Tech for about a year now, do a good 50/50 FTTP / Coax, wondering if there are any tools out there that some of the senior guys have bought that help you out on a typical day? I hear people talk about the best coax strippers, the best pair of cutters, the best tool bag, what is one tool / devices that has increased your quality of life the most?
This is in Florida where we had flooding after the hurricanes two years ago. Customer was complaining about her tvs pixelating. Can’t believe that this was even working!
I’m about a year into the job and still have a lot to learn, so go easy on me!
I’m looking for some advice from the more experienced techs. How do you accurately measure the replacement piece of cable before cutting out the damaged section? I like to leave the existing cable intact as long as possible to minimize service disruption.
For example, if I’m replacing about 2 feet of 650 cable in a spot where I can’t leave an expansion loop, I always seem to cut the replacement either too long or too short. If it’s too long, I end up coring and trimming it a few times until I finally overshoot and it’s too short.
Are there any tricks or techniques you use to estimate the correct length before making the cut, or is it just something that comes with experience?
I’d really appreciate any tips.
Got called out had a dead LX an hour from home. Quick easy replacement.
Heading home, called again node 10 minutes away. Everything off last LX....🤔 fuccccckkkkk only carry one spare.
Was so happy that there was no input, TDR'd complete open 120' from the LX.
Splitter with Megacycles instead of MegaHertz. Probably 30+ years old when I found it and still working.
when you get a call for intermittent connection (spectrum tech btw) what are the first things you are looking for.
This pic is the tap where our line connects at the street. I just noticed it has a open unterminated coax spigot. When not capped, could it cause connection issues?
About our prob:
For over a year our cable internet connection has occasionally dropped sometimes only a couple times a week, others it's a couple times a day. Lately, during hot weather(over 80f), it will drop up to 2 dozen times a day.
The connection at the modem is usually down for only a minute or less, then reconnects.
We've
- replaced the modem.
- Checked all connections between the exterior of the house and the modem.
- documented the drops with ping plotter. The outages often show a latency spike shortly before total packet loss.
- our ISP is Astound Broadband in WA. They are aware of our issues but havent been able to determine the cause.
Thanks in advance for any insight/tips!
So when we launched Rphy nodes for a while we could not get it to ping the DNS servers on our meters, they said just use 8.8.8.8, and that seems to have been fixed recently. However, I was never very fond of pinging DNS servers as I have no clue about hops on the CRAN, etc.., to say you have a problem here not on the node. I would much prefer to ping the cmts, before and as we go forward the RPHY node I assume? Does anyone know if a tracert shows the actual rphy node or is the first hope now the VCMTS which is utterly useless to ping?.
Thanks. AI thinks it can be done but cannot explain how, or where you get the RPHY IP, so yay that's about as useful as asking a supervisor something like this.
I blurred out the kid on the floor and the parents... I've seen so much wild shit as a tech. I havent been a tech since 2023
This was when covid (2020) first started. I got the call, no phone service. I get there and she is cussing me and comcast out lol I ran home integrity check and everything was passing. So I went to the modem and this is what I saw.... she plugged her power supply from the phone into the usb ports on the modem 🤬🤬🤬.
I havent worked for comcast in 3 years
Everyone here has seen the chaos. How about the most memorable install?
I arrived 30 minutes early so I called and no answer so I went to the door. I proceeded to knock 2 or 3 times. I could hear someone waking up upstairs.
Still no answer so I rang one more time. I hear a slight swear , a loud thump against the exterior wall.
Then this frazzled looking 30’s lady answers the door and it looks like she’s had a rough night.
I proceed with the install. During install I noticed dvd / tv were warm. No big deal. Minutes later, I accidentally bumped the eject and out comes this wild porno video.
“Um you might want to take this out if there’s kids around.” She was a lil embarrassed. No big deal. 5 minutes later - As I’m behind the tv / the power cord catches and it’s stuck. I pull a couple times when all of a sudden it releases and this toy flys up and bonks me in the forehead.
The woman shrieked as I proceed to pickup up the the offending unit. She quickly grabs the fuzziest gnarliest warmest dildo I’ve ever seen out of my hand. Her face was flush red. Screaming all the way upstairs 😝 and I proceeded to leave avoiding saying “if there’s anything else you need” 😆
That’s right up there with my craziest experiences.
Beware of the thump😁
Hi everyone,
I'm responsible for managing a headend, and in general all of our channels are working correctly. Recently, however, my technicians started receiving complaints that 8 specific channels appear pixelated. The strange part is that this only happens on certain TV brands and models, while other TVs display the same channels without any issues.
What happens is the following:
If I tune to a channel that works normally on the affected TV and then switch to one of the problematic channels, the video from the previous channel seems to "carry over" onto the new one and freezes on the screen. The audio of the new channel is correct and continues playing normally, but the video remains frozen with the image from the previous channel.
I started doing some tests:
This makes it seem like the problem is somehow tied to that specific service position or configuration rather than the video content itself.
Has anyone experienced something similar? Could this be related to the PMT/PAT, PCR, PID assignments, SI/PSI tables, continuity counters, encoder settings, or something else in the multiplex? Any ideas on what I should check would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
I’m new to this, go easy on me.
I wasn’t getting great connection with our streaming box on the other side of the house, and there is an existing coax on the wall, that wasn’t being used, so I decided to try out moca.
The house was built 2 years ago, the electrician ran the coax to each room, in the wall, and to a coax jack for future cable use, but dropped the ends of coax line into the crawl for future connection. We have our main drop service coming into the crawl, running across the house to a, and connects to the modem inside. Which is the xb8 xfinity modem that has moca enabled.
In order for the moca adapter to work, where is the easiest place to connect it? Can I use a moca splitter and connect it where the blue dashed line is? Will that still communicate with the modem (working as the other moca adapter)? If not, what is the easiest method?
If it helps, xfinity gig speed internet, xb8 modem, frontier moca fc252 2.5.
Any help is appreciated!
This goes down into the customer's bathroom. Then runs into their living room
Just got hired on with a new ISP. They don't wall fish, which is new to me (I'm not saying I hate it).
How many of yall work for companies that don't wall fish?
Wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks on where to keep supplies so that they're easier to grab and put away. I ended up getting moved into a new van and hopefully want to stay in this one for a while.
Just moved to a new building in LA—we are the first tenants. Spectrum came out and said the coaxial (top pair is for my unit) is way too short to crimp. the owners pulled it out like 3-4 more inches… I think it is still not long enough? if they break the stucco within the space or that lockbox would that provide enough slack? Everyone is confused why these were cut, lol.
I’m just trying to see if this will be enough BEFORE spectrum comes again tomorrow—so I can figure out solution with owners to prep. plz god I just want internet. ive been a good boi.
Hi everyone,
I’m looking to buy a VeEX CX310 DOCSIS meter for Spectrum work. New or used is fine, as long as it’s fully functional.
If anyone has one for sale or knows where I can find one, please send me a message.
Thank you!