same problem again

[Scott Lindner]

Edwin,

You won't believe this. I thought the new modem fixed everything perfectly.
As soon as we got the new modem the problems seemed to have gone away
entirely. Every once in a while I'd notice a disconnect but that can
somtimes happen or can be related to the other system, or a router somewhere
between here and there. So I never thought much of it since that only
happened a handful of times instead of on an hourly basis. This morning it
completely dropped out again. I'm looking at the cable modem status lights
and they are behaving the same way as befor. This is the first time that I
can confirm this has happened exactly like this. All other times I have not
been near the cable modem to verify it.

Is this a random occurrence unrelated to the previous troubles I'm having?
Did some event happen this morning around 5:30am?
Has anyone else in the CMR area experienced any service dropouts lately?

Scott

[stevech]

Lights same as before... what are those conditions?

Post by Scott Lindner
Edwin,
You won't believe this. I thought the new modem fixed everything perfectly.
As soon as we got the new modem the problems seemed to have gone away
entirely. Every once in a while I'd notice a disconnect but that can
somtimes happen or can be related to the other system, or a router somewhere
between here and there. So I never thought much of it since that only
happened a handful of times instead of on an hourly basis. This morning it
completely dropped out again. I'm looking at the cable modem status lights
and they are behaving the same way as befor. This is the first time that I
can confirm this has happened exactly like this. All other times I have not
been near the cable modem to verify it.
Is this a random occurrence unrelated to the previous troubles I'm having?
Did some event happen this morning around 5:30am?
Has anyone else in the CMR area experienced any service dropouts lately?
Scott

[Scott Lindner]

Post by stevech
Lights same as before... what are those conditions?

All is well and then the bottom light goes to flashing, then goes blank and
the one above it goes to flashing, then goes blank, then the one above that
goes to flashing, then goes blank, etc. Then it sits with only the power
LED on for a long time, sometimes the next LED down is flashing, sometimes
it doesn't. Sometimes it makes it down to all lit with the bottom LED
flashing, then dies down. Eventually it just snaps full on and all is well.
The spells seem to last about 5 minutes when they happen but sometimes can
take a long time.

This is the first time I ever verified an issue with the new modem since the
tech came out but have experienced a few drop outs. I cannot say what the
cause of those other drop outs were since I wasn't looking at the modem when
they happened. So this is only one instance with the new modem. It is a
far cry better than before. Our Internet is useable where before it wasn't.

If the tech verified my cabling and said it all looked like a very nice set
up and have a new modem, it has to be something completely external to my
property. Are their gofers chewing on the cables in the ground? :)

Scott

[stevech]

Based on your description of the modem lights and that the tech says your
indoor wiring is OK, I have this suggestion:
1. when it is working correctly, write down your modem signal levels. If you
have a Motorola CyberSufer 4100/5100 (and if you don't, then tell RR you
want a newer modem), take your PC's web browser to the modem's status page:
192.168.100.1 - that is the web pages within the modem.

The lights cycling as you describe suggest that your signal level for the
upstream or downstream are incorrect, or you have a loose connection
somewhere (could be outside your home), or there is interference on your
upstream. I assume your AC power to the modem is stable.

Please describe your your cable modem's coax is routed and connected via
splitters and amplifiers to the coax that enters your home. Are you in a
house or multi-tenant dwelling/condo?

Click on SIGNAL and write down what's displayed for downstream power level,
and for upstream power level.
Do this at various times of the day and days. But obviously, only when all
lights are on and the internet connectivity is normal.
Your downstream should be in the range of -10 to +4 dBmV.
Your upstream should be in the range of -35 to -45 dBmV.

If the modem lights falter more than once a week for a couple of minutes,
you need to really press TimeWarner to fix their problem. You have to get in
their face to send out a tech who is trained in troubleshooting upstream
problems and who knows how to test the upstream pathway; most don't.

Post by Scott Lindner

Post by stevech
Lights same as before... what are those conditions?

All is well and then the bottom light goes to flashing, then goes blank and
the one above it goes to flashing, then goes blank, then the one above that
goes to flashing, then goes blank, etc. Then it sits with only the power
LED on for a long time, sometimes the next LED down is flashing, sometimes
it doesn't. Sometimes it makes it down to all lit with the bottom LED
flashing, then dies down. Eventually it just snaps full on and all is well.
The spells seem to last about 5 minutes when they happen but sometimes can
take a long time.
This is the first time I ever verified an issue with the new modem since the
tech came out but have experienced a few drop outs. I cannot say what the
cause of those other drop outs were since I wasn't looking at the modem when
they happened. So this is only one instance with the new modem. It is a
far cry better than before. Our Internet is useable where before it wasn't.
If the tech verified my cabling and said it all looked like a very nice set
up and have a new modem, it has to be something completely external to my
property. Are their gofers chewing on the cables in the ground? :)
Scott

[Scott Lindner]

Post by stevech
The lights cycling as you describe suggest that your signal level for the
upstream or downstream are incorrect, or you have a loose connection
somewhere (could be outside your home), or there is interference on your
upstream.

According to the modem's status page the levels stay the same throughout the
outtage. I now have the SB5100.

Post by stevech
I assume your AC power to the modem is stable.

