CableModemtech
join:2001-10-10
Lawrenceville, GA
| reply to broadbndgeek
Re: Poor Cable
I am a cable modem service techician (no I'm not TV technician Internet only) and I work for comcast. Understand this, @home is Comcast's ISP, Comcast is the END USER's ISP. When you call for Tech support for the @home service 9 out of ten times your talking to one of @home's call centers.....not Comcast. @Home's so called phone technicians are not technician's (not that comcast's customer service are sharp as a tack either) they are Soccer moms and dads that have little to NO technical backround what so ever and are being paid 9 bucks an hour to read off of a piece of paper. Trust me I know I have to deal with the customer's that have been told to " unplug the modem for 12 hours" ( If something is wrong with the service unplugging the dam modem isn't gonna fix it)or the ever popular "you need your modem changed". I get about 50 service orders a week, out of those 1 or 2 may need there modem changed. Also out of those fifty half of them are provisioning (database) problems that can be fixed in 2 minutes over the phone. Most modems have there own internal diagnostics that will give you a basic Idea of whats causing the problem. Get to know the light patterns on your modem they tell you alot.
The Surfboard modems in paticular have an internal diagnostic utility that displays signal levels and return powers in your web browser. This is good for sometimes figuring out intermitent MODEM connections. It can be accessed by typing 192.168.100.1 in your web browser. Note this will only work if the modem is locked and you are not accessing the modem through a NAT router or proxy server.
Here are a few things to help you have a better understanding of cable modems.
1. Signal levels have almost no bearing on speed. The modem is either on and perfect (modem only not the rest of the system) or off and nothing. In some cases the modem can be losing and regaining its lock so fast it shows up as packet loss or slow speed.
2. Speed meters are bullshit. If you want an Idea of the kind of speed your modem is capable of go to a bunch of different download sites and download some files. See what kind of rate you get. Most cable modem systems give you 1-3 megabits (not bytes) on the download. This is not guarenteed by any system though. Notice the words "UP TO" 50 times faster in the fine print. Just because you are capable of downloading at a certain speed doesn't mean its going to be sent to you at that speed.
3. Just because you have cable TV doesn't mean you should be able to get the cable modem. Docsis compliant cable modems require a forward signal (the one that supplies your TV's)and a return (the signal that is sent back to the cable company by the modem). There are a few systems that utilize the cable for downloading and a standard phone line modem for the return. Analog cable TV boxes don't send anything back to the cable company. The modem actually uses 2 regular tv channels for its communication pathways (forward and return).Which ones they are differ from cable system to cable system. Cable TV has been around for 40-50 years and was never originally designed to have a signal sent back from the home to the cable company. Cable modems less than 10. Not all cable systems are capable of supporting the cable modem service. DOCSIS cable standards require a certain range of frequencies and a return path to support cable modems (except non DOCSIS proprietary setups and dialup modem return). If you live in an area with an older cable system that doesn't meet the specifications then it must be upgraded or completely rebuilt (that takes an assload of money when your talking a few thousand miles of cable in one decient size system. Don't be surprised if every modem doesn't work perfect all the time (I'm not trying to defend the reliability just stating the reality). Whenever you try to utilize old technology as a medium for new technology there are bound to be problems. Alot of cable systems are 15 to 20+ years old thats a long time for a piece of electrical equipment to be underground or hanging on a pole exposed to the elements. Things like water, loose connections, dirty cable fittings and worst of all IGNORANCE can cause you to have problems with your modem.
4. Splitters are probably the biggest enemy of the cable modem. When you split the signal it drops the signal strength down. The more you split the weaker the signal on the forward. The other side of the coin is the modems return power. Its limited to between 58 and somewhere around 65 db (depending on manufacturer) worth of transmit power. The modem's return has to travel back through what ever splitters are between the modem and the main line outside. If there are to many the modem will not be able to get its signal back to the cable company (try to have the modem wired to most direct route to the cable house box outside.
