Urmas Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 There was a screwup by the order taker when I ordered service a couple of weeks ago. OTOH I got very good phone service earlier today, and they set a new appointment for hookup only 2 days from now. So cable internet for me should start Wednesday, hopefully. Matti Nykänen:The odds are fifty-sixty. I'm prepared for each day. Even tomorrow. Quote
Bruno Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 The odds are fifty-sixty. I like that one . . . have to remember it for future use :DB) Bruno Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 18, 2007 Author Posted July 18, 2007 I just finished Phase 1 of recabling my friend's house. Looks to be a success. Internet has been moved into another room, and hopefully, the erratic cable connection will be a thing of the past. We'll know for sure in a day or two. I'm betting it was just a bad cable hookup in the house. Phase 2 will be to replace the rest of the old cables for the TV portion of the system.One day later, no loss of internet connectivity has been seen. I'm still crossing my fingers, but it looks like bad coax was the problem. Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 19, 2007 Author Posted July 19, 2007 BTW Comcast installer should be here in about 8 hours. Hope is the worst of evils, for it prolongs the torments of man.--Nietzsche Well, guess what? That's right, Clutter does not have cable internet. Comcast gets a 3rd and last try on Friday Jul 20th (2 more days). It seems that they don't normally make a practice of carrying enough coax on the installer's truck to install a 'service drop'. Well, I need one. Something tall like a box truck came through my neighborhood about a month ago and tore out the old drop. Just as well, as it was about 18 years old. To give them some benefit of the doubt, I probably made a mistake not mentioning that to them. I forgot to. Oops! The installer thought he was only going to be doing inside premises wiring. Duh! It seems pretty lame to me that an installer is running around without enough coax to install cable TV/internet. I'll take responsibility for my part of the screwup, but I think I should be able to expect better from a supposedly 'professional' cable company.Ah, well. I'm not blaming the installer, he gets a free pass on this one, but sending an installer out without adequate materials strikes me as rather unprofessional. The cable company assumed that drop would still be there because the house had cable about 18 years ago. They haven't made a penny off of my household since then. You think they'd ask if the drop was there? Nope, not a chance. Their records showed it there. Duh! They've been hammering away at us for the past 18 years trying to get us back as a customer. The only thing that finally reeled me in was that they unbundled cable internet from the other services, they offered a low 33 dollar service (for 1 year), and they did it without requiring a contract. In other words, h*l* finally froze over. Let's see how they do on Friday... Quote
Urmas Posted July 19, 2007 Posted July 19, 2007 Well, guess what? That's right, Clutter does not have cable internet. Why am I not the least bit surprised? ISP being... ISP? Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 19, 2007 Author Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) They say 'the third time is the charm'... ;)BTW I thought the installer was pretty smart and experienced and knew what he was doing. But not carrying lots of coax is counterintuitive and just plain dumb, in my book. Come on- they are in the cable installation business! What- they are afraid the installers are going to rip off the coax and do side jobs? Bad policy, IMO. Give the man the tools, equipment, and supplies he needs. This is like going fishing and forgetting the bait. Edited July 19, 2007 by Cluttermagnet Quote
Bruno Posted July 19, 2007 Posted July 19, 2007 This is like going fishing and forgetting the bait. Reading stories about Comcast on the net, "forgetting the bait" would fit right in . . . . . Hope they do get it right on Friday Clutter. Bruno Quote
ross549 Posted July 19, 2007 Posted July 19, 2007 I bet though that even of the drop was there, that they would have to replace it. It was probably RG-59, and would not have worked with the specific frequencies dedicated to the nternet feed.Adam Quote
striker Posted July 19, 2007 Posted July 19, 2007 sounds you're living in some 3rd world country instead of the US. Quote
Urmas Posted July 19, 2007 Posted July 19, 2007 sounds you're living in some 3rd world country instead of the US. Striker... Wow! A power serve... with a twist. Quote
zlim Posted July 19, 2007 Posted July 19, 2007 I'm not even sure the tv installers talk to the internet installers! Does that sound about right for tech support in the US? Yup.When I got Comcast, I hired an electrician to do the wiring. We have two cables coming into the house (the previous owners must have paid for two lines for a few years) but we have no cable jacks anywhere. The cable comes up from the basement through holes in the floor and there was no access in my "computer room". Since I wanted a regular jack on the wall and a phone jack (we also don't have those anywhere - we have the prong things and I bought adapters so I'd have phone jacks) it made more sense to have an electrician come in and put both jacks on the wall. He made sure that even though I have splitters in the basement, that the line for the internet wasn't split. All I had to do was purchase the service, call Comcast and send in for the rebate.I did have a Comcast computer guy here once. My signal was poor. He came with his notebook, hooked it up and decided that cables and connectors outside needed to be replaced - fortunately, he had enough to do the job. Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 19, 2007 Author Posted July 19, 2007 (edited) sounds you're living in some 3rd world country instead of the US. Sadly, in a number of categories, that is becoming more and more true. Broadband is an area where the US was at one time an innovator, but then the all powerful profit motive took over and now the US is headed for 'third world' status, depending very much on which area you live in. Verizon's FIOS fiber service is certainly not 'third world'. I will have that option in another 3-5 years, when they get around to wiring my area, which has slightly less population density.In defense of Comcast (does that surprise you?), I'd guess that the problems are more in the board room, less so at the actual worker level. I think I got a good installer, but they sent him out without the tools to do the job. Sad. Perhaps they have a few 'dim bulbs', but I'd have to say that pretty much everyone I have dealt with was courteous, capable, and helpful. No bad attitude, in other words. The one exception might be that sales person who insisted that I had to rent a modem from Comcast. What I don't know is whether that behavior was willful, or simply out of ignorance. I'm beginning to suspect that the powers within that company are running it a little too lean, trying to eke out every last bit of profit. Which reminds me of that saying "penny wise and pound foolish". Edited July 19, 2007 by Cluttermagnet Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 19, 2007 Author Posted July 19, 2007 I bet though that even of the drop was there, that they would have to replace it. It was probably RG-59, and would not have worked with the specific frequencies dedicated to the nternet feed.AdamAmazingly, it was RG-6 with a messenger wire. I agree, it's just as well that it got torn out. A fresh cable run almost has to have less attenuation- we're looking at a 300+ foot drop here, according to the installer. (looks to me more like 200+ ft.)I've found some RG-59 in my friend's house, built ~20 years ago. There had been an amplified attic antenna which preceeded CATV in that household. They did have that routed around to several rooms, so some of the cabling in the walls is still RG-59. Awful stuff. It's poorly shielded and has more attenuation. They switched to CATV about 17 years ago. I found that the main run within the house was quad-shielded RG-6. I'm replacing it all anyway. Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 21, 2007 Author Posted July 21, 2007 "The third time is the charm"...Comcast did show up on Friday and installed my cable drop and got internet working inside. I saw it on the installer's laptop, running XP. When I get back home, I'll work on fishing the length of coax that is hanging out of my ceiling, to get it to run where it belongs. I'm going to install a jack in an interior wall, right under my computer desk ('the beige monolith'). Should be pretty easy, being an interior wall.I did have a little trouble getting Ubuntu (Dapper) to talk to the modem. I have not yet worked out what my problem is. I'm also going to throw a network card in another computer which has Feisty on it. I'll struggle with it a little and see if I can figure out how to get Ethernet working. If I'm still having trouble, I'll ask for help here.So, Clutters fling with broadband begins... Quote
Urmas Posted July 21, 2007 Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) I found a D-Link DI-624 online for 30 dollars, shipped, from 3btech.net. A 'recertified' unit, no retail package or software CD. I can provide a power supply if needed, I have literally hundreds. Web browser setup. I should have it within a week.You are using the router, right? D-Link DI-624 manual (.pdf): ftp://ftp.dlink.com/Gateway/di624_revC/Ma..._manual_106.zipIn Ubuntu, make sure that your wired connection (eth) is enabled ["active"] and configured for "DHCP" (System -> Administration -> Network Settings):Next, fire up your net browser, and go to http://192.168.0.1Type admin in the User Name fieldLeave the Password blankClick OK... and you should be "in" your router's Home/Wizard screen.Here are some "what the heck?" Comcast cable con router threads... just in case :http://www.elifulkerson.com/articles/router-vs-comcast.phphttp://forums.modojo.com/showthread.php?t=145520http://jon.pinoyspecialist.com/index.php?itemid=2http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=184450 Edited July 21, 2007 by Urmas Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 21, 2007 Author Posted July 21, 2007 Just a quick note-I got home and fished the new cable in the ceiling 'good enough for now'. Then I threw an Ethernet card in my Ubuntu Feisty box. Without connecting the router, I let the modem find the computer and presto- I was on the net. I'm not going to run very long without that router, however. I'm going to hook it up right now... Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 21, 2007 Author Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) You are using the router, right? Next, fire up your net browser, and go to http://192.168.0.1Type admin in the User Name fieldLeave the Password blankClick OK... and you should be "in" your router's Home/Wizard screen.OK, I got this far, although the wizard didn't kick in when I hit that button. I clicked on the Wireless button and did disable wireless. But I haven't yet figured out how to set up a strong password and my ID...Once I figured out that I had to let the router run javascript in Firefox, my 'wireless OFF' setting did 'stick'... Edited July 21, 2007 by Cluttermagnet Quote
Urmas Posted July 21, 2007 Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) But I haven't yet figured out how to set up a strong password and my ID...Uhh... can you elaborate a bit? Password? ID? For your router? For opening the connection?First things first... can you get online with the router connected between the computer and modem? Edited July 21, 2007 by Urmas Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 21, 2007 Author Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) Uhh... can you elaborate a bit? Password? ID? For your router? For opening the connection?For the DI-624 router. I figured it out. Changed to a strong pwd for admin and a fairly good one for user (logins: "admin" and "user").Oh, yes, I'm accessing the net with both router and modem in series. No pwd or ID needed to connect to Comcast. They register the MAC number of your modem. When you try to connect, they validate that number, then let you in.After I applied the change, the router immediately asked me for user name ("user") and my new pwd, then let me back in to browser/ wizard window.BTW this is a smart enough router it knew how to set itself up right away. Can I assume it automagically cloned itself to the modem's MAC number? It just found the cable modem right away and started using it to access the net. So I think it is working OK and all I may need to do now is perhaps tweak a couple of other settings. Remote control is disabled. Wireless is disabled.FWIW the setup does have a 'clone MAC number' button, but I have never had to use it. Edited July 21, 2007 by Cluttermagnet Quote
