darkbohemian
join:2007-09-09
Saint Peters, MO
| [HSI] Disconnects -- Modem or Charter?
Several times a day, my Charter Pipeline connection grinds to a halt and dies. Clicking any link gets "the page cannot be found" and Thunderbird can not connect to my email server.
Every time this happens, the "online" indicator on my cablemodem is either off or blinking, and I can't even call up the cablemodem's status page from my browser. This lasts about 5 minutes and all is back to normal again after that.
My connection stats look like this:
And my cablemodem log is filled with entries like this:
Note ALL of the above log entries were generated within 40 minutes.
Is this a cablemodem problem, or is this a Charter Pipeline problem?
And what should I do about it?
Thanks! |
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pbarrow
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Montgomery, AL
edit:
August 26th, @04:52PM
| You have Upstream Power problems. The max should be 50db
You need to have Charter come out and check the Cable Plant.
Note also: when you start seeing No Ranging Response - T3 timeout - it most always indicates a cable plant problem - could be a bad Tap or splitters or cables or amps or noise - anything in the cable plant
You may have to ber VERY persistant in your complaints to get it looked at and resolved. In my case I had to complain until Corporate got the Plant Manager himself involved cause none of the techs that came out could even see or detect that there was a problem and kept telling me everything was fine.
I think I "still" have some intermittant noise issues cause my upload speeds are so erratic - but I can't get them to do anything about it.
Downstream power level (Receive): -12dbmV to +12dbmV
Upstream (Transmit): +35dbmV to +50dbmV
Downstream SNR: greater than 33dB |
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burger2000
join:2001-06-25
Madison, WI
| reply to darkbohemian
Definitely need a service tech out there to check it out. Your forward signal levels are perfect but your transmit is very high. Some modems cap out at 58dBmV; some at 61dBmV. So what is happening is that transmit power level is swinging around 1dB in different directions. When it drops a half dB you're on when it raises a half dB you're off.
Most likely you'll need to have some splitters removed or rebalanced and it could be a high transmit problem on the plant. Either way get a service call setup and you should be fixed. |
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BBTIII97420
Premium
join:2006-03-22
White City, OR | reply to darkbohemian
Definately signal level issues. We actually tested several modems and found that they all start dropping off-line right around 56-58 on the Tx level and -16 on the RX level. |
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darkbohemian
join:2007-09-09
Saint Peters, MO
| reply to darkbohemian
Thanks for all the replies, everybody.
Since I posted the question, I've had five more disconnects.
And since nearly all the replies mention upstream signal levels that are way too high, it occurred to me there's a signal BOOSTER on my cablemodem! A tech put it there to solve the PREVIOUS disconnect problem I was having.
So I removed the booster tonight and my upstream power is hovering around 47 now rather than the 58 it was at before. So far, no dropouts.
We'll see tomorrow if this really solves the issue.
Thanks again, everybody! |
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daveinpoway
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA | After you removed the amplifier, what are the Downstream Power and Downstream Signal/Noise Ratio? |
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cloves69
join:2004-01-11
Belleville, IL
 ·Charter Pipeline
| reply to darkbohemian
I'd still set up an appointment. An in-house amplifier boosts the forward signal typically 12-15 dB, depending on frequency. Return should only be affected by a dB or so. If this is the case, your downstream is probably out of spec. The original issue may have not been needing an amplifier, but resolution of splitter configuration or possibly low signal out of tap. |
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darkbohemian
join:2007-09-09
Saint Peters, MO
| reply to daveinpoway
Here are the numbers, post-booster-removal:
Upstream is swinging between 48 and 59. Definitely did NOT take the place of requesting a service call, because I've had two more disconnects since then, and the log is still filled with similar errors.
Gonna go in to the local office in person to avoid that ridiculous voice mail "automated internet troubleshooter" making me redo everything I've already done, then connecting me to India to talk to someone I can't understand (I've done that before, can you tell?). |
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darkbohemian
join:2007-09-09
Saint Peters, MO
| Gotta love Charter.... 
I took a chance and called... got someone here in the US. But all they would do was reset my modem and tell me to call back "if" it happened again.
Gonna go do this in person at the office, after all. |
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pbarrow
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Montgomery, AL | you probably have noise problems on the cable plant like I seem to be having again - I'm having intermittant problems again here. |
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daveinpoway
join:2006-07-03
Poway, CA | reply to darkbohemian
If your upstream power is varying by 10 dBmv, something sure isn't correct. Make sure all of your connections are tight. If you can't find anything wrong, a tech will need to come out. |
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KPK
@consumersenergy.com
| reply to darkbohemian
I'm having what looks to be a very similar problem. Normally my cable modem's log is empty and nothing shows up except when rebooting the modem. For the past couple of weeks though, I'm seeing frequent bursts of entries that match those you posted. It corresponds directly with what seems to be a disconnect. As soon as I start seeing connection issues with whatever I'm doing, I'll switch over to the modem and see the error log filling up with those messages.
