jcompton
@charter.com
| [HSI] Lousy connectivity in Middleton, WI (Dropped packets, etc.
This is the sixth summer I've had Charter and it's playing out with the usual formula--as soon as the weather starts to warm up, the quality of my service goes way down.
For the past three weeks I have had lousy service--so bad that a standard Windows ping out to, say, charter.net or yahoo.com results in dropping 1-3 of the 4 packets, like so:
Pinging charter.net [64.192.190.12] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 64.192.190.12: bytes=32 time=50ms TTL=246
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 64.192.190.12: bytes=32 time=39ms TTL=246
Ping statistics for 64.192.190.12:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 2, Lost = 2 (50% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 39ms, Maximum = 50ms, Average = 44ms
Other services are equally difficult to access--mail servers I can't reach unless I try five times, web pages which require an equal number of attempted reloads, and so forth. That's when the modem claims to be fully connected. This behavior is the same whether I use a machine on my LAN, or if I direct-connect to the modem. (And this has shown itself with more than one Ethernet cable used for the direct-connect, and to more than one machine, so I don't think it's just a shoddy length of blue cable torpedoing the whole operation.)
Resetting the modem often (but not always) buys me anywhere from a good 15 minutes to 4-5 hours or so. But obviously I'm not interested in having to reset my modem every few hours on average. On Thursday, Friday, and last evening, the modem had trouble staying in sync and getting back into sync.
A tech was out on Saturday and replaced some material he said was showing signs of corrosion, which he said got my S/N ratio back up to acceptable levels--and, indeed, the modem snapped into sync right away. To his credit, he hung around a little while to see if the degradation would show up, but naturally it was well-behaved under his watchful eye. By Monday it was back to the same old tricks, and the modem diagnostics page tells me the S/N is back down to 27.
As I say, service here has been consistently bad. When I call to report poor service, about as often as not the tech says that their software can't even reach my modem.
After calling last night, I have another tech coming out Wednesday afternoon. As much as I enjoyed my visit with the tech on Saturday, I'm hoping that this trip will be a little more productive. Does anybody have any experience with this sort of problem and the usual steps to resolve it so I can help things along? |
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zed260
join:2007-09-30
Cleveland, TN | Re: [HSI] Lousy connectivity in Middleton, WI (Dropped packets,
you should register with this forum and post in the charter direct forum »/forum/charterdirect
they should help you |
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MadCity
Premium
join:2008-10-17
Middleton, WI | reply to jcompton
It must have something to do with your location.
Things are working just fine for me in Middleton, WI.
Internet and HD are great, always have been. |
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techyguy09
join:2009-03-05
Two Rivers, WI | reply to jcompton
Sounds like a problem with a amplifier or line extender. Summer time heat = stress on equipment, especially with poor SNR, C/N, sounds like a system technician needs to take a look at things. |
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jbrownin
join:2009-06-11
Middleton, WI
| reply to jcompton
I, too live in Middleton and am having a horrible time with internet access (recently my SNR is 30, even with a suitable +15dB pass-thru drop amp installed inside) and receiving some of the higher frequency CATV channels. I've had the latter for months, now; and get intermittent reception even on local HD's. My last visit to the East side office (which is my 5th attempt to get the problem fixed to no avail), got me a 1:1 with the line tech. supervisor. That was a week ago and I was told that some 'systems would have to be replaced on our node'- but the problem still persists. Perhaps we're on the same node (I'm b/w Sauk Trail and the High School). Bottom line (and I told this to the Supervisor after two techs verified this) is that there is simply too much noise/ not enough clean signal reaching the tap on the pole. Seems they either refuse to fix the problem or don't know how to. On a slightly different topic- MadCity- did we correspond over on the AVSForum about this same thing a few months ago? |
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MadCity
Premium
join:2008-10-17
Middleton, WI
1 edit | said by jbrownin  : On a slightly different topic- MadCity- did we correspond over on the AVSForum about this same thing a few months ago? We could have, I don't recall. |
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kyleE
@charter.com | reply to jcompton
Re: [HSI] Lousy connectivity in Middleton, WI (Dropped packets,
I'm on the west side of Madison, near Middleton, and have no issues. |
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jmh316
join:2009-04-17
Evansville, WI
| reply to jcompton
Didn't want to post a new topic for this.....
So,what can be done about the weather related issues? I don't want anyone saying that it can't be because of the heat. It happens every year at certain points, and apparently this year is no different. Everything was running great until this weekend when it started to really get warm. A few hiccups here and there, and today, the hottest day yet, 2nd day in the 90's here in my part of Southern Wisconsin, and it just all went to hell.
