mikeef

All,

I could use a little help as we upgrade our cable/internet access. Please note: I am a complete and total novice with this stuff. When the computer says "press any key," I'm the guy looking for the "any" key.

Situation: We have an old (about 100 years) and big house. Our main computer is on the third floor. We have a TV on the second floor and two on the first floor, along with laptops that follow us around the house. Moving the main computer, which is where the wireless thingie is now, is unlikely to happen due to space constraints on other floors.

Currently, we have DSL and there are a few rooms in the house that don't receive the wireless signal. We are upgrading to cable and RCN tells us that they will have a Docsis 3.0 modem (I don't know which brand.) which a google search tells me is a good one.

After that, I get confused. Do I need a separate router, as well? Should I buy my own, or take the one that they give me? They assure me that what they provide will be more than enough to get me service in all rooms, including the ones where we currently have issues (and where Smart TVs will be going), but this is a cable company we're talking about, and I trust them as much as I trust the FA who tells me, "Don't worry, they'll hold your connection for you."

Thanks for your help.

Mike

nmenaker

I would always buy my own ROUTER, or access point, and if you are going to be with a cable provider a while, then buy your own cable modem. Just make sure it is on the approved list for your cable company. If you are going with RCN, they should have a list of approved modems. you should be able to get a quality new DOCSIS 3.0 modem for about 70$ shipped..motorolas are quite good at this point.

then, buy your own router/access point. IF you are mac centric, you can be very happy with a mac airport extreme, or go with another brand. At this point, if you are buying new might as well go with an 802.11ac compliant router/access point..

For coverage, a bit of a different discussion. There is another thread here somewhere about people trying to increase coverage to their multi level or large homes. Some like putting in homeplug connections, with additional routers. Some like putting in repeaters (my preference now that the quality and functionality of the repeater is up to the tasks) I've put in a number of these little guys and they work great, both up and down and far and wide

http://www.amazon.com/Amped-Wireless...words=repeater

mikeef

Very helpful, thanks! We only have one laptop that is not a Mac, so as long as that laptop won't have any problems (See, I am a Newbie!) getting the internet, I'm happy to go get the mac air port extreme. At least at the start, I'll probably use the modem they give me before getting my own. Are there any issues relating to the router connecting to the modem?

As for the issue with the house size, RCN swears up and down that they can connect into the wiring in my house to get internet access to the rooms where I don't have it now.

If somebody wants to start their own business, there are a lot of people out there who know nothing about this stuff that would pay a "consultant" to figure it all out for them...

Mike

nmenaker

I'm not really sure what RCN means here. do the mean they can run coax cable to any room, so you can put the MODEM in that room, or do they mean they will run cable, or something over the powerline (that's the homeplug reference I made above) to any room and then you can connect internet there? Usually, a cable provider doesn't offer this type of solution out of the box, they pretty much stop at the modem, or the modem/access point combo (bad idea) or the modem and give away wireless access point (that last bit better purchased by the user, more flexibility and stuff)

Trust me, we ALL do this type of stuff for all the "newbies" in the family and beyond!

LIH Prem

Since we're guessing ...

RCN is his cable co. I wonder if they supply their customers with moca adapters? That would probably work, though you would want a filter at the cable entry point. It's much better than the powerline stuff, I believe.

Mike, can you ask them for details on how they intend to get you internet access in the other rooms?

-David

nmenaker

even if they provide a MoCA adaptor at multiple drops, plus a MoCa network interface, it's still only going to be most like a MoCa at each drop with an ethernet plug. One could then plug in, or stick ANOTHER AP there.. at that point, I'd probably recommend doing a whole home repeater solution instead, less AP's to manage.

mikeef

RCN will be my cable company once I dump DirecTV. Sorry, forgot to mention that.

I'm chatting with them now and typing their responses as I go...

Me: Hi! I spoke to somebody yesterday about getting high-speed wireless internet access through RCN. The problem I mentioned is that our house is old and the modem is on the third floor. Some of the rooms on our first floor don't pick up the wifi signal.

Them: (Trying to sell me stuff)
Them: (Still trying to sell me stuff. This is not going as well as it did yesterday.)
Them: We will be happy to install an RCN provided modem and router.
The installation tech will need to vouch for the wifi ability.
Every address is a different scenario.

Them: When RCN installs wireless internet, a modem will be installed with a cable cord connection. The router will be connected to this modem with an Ethernet cord (all which will be provided by RCN).
10:34Marcia D.: The router will emit a wireless signal that normally has a range of 1000 feet.
10:35Marcia D.: Understandable in older homes with plaster walls, the signal cannot penetrate the walls. Is the this your case?

Me: Yes

Them: I can tell you that there are boosters that can piggyback to a router to amp the wifi signal. There is no way to determine exactly what may be needed at your address unless we send a technician to assess the situation.

