Another Cheap Moca 2.0 non-bonded adapter

[krkaufman]

the MEB1100 is used to extend the ONT WAN connection (via CoAX) to the location of the NVG468MQ. The reason it doesn't work as a LAN is that the NVG468MQ uses 2 MoCA frequency plans: (1) for the WAN and (1) for the LAN. The WAN frequency will bind the Ethernet data into the WAN section of the router, and hence it's acting as a DHCP client there.

The reason that the MEB1100 can't link with the NVG468MQ is because the two devices operate at different MoCA frequencies, by design:

• MEB1100: MoCA 1.1 channel C4 (975-1025 MHz)... the operating frequency required to link with the ONT built-in MoCA WAN bridge
• NVG468MQ: standard MoCA 2.0 Extended Band D (1125-1675 MHz) ... built-in MoCA bridge for the router LAN, to function effectively as a MoCA access point for STBs and other MoCA-capable network clients.

The incompatible frequencies are required, of course, so that two distinct MoCA networks can operate over shared coax.

Were the MEB1100 merely MoCA 1.1 but operated within the MoCA Band D range, yeah, it'd be able to connect; but it was designed to NOT connect to the FiOS router; the MEB1100 exists (within the Frontier context) because the NVG468MQ, unlike its predecessors, lacks a built-in MoCA WAN bridge; so the MEB1100 is designed strictly to make the MoCA WAN link with the ONT on behalf of a MoCA WAN-less router (see: NVG468MQ) -- when only coax connectivity between the ONT and router location is available.

 

[Jawadali]

FYI, I just want to give an update here. I know it's been a few years. In early 2021, I ended up getting a good local second-hand deal on a 2-node, tri-band Linksys Velop system - model WHW0302.

Though I already purchased one NVG468MQ on eBay, the cost of the kit ended up being not much more than buying an extra NVG468MQ plus all of the other adapters and accessories I would have needed to set up a MoCA network.

It's been very good, and low maintenance. One node is upstairs, connected to the cable modem and a gigabit switch, which all of the other wired devices are connected to. The other node is downstairs. The pseudo-HTPC desktop connected to the TV is hardwired to an Ethernet port on the downstairs node.

Overall, I've been pretty happy with it. Aside from achieving the primary goal of improving the connection of the downstairs PC, the general Wi-Fi connectivity around the house has been better.

 

[Samir]

Glad you found a wireless solution. These are typically not top performance like a moca setup, but also 'good enough' can be good enough.