That statement just went into question this weekend. I've been having
another seemingly unrelated issue at home for about the same duration of
time. I never associated them until you made this comment. I don't want to
get into all of the problems that I'm experiencing at home at the moment but
the short answer is that the quality of power inside my home is starting to
come into question. I have verified this morning that there is a difference
between the power the outlets in my home are providing and what a UPS
running on battery supply. The exact nature and proximity of the problem
hasn't been identified just yet. I'm going to run some more tests at home
and then at friend's homes to see if it is local to my home only, the
neighborhood, or even maybe it's a SoCal problem due to summer power usage?
I don't even know if this power thing is related to the cable modem just
yet. But since you mentioned it, the problems started about the same time.
I'm going to solve the power problem first and get back on the cable modem
issue since it doesn't seem to be so bad after the tech came by. It's
certainly useable now so I can be patient.

Post by stevech
Please describe your your cable modem's coax is routed and connected via
splitters and amplifiers to the coax that enters your home. Are you in a
house or multi-tenant dwelling/condo?

We live in a single dettached home. Completely straight wiring. We don't
have cable TV and the techs disconnected all other wires since they aren't
being used. There's the wire coming from the street into the patch panel on
the outside of the house, there's a line filter the tech added, and there's
the single RG-6 coming straight to the cable modem with no other connectors.
Not even at the wall plate. I believe I would call this an ideal setup,
right?

Post by stevech
Click on SIGNAL and write down what's displayed for downstream power level,
and for upstream power level.
Do this at various times of the day and days. But obviously, only when all

I'll try this later this week.

Post by stevech
If the modem lights falter more than once a week for a couple of minutes,
you need to really press TimeWarner to fix their problem. You have to get in
their face to send out a tech who is trained in troubleshooting upstream
problems and who knows how to test the upstream pathway; most don't.

I think I'm going to write a script to detect the situation. It's hard for
me to know when the lights actually go out unless I'm sitting right there
when it drop out. I hear what you're saying and I agree. For now, I do
believe that I need to do some homework on my power issues first since I
cannot deny the timing of both problems.

Thanks for your post! I never would have associated our current power
issues with the cable modem issues because only a few things that we use are
sensitive to the power thing. I'll post the exact problem later and what
I've done to isolate it. It'll blow your mind.

Scott

[stevech]

My UPS makes a clunking noise each time it gets a big glitch in the power.
Like 1/10 of a second or so glitch. But you'd see such a glitch in the bulb
in a lamp.
As long as your AC outlet is 115VAC plus or minus 5V or so, all you have to
worry about is glitches.
I did have a circuit breaker with a loose wire-hold-down screw and it was
corroded. You can have crummy connections in the AC outlet. But these are
easy to look for- wiggle things and watch.

Assuming the AC is fine, keep an eye on the modem lights. If it drops synch
(lights falter) for just one reset cycle (resynchs first try), and if this
doesn't happen more than a couple of times a week, then that's about as good
as it gets, I say.

today, my cable modem was out (unable to synch) from 12:15P to 2:30P. I have
home automation stuff which logs this.
I'm going to hope and assume it was related to So Cal Edison's follies with
rolling blackouts today rather than my old modem problem reappearing.

Post by Scott Lindner

Post by stevech
The lights cycling as you describe suggest that your signal level for the
upstream or downstream are incorrect, or you have a loose connection
somewhere (could be outside your home), or there is interference on your
upstream.

According to the modem's status page the levels stay the same throughout the
outtage. I now have the SB5100.

Post by stevech
I assume your AC power to the modem is stable.

That statement just went into question this weekend. I've been having
another seemingly unrelated issue at home for about the same duration of
time. I never associated them until you made this comment. I don't want to
get into all of the problems that I'm experiencing at home at the moment but
the short answer is that the quality of power inside my home is starting to
come into question. I have verified this morning that there is a difference
between the power the outlets in my home are providing and what a UPS
running on battery supply. The exact nature and proximity of the problem
hasn't been identified just yet. I'm going to run some more tests at home
and then at friend's homes to see if it is local to my home only, the
neighborhood, or even maybe it's a SoCal problem due to summer power usage?
I don't even know if this power thing is related to the cable modem just
yet. But since you mentioned it, the problems started about the same time.
I'm going to solve the power problem first and get back on the cable modem
issue since it doesn't seem to be so bad after the tech came by. It's
certainly useable now so I can be patient.

Post by stevech
Please describe your your cable modem's coax is routed and connected via
splitters and amplifiers to the coax that enters your home. Are you in a
house or multi-tenant dwelling/condo?

We live in a single dettached home. Completely straight wiring. We don't
have cable TV and the techs disconnected all other wires since they aren't
being used. There's the wire coming from the street into the patch panel on
the outside of the house, there's a line filter the tech added, and there's
the single RG-6 coming straight to the cable modem with no other connectors.
Not even at the wall plate. I believe I would call this an ideal setup,
right?

Post by stevech
Click on SIGNAL and write down what's displayed for downstream power

level,

Post by stevech
and for upstream power level.
Do this at various times of the day and days. But obviously, only when all

I'll try this later this week.

Post by stevech
If the modem lights falter more than once a week for a couple of minutes,
you need to really press TimeWarner to fix their problem. You have to

get

Post by Scott Lindner
in

Post by stevech
their face to send out a tech who is trained in troubleshooting upstream
problems and who knows how to test the upstream pathway; most don't.

I think I'm going to write a script to detect the situation. It's hard for
me to know when the lights actually go out unless I'm sitting right there
when it drop out. I hear what you're saying and I agree. For now, I do
believe that I need to do some homework on my power issues first since I
cannot deny the timing of both problems.
Thanks for your post! I never would have associated our current power
issues with the cable modem issues because only a few things that we use are
sensitive to the power thing. I'll post the exact problem later and what
I've done to isolate it. It'll blow your mind.
Scott