loose coax? moca help

[Brett Stimpson]

See two photos.
The mess on the left is for cable tv? or satellite system? the wires on the outside of the house are cut and end. House does not have a satellite dish.

The green arrow shows a single line in for spectrum confirmed as seen in the box outside.

it goes into the two way splitter. The other two lines then go up I assume into the attic to drop down into four coax connections:
1. living room
2. master
3. second bedroom
4. third bedroom/office

I have 3) MOCA adapters I used successfully in my last house. I would like to use them in this new house.
My question is should modem be connected down here in the basement?

Also in the other photo what are the two open ends for?
Did they run two lines throughout the house to get the 4 connections then run them back down here to be open?

Lastly I would like to establish a connection for my home theater system which is in the unfished basement and there is no coax connection presently.
Could I run new cable from one of the open ends and stablish a 5th connection at my tv/receiver?

Thanks for any help.

 

[degrub]

Get a simple coax "ring out" tester to identify each coax run and where it terminates ( wall plate, open coax, splitter, etc). Maybe 15-20 $ at local Home Depot or Lowes. Then make a sketch of what is where and which cable goes where and what it is attached to. Need to know details on all pieces of gear attached -splitter with model name and number, modem, TV boxes, etc. Then post the sketch/list with each item labeled. We can give you better advice and you won't be making assumptions. Hopefully, there are no connections inside the walls with splitters. Also, need to check what is behind each wall plate to verify no onward connection there.

That splitter probably needs to be replaced with a MOCA 2 certified splitter. If your Spectrum modem is using DOCCIS3.1 and if you share coax with MOCA, the MOCA bandwidth will be severely reduced. Best option is coax for moca that is not in the path of the Spectrum signal to their modem. If you have to share coax, then you/we need the map of the coax plant so we can come up with options that may work.

BTW, what are the name and model of the MOCA modems you have ?

 

[Brett Stimpson]

See photos.
pretty simple set up.
Spectrum line in.
splits to:
A. Living room
B. Office/Bedroom 3

Then runs up into attic.
Coming back down and over to lines 3&4 which are open at the end are:
C. Bedroom 2
D. Master Bedroom

Also see photos of Spectrum Modem and Actiontec MOCA adapters. ( I have 3)
I had MOCA splitters but must have left them at the old house.

I recall doing this last time I needed a POE filter. Would that apply again here?

 

[Brett Stimpson]

Forgot to mention.
Nothing is attached at the other end to any of the coax.
I have google wifi mesh running wireless.
phones on wifi in bedroom.
tv with roku running on wifi in living room
desktop and laptop running in office on wifi
in unfinished basement home theater set up TV, receiver, blu ray player PS4 all running off wifi currently.
At times my home theater system will get 170Mbps i should be getting 400Mbps from Spectrum.
hoping to get speeds up again with MOCA to home theater and office.

 

[degrub]

See photos.
pretty simple set up.
Spectrum line in.
splits to:
A. Living room
B. Office/Bedroom 3

Then runs up into attic.

What/which does ? From where ? From what connection ?

Coming back down and over to lines 3&4 which are open at the end are:
C. Bedroom 2
D. Master Bedroom

So these two are open end on both ends, correct ?

Also see photos of Spectrum Modem and Actiontec MOCA adapters. ( I have 3)
I had MOCA splitters but must have left them at the old house.

I recall doing this last time I needed a POE filter. Would that apply again here?

 

[degrub]

Forgot to mention.
Nothing is attached at the other end to any of the coax.
I have google wifi mesh running wireless.
phones on wifi in bedroom.
tv with roku running on wifi in living room
desktop and laptop running in office on wifi
in unfinished basement home theater set up TV, receiver, blu ray player PS4 all running off wifi currently.
At times my home theater system will get 170Mbps i should be getting 400Mbps from Spectrum.
hoping to get speeds up again with MOCA to home theater and office.

Need a sketch of the coax layout with everything identified. Some of the descriptions, to me, are incomplete or not clear since i have not seen the cable plant.
Basically, if the coax is not connected to anything except terminated in a wall plate ( and not connected to anything after wall plate), then it can be used for MOCA once all non-moca certified splitters are replaced.

Where is your wifi router now ?
Where is the modem ?

If you put the modem in the basement and do not move the wireless router, then you need a moca ethernet or separate ethernet connection between the two. Best is dedicated single coax and moca modem pair.

Need a sketch of the entire coax layout and location of all devices that are connected or you want to connect to ethernet.
verbal descriptions are difficult to work with. As they say, a map is worth a thousand words.

 

[krkaufman]

My question is should modem be connected down here in the basement?

Owing to DOCSIS encroachment on the MoCA [Band D] frequency range, your best long-term solution is getting the ISP/modem feed isolated from any MoCA-infused coax, but it's typically not required near-term. (The usual related issue is just a DOCSIS 3.1 modem wigging-out on seeing MoCA signals, which can be remedied with a separate 70+ dB MoCA filter installed on the modem, as a prophylactic.) If you wanted or needed to isolate the ISP/modem feed, you'd either need to install the modem & primary router near the cable entry point and coax junction, or in some room with dual coax paths to/from the junction, enabling the necessary isolation. (Assuming no alternate Cat6 network cabling is available, of course.)

Examples:

• DOCSIS sharing coax w/ MoCA
• DOCSIS isolated from MoCA (dual coax)

See also:

• outline/highlights for a cable+MoCA setup

.
.

 

[krkaufman]

Nothing is attached at the other end to any of the coax.

I'm assuming the 4 documented coax lines ...

A. Living room​

B. Office/Bedroom 3​

C. Bedroom 2​

D. Master Bedroom​

... are all properly terminated with F-connectors and connected to the backside of wallplate coax outlets. Yes?