If you want to know more about technical specs on cable modems go here »www.cablemodem.com
Sorry its late i gotta go to bed have to deal with retards tomorrow. Thank god @home is going out of business my job might get easier!!!! PS Comcast did not Cap your upload @home did because some stupid ass genius thought it would free up bandwidth on the download side...........doesn't work like that!!!!!! |
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celicaguy
@24.22.x.x
| I couldn't agree more about @home technical support. My experience with the @Home tech support script readers was very frustrating. I knew more about the cable modem than they did. They even had problems with the webspace server failing to load the Frontpage extensions. They kept trying to tell me my full version of Frontpage 2000 was not compatible with @Home Webspace. It took weeks and an escalation to a supervisor to explain what an extension file was. Since Frontpage is not really supported by @home, they would try to blow you off and disconnect the call. Another problem was with the power cord on the RCA Modem. It was shorting out on the circuit board but they wouldn't beleive it. They kept asking to do a system push and the standard BS script checks when I had already stated the obvious. Took two weeks to get them to replace it. The replacement modem was sent but then they put a cap on my upload. I complained enough that a tech took it off.
My last experience with these idiots was with the mail server. The mail.indpndnce1.mo.home.com mail server will not respond to ping or tracert from my location anymore. They have no clue how to fix it even when I told them what was wrong. I proved to them it was a mail server issue when I could Telnet to a Portland, WA mail server and also retrieve my mail from the netmail.home.com mail server. To this day, the original mail server is not responding and I had to change my Outlook settings for the Netmail server. |
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Kid Bluez
Strumming Da Bluez
join:2001-02-10
fah
| reply to CableModemtech
Thanks for the reply, CableModemTech. I appreciate the info, much of which was known by this ole lady but some unknown. Yes, I agree I usually got better service when I was lucky enough to chat with a Comcast etc, but that was rare. I'd usually get @home techs who'd tell me anything from "install the dial up networking in windows start up" (say what? lol) to "everything looks fine here, and we don't know why you can connect to your ISP but can't leave Comcast's router to get out into the 'net' (I had tracerts showing I could ping out that far)."
I have finally given up calling the techs cuz it's SO frustrating and I get nowhere. So I suppose I won't miss them.
I, however, do fault Comcast for this lil item---changing to Adelphia and NEVER notifying me once. Comcast still hasn't though I received an Adelphia zero balance bill in the mail this month. Yes Comcast billed me via their usual credit card auto-billing. I still wait in anticipation, that my ISP will have enough class to inform their customers of important items.
Take care.
--
"donate blood;
play hockey" |
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NocDoc
@home.com
| reply to CableModemtech
Re: Poor Cable Great Tech!
I can honestly say with an unbiased opinion (I'm not a Comcast Employee) that the people in your service area should feel very fortunate to be blessed with a cable modem service techician as knowledgeble and caring as yourself. I think this actually may be more a charactoristic of the Comcast employees then cable modem techs per say. I won't mention names but several of the top 5 US cable companies do not have the same high standards that Comcast seems to hold.
That being said there are a couple of point's I'd like to comment on in your otherwise factual and technically correct post.
1) @homes call centers : TRUE the majority of the persons employed there are not technicians. However since they are filling the void left by what would normally be a Comcast teir1 support person, the levels of technical ability are generally comparable.
2) 50 service orders per week to replace modems that do not require replacement. : This is a by product of item 1. There are few modem provisioning issues that can not be resolved by a competent teir1 rep. (why does'nt Comcast provide more teir1 support instead of outsourcing?)
I will not bore you with any of the numerous encounters I've had with clueless cable modem techs and their unbelievable stories told to customers in order to avoid fixing a simple problem like getting a modem to sync...OK I can't resist just one. My all time favorite was hearing of a installer who told the customer that the reason their modem would not sync was SUNSPOTS. This would have been bad enough on it's own but he followed it up by further telling the customer to call @home teir2 support so they could make the needed system adjustments to counteract the effects of the sunspots. (ok enough of story time)
3) The cap on cable modems. : I will only say this...The cable companies dictate the actual speed of the customers upstream. This tends to be supported by the fact that the speed the modems are capped at varies by both MSO and even by region in some cases. BTW wasn't Comcast the first to sell multi-teired QOS levels to the customers? (I may be wrong on this one but it sounds correct at this moment) If @home was responsible for the cap I can assure you that it would be universal for all customers regardless of the cable company involved.
Ok it's very late now but I want to end on the same note I started on. Your customers are lucky to have a quality tech such as yourself supporting them. Keep up the good work! |
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pupowski$
join:2001-01-15
Atlantis
| reply to CableModemtech
Service has never been better
said by CableModemtech:
When you call for Tech support for the @home service 9 out of ten times your talking to one of @home's call centers.....
