they may have some responsibility for replacing it but it may be your land lord's problem or your problem if you own the house. If it's between the meter and the breaker box it'll likely be the house owner's problem.
Regarding the Internet problem, NetFixer's suggestions are right on the mark for solving that issue. |
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This in the attic and is feeding the main panel. I think there was a rodent issue previous to me moving in. I have called my landlord and sent pics to him. I did find that voltage in coax is higher closer to where the panel is but when I get to my room where modem is its not quite as high is it only sets off the non contact voltage meter on the 24 to 100 setting. In living room it goes off on 100 plus |
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 cHarley
join:2013-07-10
Boynton Beach, FL |
Did you switch OFF ALL breakers and then test for the voltage?
Then, if no voltage, turn them ON one at a time checking for it to reappear? |
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1 recommendation |
To be honest with that shielding issue on the line feeding the breaker box im kind of scared to touch the box right now |
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Robyn79
Premium Member
join:2014-12-09 |
Robyn79
Premium Member
2015-Jan-3 6:38 pm
said by relli843:To be honest with that shielding issue on the line feeding the breaker box im kind of scared to touch the box right now Your wiring looks like garbage. You seem to be renting. Get your landlord out there to fix the stuff. Robyn |
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