What's new

Closed Circuit Moca

  • SNBForums Code of Conduct

    SNBForums is a community for everyone, no matter what their level of experience.

    Please be tolerant and patient of others, especially newcomers. We are all here to share and learn!

    The rules are simple: Be patient, be nice, be helpful or be gone!

Dxcv

Occasional Visitor
I am in the process of setting up a Moca 2.0 network at my parent's house with the goal of improving their wifi coverage. They currently CenturyLink Fiber with an ONT serving an ethernet jack on one side of the house. The router, an ASUS RT-ac88u can't deliver decent speeds to the exact opposite corner of the house where the tv and streaming boxes are.

The house has 4 coax outlets. 2 were installed rougly 17 years ago and 2 are roughly 28 years old. All the lines feed back to a non-moca spec'ed amp in the box on the side of the house.

I have three Actiontec Moca 2.0 adapters (the white tivo ones) that i have connected to three of the coax jacks. The two newest cable lines communicate fine, but the adapter on either of the older line does not light up with a connection light.

One of the older lines used to have a power inserter on it that i removed before the install. I have tried moving the older line from the power in rf out connection on the amp to just an rf output thinking that was how the new lines were communicating, but still have no signal.

I know amps tend to block moca signals, so i plan to replace the amp with a Holland balanced moca splitter. However, since the street cable line serves no purpose in this system, should i terminate the splitters input with a load cap and make it a closed circuit? If I do, does the splitter still need to be grounded? I may be mistaken, but i don't think the amp currently is, but i do remember seeing a wire that appeared to come from the electric meter into the cable box.
 
if it is outside of the building envelope (walls roof) then a bond to earth for lightning mitigation is required. Any current from a lightning strike nearby will sheet across the surfaces and enter the house through the un-earthed cable conductor attached to the splitter since it is likely not at the same potential as earth.

What are your options of pulling it all back inside rather than having an "antenna" outside ?
 
if it is outside of the building envelope (walls roof) then a bond to earth for lightning mitigation is required. Any current from a lightning strike nearby will sheet across the surfaces and enter the house through the un-earthed cable conductor attached to the splitter since it is likely not at the same potential as earth.

What are your options of pulling it all back inside rather than having an "antenna" outside ?

None really. They appear to all be "home" runs leading back to the central box. The original cable line to the basement appears as though it might run along the house and is buried before it re-enters the house into the foundation wall. Shouldn't that re-grounded upon entry?

I tried a set of Netgear 1200 Powerline adapters but the performance is inconsistent at best.
 
the cable shield is supposed to be bonded to earth at one point along with any devices. If you bond to earth at 2 or more points you will get what is called a "ground current" between the points. If the potential difference is large enough, and it can be depending on the soil, it can fry equipment under normal conditions.

If the box is bonded to earth and the splitter is bonded to the box, then it should meet code.
Yes, when you replace the amp, cap any unused ports. The new splitter should be bonded to the box case by an attachment screw. Otherwise use a dedicated bonding wire between them.
 
the cable shield is supposed to be bonded to earth at one point along with any devices. If you bond to earth at 2 or more points you will get what is called a "ground current" between the points. If the potential difference is large enough, and it can be depending on the soil, it can fry equipment under normal conditions.

If the box is bonded to earth and the splitter is bonded to the box, then it should meet code.
Yes, when you replace the amp, cap any unused ports. The new splitter should be bonded to the box case by an attachment screw. Otherwise use a dedicated bonding wire between them.

Thank you for your replies. I know the amp was not attached to the box, so I will check to see if the ground wire is attached.

I have a tone/line tester that arrived today and the moca-rated splitter should arrive tomorrow. I'll take another look when it arrives.
 
i was assuming the "box" is metal and at the electric service panel. if that is not the case, disregard what i said. Generally, the cable supplier, telephone supplier, etc will all bond to the same earthing point that the building electrical service uses to avoid potential ground differences in electrical equipment versus the signal cable (coax, telephone, etc). All of this is covered in the current edition of the NEC code book. You may also find code guidance books that are clear for typical installations. Consult these or a licensed electrician familiar with low voltage installations to keep you and your building safe.
 
CCTV, meet the coffee + chocolate drink :p

Its all about bandwidth. Assuming each CCTV uses an encoded 1080p 8Mb/s video (assuming its a good quality CCTV), this means that a reliable 100Mb/s network can handle up to 12 CCTVs at a time. With video, the latency doesnt really matter.
So with MOCA, if it is shared across the network, the lowest bandwidth point is your weakest link across the entire network so your capacity is defined by the lowest bandwidth point.
 
i was assuming the "box" is metal and at the electric service panel. if that is not the case, disregard what i said. Generally, the cable supplier, telephone supplier, etc will all bond to the same earthing point that the building electrical service uses to avoid potential ground differences in electrical equipment versus the signal cable (coax, telephone, etc). All of this is covered in the current edition of the NEC code book. You may also find code guidance books that are clear for typical installations. Consult these or a licensed electrician familiar with low voltage installations to keep you and your building safe.

Thanks for your help. I took my cable locator outside to the amp. I checked all the lines and only one line registered a locator beacon on it. I replaced the amp with a splitter. I then followed the coax from the amp input into the telephone box which fed into another box (its another plastic utility box, not the elec meter). I am guessing whoever ran the original cable over complicated it.

Regardless the original cable outlet does not connect with the rest still. I am guessing it is either a separate run or in one of the other utility boxes.

I decided to, for now, use the working moca connections in the bedrooms to relocate the router to improve the signal coverage in the house. So far, no issues!

Thanks again!
 
The amp in the long run was likely necessary if the run had too much signal drop - either from too many connections or cable damage. If you need it, run a new cat 6 cable inside the house, perhaps through the attic or basement.
 

Latest threads

Sign Up For SNBForums Daily Digest

Get an update of what's new every day delivered to your mailbox. Sign up here!
Top