I have @Home since test markets began. Tech support was horrible from the start, and I worked my way up the food chain with complaints to corporate, the FCC, and local regulators.I even challenged AT&T applications for local service in other states before I got their attention. It was like a war just to get the service I was paying for, and there was no competition, so it went on for several years.I was credited over TWO YEARS free service,one month at a time, for various problems. The average wait was 30-45 minutes for a tier one tech who couldn't do much, and another 15 minutes to reach tier 2 who were more knowledgeable but limited by the company structure. Field techs were never a problem, and I blame top management for poor phone support,not the techs.About a year ago service improved dramatically, and has remained that way since.I speak to AT&T employees, not @Home's, and service has never been better. I never used the portal or mail servers, and I won't miss @Home a bit. |
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Kid Bluez
Strumming Da Bluez
join:2001-02-10
fah
| Yeah, I've received an easy 1 1/2 years of free services in the form of refunds for no service or poor service--until they changed the policy to say that if you can connect AT ALL in a 24 hour period, you get NO refund. That's garbage! They must've done that because it is so intermittent around here, and everyone would be asking for full rebates every single month!
--
"donate blood;
play hockey" |
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pupowski$
join:2001-01-15
Atlantis | Where did you find that cool Avatar? |
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pchdude
@home.com
| reply to CableModemtech
Re: Poor Cable
That's the best response I've ever seen. Truthful and technically accurate too. I like the "PS" part about the upload caps. Some folks have real strange ideas about what does and doesn't affect bandwidth.
The standard excuse we always got for the upload cap(crap)is that the @home servers couldn't handle a large number of users uploading at once, and that the emphasis is on customer satisfaction. Yeah well, maybe so, but I don't spend my Internet time playing with @home servers... |
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xdeadhead
220, 221, Whatever It Takes.
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Mechanicsburg, PA
 ·Verizon FIOS
 ·Comcast
| reply to CableModemtech
RIGHT ON MAN...the cable doesnt know which way the data is flowing. so they fired that genius, right? or did they make him president of the company? mmmm i think thats what happened at verizon too.....they made the stupidest manager the president and ceo and now they are screwed too. ivan seidenberg wake up!! |
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xdeadhead
220, 221, Whatever It Takes.
Premium
join:2000-11-08
Mechanicsburg, PA | reply to celicaguy
please explain how you " complained enough that a tech took it off" exactly what must i do ? no shit? they really took your up cap off? thanx |
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Kid Bluez
Strumming Da Bluez
join:2001-02-10
fah
| reply to pupowski$
Re: Service has never been better
quote:
pupowski: Where did you find that cool Avatar?
If you're referring to mine, I made it with Paint Shop Pro, used a bit of Photo Shop, and Animation Shop. Took me forever one night, starting at midnight, and was done by 9am (? somewhere around there). Team Helix has some very talented people that make them in a snap, but my expertise is not there yet. Did ya know you could animate your avatar with $5 in tool points (minimum), 40x40, 5k limit. Nice of Justin. 
quote:
pchdude: I like the "PS" part about the upload caps
Yep, I remember getting Comcast's email about how @home was going to cap UL to 128, with the reasoning that most people want download speeds rather than upload speed, and this would, thus, save the bandwidth for customer's preferences. HUH? I game and UL is as important as DL speed. It was a great marketing ploy, but those of us who know anything about it saw it for what it was---nothing but a ploy. Gaming has never been the same since. Hey pch, Dana Point is a nice community.  We be neighbors (don't really live in Pasadena, and I do have the same isp as you).
[text was edited by author 2001-10-13 06:48:40] |
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pupowski$
join:2001-01-15
Atlantis
| said by GoGrannyGo:
If you're referring to mine, I made it with Paint Shop Pro, used a bit of Photo Shop, and Animation Shop...... Did ya know you could animate your avatar with $5 in tool points (minimum), 40x40, 5k limit. Nice of Justin.
Thanks for the info, I would like animation for mine. $5.00 is a bargain, but software isn't, and all I have is Photo Shop. I don't know much about team helix, but I'm going to take a look now. Good job on your avatar, that's how ideas spread. |
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