Cable Modem Help

[OGI]

Looking at getting Spectrum cable but having spec difficulty.

They will provide a router only, router with wifi or router with wifi
and phone but cannot give me specs.

What's my problem ?
I currently have AT&T WiFi Router that does not have much power out and
seems to drop WiFI or internet or ??? often. My security cams turn off
and the app shuts down. Bad app too !

If I use WiFi Analytics WiFi app on my laptop it shows the AT&T WiFI at
"Max Rate" 150 where another LAN WIFi router at the other end of the
house shows as "Max Rate" 300. I cannot watch movies from the back
room PC where the AT&T WiFi is to the living room PC using their wifi
since it stops and stutters. Using a cable down the hall works perfectly.

Several questions.
What feature should I be looking for in a WiFi router:
Speed 300 vs 150 "Max Rate"
Power output
Dual freq 2.9 vs 5 GHz
AC protocol or whatever it is called

Spectrum says it installs an Arris TG1672G but it does not specify
output power in the specs I found. Anyone have a better spec source ?
I am not even sure that is the WiFi modem router that I will get as it
seems they grab whatever is handy to bring out to install.

So I hate to think I would have to set up my own WiFi Router.

Last question -
If I get internet only and want phone service, what are my choices ?
And would that service be able to take my current land line phone
number and use it ? I would totally drop AT&T if so.
Does that service have caller ID - mandatory feature for me to have.

Also is there a preferred Channel ? 1 or 6 or 11 or ???

--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: ne...@netfront.net ---

[Wolf K]

On 2016-10-03 12:52, OGI wrote:
> Looking at getting Spectrum cable but having spec difficulty.

[snip]

IMO the best configuration is a separate wifi router connected to the
modem. The modem will govern the internet connection, the wi-fi router
will govern everything else, so streaming content from a computer to a
TV (for example) will be as fast as the router can handle it. But
streaming from the internet (eg, Netflix) is governed by the modem's speed.

Keep in mind that if two or more devices are on the router at the same
time, neither will see the maximum rate. If you want the fastest
streaming between devices, use Ethernet cable. Some mfrs offer
super-routers with very high throughputs, but I have no idea how well
they handle multiple sources/destinations.

HTH

--
Best,
Wolf K
kirkwood40.blogspot.ca

[Paul]

The channel number that is least-used, is preferred :-)
You would do a survey, if attempting to play that game,
and see what channels are occupied.

The Arris works on 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Each has channels in it.

http://www.arris.com/globalassets/resources/data-sheets/tg1672g_pf_30sep13.pdf

3x3 Integrated Dual Band Concurrent
2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11n radios with
Beam Forming

The Arris doesn't have band steering. There is a
red X next to the feature in the table here.

http://www.dslreports.com/hardware/ARRIS-TG1682-h4006

A demo without a lot of benchmarks...
A Wifi with band steering, puts the 5GHz capable
clients on the 5GHz band. These are silly little
firmware features, not necessarily requiring any
custom hardware to make them work.

http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-howto/32754-reduce-wi-fi-congestion-with-band-steering

*******

The rates are listed here. The Arris is likely to be
rows 21,22,23. Min of 156, max of 450 (ideal signal
conditions, with some mixture of clients). Would
the security cameras have three antennas ? What happens
when a non-MIMO device talks to a MIMO router ?
150 maybe ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11n-2009

21 3 64-QAM 2/3 156 173.3 324 360
22 3 64-QAM 3/4 175.5 195 364.5 405
23 3 64-QAM 5/6 195 216.7 405 450

And to my way of thinking, you cannot reasonably
expect to escape the clutches of the "150", unless
the client devices switch to something better. If
you had band steering, *maybe* some of the more
capable clients would end up on the 5GHz band.
And *maybe* it would use 40MHz then. It's a
Wifi Lotto after all.

Even if you had a modem/router with 802.11AC
in it, it might still switch down to 150 for
some of the client devices.

