Issues with my connection.

[Kropsinz]

I've been having issues with my router losing sync with the modem very frequently, it's been going on for over a year now. I gave up on trying to troubleshoot with Charter, as there is no way to get a hold of anyone without waiting on hold and what not (and then when you do, they tell you it's your fault for using a router that is not approved blah blah, even though you tell them that the problem persists even without the router being in use). I have tried moving the cable modem/router to different rooms of the house, and it is currently set up right next to where the line comes in to the house. At least 1 time, and up to 5-6 times a day the connection will die, and I can usually reset it from my browser (first I check 192.168.100.1 for my modem to be "operational", then I go to 192.168.1.1 and renew the ip). After doing this the connection works fine again. I have read that a signal that is too strong will sometimes cause this to happen. I can no longer view the status or log when viewing my cable modem @ 192.168.100.1 (sometimes I can, sometimes I can't, I'm not sure if it is due to updates from the cable company). So, here is the info that I can show you.

Name: WebSTAR DPC2100R2
Modem Serial Number: 200264288
Hardware Version: 2.0
Software Version: v2.0.2r1256-060303
Receive Power Level: 1.2 dBmV
Transmit Power Level: 54.0 dBmV
Cable Modem Status: Operational

This problem is getting very annoying (as sometimes the router or modem will hang while resetting, and I cannot get to it to physically reset it at certain hours, due to the fact that there is another party living in the basement, where the router currently resides). I would very much appreciate if someone could help me with this, and if you think that I need to have a cable attenuator installed to reduce the signal. Thank you in advance for your replies!

 

[serpretetsky]

so it does the same thing when plugged directly to the modem?
I'm not familiar with signal levels, so i cant help you there.

When you plug directly into the modem, does it give you a 192.168.100.x ip address? If this is true, your modem is working as a router. This normally isn't a problem, except that i have heard a lot of stories about how dedicated modems that also run as routers have very poor performing components and will lock up if you're pushing a lot data through them or have many separate connections going through them (for example: torrent much?)

Many of these modems have the functionaly to switch them into a dumb mode called bridge mode (where they act purely as modems, with no other functionality) allowing your actual main router to do the all of the main routing. I would check this first.

 

[Kropsinz]

No, it is just a stand alone modem, it does not do any routing at all. Thank you for your reply though.

 

[serpretetsky]

you can login to your modem by typing http://192.168.100.1? And your router by 192.168.1.1?

login to your router and check what its default gateway is. If the default gateway says 192.168.100.1, then login to 192.168.100.1 and check what its default gateway is. If its anything other than 192.168.100.x then your modem is routing.

I am almost certain your modem is a router, even more so than in my first post. I have never heard of any ISP handing out class C private 192.168.x.x ip's to clients (i have only once seen an ISP hand out class A private 10.x.x.x ip's)

 

[Kropsinz]

I'm not sure what you're trying to get at...the modem is a stand alone modem, it is not a router. It is not a router/modem combo. The info provided was for logging in to the modem through the router. The WAN IP is xx.xx.40.193, the router is 192.168.1.1, and the modem is 192.168.100.1 (default for most cable modems).

 

[Kropsinz]

Also, the router is running DD-WRT, the make/model is a Linksys WRT54G. I had the same problems before flashing DD-WRT, which is actually what prompted me to flash to DD-WRT in an attempt to fix the problem (I was also interested in the QoS).

 

[Fardringle]

The Scientific Atlanta WebSTAR DPC2100R2 is just a modem. It uses the IP address 192.168.100.1 on its LAN port to provide access to the modem's information and configuration pages, but doesn't have any routing capabilities.

For some inexplicable reason, Charter seems to think that end users should not ever be able to see what is actually happening on the modem so they have hidden the signal level and modem log pages. To temporarily restore access to those pages, go to http://192.168.100.1/_aslvl.asp and change the access level from 1 to 2 with the password W2402. This will let you view all of the hidden/disabled features on the modem, but only for a few minutes until the modem refreshes and locks it all out again.

I'm not sure what the standard/acceptable signal levels are for Charter, but if you have talked to Charter and told them that you have the problem even with a computer connected directly to the modem without any router and they still can't (or refuse to) diagnose the problem remotely, I would insist that they replace the modem. This will usually either get you a new modem which might fix the problem, or it will get someone to pay attention enough to actually try to troubleshoot the issue properly.

 

[serpretetsky]

in order for you to access a device with an ip you have to be on the same network. 192.168.100.1 has a default network of any device between 192.168.100.1 and 192.168.100.254 (network 192.168.100.0). If your WAN ip address is not within that range (you mentioned its .40.193, so its already in a different range) that means your modem is connecting to separate IP networks. its connecting 192.168.100.0 network with whatever the network of xxx.xxx.40.193 is.

The only thing that connects two separate IP networks is a router. Your modem is a router. On top of that you have a second router that is connecting 192.168.1.0 network with your 192.168.100.0 network.

Now, you are also doing what is called double NATing with your two routers.

There are two bad things about all of this

1) double NAT can make it hard to isolate strange problems in the future (you may find one of the routers supports VPN passthrough but the other doesn't, for example)

2) the hardware built into modems for routing are usually very weak. They crash easily with too much traffic, or too many connections that the NAT table has to keep track of.

edit: other posts seem to confirm that you do just have a modem. I think you can safely ignore everything i've said ;D

 

[Kropsinz]

Thank you Fardringle for that info, I will give the info from the status page here. Serpretetsky, I was already ignoring your info (I apologize, but I knew that wasn't the case) and again, I thank you for trying to help. I will also get the info next time I have this issue.