And if you have functioning Internet (with everything currently serviced via Wi-Fi), the modem must be connected somewhere, presumably either the Living Room or Office/Bedroom 3 ... ???

Have you installed a new coax run over to ...

E. Home Theater​

??? If not, consider running 2 coax lines to future-proof for when DOCSIS isolation becomes necessary (allowing install of the modem and primary router at the Home Theater, rather than at the coax junction, per above diagram).

Given the coax mapping you've done, it seems like you should be able to get a couple locations wired for connectivity, limited by having just 3 MoCA adapters (one as main MoCA/LAN bridge at router, two for remote room installations), although...

• You'll first want to make sure that you get a 70+ dB "PoE" MoCA filter properly installed, if going with a DOCSIS+MoCA shared setup;
• Should install a 2nd MoCA filter on the modem, as protection against MoCA signals, again, if a DOCSIS+MoCA shared setup;
• Will want to grab additional MoCA adapters to get more rooms connected;
• Would want to use a MoCA-optimized splitter for getting the lines interconnected, potentially using a two-splitter setup if wanting to preserve signal strength on the ISP/modem path, connecting the modem location via an initial 2-way splitter. (The "PoE" MoCA filter should be installed on the input port of the top-level splitter is a DOCSIS+MoCA shared setup.) The splitters used should be right-sized for only the number of connections needed, using 75-ohm terminators to cap any ports not yet required.

As for the MoCA adapters, they're just bonded MoCA 2.0, rather than MoCA 2.5, but should support your current Internet service speeds (400 Mbps down, likely 10-20 up). If adding MoCA adapters, you could add MoCA 2.5 adapters ...

• MoCA adapters, grouped by throughput

... but be aware of potential compatibility issues between the ECB6200 and MoCA 2.5 nodes. Also, if/when adding MoCA 2.5 adapters, it would make sense for one to step-in as the main MoCA/Ethernet bridge at the router, shifting the bonded MoCA 2.0 adapter to another location.

 

[krkaufman]

If you wanted or needed to isolate the ISP/modem feed, you'd either need to install the modem & primary router near the cable entry point and coax junction, or in some room with dual coax paths to/from the junction, enabling the necessary isolation. (Assuming no alternate Cat6 network cabling is available, of course.)

p.s. Infrastructure permitting, another option for isolating the ISP/modem feed, barring the ability to run new cabling between a preferred modem/router location and the coax junction, would be to get creative in finding an alternate path for the DOCSIS/modem (WAN) or MoCA (LAN) signals, perhaps by creating a pass-through to an adjoining room with the needed connectivity. For example:

• DOCSIS isolated from MoCA (adjacent room Cat6/LAN pass-through)
• DOCSIS isolated from MoCA (adjacent room coax/WAN pass-through)

 

[Brett Stimpson]

I'm assuming the 4 documented coax lines ...

A. Living room​

B. Office/Bedroom 3​

C. Bedroom 2​

D. Master Bedroom​

... are all properly terminated with F-connectors and connected to the backside of wallplate coax outlets. Yes? CORRECT

And if you have functioning Internet (with everything currently serviced via Wi-Fi), the modem must be connected somewhere, presumably either the Living Room or Office/Bedroom 3 ... ??? LIVING ROOM RIGHT NEXT TO THE MODEM

Have you installed a new coax run over to ...

E. Home Theater NO, NOT YET​

??? If not, consider running 2 coax lines to future-proof for when DOCSIS isolation becomes necessary (allowing install of the modem and primary router at the Home Theater, rather than at the coax junction, per above diagram).

Given the coax mapping you've done, it seems like you should be able to get a couple locations wired for connectivity, limited by having just 3 MoCA adapters (one as main MoCA/LAN bridge at router, two for remote room installations), although...

• You'll first want to make sure that you get a 70+ dB "PoE" MoCA filter properly installed, if going with a DOCSIS+MoCA shared setup;
• Should install a 2nd MoCA filter on the modem, as protection against MoCA signals, again, if a DOCSIS+MoCA shared setup;
• Will want to grab additional MoCA adapters to get more rooms connected;
• Would want to use a MoCA-optimized splitter for getting the lines interconnected, potentially using a two-splitter setup if wanting to preserve signal strength on the ISP/modem path, connecting the modem location via an initial 2-way splitter. (The "PoE" MoCA filter should be installed on the input port of the top-level splitter is a DOCSIS+MoCA shared setup.) The splitters used should be right-sized for only the number of connections needed, using 75-ohm terminators to cap any ports not yet required.

As for the MoCA adapters, they're just bonded MoCA 2.0, rather than MoCA 2.5, but should support your current Internet service speeds (400 Mbps down, likely 10-20 up). If adding MoCA adapters, you could add MoCA 2.5 adapters ...WOULD I BENEFIT FROM 2.5? I CAN BUY NEW ONES

• MoCA adapters, grouped by throughput

... but be aware of potential compatibility issues between the ECB6200 and MoCA 2.5 nodes. Also, if/when adding MoCA 2.5 adapters, it would make sense for one to step-in as the main MoCA/Ethernet bridge at the router, shifting the bonded MoCA 2.0 adapter to another location.

Thanks for the help Kaufman. You helped me do this successfully at my last home many years ago. I remember your name and diagrams.

 

[krkaufman]

Ouch! Not sure why I lost track of that prior thread. Looks like you had direct Ethernet possibilities.

edit: p.s. Oops! Didn’t realize there were comments within the quoted text. To answer the one question … it’s up to you. Bonded MoCA 2.0 should give you your full ISP subscribed speeds; beyond that it’s a matter of LAN throughput requirements and how much active competition for traffic there will be.

• throughput by MoCA spec