MoCA Adapter Not Working Help Please - Newbie

[Sponge3245]

I recently bought two Actiontec MoCA 2.0 Adapters (ECB6200K02) and I have been having difficulty getting them to work. I installed one adapter in the office which is where my ISP modem (Technicolor XB3 DPC3941T) is located and one adapter in the attic which is where I want to receive ethernet. The coax light will not turn on it the office however it will turn on in the attic. The cable in the attic is RG6 and I was unable to determine the cable in the office. I have a cable tv box in the attic but nothing in the office beside the modem. I managed to find the central junction in my house and after reading some other forums have come to a understanding that I may need to purchase a splitter and filter to get everything to work. If anybody could provide some insight on what I need to do it would be greatly appreciated. I am very new to this and I apologize if my understanding is limited. I have linked below pictures of my central junction.
https://imgur.com/a/H8JODOA
Thanks.

 

[degrub]

1) the barrel device behind the splitter is a MOCA2 blocking filter. That should be on the cable that is going to the outside to the provider demarcation box. That should not be an issue if correct.
2) the splitter shown will not pass MOCA2 bands. You need to get a splitter rated for MOCA 2, bidirectional, or at least passes 5-1675 MHz bidirectional

i sounds like one of the devices is MOCA1.1 or 1.0 and the one modem tried to sync. The splitter is blocking the other modem.

i did not see any marking (usually embossed or printed ) that said RG6 on the cable in those pictures.

see if that fixes it.

 

[Sponge3245]

Thank you so much for the response I really appreciate it. Would something like this be sufficient? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0113JAN8K/?tag=snbforums-20 and when I go to install the new splitter do I replace the existing one or attach it to one of the outputs?

 

[Sponge3245]

i did not see any marking (usually embossed or printed ) that said RG6 on the cable in those pictures.

I found the RG6 cable in the coax jack in the attic which is where I want to install a wired connection. I didn't include a picture because it clearly said RG6 on the side.

 

[Waltski]

Thank you so much for the response I really appreciate it. Would something like this be sufficient? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0113JAN8K/?tag=snbforums-20 and when I go to install the new splitter do I replace the existing one or attach it to one of the outputs?

You should replace the old splitters with MoCA-capable splitters. I've had excellent results using Holland MoCA splitters like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P6VHLP0/?tag=snbforums-20

 

[Booboo22]

It's a worthwhile test to upgrade the splitters, but I've never had an issue with those Antronix and MoCA 2.0.... they are really good quality splitters. I would map out the cable plan and ensure there aren't other splitters or other cables in the plant that may be causing issues.

 

[Sponge3245]

1) the barrel device behind the splitter is a MOCA2 blocking filter. That should be on the cable that is going to the outside to the provider demarcation box. That should not be an issue if correct.
2) the splitter shown will not pass MOCA2 bands. You need to get a splitter rated for MOCA 2, bidirectional, or at least passes 5-1675 MHz bidirectional

i sounds like one of the devices is MOCA1.1 or 1.0 and the one modem tried to sync. The splitter is blocking the other modem.

i did not see any marking (usually embossed or printed ) that said RG6 on the cable in those pictures.

see if that fixes it.

Hi again, I ended up buying the Holland 2-Way MOCA Splitter 5-1675Mhz to replace my existing splitter in the central amplifier and the coax light will still not turn on. This is how I arranged my setup, coax jack -> adapter -> modem. That didn't work so I used a BAMF Bi-Directional MoCA 5-2300MHz splitter and tried a different arrangement. I tried coax jack -> Bamf splitter -> adapter -> modem. I have a modem/router combo so I think that itself might be issue and is complicating my arrangement. Strangely enough, the adapter upstairs (where I want to receive ethernet) has the coax light on and seems to be functioning. If you could offer any more insight I would greatly appreciate it. I am completely lost right now. Thanks.