Downstream Status: Operational
Channel ID: 89
Downstream Frequency: 705000000 Hz
Modulation: 256QAM
Bit Rate: 32700000 bits/sec
Power Level: 0.2 dBmV
Signal to Noise Ratio: 38.9 dB

Upstream Status: Operational
Channel ID: 4
Upstream Frequency: 26400000 Hz
Modulation: 64QAM
Bit Rate: 4480000 bits/sec
Power Level: 54.0 dBmV

Also, here is the log from the last few days:

Sat Jul 21 18:11:34 2012 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Sat Jul 21 18:11:25 2012 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sat Jul 21 18:11:18 2012 Critical (3) Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - Re- initializing MAC
Sat Jul 21 17:04:59 2012 Critical (3) Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - ...
Sat Jul 21 15:02:23 2012 Error (4) ToD request sent- No Response received
Sat Jul 21 15:02:18 2012 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Sat Jul 21 15:02:07 2012 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Sat Jul 21 15:02:03 2012 Error (4) ToD request sent- No Response received
Sat Jul 21 15:01:51 2012 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Sat Jul 21 15:01:35 2012 Critical (3) Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - Re- initializing MAC
Time Not Established Error (4) ToD request sent- No Response received
Time Not Established Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Time Not Established Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Time Not Established Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Fri Jul 20 23:26:00 2012 Critical (3) DCC aborted no UCD for new upstream channel
Fri Jul 20 23:25:44 2012 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Fri Jul 20 23:25:30 2012 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Fri Jul 20 23:24:43 2012 Critical (3) Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - Re- initializing MAC
Fri Jul 20 23:24:42 2012 Critical (3) Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - ...
Fri Jul 20 23:24:30 2012 Critical (3) No Ranging Response received - T3 time-out
Fri Jul 20 23:24:08 2012 Critical (3) Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - Re- initializing MAC
Fri Jul 20 23:23:58 2012 Critical (3) Started Unicast Maintenance Ranging - No Response received - ...
Thu Jul 19 22:41:37 2012 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Thu Jul 19 22:41:18 2012 Critical (3) No UCD's Received - Timeout
Thu Jul 19 22:35:19 2012 Critical (3) DCC aborted no UCD for new upstream channel
Thu Jul 19 22:35:04 2012 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Thu Jul 19 22:34:47 2012 Critical (3) Unicast Ranging Received Abort Response - Re- initializing MAC

 

[Kropsinz]

I have also purchased a Dynex router, which has the same connectivity issues when used in place of the WRT54G...this is why I believe the issue to be with the cable modem/incoming signal, and not the router.

 

[ImDonly1]

Downstream Status: Operational
Channel ID: 89
Downstream Frequency: 705000000 Hz
Modulation: 256QAM
Bit Rate: 32700000 bits/sec
Power Level: 0.2 dBmV
Signal to Noise Ratio: 38.9 dB

Upstream Status: Operational
Channel ID: 4
Upstream Frequency: 26400000 Hz
Modulation: 64QAM
Bit Rate: 4480000 bits/sec
Power Level: 54.0 dBmV

See bold. The upstream at 54 dBmV is quite high. Try changing out splitters or removing some splitters. Or put the modem on the first splitter. Try connecting the modem without any splitters and see if the signal improves and you have less drops. A splitter could look new, but could be non-working and causing this issue. Try getting a new one from your local store/online. Get at least a 1ghz splitter.

Going above 55 will cause dropouts. Try to get a tech sent out or ask them on the phone about it.
For reference
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/3412
http://www.dslreports.com/faq/3332

Also, within the last month Charter has said they will no longer allow new customers to bring their own modems. New customers will be forced to rent their modems and pay a monthly fee for it. Seems like a money grab and they are probably just saying whatever to blame the problem on you.

 

[Kropsinz]

Thanks for the advice ImDonly1. I hooked it up without any splitters, straight off the incoming line, and it read 49 dBmV. I then hooked it up with just one splitter (instead of 2, with the discarded one being a garbage 800mhz splitter from Ace Hardware, which was on the caTV line, after the first initial split) on the line, and nothing on the other side of it, and it jumped to 53.2 dBmV. However, after re-adding the caTV line, it dropped to 51.2 dBmV. I ordered a new Extreme Broadband splitter for a few bucks off ebay, and will give that a try once it gets here. Hopefully that was enough of a drop (from 54 dBmV to 51.2 dBmV) to make a difference in the stability. I'll let you know what my findings are in a few days, and once the new splitter gets here.

 

[Kropsinz]

Well, I received the new splitter, and the connection drops just as much as it used to, if not more. Also, that 51.2 dBmV didn't last very long, when I got home from work, it was back up to 54 dBmV. After replacing the old cheap splitter, I am now getting 54 dBmV as the average transmit level again. The service has dropped 6 times today already, and it is only 7pm. Is there any other good ways to lower transmit levels? I suppose I can try removing some of the cables that are not in use on the splitters, and getting rid of one of them (It splits multiple times after the initial split, from which one goes to the caTV, and one to the modem, but that still seems to have an affect on the upstream transmit level).

 

[kbp]

here are mine using charter with my own modem
Channel ID 11 9 10 12 Frequency 741000000 Hz 729000000 Hz 735000000 Hz 747000000 Hz Signal to Noise Ratio 36 dB 36 dB 36 dB 37 dB Downstream Modulation QAM256 QAM256 QAM256 QAM256 Power Level The Downstream Power Level reading is a snapshot taken at the time this page was requested. Please Reload/Refresh this Page for a new reading -4 dBmV -4 dBmV -4 dBmV -3 dBmV
Channel ID 2 Frequency 31000000 Hz Ranging Service ID 1428 Symbol Rate 5.120 Msym/sec Power Level 41 dBmV Upstream Modulation [3] 16QAM
[3] 64QAM