MaryL wrote:
I have a whole-house surge suppressor built into my circuit box, and I
also have all electronic equipment attached to separate surge
suppressor. My CPU and monitor are connected to an APC back-up UBS.

I recently had technicians from the cable company (SuddenLink, formerly
Cox) at the house twice. He solved one problem but not the other. I
was not getting some channels on the TV that I have in the computer
room, and the reception on the channels I did receive was terrible. He
solved that problem. However, he was not able to do anything about the
other one. That is, I frequently (several times a day) lose connection
to cable and to the Internet. This happens regularly immediately after
I send a fairly large e-mail (using Eudora), but it also happens at
other times without any warning and without any real pattern -- I could
be surfing the Internet, reading newsgroups, sending mail, etc., and
access is suddenly gone. When I check the little connectivity icon in
the task bar, it will then show "Local access" only instead of "Local
and Internet access." I can usually (but not always) regain connection
if I turn off the surge suppressor that is connected to everything
*except* the CPU and monitor. As I said, they are on a separate UBS.
The CPU, monitor, and Zoom modem are all new. Only the router (LinkSys
Wireless-G) is older. This problem has been occurring with increasing
frequency for more than a year, so it started while I had my older
computer but has continued with the new equipment.

The cable company technician changed the splitters "just in case," with
no noticeable effect on the system. He suspects that the router is at
fault. However, he tested the router and it responded correctly.
Moreover, the cable company was able to "ping" it from the home office.
Does anyone have any ideas? I can replace the router, of course, but
that will involve more expense than just the router because I had a
networking rep come out to set up some of the equipment because I wanted
to make sure that my laptop was not vulnerable to "drive-by hackers."
They supposedly set a type of security that is better than what I had
done through Control Panel. So, I really hate to do that unless I can
be fairly certain that the router is at fault. Incidentally, I have a
lot of experience with several types of software, but I have absolutely
no knowledge of hardware and would not even be comfortable with software
that involved editing the Registry.

One thing the SuddenLink technician said surprised and confused me: He
said that they "preferred" that homeowners not use *any type* of surge
suppressor. He did not request that I disconnect mine, but I don't
understand that statement. Does anyone know why the cable company would
take that position. He also said, "They don't do any good anyway."
Actually, I had a small surge suppressor that proved its worth a few
years ago. My microwave would not work after a major thunderstorm, and
I thought it was ruined. It turned out that the surge suppressor had
been destroyed, but it had done its job -- the microwave worked
perfectly after I discarded that surge suppressor.

MaryL

Hi,
Both you and your tech did not do most simple basic things.
Did he measured aseband signal level? Every connector incurs ~2db loss
when connection is proper. Is your router properly configured and does
it have a lastest firmware loaded? Utilized ping and ipconfig command to
see what is going on? Eliminated all the gadget accessroies and tried
basic TV or/and Internet hook up? Use common sense, think logic.
Replacing this and that is a good method of trouble-shooting. When you
replace something you must have a valid reason.
Good luck,