Also: They use Motorola Docsis 3.0 modems and Cisco Linksys E1200 routers. They do not wallfish cable lines, whatever that means, and we may need a contractor to get us wired for cable. That's fine with us. Anything to get rid of DSL.

Thanks everyone.

Mike

nmenaker

This basically means, if you want a cable drop in a room without one, they are going to punch in from the OUTER wall, and put the drop there. they will not FISH through the WALL with a cable, or wire, through a conduit or something like that to get it to where you want, without making a new hole.

SOMETIMES, I have found if you have a REALLY nice attic and or crawlspace above, you can get a cable guy to run it into the attic and then drop it down an opening to a current outlet path or something, but you're going to drop 50-75$ extra to get him to do it, 100+$ if he finds any dead rats up there.

If you want TV everywhere, then you are going to need to have drops in the rooms you want them, and have the cable guy on their first stop, do NICE runs under the overhands of your roof or some other acceptable path to where you want the drops to come IN to the house.

As for Modem, router, that router is fine, it's a decent router and much better than having a cable co provided INTEGRATED modem and router (never a good solution IMHO)..

From there, you can always put in something like the repeater I suggested to get wifi coverage everything. If your modem is on the third floor and the repeater is on the 2nd floor, trust me you'll get great coverage everywhere.

gfunkdave

Just use powerline ethernet. Don't have people run ugly cables on the outside of your house.

mikeef

Awesome, thank you so much for your help. I'm starting to get the hang of what I need.

Are the drops something my electrician could do? We have an electrician that we really like and trust. Cable guy, not sure.

If we pay him extra for the dead rats, is it customary that we let him keep them? After all, it is our house.

Mike

nmenaker

If you're possibly referring to my post above about running cable that was to get the required TV cable to rooms without it, if that is indeed what he wanted.

I wouldn't recommend doing powerline and then adaptors to try and run TV signals to cable boxes or tvs.

mikeef

Thanks to all who have helped (and feel free to keep helping!). We're above my pay grade here, but I think we're gonna have to have the cable company come out and see what they can/can't do. From there, we'll work with our electrician.

Mike

pseudoswede

No. Powerline ethernet to run internet service from the third floor to the first floor. At the first floor, you would have another powerline ethernet adapter hooked up to another wireless router which would have the same SSID as the other wireless routers in the house.

That said, OP states his house is very old. Unless the electricals were redone within the past few decades, powerline ethernet will be very hit-or-miss. We won't even start talking about trying to cross circuits.

I think the best solution is the wireless extender. So...

Third floor: Coax outlet -> DOCSIS modem -> Wireless router
Second floor: Wireless extender plugged in a room over the dead spot on the first floor

mikeef

Fortunately, the electrical was redone a few years ago when we moved in. Seller had the obligation to replace knob and tube wiring.

And I love your siggie. I use it all the time.

Mike

BStrauss3

If you already have cable TV, they will take the line to the back of the cable TV box and insert a square metal thing with three screw on connectors. One goes to the wall, one to the cable TV box and the third will be connected to the DOCSIS modem. That box has the wireless internet so you have service to the whole house in theory.

If you do not already have cable TV, then what the cable company will do is what they call a new install:

They will run a cable from the (usually green) box on the street to the wall of your house, install an outlet box, plug a coax cable (the thick round stuff) into the outlet. That connects to a box they will give you that is the DOCSIS CABLE MODEM. It turns signals from the cable company into network signals (Ethernet - RJ45, it looks like a the phone outlet except it's bigger (8 wires vs. 6 or 4) - so it's that clear plastic squareish plug thingy with the little plastic tab that breaks off if you push or pull too hard).


What they will NOT do:

Run that cable from the street neatly. They will bring it from the street across your yard to the outside wall of the house. They will 'bury' it a few inches deep in the lawn, flower bed, etc. Driveways may be a problem. Then they will staple it to the wall, pull out a drill with about a 1/2 inch bit on a 12 or 16 inch shank and drill right through the wall, insulation, drywall on the other side, etc.

Assuming you still have electric power at this time, they will then go inside and take a drywall saw and cut out a square piece, oh, about 3x4" centered around the hole.

They will put a black plastic grommet on the cable from the street and feed the rest through the hole in the wall. They should spray a little expanding foam insulation in to keep out spiders and weather.

They will then feed the cable from the street that's now loose on the floor into the back of a blue plastic box (called an old work box) and stick it in the hole they sawed out of the wall. With a screwdriver they will turn little fingers that grab onto the back of the drywall.

They will then cut the coax and crimp a little silver barrel onto it to "terminate" it. They will then put the face plate on the blue box - so it will look just like an electric or telephone outlet except there is a fat white or black cable coming out of it. Which is what they screw onto the back of the cable modem.


Now most of the time it's not THAT bad, they don't short out the power or burn down the house. But, anytime you go drilling into the walls of an old house, it could get, um, interesting...

The cable doesn't look that bad, and you can always plant a bush or - the next time you paint the outside of the house, the painters are just going to paint right over the cable anyway.