Most(not all) stations cutting out and in,dropping sound for a few seconds, or else completely disappearing with the "This channel should be available shortly" message. About an hour ago, my HSI died,and had to reset, and about the same time, the CATV puked. The HSI is back, but the CATV is still choppy and it's impossible to watch anything consistently.
It's not just coincidence. I've had it long enough to know, and was also told by a tech the first time it happened years ago.
Any suggestions? I can live with the occasional HSI drop it causes, but I might as well just dump the CATV service from June until Sept since it is so unwatchable when it's warm. |
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kyleE
@charter.com
| said by jmh316 :Any suggestions? I can live with the occasional HSI drop it causes, but I might as well just dump the CATV service from June until Sept since it is so unwatchable when it's warm. Get your levels checked, get your modem looked at. We have had so much rain in the last few weeks followed by severe heat. Water seeps in peds and taps, then it heats up. Metal and wire respond to the elements just like your body does. If you feel sick you see a doctor. If your TV is dropping, you make Charter come out for a house call. |
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jmh316
join:2009-04-17
Evansville, WI
1 edit | True, and I have thought about that, but working 7:30am to 8pm creates somewhat of a problem. Other times i've tried a house call,and I am there in time for the "scheduled" time, I find a note in the door saying that I wasn't home........well no kidding. Come closer to the scheduled time, not 2 hours before and blame me for not being there.
One problem I did notice while looking at the setup here is that there is a 3way block splitter where the line comes to the house, and 2 lines from there go into the house(other one was used for phone when I had it).....now,without having it redone from the box straight through into the house with one line, what are some good options? The line from the 3 way goes into the house, and is split twice(3 tv's and HSI) and normally hasn't been a problem. Why would they have run such a short line to the house in the first place? I'd rather have a single line all the way in, and then split to the tv's/hsi once inside.
I know I can use the other outlets from the 3 way, but I don't want to be drilling holes all over just to run wire through. I imagine it would be better than being split inside again though.
Room one=TV
Room two=TV and HSI
Room 3= TV
I know it would have to be split 2way in room two, so would I be better off utilizing the 3way and using that to run all the cables from? I can do that part myself, but if it's not going to help, i'm not going to bother. I'm still pissed that the original line from the box isn't anywhere long enough in the first place. |
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bigbambo
join:2004-03-17
Madison, WI | reply to jcompton
I had the same kind of packet loss in Madison (East Side) last night.
2nd time this summer. |
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bigbambo
join:2004-03-17
Madison, WI
| 20% loss still.
just called charter and banglore's finest told me i need to contact my computer vender for a new network driver.
i've insisted that this issue needs to be escalated to the network engineering group. Likelihood of the supervisor i spoke to doing that? |
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jbrownin
join:2009-06-11
Middleton, WI
| said by bigbambo :20% loss still. just called charter and banglore's finest told me i need to contact my computer vender for a new network driver. i've insisted that this issue needs to be escalated to the network engineering group. Likelihood of the supervisor i spoke to doing that? I would say based on my experience with Charter in the area (6 repair requests/"involvement" of systems & line techs -incl. a supervisor over the past 6 months) that your chances are about as good as it snowing here this month (always a possibility in Wi, but highly unlikely). Computer vendor for a driver? You're joking right? Easy for them to pass the buck on their problem. I would ask to speak to a supervisor and have him/her confirm a work order is in place, and when you can expect that order to be fulfilled. Sure seems more people are having problems with Charter in the People's Republic... |
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mooosenix
join:2004-01-09
Milwaukee, WI
| reply to jcompton
You don't happen to be in one of those large condo/apartment complexes, do you?
We lived in one near Greenway Station and Charter was terrible in our complex. There wasn't anything they could do, as there was just so many people online in such a dense location. We ended up switching to a TDS dry-DSL connection. It was expensive, but reliable.
If you don't live in one of these condo/apartment complexes, then I have no idea. Good luck.  |
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Scott_0
@tds.net
| reply to bigbambo
said by bigbambo :20% loss still. just called charter and banglore's finest told me i need to contact my computer vender for a new network driver. i've insisted that this issue needs to be escalated to the network engineering group. Likelihood of the supervisor i spoke to doing that? I live in Middleton too, and have both TDS and Charter. My Charter connection is fine. You probably have a RF, or line issue. Nothing a network engineer can do for you, or should be bothered with. You need line technicians sent to your home again. Do your have neighbors on Charter? If so, what are they seeing? Try replacing splitters, CAT5, coax? Have you tried the Charter direct forum? Pretty sure the are not in banglore. Sometimes it takes more than one visit to fix line problems. Either way, you have a lot of things you can do, or you can act helpless. Your choice. There is no problem in Middleton, WI though. My 20MB is spot on 24x7. The issue has to be isolated to you or maybe your node. If you know how to look at your modem diagnostics, you should check them when the problem occurs. |
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