What's new

Preparing to buy a set of MoCA 2.5 adapters...

  • 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!

OzarkEdge

Part of the Furniture
I'm about to order a set of ScreenBeam MoCA 2.5 adapters ECB7250:

Amazon.com: ScreenBeam Bonded MoCA 2.5 Network Adapter for Highest Speed Internet, Ethernet Over Coax - Starter Kit (Model: ECB7250K02)

ScreenBeam appears to be a retail outlet for Actiontec(?), so I'm assuming these adapters are nearly the same/good as Actiontex ECB7250s sold to ISPs, etc. (not available in the retail channel). 'Good as' including Actiontec-sourced firmware and documentation. These adapters (Actiontec) appear to use the latest MaxLinear MxL93712 chipset.

Application will be over coax dedicated to MoCA and two OTA TV antennas (coupled and preamped; no cable modem/DOCSIS signaling). I plan to add two POE/LPF/MoCA filters, one at each end to stop the MoCA signal from reaching the preamp/coupler/antennas and the TV/AVR tuners.

A few concerns:

o Any feedback on the ScreenBeam adapter choice?

o Any suggestions for sourcing the MoCA filters? The goCoax filters look good: OT-LPF-1002 | goCoax

o Can I inject the antenna preamp power at the media center end of the MoCA run (like I'm doing now), or should I place it beyond the MoCA filter at the antenna end, just below the preamp?

o I assume I can use a non-MoCA splitter beyond the MoCA filter at the media center end(?)

Thanks for any advice!

OE
 
Last edited:
DC power injector for the TV pre-amp will see some additional line loss going through two splitters, assuming they will pass DC ( i assume so) . My injector is directly off the coax from the pre-amp to minimize voltage drop before the TV signal passes to the MOCA modem AUX/TV coax connection.

which legs of the splitter are connected to what on each end ?
Looks like an additional 7-8 dB of insertion loss for the TV signal with two splitters in line.
 
DC power injector for the TV pre-amp will see some additional line loss going through two splitters, assuming they will pass DC ( i assume so) . My injector is directly off the coax from the pre-amp to minimize voltage drop before the TV signal passes to the MOCA modem AUX/TV coax connection.

I may move the preamp power to the preamp end since I am adding some splitter attenuation.

which legs of the splitter are connected to what on each end ?
Looks like an additional 7-8 dB of insertion loss for the TV signal with two splitters in line.

Yep.

Splitter inputs are from the TV antennas.

OE
 
Last edited:
you might have to be careful in the TV signal path with the orientation of the splitter, if i am remembering my rf correctly, as the spec indicated substantual return loss in the 5-1000 MHz range. But i may be misremembering these days.

Check the specs on the DC injector. It may already have significant filtering on the reverse path to the antenna.
 
you might have to be careful in the TV signal path with the orientation of the splitter, if i am remembering my rf correctly, as the spec indicated substantual return loss in the 5-1000 MHz range. But i may be misremembering these days.

Check the specs on the DC injector. It may already have significant filtering on the reverse path to the antenna.

Will do. I was wondering about splitter INs and OUTs... I guess I'll orient them for the TV signal 'flowing' to the tuners.

OE
 
ScreenBeam appears to be a retail outlet for Actiontec(?), so I'm assuming these adapters are nearly the same/good as Actiontex ECB7250s sold to ISPs, etc. (not available in the retail channel). 'Good as' including Actiontec-sourced firmware and documentation. These adapters (Actiontec) appear to use the latest MaxLinear MxL93712 chipset.
Used to be. I think it’s more that ScreenBeam was spun-off from Actuontec; last I checked, Actiontec’s ECB7250A appeared to be a rebranding of a goCoax adapter.
 
I prefer 70 dB MoCA filters for OTA scenarios, to fully snuff the MoCA signal. (edit: annoyingly, Amazon’s raised the price on these recently)

Thanks for the tip! I will consider those filters... they do have a scrunch more insertion loss.

OE
 
Last edited:
Actiontec’s ECB7250A appeared to be a rebranding of a goCoax adapter.

I'm not feeling that. :)

I like goCoax at face value but they just don't have enough presence for my money. I don't like white boxes... big mistake, imo, for trying to establish a beachhead market unless that market is Apple users... which doesn't equate since MoCA networking has many potential pitfalls compared to Ethernet... it's like WiFi with cables!

OE
 
ya should have worked with the original ethernet cable ! We became professional vampires. No Buffy, fortunately ;-)
 
ya should have worked with the original ethernet cable ! We became professional vampires. No Buffy, fortunately ;-)

I worked with arcnet and Netware!

OE
 
My AiMesh now has a MoCA 2.5 wired backhaul, shared with two broadcast TV antennas.

I purchased the ScreenBeam MoCA 2.5 starter kit ECB7250K02 (Amazon.com... beware the older ECB6250... its RJ-45 port is not 2.5GbE). It included two PicoLINK MoCA 2-way splitters (MoCA compliant, bi-directional, 5-1675 Mhz 6kV, coax ports are -3.5 dB). All seem to be well-made and documented. The wall-mount holes must be hidden under 2 of the 4 rubber feet(?).
1665360012426.png


And I purchased two PPC/Belden MoCA 70dB Filters GLP-1G70CWWS (Amazon.com... Silicon weather seal, the one on the right). Again, well-made and documented. I placed one to block MoCA to the TV antennas.
1665360810747.png


The TV preamp DC power injector had to be placed beyond the MoCA filter at the antenna end... being closer to the preamp seems to have improved the TV signal/picture a bit (it did not work across the MoCA filter).