And remember that penetration power, varies with
frequency. 900MHz bores through a lot of stuff.
2.4GHz is getting a bit flaky. 5GHz is going
to be worse. And 60GHz (WiGig) is guaranteed
to work in the same room as you - with whizzy
transfer rates, but no ability to reach
the basement room.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_Gigabit_Alliance

*******

I'm not a big fan of "integrated" boxes like the Arris.
Can you figure out why ?

I need control of each aspect of my network. So
I can "design it". And for me, that means separate
boxes and a lot of wasted electricity. But, I'm getting
the features I want.

My VOIP ATA is a separate box. My router setup has
varied from time to time, and for a lot of years,
I used a separate router box. The modem portion
tends to stay in "bridged" mode. Which is not
available on "rental" modem/router/rocketship
boxes from the ISP. The ISP really doesn't
want you modifying the settings, because
then you'll call up and "complain" when it
no longer works. And they can't have that.

*******

Wifi:

1) Feature-rich.
2) Not tunable by humans.
Tends to deliver lowest-common-denominator.
3) Is an "Up-To" technology. Never ever
delivers the "max rate". Unbounded lower
rate (until the connection is so slow, it
times out).

*******

They make separate VOIP ATA boxes. There are two
ways to connect them. The easy way. The hard way.
The hard way, is for ATAs connected to subtending
wired connections, where you have to port forward
a bunch of stuff. If you install them in-line (the
easy way), they may limit download speeds. So you
have to be careful when selecting one. The boxes
also auto-update the firmware, and auto-pull-down
the config from the ISP. Using the box the ISP uses,
makes it a lot easier (the ISP puts the correct URLs
in the setup, so the box does the right thing when
plugged in).

Example: "GRANDSTREAM VoIP ATA" - has two RJ11 jacks
(Would need two phone accounts to use both jacks)
(VOIP accounts are available for $10/mo with
portable DN. I use my old POTS phone number
on my VOIP setup. I *hate* VOIP and think
it sucks donkey balls... The fucker has dropped
calls on me, while the modem was operating
perfectly fine. The server at the ISP is suspected.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA3HG37Y8553

VOIP offers the worst of all possible worlds:

1) Nobody is interested in your call quality.
Try and get Tech Support to care :-(
AT&T won't "wring the line out" when you call.
POTS has a certain regulatory framework.
What does VOIP have ?
2) Services are unverified. Does the VOIP service
have "e911" ? Mine doesn't. In an emergency,
I could be talking to a dial tone, screaming
for help. There's no guarantee of anything when
an emergency arises. No guarantee they know where
you are. If I dial 911, someone will pick up,
but they might not be in my city, and they have
no idea of my physical location. If I've just
had a heart attack, and cannot speak, I'm
going to just croak waiting for help.
3) For $10 a month, you get a DN... (preserve your
Directory Number), and the rest is purely left
to your imagination. You are responsible every
once in a while, for using your cell phone or a
pay phone, to make sure the VOIP still works.
Call home, see if your voice mail box picks up
or not. What fun. I'm enjoying myself already.
4) If you drop the conventional FAX machine to 9600 baud,
it may work over your second RJ11 VOIP jack.
The 14400 baud setting is unlikely to work.

But I am saving money. I keep telling myself
I'm saving money dammit.

HTH,
Paul

[John Larkin]

We had AT&T DSL and phone service. The DSL was terrible and the phone
was expensive. We got Comcast cable and DSL, and phone service is
"free" but we had to rent the cable modem/phone box for something like
$5 a month, a fraction of the cost of AT&T landline service. We use
our own WiFi router. We kept our phone number and it works great.

The Comcast data speed keeps going up. It's about 130 mbits now.


--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc
picosecond timing precision measurement

jlarkin att highlandtechnology dott com
http://www.highlandtechnology.com

[krw]

We had naked DSL for a few years. It was horrible. Earlier this year
AT&T allowed us access to the fiber running through our yard so went
with Uverse. It hasn't been without it's issues, either. First, they
own the router/AP, so con troll the password. The hardware has been
really flaky and they've had to replace everything at least once and
some of it several times. The Internet still drops out occasionally
for a few seconds to minutes.

