Sudden internet lag after moving.

[hat]

I've got some weird lag issues going on now. It's most noticeable in Supreme Commander 2, the game is very choppy, lots of stopping and starting. I'm using the exact same internet service as I was before, same company, same package. My raw speed is fine, I can test to a speedtest.net server 2 states away and show stable, high speeds, slightly higher than we pay for in fact, so this is more of a long session line quality issue. Here's what I think could be going wrong:

1. The wire is being split twice before it hits the modem. As the wire comes in, it gets split once to a tv, then runs off into the other room where it is split again. One wire off that splitter goes to the modem, one to the other tv.

2. The modem is bad.

3. The router is bad. Not using my router, my stepdad is using some cheap old Belkin box he bought a while ago. It's probably low spec, and might not be able to handle the wireless AES encryption, causing it to slow down and lag.

4. The wire going from the router into my room is going through a phone junction in the wall. Mind you the wire isn't actually plugged into the junction, we removed the faceplates and such, ran the wire through the hole, and closed it back up. There's about a million other wires in there which I suspect may be causing interference with my wire, throwing my performance off.

[micropage7]

what about test it using ping?
is that normal

check your modem/router heat? maybe its over heat

[hat]

Pings are normal. Don't think it would be heat, this problem does happen during the cool nights as well.

//It might have been a DNS server. I was messing around with some 3rd party servers... so I tried switching back to my ISP's server, played a full game of SC2 without any lag to speak of.

[Aquinus]

What is your power level and SNR on your modem? You should be able to find this on a Motorola cable modem by going to http://192.168.100.1

You would see something like this:

Originally Posted by hat

//It might have been a DNS server. I was messing around with some 3rd party servers... so I tried switching back to my ISP's server, played a full game of SC2 without any lag to speak of.

DNS is only queried when its needed. DNS should never result in constant lag but only when you're first trying to connect then it holds on to the DNS record until it times out.

[hat]

Still having intermittent lag issues...

[natr0n]

your power level is horrible.

you need to buy a cable amp

[natr0n]

http://www.amazon.com/Motorola-Signa...KK?ref=prid-20

you'll get about 9-12 db increase


They make many models/brands various prices. I use an amp myself best thing ever.

[hat]

I really can't afford $50 for that. What could be causing this drop? Is it because the input coaxial cable is being split twice before it gets to the modem?

[natr0n]

yes,anytime you use a splitter you lose 50% of line signal

i can find you a cheaper one whats your budget about?

[hat]

Looks like I'm going to need a 3 way splitter... if that doesn't help, I'll try an amp.

[CaptainFailcon]

HOLD IT
A: his power level is fine so is his SNR I have worse then that here and I am less then 6 miles from the sub-switch
downstream power should be any ware from -10 to +10 (negative numbers are good) mine is -8.76

is fine upstream power should be 40-58 (mine is 54.6MV)
I believe something else is wrong

try a wired connection I would point the finger at that crappy belkin wireless router first there junk... any number of things could be murdering the wifi
boosters are NEVER a good idea with cable internet the cheapo's are not rated to handle the frequencies and they actually make the problem worse the less power is is more

if you are having a problem call the isp and have them send a lineman out to check the lines sometimes all they need todo is replace the connectors and if its there fail it should be free for the service call

[natr0n]

I will share this. I had similar issues as hat lag, ect in fps game worse dB. I did my research got an amp. I nearly shit my pants all my issues went away.

so I'm just sharing , none need to read it or attempt it.

[CaptainFailcon]

when you amp the signal you add noise noise is bad a AMP is only a option if the following
A: its rated for The full frequency bands and does NOT Have a low pass filter
B: it should be installed before ANY splitters
C: only after you have called the isp and had them come out and check the lines <<< this I MEAN IT don't try and hack around signal issues your self because you can burn out the modem if the AMP is to much been there done that learned the hard-way

you can also have them run a new feed just for the cable modem but unless the lines are REALLLY shotty you should not be having issues after one or two splits they may not even charge you for running a new line if the signal IS in fact a issue

[natr0n]

using amp after a splitter

[CaptainFailcon]

you do not want Positive power numbers you WANT negative Negative means that the isp is not needing to push more power to get the signal to the modem +8 while not great is ok I like to see between -7 - +7 but the spec says -10 to +10 a booster throws that reading off anyway so its all moot unless you have lineman tools I suspect the reason you saw a improvement was simply a bad connection because 90% of the time AMP's don't do anything but make it worse

[hat]

I just realized I'm not going to be able to move the modem. I don't have a long enough ethernet cable to reach all the way over there where the line first comes in. I just looked and saw there is already a 3 way splitter over there though, it's just that when they installed our stuff they ran one long wire and split it again in the other room instead of running two wires. Seems like the best thing I can do now is get another long coaxial wire and run it into the second room to eliminate the second splitter.

[hat]

As a quick test, I bypassed the second splitter and ran the wire straight to the modem. I am now getting 4dBmV, compared to the 1dBmV I had before.

As another quick test, I plugged my computer straight into the modem and it worked beautifully. Then I set everything back up with the modem on the second splitter, and it still worked great. Looked like I've narrowed the culprit down to the router.

[Aquinus]

You want the power level to be 0, typically DOCSIS 2.0 spec specifies +/- 5.0dBmV on the incoming power level. Your upstream (transmit) is REALLY high. 52dBmV could fry your cable box's transmitter over time.

As for your router, have you reset it to defaults yet to see if stock settings work?

Originally Posted by natr0n

http://img.techpowerup.org/120712/modem.jpg


using amp after a splitter

Remove the amp, your giving your modem too much juice. You want, as I said, +/- 5dBmV on income power level and < 52dBmV on the outgoing. Higher SNRs are better, and power levels closest to 0 are the best, but transmitting is typically over 32dBmV. At this rate you're stressing out both the transmitter with the outgoing being so high and the receiver from the incoming power level being so high from the amp.

Also, keep in mind that it's okay if the incoming signal is quiet, the key is a good SNR. If your SNR is crap, you're just amplifying a poor signal. If you can't hear someone because of background sound, making everything louder isn't going to help you.