Problems with modem
 

Morning,

Since last monday I've had some problems with my bb connection, I called Tech SUpp. and they booked an engineer for me, alas, yesterday my connection was there again.

Now this morning (am at work now) I wanted to give my email a quick check but nopes nothing happening, checked my router and the wan ip was 192.168.100.3. then I checked my down and upstream signal and came up with these results:

Downstream Receive Power level: -13.45 dBmv
Downstream SNR: 25.35 dB
Upstream transmit Power Level: 61.00 dBmv.

am living in Kettering Northants.

so now my question...could some1 give me some advice in what to do??

Thanx :)

ps: if wanted I got my mac address with me now. also if there are any NTL techs around now I got a ticket number 2044847

Cheers :)

Re: Problems with modem
 

Levig, I had a problem with my modem going offline and coming back on it's own. The best I can say is to call them when it's offline, at least then they can actually see there is a problem as you can't fix some thing that's working. At least if it's offline when you call they can see if tyhey need to move it to a differnet connection point.

Re: Problems with modem
 

Jonbr, thats the thing I called on Monday, then called yesterday when it was working to cancel the visit of the engineer... the reason I find it strange was that it didnt work at all on tuesday and then yesterday when I got home from work it was on again.

Re: Problems with modem
 

With those signal levels you are going to need that engineer, I had a similar prob in Rushden recently, was down to a local network fault and the time before that something in the cabinet was borked.

Hope this helps.

Re: Problems with modem
 

Yeh, if it's not working and comes back on on it's own, you can expect it to go off again. That's been my experience with it over the last few years, thankfully only a couple of times. Call them back and get the engineer to come out to you

Re: Problems with modem
 

Those signal levels are way, way too poor for a sustained service. -13dBmV is barely there, and the 61dBmV upstream power is your modem's maximum transmitting power. Insist an engineer investigate for problems with your cabling and in the cabinet (probably a line amp failing)

Re: Problems with modem
 

okay my modem is back "alive" again but I think the signal quality is a bit dodgy

Downstream Receive Power Level : -9.84 dBmv
Downstream SNR : 30.64 dB
Upstream Transmit Power Level : 59.50 dBmv

or do you think this is okay?

Re: Problems with modem
 

Have you called NTL yet? You need someone out to look at your signal from the cab by the look of it.

Re: Problems with modem
 

Still dodgy although a lot better. I'd definately say this is failing line amp in cabinet.

Re: Problems with modem
 

Paul,


to your answer yes I've phoned NTL when I had the problems..and as said above an engineer was called out for today, but when it was okay again last nite I cancelled it.

and Jaycee, yeah I'm deff. gonna phone them again and check the signal levels out totally..speaking to them now :)

Re: Problems with modem
 

I've had this problem lately, with the signal dropping out completely for an hour or two at a time.

Telephone support sent an engineer out to 'fix' my SACM, but on arrival, the engineer determined that the problems lay with the box in the street (an amplifier or attentuator - I forget which - issue he said). Apparently, othere people in the road have been experiencing similar problems.

Re: Problems with modem
 

SPC,

yeah I know when I spoke to India again over the weekend (sat) they promised me an engineer visit yesterday (monday) between 6pm and 8pm, but guess no1 turned up was home from 5.30 just to be sure...the techie said that there might be a problem with the CM I'm using...

Re: Problems with modem
 

Saturday to Monday, that's over 24 hours. Call NTL and ask for compensation, they've taken great pleasure in telling me I can only claim after my connection has been down for more than 24 hours. It went down last night and I have to wait 4 days for an engineer this time! I WILL be claiming!

Re: Problems with modem
 

I wish it was just Saturday to Monday...its been ongoing now since Monday the 15th so yeah I'm going to call Cust. Services and see what I can do, especially after taking a couple of hours off on monday just to be there in time for the engineer to trun up which he didnt :mad:

Re: Problems with modem
 

Okay this has happened again to me now and am really getting peed off with it now.

if there are any NTL guys around later on could you help me out with this as my phone wasnt working either last night and had to resort to using my mobile to call NTL (for which I am going to bill them)

If you need any details I got everything with me IE mac address and stuff like that.

Thanks

Re: Problems with modem
 

PM me the mac address.

