peripatetic
Occasional Visitor
I have tried lurking and searching to no avail. I'm simply looking for some troubleshooting advice on my MOCA network.
The main cable line of the house I live in - myself in the basement, my landlord above - includes Internet, cable and cable phone line. I installed a MOCA network using once Actiontec ECB2500 adapter with ethernet line from the TWC cable modem and Linksys wifi router of my landlord (who lives above me), and connected to the (functioning) coax cable line in my apartment. For several weeks, the network worked perfectly, as advertised, and I was able to separate myself from the too-far and overburdened wifi network.
At some point, the TWC line down the street went down when a gas line exploded in the intersection a block away. It took a few days for TWC to get the Internet working again. After that came back on, however, my landlord indicated his phone line wasn't working; he had TWC come and check the problem; they fixed it, including doing something near the cable POE in the back of the house, and since that time, the MOCA network has been down.
I know that it's a bad idea to run a MOCA line using bad splitters. Forgive my diagram, but this is the best I can come up with at the moment. The current splits look like this:
house coax line --------------2-split-------2-split----------->phone
| \
| modem====(ethernet)======>ECB2500c
|<-----(moca line)--< -----------------------------<--/
I took photos of the splitters a little while ago and will post them, but for now I can explain: they are both labeled "DigiMax." One indicates 5 - 1000MHz. The other says something slightly different. But I _did_ have a working MOCA network using these splitters. I've checked and re-checked the integrity of the actual coax lines, and all lines are tightly fastened. The modem-connected/MOCA-origin adapter has lights indicating it's got power and Ethernet. The end adapter indicates only power right now; if I plug in the ethernet cable, it indicates it's got ethernet connection.
I have not been able to identify the outside POE point for the cable running into the house - there are masses and masses of cables going to various spots, and some into my own unit (bottom of the brownstone).
My basic question is this: What is the most efficient way for me to troubleshoot this issue? From everything I've read and researched, I realize that the ideal would be I have the following:
(1) Swap out both 2-way splitters for one 1-3 splitter, rated up to 2 GHz;
(2) Install a POE filter.
As far as I have been able to determine, there is one additional coax output line in the house, which feeds directly to the TV of my landlord. I think it's pretty tightly arranged and wired, and I don't know if I can access that output to check if the MOCA signal is feeding there, though it's in the same room as the modem.
Other than swapping out the splitters for a single splitter, is there anything else I can check as the culprit for the lost network? Is there anything the cable guy might have done when repairing the phone cable line that might have disrupted the MOCA network? Is there an easy way on visual inspection to identify a TWC house cable drop? Since I did have a stable MOCA network before, I'd like to be able to get it back up and running. My wife depends on an easily available Internet connection for her business, and she needs to be able to transfer large, multimedia files easily. The Wifi network just isn't cutting it. I've tried to sell my landlord on wiring in CAT 5e cable, but that would involve two stories of wiring through his house, and 'unenthusiastic' grossly understates his response to that proposal. He also has zero interest in upgrading his obviously sub-optimal Wifi router (which I just figured out was likely infected with a worm that had slowed traffic to a crawl). MOCA seems like my best option with what I've got.
Thank you in advance for any helpful feedback anyone here might provide.
The main cable line of the house I live in - myself in the basement, my landlord above - includes Internet, cable and cable phone line. I installed a MOCA network using once Actiontec ECB2500 adapter with ethernet line from the TWC cable modem and Linksys wifi router of my landlord (who lives above me), and connected to the (functioning) coax cable line in my apartment. For several weeks, the network worked perfectly, as advertised, and I was able to separate myself from the too-far and overburdened wifi network.
At some point, the TWC line down the street went down when a gas line exploded in the intersection a block away. It took a few days for TWC to get the Internet working again. After that came back on, however, my landlord indicated his phone line wasn't working; he had TWC come and check the problem; they fixed it, including doing something near the cable POE in the back of the house, and since that time, the MOCA network has been down.
I know that it's a bad idea to run a MOCA line using bad splitters. Forgive my diagram, but this is the best I can come up with at the moment. The current splits look like this:
house coax line --------------2-split-------2-split----------->phone
| \
| modem====(ethernet)======>ECB2500c
|<-----(moca line)--< -----------------------------<--/
I took photos of the splitters a little while ago and will post them, but for now I can explain: they are both labeled "DigiMax." One indicates 5 - 1000MHz. The other says something slightly different. But I _did_ have a working MOCA network using these splitters. I've checked and re-checked the integrity of the actual coax lines, and all lines are tightly fastened. The modem-connected/MOCA-origin adapter has lights indicating it's got power and Ethernet. The end adapter indicates only power right now; if I plug in the ethernet cable, it indicates it's got ethernet connection.
I have not been able to identify the outside POE point for the cable running into the house - there are masses and masses of cables going to various spots, and some into my own unit (bottom of the brownstone).
My basic question is this: What is the most efficient way for me to troubleshoot this issue? From everything I've read and researched, I realize that the ideal would be I have the following:
(1) Swap out both 2-way splitters for one 1-3 splitter, rated up to 2 GHz;
(2) Install a POE filter.
As far as I have been able to determine, there is one additional coax output line in the house, which feeds directly to the TV of my landlord. I think it's pretty tightly arranged and wired, and I don't know if I can access that output to check if the MOCA signal is feeding there, though it's in the same room as the modem.
Other than swapping out the splitters for a single splitter, is there anything else I can check as the culprit for the lost network? Is there anything the cable guy might have done when repairing the phone cable line that might have disrupted the MOCA network? Is there an easy way on visual inspection to identify a TWC house cable drop? Since I did have a stable MOCA network before, I'd like to be able to get it back up and running. My wife depends on an easily available Internet connection for her business, and she needs to be able to transfer large, multimedia files easily. The Wifi network just isn't cutting it. I've tried to sell my landlord on wiring in CAT 5e cable, but that would involve two stories of wiring through his house, and 'unenthusiastic' grossly understates his response to that proposal. He also has zero interest in upgrading his obviously sub-optimal Wifi router (which I just figured out was likely infected with a worm that had slowed traffic to a crawl). MOCA seems like my best option with what I've got.
Thank you in advance for any helpful feedback anyone here might provide.