jbob
Reach Out and Touch Someone
Premium
join:2004-04-26
Little Rock, AR
 ·Comcast
 ·AT&T Southwest
| reply to aliasrlz
Re: [Connectivity] Comcast VS. DSL?
I think with Comcast many times it is a hit or miss whether you get a good connection area or not. Their tech support leaves much to be desired according to what I have read. Unfortunately it helps to get a good tech when you call and also to sound like you know what you are doing in my experience. It's true you generally only see complainers on here and not the ones who have no or very few issues.
DSL has it's detractors as well though. From my experience DSL can be more problamatic than cable.
You shouldn't be having these issues and they should be fixed. Unfortunately you're caught up in the biggest issue with Comcast. You might try posting on Comcast's own forums and see if Jason can help you out getting it resolved.
I did have an issue here and after several calls it was elevated and a higher level tech was sent to check out my issue as there had been several revisits to my residence. My issue was not at my house wiring either.
s |
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aliasrlz
Premium
join:2000-09-01
the world | thanks jbob  |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·AT&T Midwest
 ·Site5.com
·Comcast
| reply to jbob
Broadband service is so area dependent. My parents have comcast cable internet and it is awesome where they live. I have it in my area and it is also awesome. No downtime and no problems with latency. I ran with Comcast for over 5 years and had no issues.
I switched to SBC DSL for the price and the fact I wanted Directv with a Tivo. I love my DSL except for the fact I can only get 1500/384. Oh well, at a fraction of the price of Comcast internet, I will take it.
Good broadband service is so region dependent though. In some areas, ISP #1 rocks while ISP #2 sucks and vice versa.
The best advice I can offer you is to communicate with Comcast technical support. Ask to be elevated to a level 2 technician since the level 1 techs can't seem to fix your problem.
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aliasrlz
Premium
join:2000-09-01
the world
4 edits | Nightfall, that is what I am doing....... they say they will send a LINE tech after one more visit. With my history, numerous calls on record, I'm not sure why they don't send a LINE tech now. They claim they need to have so many visits/complaints in the system before they can.
Hopefully , it will be escalated soon.
Someone stated that I was complaining and not reporting anything, since August was his lie. Comcast can see that I have called in *every single disconnect/outage* and had several visits.
I also mentioned my modem brand and model # (in this thread), as well as the # of splitters between the outside line and the modem, but that info was ignored by one and some irrelevant Firefox comment made about it (since it wasn't in original post), sad. People like mike52 are NOT helping, just pissing me off..
Others in this thread have helped and made GOOD suggestions  I had no idea the 5120 had chipset problems until someone mentioned it, or to look out for too many splitters (though not an issue for me). Confirmation on getting the booster added was also good advice. |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| said by aliasrlz  :Confirmation on getting the booster added was also good advice. Actually that is the worst advice that was given. Adding an amp will only create more problems. If you have a signal issue, have a tech come out and get him to see the levels. Posting them here wouldn't hurt either as a few people have asked for them. If you have too much noise in your network then an amp is just going to increase that noise and your problem will just get worse. |
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jabuqua
join:2004-10-10
Beverly Hills, CA
| as i stated before...i hate making assumptions.
the point of my post was to get a tech in there and escalate the problem to a speedier resolution. i'm ASSUMING the tech will not install the amp if its not required. my point must've been lost in all that noise |
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StillLearn
Premium
join:2002-03-21
Streamwood, IL
·AT&T Midwest
1 edit | reply to imrf
said by imrf :Posting them here wouldn't hurt either as a few people have asked for them. If you have too much noise in your network then an amp is just going to increase that noise and your problem will just get worse. I see repeated posts with low signal to noise ratio. |
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aliasrlz
Premium
join:2000-09-01
the world
| reply to imrf
said by imrf :said by aliasrlz :Confirmation on getting the booster added was also good advice. Actually that is the worst advice that was given. Adding an amp will only create more problems. If you have a signal issue, have a tech come out and get him to see the levels. Posting them here wouldn't hurt either as a few people have asked for them. If you have too much noise in your network then an amp is just going to increase that noise and your problem will just get worse. :o:o:o... this was the advice of the phone tech. We will see if what they changed today fixes the problem. How do you post when things are bad if you have zero connection when things are bad?
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"Long-winded diatribes are not necessary for one-liner comments (regardless of THE POINT). Something some will never get." |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI | True, but can you post the signal levels now? It will show us what they are when they "good". They may be borderline then get too low and drop the connection. |
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aliasrlz
Premium
join:2000-09-01
the world
| said by imrf :True, but can you post the signal levels now? It will show us what they are when they "good". They may be borderline then get too low and drop the connection. Sure, since some others claim I don't answer questions, which is crap... Here is the info when it is "working":
Downstream Value
Frequency 711000000 Hz
Signal to Noise Ratio 33 dB
QAM 256
Network Access Control Object ON
Power Level 0 dBmV The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh
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"Long-winded diatribes are not necessary for one-liner comments (regardless of THE POINT). Something some will never get." |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| Can you post the upstream value as well. You SNR is borderline, with 256QAM a tad higher wouldn't hurt, but an amp would make it worse at this point. If you keep getting dropped another call and added pressure will be needed, or a call to the corporate center might be a better route. |
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aliasrlz
Premium
join:2000-09-01
the world
| said by imrf :Can you post the upstream value as well. You SNR is borderline, with 256QAM a tad higher wouldn't hurt, but an amp would make it worse at this point. If you keep getting dropped another call and added pressure will be needed, or a call to the corporate center might be a better route. Here ya go:
Upstream Value
Channel ID 1
Frequency 23984000 Hz
Ranging Service ID 432
Symbol Rate 3.200 Msym/s
Power Level 44 dBmV
Yes, I am going to do that if this "last fix" doesn't stop the intermittent drops...... thanks
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"Long-winded diatribes are not necessary for one-liner comments (regardless of THE POINT). Something some will never get." |
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sortofageek
Premium,Mod
join:2001-08-19
Valhalla Dr
clubs:
·Comcast
Host:
Team Helix
Distributed Comput..
