first post and need help,sorry folks

[simongrant]

Hi group,just found this board after searching for help with my ntlhome120 modem.For several months now i have lost internet for no reason i know of and it comes back on again for no reason i know of.Sometimes its minutes sometimes a day or 2.Anyway thursday night/friday morning it went off in the night,went to work came home at 22.30 and again it was back on but since then and right up to now the ready light is flashing almost constant but still the web is working.Im not techy at all but found the modem page from this site and this is what it says:

Type : Ambit ETH/USB Combo Cable Modem
Cable modem : Ambit Cable Modem
IP address : *.*.*.*
Downstream Receive Power Level : -4.77 dBmv
Downstream SNR : 31.69 dB
Upstream Transmit Power Level : 54.30 dBmv

This means nothing at all to me really,so any help would be very much appreciated before an expensive call to india:o:

Again apologies for asking a ? on first post
By the way im near bolton,northwest uk

Simon

[joglynne]

Hi Simon, ignore my PM, Eagle eyed Kymmy did the honours. :D

Welcome to the forum, I am sure a member will be along soon to look at your levels and advise you.

[simongrant]

Thanks for the welcome and the PM and also kimmy for the editing,much appreciated,thankyou;)

Simon

[Kymmy]

Kimmy??? Sorry no Kimmy here ;) :p:

[simongrant]

Ooops,very sorry kymmy,damn this is embarassing,first the IP thing now mispelling your name,my sincerest apologies kymmy

Simon

[Kymmy]

Not to worry and welcome to the forum..

It shouldn't be too long before some of the other eagle eyed members that live and breat VM power settings pop along and give thier verdict on the levels :)

[simongrant]

I found this too if it is any help:

Network Access : Enabled
Maximum Downstream Data Rate : 10240000 bps
Maximum Upstream Data Rate : 512000 bps
Maximum Number of CPEs : 1
Software Upgrade File Name : ***********.cpr
Software Upgrade AdminStatus : allowProvisioningUpgrade
Software Upgrade OperStatus : failed

[xocemp]

Post another one of these please Simon.

Type : Ambit ETH/USB Combo Cable Modem
Cable modem : Ambit Cable Modem
IP address : *.*.*.*
Downstream Receive Power Level : -4.77 dBmv
Downstream SNR : 31.69 dB
Upstream Transmit Power Level : 54.30 dBmv

P.S, don't mind if you mis-spell my name, since thats not what I was christened ;)

[Kymmy]

That just tells people you're on 10Mb though I will delete the upgrade file name..

Things we normally remove are modem file names, serial numbers, MAC addresses and IP's due to the fact that most of the above can be used to help cloners get services for free :(

[xocemp]

Upgrade file name is of no use to a cloner :)

[Kymmy]

Is it config files then?? Just that one of the regulars keeps asking us to remove the filenames from posts (though I think it's 50Mb names)

[simongrant]

Ok,many thanks for the advice both of you
here is the power thing again:

Downstream Receive Power Level : -4.65 dBmv
Downstream SNR : 32.63 dB
Upstream Transmit Power Level : 54.30 dBmv

[xocemp]

The only thing of real use Kymmy is the modems MAC address, understandably public IP addresses are also a risk but for a different reason.

---------- Post added at 15:36 ---------- Previous post was at 15:32 ----------

From the levels you've provided Simon, I'd say this is upstream SNR thats that cause. Upstream SNR is VM network side.
This means that people on the same part of the network, card & upstream will have the same symptoms, so no need for an expensive call to VM.

[simongrant]

Thats great to know,thanks very much indeed,like i said i still have internet access so i will just ride it out till VM sort whatever it is.

Thanks everyone

Regards

Simon(untechnically co-ordinated)

Just a quick one,where did you get the upstream SNR from?,i only see the downstream SNR and upstream power level?

Cheers

Simon

[xocemp]

I have a working knowledge of VM's HFC cable network :)

[simongrant]

Cheers xocemp,so it most defo seems a problem at VM's end rather than my end then,nothing changes setup wise here anyway.

Thanks again

Simon

FYI the ready light is now staying solid for between 5-10 seconds at a time now where before it was constant flashing

[fatassmichael]

i think it may also be the ntlhome 120 modem, quite a few posts on this forum seem to indicate changing to the ambit 256 resolved similar issues.
Simon, call vm faults on 151 from a vm landline, explain the situation and tell them you have the 120 modem, alternativley, use the vm newsgroups ( i forget the address to advise of how to set them up and the correct one you need.)

[simongrant]

Thx michael,have no landline here just mobile,so will call them monday from mother in laws who does have VM landline

cheers
Simon

[Sephiroth]

I shouldn't really muscle in on my friend xocemp's diagnosis but IMO you've also got a downstream issue.

Your downstream SNR at 31.69 dB is too low. When I see the high upstream voltage and the low SNR combined with an iffy - downstream power level I usually advise to look first at your coax cable and make sure it's firmly screwed in at both ends.

If the cable is OK, then physical problems can lie anywhere from your splitter to the street cabinet. If it's further along then it'll be an area fault.

[fatassmichael]

again simon, you could always post on the vm newsgroups, http://www.virginmedia.com/myvirginmedia/newsgroups/setting-up.php thats the link for how to set up.

hth

Mike

[simongrant]

I shouldn't really muscle in on my friend xocemp's diagnosis but IMO you've also got a downstream issue.

Your downstream SNR at 31.69 dB is too low. When I see the high upstream voltage and the low SNR combined with an iffy - downstream power level I usually advise to look first at your coax cable and make sure it's firmly screwed in at both ends.

If the cable is OK, then physical problems can lie anywhere from your splitter to the street cabinet. If it's further along then it'll be an area fault.

thanks,in certain areas along the coax ie under carpet near front door to run upstairs the outer was split so i put some leccy tape around it,this was a month ago,maybe new coax is needed,it has been in situ for about 8 years now.
Do vm charge for replacement etc?

Simon

[Sephiroth]

thanks,in certain areas along the coax ie under carpet near front door to run upstairs the outer was split so i put some leccy tape around it,this was a month ago,maybe new coax is needed,it has been in situ for about 8 years now.
Do vm charge for replacement etc?

Simon
You can do this yourself with good quality cable such as RG6 (because of the long run).

But really, I don't recommend what you're doing. You'll be tempted to bend the cable with a shorter than specified radius (which I think is 4") and that could damage the inner structure and increease attenuation. My guess also is that you'll lose at least 3 dB SNR on your extended length of coax.

I can see why you want the modem within your sight but I wouldn't (and don't) do it myself. You could do what we do which is to use powerline round the house; or wireless via a router. Keep cables short is the rule.

Hope that helps and isn't a blind alley in this particular case.

[simongrant]

ah i see this maybe confusing but NTL installed it this way 8 or so years ago running from the box in the living room up to my pc in the bedroom,but they ran it under the carpet in the hall straight over one of those carpet tracks,over the years the out casing has become worn so i just put some electrical tape around it,i havent split the wire and then ran another piece upstairs

Simon

[Sephiroth]

If you have a short coax cable to hand (or buy one tomorrow), you can take the modem and PC downstairs and get the stats again. That'll confirm whether or not the long cable run is contributing to your problem.

Like I dort of said, xocemp is more often than right first time than many others, though in this case you turn up with a dodgy internal cable! So it needs to be eliminated from enquiries.