Mike wrote:

deleted cable problem stuff

Does anyone have any ideas at all on what the problems could be? Or
perhaps what I can do (without spending any money) to see where the
problem is coming from? The cable company won't fix the problem and I
am sick of this crap. I'd like to report them to someone but I don't
know who. I can't find a number or address for the local franchise
authority and Comcast won't give me any info about them. They have a
bogus address for them on the cable bill.


Yea, if you complain about the service and they come and discover that your "in house" lines are bad, you'll also get charged. Here's a few things that you can try that may reveal whether the problem is on thier line or yours.

First of all, make sure that the problem isn't in your set--i.e., the snowyness shows up on other sets at that location as well.

Then, find or borrow a small portable color set (this assumes that your main set is too big or a nuisance to move). Get an extension cord and take it out to the actual cable service entrance and hook it up directly there. If the picture is much better, you've obviously got some in house line problems that you will have to do something about yourself (Note that a smaller set can look a little better just due to its size though).

If it appears that there might be a problem with their service, find or borrow a line amp and hook it up somewhere between the service entrance and your set--ideally, hook it up at the service entrance. If there is any noticable improvement at all, you can pretty well justify calling the serivice provider and tell them that they appear to have an inferior signal at your service entrance.

Service levels do change--almost always deteriorating. I've seen a major storm somehow cause service to degrade requiring a reajustment. Also, the channel range is broken up into segments where it goes through the amps so you can have some channels good and others that need to be adjusted. I have 2 channels that were always a bit flakey for 4 years before I discovered that their levels were less than half of what they were supposed to be.

There are government tariffs that define what the signal level at your service entrance must be and the service providers must provide that level. If they do not, technically they cannot charge you for the service.

One last item, if you call Comcast customer service, their people are paid to "make customers happy". Once you know that the problem is on their service, simply call them up and tell them that the problem is theirs and if they can't fix it you want your service dropped because you are getting satellite (their biggest REAL problem at present). If they are unwilling to take care of this, then you really don't want their service anyway.

Oh, and by the way, anytime that you talk to customer service, make sure that you get their NAME. Write it down and mention it on all followup calls. When customer service reps know that you have their name and are willing to remember it, their attention can improve (although I must admit that I have occasionally contacted a get CS person. It's a great experience :-)

- Jeff