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I just recently moved into a college dorm room. It comes with a coaxial cable drop that, up until today, had been used exclusively by the cable modem provided to me by the building management. The connection provided the modem had been quite stable up until I attached a splitter and divided the cable line between the modem and a newly purchased LCD HDTV.
I now suffer occasional network drop offs. They are rare, but their were none before the splitter was applied. The picture quality from the HDTV is also a bit subpar, with higher numbered channels being worse than lower numbered. Picture quality improves slightly when the TV is plugged directly into the drop, at the very least higher numbered channels improve to the level of lower numbered channels.
The coaxial cabling I am using was also provided by the building. They are clearly used, and I suspected getting my own cabling would improve the situation, but I am unsure. After some research, the possibility of adding a coaxial drop amplifier + splitter was also considered, but I don't know enough about such devices to know what specs I should be looking for.
In order to not waste anybody's time, I gathered as much information regarding signal strength from the modem and TV as I could. Since I cannot access the diagnostic information of my modem directly when the coaxial line is plugged in (the page is blocked when a cable connection is detected, likely a setting applied by the cable modem provider), I used a program called Cable Modem Diagnostic 1.0.4. Unfortunately, I am unable to post a URL since I don't have enough posts.
My PC sits behind a router, which sits behind the cable modem. The data gathered was taken with and without the splitter applied, as well as with the PC plugged into the router and plugged directly into the modem:
(Cable Modem)
With Splitter (PC -> Router -> Cable Modem):
Upstream Level (Output): 108.6 db/uv
Difference: 0
Downstream (Input): 55.8 db/uv
Difference: 0
Up Frequency: 31.984 Mhz
Down Frequency: 585 Mhz
S/N: 23.4 db
-
Without Splitter (PC -> Router -> Cable Modem):
Upstream Level (Output): 105.6 db/uv
Difference: 0
Downstream (Input): 59.5 db/uv
Difference: 0.1 db
Up Frequency: 31.984 Mhz
Down Frequency: 585 Mhz
S/N: 34.8 db
---
With Splitter (PC -> Cable Modem):
Upstream Level (Output): 108.6 db/uv
Difference: 0 db
Downstream (Input): 55.8 db/uv
Difference: 0.1 db
Up Frequency: 31.984 Mhz
Down Frequency: 585 Mhz
S/N: 28.9 db
-
Without Splitter (PC -> Cable Modem):
Upstream Level (Output): 105.6 db/uv
Difference: 0 db
Downstream (Input): 59.7 db/uv
Difference: 0.1 db
Up Frequency: 31.984 Mhz
Down Frequency: 585 Mhz
S/N: 35.5 db
I do not have the necessary expertise to properly interpret the data, so I can't tell whether it points to new cabling or a drop amplifier as the solution. The following information on the signal strength to the TV was taken using its built-in signal meter. Data was taken with and without the splitter applied:
(LCD TV)
With Splitter:
Signal Unlocked
MOD Mode: 8VSB
SNR (dB): -10.10
Signal Power: -50.00
Freq. Offset (kHz): Too Random to Measure
Corrected Errors: 0
Uncorrected Errors: 30798
Physical Digital Channels: 69
Virtual Digital Channels: N/A
-
Without Splitter:
Signal Unlocked
MOD Mode: 8VSB
SNR (dB): -10.10
Signal Power: -50.00
Freq. Offset (kHz): Too Random to Measure
Corrected Errors: 0
Uncorrected Errors: 47279
Physical Digital Channels: 39
Virtual Digital Channels: N/A
The Freq. Offset value fluctuated too widely for me guesstimate an average, and none was provided by the Signal Meter.
Should I order high quality and better shielded cabling? Attach a drop amplifier to the line? Or both?
If an amplifier is needed, would specs should I be looking for?
I now suffer occasional network drop offs. They are rare, but their were none before the splitter was applied. The picture quality from the HDTV is also a bit subpar, with higher numbered channels being worse than lower numbered. Picture quality improves slightly when the TV is plugged directly into the drop, at the very least higher numbered channels improve to the level of lower numbered channels.
The coaxial cabling I am using was also provided by the building. They are clearly used, and I suspected getting my own cabling would improve the situation, but I am unsure. After some research, the possibility of adding a coaxial drop amplifier + splitter was also considered, but I don't know enough about such devices to know what specs I should be looking for.
In order to not waste anybody's time, I gathered as much information regarding signal strength from the modem and TV as I could. Since I cannot access the diagnostic information of my modem directly when the coaxial line is plugged in (the page is blocked when a cable connection is detected, likely a setting applied by the cable modem provider), I used a program called Cable Modem Diagnostic 1.0.4. Unfortunately, I am unable to post a URL since I don't have enough posts.
My PC sits behind a router, which sits behind the cable modem. The data gathered was taken with and without the splitter applied, as well as with the PC plugged into the router and plugged directly into the modem:
(Cable Modem)
With Splitter (PC -> Router -> Cable Modem):
Upstream Level (Output): 108.6 db/uv
Difference: 0
Downstream (Input): 55.8 db/uv
Difference: 0
Up Frequency: 31.984 Mhz
Down Frequency: 585 Mhz
S/N: 23.4 db
-
Without Splitter (PC -> Router -> Cable Modem):
Upstream Level (Output): 105.6 db/uv
Difference: 0
Downstream (Input): 59.5 db/uv
Difference: 0.1 db
Up Frequency: 31.984 Mhz
Down Frequency: 585 Mhz
S/N: 34.8 db
---
With Splitter (PC -> Cable Modem):
Upstream Level (Output): 108.6 db/uv
Difference: 0 db
Downstream (Input): 55.8 db/uv
Difference: 0.1 db
Up Frequency: 31.984 Mhz
Down Frequency: 585 Mhz
S/N: 28.9 db
-
Without Splitter (PC -> Cable Modem):
Upstream Level (Output): 105.6 db/uv
Difference: 0 db
Downstream (Input): 59.7 db/uv
Difference: 0.1 db
Up Frequency: 31.984 Mhz
Down Frequency: 585 Mhz
S/N: 35.5 db
I do not have the necessary expertise to properly interpret the data, so I can't tell whether it points to new cabling or a drop amplifier as the solution. The following information on the signal strength to the TV was taken using its built-in signal meter. Data was taken with and without the splitter applied:
(LCD TV)
With Splitter:
Signal Unlocked
MOD Mode: 8VSB
SNR (dB): -10.10
Signal Power: -50.00
Freq. Offset (kHz): Too Random to Measure
Corrected Errors: 0
Uncorrected Errors: 30798
Physical Digital Channels: 69
Virtual Digital Channels: N/A
-
Without Splitter:
Signal Unlocked
MOD Mode: 8VSB
SNR (dB): -10.10
Signal Power: -50.00
Freq. Offset (kHz): Too Random to Measure
Corrected Errors: 0
Uncorrected Errors: 47279
Physical Digital Channels: 39
Virtual Digital Channels: N/A
The Freq. Offset value fluctuated too widely for me guesstimate an average, and none was provided by the Signal Meter.
Should I order high quality and better shielded cabling? Attach a drop amplifier to the line? Or both?
If an amplifier is needed, would specs should I be looking for?