DLINK DCM-202 Cable Modem + Frequent Charter Disconnects

**gisnickers** · 09-11-06, 08:05 PM

Every 2-3 Hours I get the boot. Really annoying. Does anyone have any tricks here?

I am out of ideas,
I've changed the splitter
Reran new cable line
Reran ethernet cable
Seperated my Router from the Modem
Changed Routers (Linksys WRT54GC & Hawking HWR54G)
Tried PC only connection to Modem

and STILL every 2-3 hours I get disconnected.

Here are the logs from the Modem:

09/11/06 16:14:18 D03.0 warning DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response
09/11/06 16:14:25 D04.1 warning ToD request sent - No Response received
09/11/06 16:23:51 R04.0 critical Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, but no Unicast Maintenance opportunities received - T4 timeout
09/11/06 16:23:52 T01.0 critical SYNC Timing Synchronization failure - Failed to acquire QAM/QPSK symbol timing
09/11/06 16:26:29 D03.0 warning DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response
09/11/06 16:26:35 D04.1 warning ToD request sent - No Response received

Here is the status page from my modem:

Downstream Signal

Frequency: 687000000 Hz
QAM Mode: 256 QAM
Channel Power: 4.7 dBmV
SNR: 33.390 dB

Upstream Signal

Channel Id: 1
Frequency: 23984000 Hz
Channel Width: 3200000 Hz
Channel Power: 35.5 dBmV

Any help would be greatly Appreciated.

Thanks for your time...

**travis2144** · 09-11-06, 09:57 PM

upstream power is low...you could put a 4 way splitter in the line and get it up to about 42 and your signal would still be good @ a -3ish..edit, your modem is getting lost in the noise floor is my best bet

**Gary335** · 09-11-06, 11:35 PM

Have you had someone come out to check out the line running from your house to the pole (or pedestal if its underground)? Many factors can cause an outside cable to deteriorate, and when that happens you can end up with alot of signal leakage and frequent disconnects. And that goes for both overhead and underground lines.

**travis2144** · 09-12-06, 06:13 AM

i doubt there is anything wrong with the cabling, if anything it is working too good, signal could use stand to be a little lower and upstream needs to be higher.

**Gary335** · 09-12-06, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by travis2144

i doubt there is anything wrong with the cabling, if anything it is working too good, signal could use stand to be a little lower and upstream needs to be higher.

There may not be, but when your having problems, it never hurts to cover all your bases. In the title he says he gets frequent disconnects, which tells me the signal is having difficulty getting where it needs to be.

**travis2144** · 09-12-06, 07:08 PM

http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=206755
read

**Gary335** · 09-12-06, 07:54 PM

Originally Posted by travis2144

http://forums.speedguide.net/showthread.php?t=206755
read

**travis2144** · 09-12-06, 08:14 PM

if his cable is damaged it to the point that he drops off then his signal level, ect would not be within the ranges they are. that's like saying my car cuts out but when it runs it gets a ton of fuel.....then it floods, similar concept.

**Gary335** · 09-12-06, 10:38 PM

Originally Posted by travis2144

if his cable is damaged it to the point that he drops off then his signal level, ect would not be within the ranges they are. that's like saying my car cuts out but when it runs it gets a ton of fuel.....then it floods, similar concept.

Other than a cable or hardware issue, what else would cause frequent disconnects? If it were me, the modem and cables would be where I'd start-I'm not saying that either is necessarily the problem, but when your troubleshooting you need a place to start, and that seems like a pretty good place to start to me. After all, getting a tech to come out and check things out is free-whether or not anything has to be replaced. If it turns out that all the hardware and cables are fine, then you move on to more advanced troubleshooting techniques.

**travis2144** · 09-13-06, 07:09 PM

he needs a tech to come out to adjust his signal levels. cabling, hardware, and provisioning can cause disconects.

**gisnickers** · 09-15-06, 02:16 AM

Great, Thanks for the information guys.

Currently my wiring is as follows:

My Modem --- 6 ft of cable --- Wall -- 2-3 ft of cable -- Cable Box outside (4 way splitter) on 3.5db Connector ----- 20-30 ft of cable ------- Box in the street.

Have swapped the splitter out as well. My Connection seems to be better lately, if I keep having problems I will give them a call back (Charter)

As of 9/15 Upstream Power sitting at: 35.5 dBmV

Thanks for all you help!

**Gary335** · 09-15-06, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by travis2144

he needs a tech to come out to adjust his signal levels. cabling, hardware, and provisioning can cause disconects.

Isn't that what I suggested is causing his disconnects (cabling, hardware, etc.?)?

The splitter could've been the problem, since it was outside. Moisture (i.e. rain) can get inside the connections on a splitter and cause some big problems.

**charterlinetech** · 03-27-10, 09:40 AM

You upstream/TX power is not low it is actually on the border line of being high. We like to keep it between 35-49 to provide room for fluctation. 50 would be considered low and 34 would be considered high. You need to have someone from charter run a EQA. An EQA can check the TX SNR which can only be checked from the headend. Cable length, splitter configuration, etc has no bering when your levels are good. Sounds like it could be a system problem. Is you modem dropping offline? Or are you trying to access a webpage and getting "page cannot be displayed"? Are you signal could be fluctating on and EQA can tell.