Urmas Posted July 21, 2007 Posted July 21, 2007 Way to go!The router's in business now... when you start your computer, the connection is "on" by default... and when you connect other computers to the router, they can connect by default... provided that their ethernet connections are active and set to DHCP. Easy or what? Can I assume it automagically cloned itself to the modem's MAC number?I dont think so:From: http://forums.modojo.com/showthread.php?t=145520Your cable modem reports how many CPE devices are connected behind it to the CMTS. (CPE is customer premise equipment or basically fancy initials for your PC/router. CMTS is a cisco router that takes connections from the cable system head end and routes them through fast ethernet ports to the internet cloud or wherever). Most cable modems just keep a table of MAC addresses in them. The limit, however, can be imposed by the cable modem's configuration file downloaded when it initializes during boot or from the CMTS's global configs or both. Why on earth would an ISP want to limit how many CPE's are serviced through a single modem? Well, because CPE's get real IP addresses not fake local ones. ISP's purchase blocks of IP's. What? IP addresses cost money!? YES. Without a limit on MACs some idiot could hook up a couple 24 port hubs or something to the modem and each computer gets public internet IP addresses. Aside from the obvoius security problems this imposes it's a huge waste. It's not correct to say that comcast or whoever only wants you to use 1 computer on your connection. The fact is that they couldn't care less how many you had. 1 or 1000 as long as you only grab one real IP from their pool. The MAC limitation usually isn't 1 either, it's 2. Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 21, 2007 Author Posted July 21, 2007 The router's in business now... when you start your computer, the connection is "on" by default... and when you connect other computers to the router, they can connect by default... provided that their ethernet connections are active and set to DHCP. Easy or what? OK, great! Well, I think I understand this, mostly. For now, any added computers are just going to be wired to LAN ports 2, 3, and 4. I guess the router will automagically take care of the connections sharing, then, and from Comcast's perspective, I'm using only one MAC address.Now I can do some serious downloading- update my copies of Dapper, for one thing. Say- do I have to watch out for and not allow that upgrade to the Linux shell that had problems? Quote
Urmas Posted July 21, 2007 Posted July 21, 2007 Say- do I have to watch out for and not allow that upgrade to the Linux shell that had problems?Naah... there are no "current" package woes that I'm aware of... update it to the hilt! (might take a while ...) Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 21, 2007 Author Posted July 21, 2007 Oh, man! I'm a downloading fool this next week. Quote
Urmas Posted July 21, 2007 Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) EDIT: Page 30... we're going places with this thread! Edited July 21, 2007 by Urmas Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 21, 2007 Author Posted July 21, 2007 The router's in business now... when you start your computer, the connection is "on" by default... and when you connect other computers to the router, they can connect by default... provided that their ethernet connections are active and set to DHCP. Easy or what?Hmmm-I've been unable to get my original Ubuntu Dapper box to grab internet- and it does have Ethernet enabled and DHCP enabled. Any ideas? Quote
Urmas Posted July 21, 2007 Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) Hmmm-I've been unable to get my original Ubuntu Dapper box to grab internet- and it does have Ethernet enabled and DHCP enabled. Any ideas? It hasn't been "broadband connected" before? You've "introduced" it to router (as 2nd computer) and it's no go?Hey: is this the box that's been your dial-up box? In network settings, disable the dialup... or - at the very least - make sure that the dialup modem no longer has "default device" status. Edited July 21, 2007 by Urmas Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 21, 2007 Author Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) It hasn't been "broadband connected" before? You've "introduced" it to router (as 2nd computer) and it's no go?Hey: is this the box that's been your dial-up box? In network settings, disable the dialup. Right, it has never been broadband connected before. I disabled dialup just now. Still is not accessing the net.BTW it refused to access the net without the router, earlier Friday. But dialup was still enabled at that time.In Networking, ppp0 is 'not configured' (disabled). eth0 is active and is set to DHCP. Edited July 21, 2007 by Cluttermagnet Quote
Urmas Posted July 21, 2007 Posted July 21, 2007 Reboot! (Yeah! I'm getting desperate! )Can it access the router configuration page? Quote
Cluttermagnet Posted July 21, 2007 Author Posted July 21, 2007 (edited) Can it access the router configuration page?Yes! I'm in there right now. What settings do you think I should try changing? (Or should I run the wizard this time? I didn't with the other computer.) Edited July 21, 2007 by Cluttermagnet Quote
Urmas Posted July 21, 2007 Posted July 21, 2007 Router's DHCP server is "Enabled"? How about "power cycling" the whole enchilada... from computers through router to cable modem? Power off and go drink a beer. Quote
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