The problem never happens in the morning. It seems to correspond directly with traffic volume since at around prime time (7-10pm weeknights) the disconnects are unbearable. I'll be lucky to stay connected. During this pasty weekend it was really bad around 4pm to 10pm, which again seems to me to be around when peak demand is likely highest. In the early afternoon and mornings it worked fine with no disconnects at all (verified modem log was empty during those times too).
Also each time it happens, it appears as though the cable modem eventually reboots itself. The connect light will flash on and off and eventually the modem reboots and all is good until it happens again. During peak hours that could be a matter of minutes. Oh and if I manually power cycle my cable modem, it seems to get the connection back quicker and usually for a longer period but the problem always returns.
I know what it's not:
- Cable modem. Problem occurred both on my old one and my new one.
- Router. Problem occurs regardless if the router is connected or not.
- Connection speed. I just got 16/2 but the problem was starting to happen when I still had 10/1.
- Splitters/house cabling. If it were my cabling, the problem wouldn't be limited to just certain times of the day. I've never encountered the problem in the morning or anytime before noon. It happens occasionally from noon to 5 (less so on weekdays) then frequently from 5-10.
- My Computers. All of my computers encounter it and even if I leave them off I can check later and the cable modem still will have a long list of errors in the log matching the problem times.
I called Charter on Saturday evening and someone got lucky. The person who took my call didn't take long before they determined nothing could be done remotely, so a Tech will be coming to my house to take a look (tomorrow 3-5). Hopefully they can figure out what is going on.
sorry this ended up a bit long, but I thought I'd toss in my experience. I'm in a small town area of NW Michigan (somewhat straight east across the lake from Green Bay), so I suppose it could even be an issue in my area or neighborhood. I'll post again once they figure out what's going on. |
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pbarrow
Premium
join:2003-09-16
Montgomery, AL
| if you see
No Ranging Response - T3 Timeout
and other similar errors in your modem log especially if you see a lot or see them happening frequently - then you have cable plant problems and Charter needs to check the lines between your house and the headend.
You may (or may not notice) that your signal levels are changing - especially look for Upstream power changes - it should change more the 1 or 2 db from day to day and should be in the mid 40's preferably.
Downstream Power will change some with outside temperature but shold be a gradual change and not jump around - 0db is ideal any -7 to +7 is ok - more than that and I start to worry because of changes in hot summer and cold winter cause it to go out of spec.
Downstream SNR should not change drastically - mine changes from about 34db to 37db (over minutes) with the average being 35db to 36db/
Upstream SNR you can't see - only Charter can see it from their end on the CMTS - and 22db is the minimum and THIS one and the Upstream power generally are the ones that will have problems and are indicative of the No Ranging log errors.
They need to look at your signal HISTORY and NOT just by what it is as the moment - and if they tell you your signals "look fine" then take that with a grain of salt.
If they come out and say the can't find a problem - INSIST that they set up a monitoring of your modem for several days for signal & SNR (both downstream and upstream).
It only take an intermittant noise problem in the cable plant to cause you problems - and it may not even show up on those tech meters when the come to your home.
They may ONLY find it by monitoring your port at the headend and tracking it down from there. (And it may take the Plant Manager to do it - depending on how good the techs are in your area and if they give a s***).
I know cause I've gone through it 3+ times during the past 2 years and 2+ corporate escalations. Apparently it's just the town I live in. |
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KPK
@consumersenergy.com
| For my issue, the tech actually found a problem. There was a fairly high level of noise on his checking software. Replacing a splitter in the basement and tightening the connections on it seemed to clear it up as his software then consistently showed green. I'll have to wait and see if it really fixed my issue or not.
No idea how that splitter connection got loose. And I've had the same splitter in place for a couple of years but maybe it went bad. Either that or the higher Internet speeds exposed the noise issue that maybe I didn't notice before on the slower speeds.
He also found that my old cable modem was listed for my account instead of the new one, though I don't know if that makes much difference since the one provisioned for the service was correct.
As a side bonus, he saved me some headaches by canceling an upcoming appointment for a digital cable upgrade for me that I didn't want and didn't ask for. The service rep I was talking to when upgrading my modem told me that it was a required upgrade even when I asked if it was a digital service upgrade.
All in all, I'm happy as usual with the techs that come out but continue to be much less than satisfied with the service reps on the phones. Although I admit once in a while I do get a good rep on the phone. |
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