My network media segments by location (ISP coax is separate from MoCA coax to avoid conflict with DOCSIS3.x):

Deck (demarc)
... <coax from ISP> grounding block coupler <coax to Study> ...
... <coax from Media Center1> MoCA 2-way splitter ...

... <coax to Media Center2> ...
... <coax to Garage Shop> ...

Study (850VA UPS)
... <coax from Deck> wall plate coupler <coax> modem <1GbE> RT-AX86U_Pro router ...

... <1GbE> Study PC
... <1GbE> Study PC
... <1GbE> 8-port switch <1GbE> ATA L1+L2, PTR
... <1GbE to Media Center1> ...
... <2.5GbE to Media Center1> ...

Media Center1 (850VA UPS)
... <1GbE from Study> 8-port switch <1GbE> AVR, TV, TVT, Roku
... <2.5GbE from Study> MoCA 2.5 adapter (master) <coax> MoCA 2-way splitter ...

... <coax> wall plate coupler <coax to Deck> ...
... <coax> TV 2-way splitter ...
... <coax> TV
... <coax> TVT HDHomeRun

Future Media Center2 (850VA UPS)
... <coax from Deck> wall plate coupler <coax> MoCA 2-way splitter ...

... <coax> MoCA 2.5 adapter <1GbE> 4-port switch <1GbE> TV
... <coax> TV

Garage Shop (750VA UPS)
... <coax from Deck> MoCA 2-way splitter ...

... <coax> MoCA 2.5 adapter <2.5GbE> RT-AX86U node ...
... <1GbE> Shop PC
... <1GbE> ATA L3+L4
... <> MoCA 70dB filter <coax> TV preamp power <coax to Garage Attic> ...

Garage Attic
... <coax from Garage Shop> TV preamp w/FM trap ON <> LTE filter <coax> TV 2-way coupler ...

... <coax*> TV antenna1*
... <coax*> TV antenna2*
* Identical TV antennas and coax segments.
Splitter inputs are from TV antennas.
Maximum of 16 MoCA devices on one network.


I accessed the master MoCA adapter webUI (default IP 192.168.144.200 requires static IP 192.168.144.1 on wired admin PC) to secure it and enable DHCP (for easier webUI access) and MoCA Privacy (exposed at demarc), and then used the MPS buttons to join the other adapter... 3s press on master; then within 2 minutes, press and hold on remote adapter until the coax LED goes green.

1675301439634.png


The MoCA adapter Power/Coax/RJ-45 LEDs are a flashing nuisance in a dark room/media center, so I covered them with black vinyl tape.

Robust, dedicated, full-duplex, 2.5Gbps max wired backhaul enabled... marginal, non-dedicated, wireless backhauls disabled to release all WiFi for client use only... this was a good AiMesh upgrade.

OE
 
Last edited:
And I purchased (Amazon.com) two PPC/Belden MoCA 70dB Filters GLP-1G70CWWS (Silicon Weather Seal... the one on the right). Again, well-made and documented. These are placed to block MoCA at the TV endpoints.
Well done Re: the upgrade.

Since the person for whom I’d just composed the diagrams went Buehler on me, maybe they’ll be of interest to you…
Normally, the ant/sat diplexer workaound would be sufficient to block MoCA signals from hitting the TVs, but moot in your case since you’ve already employed MoCA filters for the task — and with superior attenuation to what the diplexer would offer. So the diplexer workaround may only be useful were you a few dB shy on signal strength at a split TV.
 
Well done Re: the upgrade.

Since the person for whom I’d just composed the diagrams went Buehler on me, maybe they’ll be of interest to you…
Normally, the ant/sat diplexer workaound would be sufficient to block MoCA signals from hitting the TVs, but moot in your case since you’ve already employed MoCA filters for the task — and with superior attenuation to what the diplexer would offer. So the diplexer workaround may only be useful were you a few dB shy on signal strength at a split TV.

Interesting. My configuration seems standard now that I've determined it, and thanks to your 70dB filter recommendation. I did have to move the preamp power injector into the garage attic (for now anyway), so no longer on the media center UPS in the house and much hotter up there (preamp has survived up there for years). We'll see how it fairs... I've got a spare, and I may think of a way to drop it down into the garage space.

I did discover a FAM 8dB attenuator on my separate cable ISP coax at the demarc (Internet service only). I don't recall that being there when I moved in and cleaned up the demarc, but maybe it was... I'm paying more attention to coax details these days. With the typical homeowner adding coax elements/losses willy-nilly, I can't imagine 8dB attenuation being significant... but I'll leave it alone.

OE
 
Last edited:
too much RF power can drive a receiver unstable worst case, and just create noise otherwise that interferes with S/N.
 
with the same soecs
Based on what specs? The listing’s “full description” lists specs for an older filter, and one with less stop-band attenuation.

“Bandstop provides a typical 35-45dB of rejection in the MoCA 1125-1525Mhz band.”

Even assuming current models, the “SNLP” model has lower attenuation, per specs.
 
Last edited:

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