Kev

Re: Problems with modem
 

Hi Levig,

As others have said, your levels are way off what they should be. You should be getting between -4 and +4 for the modem to work at optimum performance. Transmit levels are that that it will just keep dropping off line all the time.

It could be a poor connection along the line to your modem, or it could be a Network issue. I know the answer isn't one I would often offer people, but is there an attenuator on the back of the modem? if there is it should be square or round. If indeed there is one on it just remove it and see what happens. Also just make sure the connection to the back of the modem is nice and secure.

Give that a whirl and let me know how you get on. If you want more advice, either post on the forum or send me a pm. I am on the road today, so I will check back sometime during the day, okay?

Re: Problems with modem
 

Saneboy, last thursday I had an engineer around and he took that off, after that he went to the "green box" and change the signal strengh and after that the SNR was around 30 to 40 which was okay.

Re: Problems with modem
 

If your phone failed, ring faults and inform them you lost all your services. This is most likely a dying mux or line card, so they'll move you onto a new bank.

Re: Problems with modem
 

Jaycee, my phone is okay again, came back after phoning NTL for 20 mins on my mobile (sods law you phone for that and it fixes itself)

if it would be a MUX or line card thats dead then my digital would've died as well if I'm correct as both of those come from the same card.

Re: Problems with modem
 

I had the same problem where my BB conection kept dropping , then all of a sudden it dropped and would not come back .

An engineer came out and he went on to a screen on the tv where he checked out the signall strength and found it to low, he did something to the green box and everything (touch wood ) has been ok ever since.

Re: Problems with modem
 

It's possible for them to be intermittent. It also depends on your installation, you may have 2 pulls of co-ax for each service. Best report your telephony issue to faults and explain to the engineer that youre losing your cable signal also

Re: Problems with modem
 

That's a hell of a sweeping statement:(. There are other possibilities of a phone problem, not just a MUX! There could be an intermittant earth or short on the line, it could be an extension dragging the line down, it could be faulty jelly crimps or a bad krone in the cabinets.

To just say "It's the MUX dying" is no help to man nor beast:dozey:
__________________

Sorry Levig, not right there I am sorry!

CATV and Telco are a seperate entity. One uses COAX the other uses Twisted pair cable. Although they both come to the external box on your property, they are both individual in their own right

Re: Problems with modem
 

Saneboy, do you have any idea in what I could do to try to get my bb working again at the moment, or might it be something in the cabinet?

Re: Problems with modem
 

Not from what you have told me I am sorry. If you still had the attenuator I would have suggested whipping that off for short term fix. It's defo. a Return Path Network Issue, which needs a Network tech. to attend

Re: Problems with modem
 

if I had that thing then I would plug it in..the last engineer took that off and with him as well.....so unfortunatly thats not possible...any other things I might try?

strange thing is sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt and thats been over the last couple of weeks now :confused:

Re: Problems with modem
 

That's the problem with return path. When it's transmitting on the threshold it could work for weeks, then all it takes is a slight shift somewhere along the line and *poof* the thing falls over.

I am afraid to say you will need an engineer back out to see what's happening on the return path

Re: Problems with modem
 

well online again for a change.....

Type : Ambit ETH/USB Combo Cable Modem
Cable modem : Ambit Cable Modem
MAC address :
IP address :
Downstream Receive Power Level : -2.24 dBmv
Downstream SNR : 31.00 dB
Upstream Transmit Power Level : 57.50 dBmv

Re: Problems with modem
 

Upstream power looks a bit high though, I had loads of drop outs when mine was that high.

Re: Problems with modem
 

Does only the RDY light go out when you lose connection?

My own upstream level is 52dBmV, but much past 55dBmV is asking for trouble I think. Temperature change quite often affects the amount of upstream power needed, so you find on cold days it'll work and then on hot days it'll fall over, or vice versa.
__________________

I guess so, I had an intermittent telephony fault on Telewest when I lived with my parents, it was murder and only happened after 9pm. It took me 4 engineer callouts and an argument with Faults to get a senior engineer to come out, who decided the MUX was farked and changed me over.

Line shorts normally trip the safety circuits on the mux though, which means you get no dialtone at all until an engineer comes out (or perhaps they can do it remotely?)

POTS is rubbish anyway... roll on VoIP :)