 

[Booboo22]

I suggest you made a drawing of your installation, as I cannot tell from your description what you are attempting to do. And as I mentioned, in any troubleshooting of MoCA, you'll invariably end up needing to map out the cable plant, e.g. what else is connected, where, etc.

 

[degrub]

did you do the basic test of connecting the two modems together with the 1 m rg6 that actiontec provides in the box ?
plug in the power on each and verify the power and sync light come on on both. If it doesn't, you have a bad modem

 

[Sponge3245]

I suggest you made a drawing of your installation, as I cannot tell from your description what you are attempting to do. And as I mentioned, in any troubleshooting of MoCA, you'll invariably end up needing to map out the cable plant, e.g. what else is connected, where, etc.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I went ahead and made I diagram to the best of my ability. The attic is where I want to receive the ethernet connection and the office is where my modem/router is located. I tried two different arrangements in the office (shown below) neither will work and the coax light on the Actiontec adapter will not turn on. However, the coax light on the Acitontec adapter will turn on in the attic when hooked up to the wall. My modem/router is a Technicolor XB3 (DPC3941T) which was provided to me by my ISP. I do not have a separate modem and router. I also switched out the Antronix splitter in the central amplifier with a Holland 2-Way MOCA Splitter 5-1675Mhz which is not shown in the diagram below. I am completely lost right now so any help would be really appreciated.

 

[Sponge3245]

did you do the basic test of connecting the two modems together with the 1 m rg6 that actiontec provides in the box ?
plug in the power on each and verify the power and sync light come on on both. If it doesn't, you have a bad modem

Yes I did try that and I was able to verify that both devices are functional.

 

[Booboo22]

No problem. As Degrub mentions, you should test the two adapters via a single RG-6 cable on the floor. Just next to each other and see if they sync; if that works, then test by having one in the office and the other in the attic. Nothing else....

If both of those work, then we move on. Setup 1 in the office is the correct one. With that Setup 1 then it should work provided the cable works.

Now, you haven't documented all the coax cable have you? Don't you have outlets elsewhere? Are you sure the cable from the Office goes directly to the attic and nothing else? Surely not, as the cable modem is working. It's crucial you understand all other outlets in the home and how they are connected.[/user]

 

[Sponge3245]

No problem. As Degrub mentions, you should test the two adapters via a single RG-6 cable on the floor. Just next to each other and see if they sync; if that works, then test by having one in the office and the other in the attic. Nothing else....

If both of those work, then we move on. Setup 1 in the office is the correct one. With that Setup 1 then it should work provided the cable works.

Now, you haven't documented all the coax cable have you? Don't you have outlets elsewhere? Are you sure the cable from the Office goes directly to the attic and nothing else? Surely not, as the cable modem is working. It's crucial you understand all other outlets in the home and how they are connected.[/user]

I performed that test a couple weeks ago when I initially received the devices. They both synced and everything seemed to be functional. However, I could try that test again to be certain. And when you say test the devices by having one in the office and the other in the attic, do you mean to set up the devices as pictured in the diagram? I have them hooked up in those respective rooms right now and the coax light will only turn on for the device in the attic. I am using setup 1 from the diagram in the office and the coax light will not turn on. I was able to confirm that the cable coming from the jack in the attic is RG6 however the cable in the office is inaccessible. I do have numerous other coax jacks around the house. I believe up to 5 additional ones not shown in the diagram. Would a potential fix include relocating the modem/router to a different coax jack? I apologize for my lack of understanding, thanks for your patience.

 

[degrub]

and the coax from the wall is connected to the COAX IN connection on all of the Actiontec ?

your attic install is shown wrong. The wall coax should go to a two way moca2 splitter, one leg to the Actiontec, one to the cable box. Then the laptop can plug into the ethernet port as shown.

Basically, the actiontec is syncing with the cable tv box if it is connected as shown.

 

[Sponge3245]

and the coax from the wall is connected to the COAX IN connection on all of the Actiontec ?

your attic install is shown wrong. The wall coax should go to a two way moca2 splitter, one leg to the Actiontec, one to the cable box. Then the laptop can plug into the ethernet port as shown.