>The Comcast data speed keeps going up. It's about 130 mbits now.

When it doesn't screw up, our Uverse is just OK (~60Mb). AT&T sucks.

[Andy]

Why would you want to pay spectrum up wards of $ 10.00 a month to rent a
cable modem from them?
In less then a years rental time and cost you could by a good modem and or
modem wireless router combination for the same or less money.
I have stopped paying them a model rental fee the day it came out.
I my self use a Motorola cable modem and love it and spectrum fully supports
it .
Because it is one of the models on its approved modems list so they cant
refuse to support it:)


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AL'S COMPUTERS
"OGI" <O...@NOWHERE.COM> wrote in message
news:nsu2bo$l43$1...@adenine.netfront.net...

[Joseph Gwinn]

On Oct 4, 2016, Andy wrote
(in article<8qOdndYiWeVc2m7K...@earthlink.com>):

> Why would you want to pay spectrum up wards of $ 10.00 a month to rent a
> cable modem from them?

> In less then a years rental time and cost you could buy a good modem and or

> modem wireless router combination for the same or less money.
> I have stopped paying them a model rental fee the day it came out.
> I my self use a Motorola cable modem and love it and spectrum fully supports
> it .
> Because it is one of the models on its approved modems list so they cant
> refuse to support it:)

I do the same, for the same reason. I’m on COMCAST, but it’s the same
story.

When the transition from DOCSIS 2 to DOCSIS 3 became mandatory, I decided to
buy my cable modem, for money reasons, but at least as importantly, because
what COMCAST wanted to provide got terrible reviews on technical grounds.
They also wanted to be your WiFi base station, but with a very weak WiFi
radio, and no obvious way to turn the WiFi function off. (Perhaps there is a
way, but it proved impossible to get a real user manual for that modem, and
so one must presume guilt.) I already have a wired network with a WiFi arm
that all work just fine.

So I worked through COMCAST’s list of approved DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems, and
chose one that did only that, no VOIP phone or WiFi pretensions, specifically
ARRIS SurfBoard SB6183 for about $90, if I recall. The payback period is
about 9 months.

After getting everything working (and batting away various attempts to get me
to ditch the SB6183 and use the COMCAST offering), things went well for at
least a year. Then, the performance began to degrade. I didn’t notice at
first, but the issue came to a head when I was unable to download a 3 GByte
file - it would struggle for six hours, and always fail. Now, I have 25
Mbit/sec service, so this should take about 15 minutes. When I measured the
speed using COMCAST’s own Xfinity Speed Test, I got 411 Kbits/sec. Huh?

So I contacted COMCAST Support, first by internet Chat to someone who seemed
to be in India. He walked me through the usual diag steps, none of which
worked, all the while insisting that the problem was the ARRIS modem. Nope -
It’s an approved modem. One observation was key: If I used the nearby
Boston, MA server, I got far higher speed than to the remote Detroit and
Chicago servers (which are near to the source of the 3 GB file). Well, that
cannot be a modem issue, and can only be a COMCAST network problem.

Anyway, the guy in India gave up, and escalated to Advanced Tech Support, a
woman on the telephone calling from the US somewhere. She reiterated the bit
about the ARRIS modem, and I made the points about the meaning of
“approved”. Again, no test changed the speed. Modem make came back up.
Well, “approved” means that I can expect to get the 25 Mbit/s data rate
I’m paying for. Or, is COMCAST putting proprietary stuff in their
interpretation of DOCSIS 3, so that no other modem will work? At this point,
the conversation dwindled, and I said that I’d go and do all the tests that
had been suggested but couldn’t be performed without dropping the chat to
India, and the conversation ended.

First test was to hook computer directly to cable modem, which could not be
done without rebooting (because the DHCP server was not the cable modem). All
of a sudden, speeds had jumped from less than 1 Mbit/second to around 88
Mbits/sec. Wow. Put the internal network back into the path. Still 88 Mbits.
Ran a test from my wife’s laptop, via WiFi - still 88 Mbits.

This whole drama basically cost me the weekend. All that testing confused a
number of unrelated devices and their drivers, requiring debugging and
network scanning.

