I live in a townhouse. When I first moved in here 6.5 years ago I had
cable internet, but I got a much better deal on DSL so I dropped it
after a month or two even though Cable was faster. A couple of
weeks ago decided I'd try cable internet again. While waiting for a
new modem, they were able to get me online with an old 3Com "Shark
Fine" modem for a few days without problems before a new Motorola
Surfboard was sent to me. When using the old 3Com, the service was
good (no outages), but the top download speed was around 4.7mbs.

When I installed the new Surboard, the top speed was faster. However,
after the first day I discovered that there was an intermittent
problem of the modem losing the signal. What I'm finding funny, is
that when the Surfboard would lose the signal and go offline, the
3Com, if connected, would be able to get online according to the cable
company. I even tried connecting both the Surfboard and the 3Com to
a the same two-way splitter and only the 3Com would get a signal
during the outages. That led me to believe the problem was the
Surfboard. They set up an appointment to have a technician arrive. I
continued to use the Surfboard for a few days with at least 2
intermittent outages per day.

When the tech arrived, he measured the line signal and did a few
things to improve it, such as replacing an unnecessary 3-way splitter
with a two way, and replace a few bad connectors in the system, adding
a filter on one of the lines going into the bedroom which he said was
failing for noise that was likely coming from the TV, and adding a
filter to the little TV in the office which he said was generating
noise. He claimed his machine was still picking up "ingress" (noise)
from the two older approximately 23-year old original cables from when
the townhouse was originally built. While I agree that these two
cables are older and thinner than what is currently used, and
"ideally" would be good to replace, and they may be picking up some
noise if his machine is really telling the truth and calibrated
correctly, etc, but I wouldn't want to replace them unless as a last
resort, because they are snaked through walls. One of them goes from
basement-level to attic above 2nd story and the other from basement-
level in front of house to 1st story at rear of house. I'm not
allowed to have the cable company run wires outside the townhouse and
the cable company won't snake new wires for me internally, so I would
need to hire an electrician to do the work unless I wanted an ugly/
visible wiring job. I fear it would be expensive to have an
electrician install new CATV wires. How much would it generally be
expected to cost to replace these 2 main cables in my townhouse and is
there any risk of damaging anything from having the work done? (NOTE:
In addition, 2 cables going from the attic to 2nd story would likely
need replacement as well) Any idea would the total job should cost?

Anyway, I think the technician did improve the signal to the Surboard
even though he claims I should still replace the 2 older main cables.
There is still no explanation as to why the 3Com didn't have the
problem. Currently the Surfboard says the Downstream Power Level is 5
dBmV when previously it was zero. Currently the S/N ratio is 36 to
37 db, but I believe it said the same thing previously. No outage has
occurred since the technician left yesterday so I'm keeping my fingers
crossed. If I do still get these outages, then my plan is to move the
modem downstairs to an outlet in the kitchen which the technician said
is a good/newer line. If that doesn't make the outages go away, then
I would temporarily disconnect the 2 older lines from the system
altogether by removing them from the splitter in the garage. I would
temporarily lose the ability to watch some of the TVs in the house.
If I still get intermittant outages then I would know that the it is
utter BS that the older lines were the cause the outages. (I'll
reiterate that the 3com modem did not get any outages.) Only if
disconnecting the older 2 lines from the system is the only solution
to problem would I get involved with replacing them.

My opinion, until proven otherwise, is they just want to use the
"older cables" as an excuse to not look further into a problem.
(I'll reiterate that the 3Com wasn't getting any outages, and TV
signal looked fine during the outages) What I find disturbing is that
I was also told by the cable company technician that periodically they
go around and check noise levels at the pole or, or in my case green
boxes on the ground outside the buildings in my development.
Supposedly if they detect that the cable connected to my townhouse is
introducting too much noise into their system, they could just throw
on a filter at the box without even telling me and then I would
instantly lose internet as well as some functionalty to my TV
converter box. I would then have to schedule a tech call and if the
tech finds the filter, I would then be forced to replace or remove the
older lines from the system before they would unfilter my line
again. Is this a bunch of BS or would they really do that? It seems
to me the noise levels would have to be severe for them to do that,
right? Is he BSing me?

If it is true that the older cables are picking up some noise, then
where is the noise coming from? How long do indore CATV cables
last? Do they just wear out from sitting there in the house for a
certain time period? At one point, he connected his noise-measuring
device to one of the main lines from the end in the attic and said it
passed. When he connected the machine to the opposite end in the
garage he claimed it failed for ingress which is strange and makes me
wonder if the cable is really problematic.

Anyway, so far no outages since the tech was here. I'm hoping that he
improved the signal enough to solve the outage problem. I'm getting
up to around 7.5 mbs with this modem, which isn't ideal, but it is
more than double DSL speed so it's fine with me. If I still get
outages then I will take the steps mentioned previously before getting
involved with replacing the older cables. I'm just wondering if it is
BS that they would filter my cable line against my will just for
having older cables that happen to pick up some noise. What I find
hillarious is that DSL is able to work with thin telephone wiring that
I believe has no noise shielding in and of itself, and is the same age
as the older CATV cables, but the cable company is telling me that I
should replace the older CATV cables to ensure a reliable cable
internet service, and so that I don't eventually get a filter slapped
onto my cable line at the exterior box. Something seems fishy to me
about what I am being told! Yes two of the cable lines in my house or
older and less than ideal, but I'm not sure I'm buying that they
really NEED to be replaced. What would it cost to replace them?

J.