Basically, the actiontec is syncing with the cable tv box if it is connected as shown.

Yes I have all the coax jacks from the wall connected to the adapter via the COAX IN port.

I do not currently have the cable box connected but that is how I intended on eventually setting everything up once I confirmed the ethernet was working. Right now no additional devices are connected to the adapter in the attic but the coax light is still on.

 

[degrub]

i wonder if you have an old splitter in the wall on the run to the attic. Did you find the other end of the RG6 ? you can get a ring tester for coax, place it in the attic and go to each wall plate and see if it is hot. If it is a direct run, then there should only be one that is hot. If more than that, then there is a splitter somewhere.

Can you get to the diagnostics/connection page for each of the modems and do a screen capture and post, please ?

 

[Sponge3245]

I was not able to find the other end of the RG6 cable. I do believe there is a strong possibility that there is a splitter somewhere in the wall, that makes a lot of sense. There is quite a large distance between the office and the attic with many coax jacks in different rooms along the way. In the event that this is true do you suggest abandoning this MoCA project and maybe trying out powerline adapters. I just think it would be too difficult to actually find this splitter in the wall if it does exist.

For the diagnostics page, I apologize I do not fully understand. Do you mean the diagnostics page for each of the Actiontec adapters or for my modem. I only have one modem and that was provided by my ISP and is in the office. Thanks again for your response.

 

[Sponge3245]

Also I am still confused as to why the coax light for the Actiontec adapter in the attic is able to sync. If I correctly swapped out the splitter in the central junction for a MoCA capable splitter wouldn't the coax light for Actiontec adapter in the office be able to sync and not the one in the attic.

 

[degrub]

I was not able to find the other end of the RG6 cable. I do believe there is a strong possibility that there is a splitter somewhere in the wall, that makes a lot of sense. There is quite a large distance between the office and the attic with many coax jacks in different rooms along the way. In the event that this is true do you suggest abandoning this MoCA project and maybe trying out powerline adapters. I just think it would be too difficult to actually find this splitter in the wall if it does exist.

For the diagnostics page, I apologize I do not fully understand. Do you mean the diagnostics page for each of the Actiontec adapters or for my modem. I only have one modem and that was provided by my ISP and is in the office. Thanks again for your response.

The actontecs are modems. Sorry for the confusion. You will have to use a laptop/pc, change its IP address to match the default range of the actiontec to get in. Search in this sub forum for detailing how to.

not sure about the light. Perhaps the attic RG6 goes outside the house to the cable company's termination box ? We have seen several cases where there was a splitter there. That was solvable. You just need a moca rated splitter and a MOCA block filter.

if that is not the case, then try this - take the actiontec from the office and go around to each coax jack below the attic until you find the next one in the chain. The sync light should go on. take the wall plate off the box and see if you get lucky. If not, move over to the next coax wall plate and repeat.

powerline would be a last resort.

 

[Sponge3245]

Okay I have spent the day tracking down all the coax in my house. The central junction in my garage leads into the basement and from there coax is distributed to the rest of my house. Unfortunately when the basement was furnished much of the cabling was covered up and is now inaccessible. This is where I fear there may be an old splitter. The cabling is tangled with various other wires and is quite impossible to track exactly where they lead to. I managed to find this device in the basement. https://imgur.com/gallery/UzjHpZk. I have no idea what is it and if it has any significance.

I went back to the central junction and remembered that there is an old Anatronix PoE filter installed by my ISP. Could that potentially be the problem. The pictures are in my original imgur link here: https://imgur.com/a/H8JODOA

I went ahead and accessed the statistics page for each of the Actiontec adapters. I was unable to find any page labeled diagnostics, I hope I got the right information. I have linked the pictures below:
Attic Adapter: https://imgur.com/a/xYSu46o
Office Adapter: https://imgur.com/a/gGhoE3Z
Thanks.