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Help with Coaxial wiring please

post #1 of 7
2/25/12 at 8:17am
Thread Starter 
hey guys, need some help, just moved into a new place.

I have a bit of a dilemma. I have CableVision/OptimumOnline. I had the service installed a week ago, but the thing is, by my front door, that is where the main line in cable is, that cable has a splitter, one going to the cable modem and the other going to the TV in the living room. The cable that goes into the living room, it has a splitter to the living room TV and the other cable goes to my guestroom. The cable that goes into the guest room has another splitter, one cable going to the TV in the guest room, another that goes to the TV in the bedroom.

Front Door --- to cable modem and living room
Living Room --- to living room tv and guest room
Guest Room --- to guest room tv and bedroom

Now the thing is, I moved the cable modem from the front door area and removed the splitter and instead put a barrel connector just to pretty much extend that cable, so now pretty much its one long wire from the living room which is split to the living room tv and guest room, from the guest room another splitter to guest room tv and bedroom, and bedroom now has a splitter for bedroom tv and modem.

My dilemma is that the TVs work fine, but the cable modem that has now gone through 2 splitters keeps loosing connection every 20 minutes. I do have a router, but the thing is that all the equipment that is in the bedroom has an Ethernet wire so the router is in my bedroom too, I have a TV, TiVo, sound system, computer, and one just in case. So the modem has to be in my room so I do not have to re-wire the entire apartment.

I want to know, what do I need to buy and at which point would i need to connect it in order to avoid any signal lose? Please help
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post #2 of 7
2/25/12 at 8:58am
Well, adding a barrel inline instead of a splitter would not generally "lengthen" the line unless there was excess cable that you couldnt use because the Modem was in one place and the TV the other.

The question I guess is did you use extra cable or a jumper of some sort to lengthen the cable?

It sounds like you have essentially two 2-way splitters inline which would equal 1 4 way splitter. This should be fine for internet to work through. What we may be dealing with though is either inadequate signal coming IN or poor connections is mis-configured splitters ( input for output for example) between the entry point and the modem.

Can you post the modems stats from the diagnostic page so we can see exactly which stat is suffering? ( SNR/MER might equal Noise issue, Low signal level would point to too many splits Vs what you having coming in to work with.)
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post #3 of 7
2/25/12 at 9:08am
It's going through three splitters, not two, right?
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post #4 of 7
2/25/12 at 9:23am
Right, missed that he just moved the first splitter from the begining of the run to the end.
Three splits is too many. At the very BEST you are losing 12db on the return and forward which means you need to be starting with about +7 on the downstream to get this to be reliable and about a 38 upstream at your entry point.
If those conditions are met you might still have some bad connections all throughout that run.

You have at least 16 connectors to check from the first wall plate to the last device. But looking at the modems stats will tell you the full story.

Is it possible to move the modem itself to the 2nd splitter and extend a Cat5 to the router?

Ideally you want everything Home Ran from the point of entry but since it comes in by the front door I assume this is an in apartment building or condo.
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post #5 of 7
2/25/12 at 9:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by elite-fusion View Post

hey guys, need some help, just moved into a new place.

I have a bit of a dilemma. I have CableVision/OptimumOnline. I had the service installed a week ago, but the thing is, by my front door, that is where the main line in cable is, that cable has a splitter, one going to the cable modem and the other going to the TV in the living room. The cable that goes into the living room, it has a splitter to the living room TV and the other cable goes to my guestroom. The cable that goes into the guest room has another splitter, one cable going to the TV in the guest room, another that goes to the TV in the bedroom.

Front Door --- to cable modem and living room
Living Room --- to living room tv and guest room
Guest Room --- to guest room tv and bedroom

Now the thing is, I moved the cable modem from the front door area and removed the splitter and instead put a barrel connector just to pretty much extend that cable, so now pretty much its one long wire from the living room which is split to the living room tv and guest room, from the guest room another splitter to guest room tv and bedroom, and bedroom now has a splitter for bedroom tv and modem.

My dilemma is that the TVs work fine, but the cable modem that has now gone through 2 splitters keeps loosing connection every 20 minutes. I do have a router, but the thing is that all the equipment that is in the bedroom has an Ethernet wire so the router is in my bedroom too, I have a TV, TiVo, sound system, computer, and one just in case. So the modem has to be in my room so I do not have to re-wire the entire apartment.

I want to know, what do I need to buy and at which point would i need to connect it in order to avoid any signal lose? Please help

It sounds as though your installer took the easy way out to save time. Picture this:

100% signal in - split # 1: 50% to LR & 50 to Modem
Each split thereafter will reduce the signal by half, 50%, 25%, ...

The ideal solution would by one splitter off your main line IN leading to each device in you home. This require more cable & time but less use of splitters which attenuate the signal even further.

Hope this helps.
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post #6 of 7
2/25/12 at 10:04am
Thread Starter 
yea thats what i understood as well, but yea it is an apartment building. I did read online about signal amplifiers that give +15dB, would that help me if i ordered one of those?
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post #7 of 7
2/25/12 at 11:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by EnjoyingMyRide View Post

It sounds as though your installer took the easy way out to save time.

I have home run various lines in MDUs through common rooms. It CAN be done if the unit is set up right.

You can run ONE line to the middle bedroom and house a 4-way splitter in there. From hopefully the closet you put it in you can pop a hole to the next room for an outlet on the wall then backfeed a line to the living room and so on.

In most units you can tuck the cable in between the shoe on the baseboard and the carpet.

This is all dependent on where the rooms are however and sometimes the easiest way might be the only way.

I would still suggest moving your modem further up the line and just running CAT5 to the room your computer and router are in.

Amping the signal might help but I wouldnt advise it. You have to care for the return signal as well and many amps really fail here causing more issues.
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