Linksys
Comcast HSI
Comcast Cable TV
| reply to aliasrlz
said by aliasrlz :How do you post when things are bad if you have zero connection when things are bad? Just a suggestion, it's what I would try to do.
1. Post the info while the connection is up, as you did.
2. Try to get a copy of the signals while the connection is down. Post them when the connection comes up again.
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jbob
Reach Out and Touch Someone
Premium
join:2004-04-26
Little Rock, AR
·Comcast
·AT&T Southwest
1 edit | reply to aliasrlz
Yes as "Sortofageek" said. Even though you cannot post when you do not have a connection you can save your signals levels into a wordpad document and simply copy and paste here later.
I actually have a document that I copy and paste my modem signal levels frequently just for comparison purposes. As long as you can access your modem you should always be able to get these values. After all just because you might not be connected to the internet doesn't mean your computer is not working.
And when you say this tech replaced some cable, just where was this cable he replaced?
And when you post your signal levels post the upstream and downstream at the same time like this:
Downstream Value
Frequency 591000000 Hz Locked
Signal to Noise Ratio 35 dB
Power Level -2 dBmV
Upstream Value
Channel ID 2
Frequency 23408000 Hz Ranged
Power Level 42 dBmV
As I said in an earlier post it is very frustrating to get a tech who is clueless. Since you pay for this service they ought to be able to fix these little simple problems. Just remember that just because you get crappy tech support from Comcast doesn't mean DSL will be any better. Just remember I'll bet many DSl or cable users out there probably have issues with their connections as well but are so computer illiterate they have no clue there even is a problem. At least you're smart enough to know better. |
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aliasrlz
Premium
join:2000-09-01
the world
| jbob,
He had some "piece of cable" (threw it away already), and a very old splitter that he replaced. The piece of cable was about 6 in, and had the RF needled on one point. I don't know much more......but he brought both to me and said I could discard/trash them as he replaced them.
Here is the info, together, you requested:
Downstream Value
Frequency 711000000 Hz
Signal to Noise Ratio 33 dB
QAM 256
Network Access Control Object ON
Power Level 0 dBmV
Upstream Value
Channel ID 1
Frequency 23984000 Hz
Ranging Service ID 432
Symbol Rate 3.200 Msym/s
Power Level 40 dBmV
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"Long-winded diatribes are not necessary for one-liner comments (regardless of THE POINT). Something some will never get." |
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schja01
I need to get a life.
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-27
Morton Grove, IL
clubs: 
 ·AT&T U-Verse
·AT&T Midwest
1 edit | said by aliasrlz :jbob, He had some "piece of cable" (threw it away already), and a very old splitter that he replaced. The piece of cable was about 6 in, and had the RF needled on one point. I don't know much more......but he brought both to me and said I could discard/trash them as he replaced them. Here is the info, together, you requested: Downstream Value Frequency 711000000 Hz Signal to Noise Ratio 33 dB QAM 256 Network Access Control Object ON Power Level 0 dBmV Upstream Value Channel ID 1 Frequency 23984000 Hz Ranging Service ID 432 Symbol Rate 3.200 Msym/s Power Level 40 dBmV I wish I had those numbers (I don't) and I get 6mb/386kb reliably.
From memory:
SNR 35
Down -1.2db
Up 45db
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"Have I said something amiss?"
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sortofageek
Premium,Mod
join:2001-08-19
Valhalla Dr
clubs:
·Comcast
Host:
Team Helix
Distributed Comput..
Linksys
Comcast HSI
Comcast Cable TV
| Actually, some of us are guessing she would be fine with SNR consistently as high as yours.
A few are thinking the combination of the SNR of 33 dB, QAM 256 and the Motorola SB5120 (known for sensitivity to noise on the line and especially with QAM 256) may be her problem. If she sees a reading of 33 dB when connected, it is entirely possible SNR drops below that at times and that is why she gets disconnnected.
»/faq/7124
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aliasrlz
Premium
join:2000-09-01
the world | reply to schja01
schja01,
I'm on the 8mbit package.......I'll give up the 8M for stability, I would |
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briankelly9
Premium
join:2002-09-11
| reply to aliasrlz
go take a picture of what he replaced outside and post it on here and that will show your connections, type of wire, and splitter. if you had an old junky splitter chances are you have old junky wiring to go with it. u can tell whats what just by the fittings they used. and are you sure there is no other splitter. alot of houses have 1 line ran to the attic and there is another splitter up there. or another behind a wallplate feeding something else. where is your modem located in that house? |
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