The 88 Mbits was during the weekend. As the week progressed, the speed did
drop. As I write, it’s 15 Mbits/sec for downloads, and 6.5 Mbits for
uploads.

Joe Gwinn

[Ron D.]

The WIFI part should really be in the center of the house. Now, you have to look at line of sight obstructions like thick walls etc. You can use a repeater to handle the dark spots. Generally the repeater needs the MAC address of the signal it's repeating. The repeater only needs a wireless connection.

In my case, I had trouble getting a decent WIFI signal sitting in a chair until I added a repeater about 3 feet from the chair. The repeater allowed coverage in the yard.

[Joe Morris]

"Joseph Gwinn" <joeg...@comcast.net> wrote:

[lousy performance problems on Comcast using an "approved" cable modem]

> This whole drama basically cost me the weekend. All that testing confused
> a
> number of unrelated devices and their drivers, requiring debugging and
> network scanning.

> The 88 Mbits was during the weekend. As the week progressed, the speed did
> drop. As I write, it's 15 Mbits/sec for downloads, and 6.5 Mbits for
> uploads.

As a data point (and this is from a friend, not personal experience): My
friend was a Comcast customer a few years ago and was getting decent speeds
out of the Comcast interface, but noticed that they had started dropping to
the extent that snailmail would have almost been faster than email.

Unfortunately for Comcast, this friend is the head of the networking
department for our common employer, so one weekend he took home some of the
test equipment to see what's going on.

To make a long story short, what he found was that on the Comcast link:
*every* router he looked at:

* had the default SNMP community strings [passwords] for both read and
write.
* was significntly downlevel, well below the version for critical fixes
* was running at 100% CPU
* was infested with malware.

...which explained his problem.

Comcast's response when he notified it of the situation? "You're not
supposed to do that!!!"

My friend is now a very satisfied FiOS customer.

Joe

[Robert Baer]

I have an "Xfinity" Technicolor TC8305C.
That seems to be the brand name for those made by Motorola (if i
remember correctly) and sold to Comcast.
Arris is another brand name.
As far as i can tell,about 90 percent of production goes directly to
Comcast.

One model/style has no Wifi, and the other has it; otherwise they all
seem to be the same beast. Rental rate is the same; sales price cannot
say; i got the WiFi version for about $100, saving me $20 year one.

There is no "preferred" channel; let the modem do the assignment
automatically (for best signal).

There are re-sellers where you can buy exactly what your cable
provider offers. I suggest you do not rock that boat for a few months
and look at the bill CAREFULLY to find the exact monthly rental charge.
If in the region of $10/month or more,then buy the exact same model
for around $100. Pays for itself in 10 months..
Those resellers may have specs or know where you can get them.

The installation instructions CANNOT work (read them and you will see
what i mean).
You will have to call your cable provider and get them to add its MAC
address into their database and activate it; else it CANNOT WORK.
Once you are satisfied, if at all possible, PHYSICALLY return their
modem to one of their sales centers AND GET A RECEIPT (!!!_VERY_!!!
important). If not, see if you can wangle a shipping label from them (as
a courtesy because you are UPGRADING the service).
Without that receipt, they can continue to charge monthly rental fees.

Get your phone service from the same cable internet provider; the
phone service alone will be less than landline.
In fact, that is why i switched from copper (POTS) to cable,as the
loco phone bastards were raising the rate every other month; i wound up
saving money.

Allowed me to switch from modem (144K in reality, NOT the advertised
or bally-hooed fake rate) to cable at a respectable speed.
Plus...i now have unlimited long distance at NO extra cost.

Mind you,i did not have TV and still do not have it.
Adding TV service on the cable is expensive as far as i am concerned.
So,,if you HAD TV from your cable provider, adding internet and phone
will not be that much more(*).
If you are close enough to the transmitting stations (ASSuming no
reflections to bugger signal), you can put up our own antenna and get
them free (like the GOOD OLD DAYS of analog).

(*): IGNORE ALL ADS that quote some bullshit price; actual cost is
always about TWICE whatever the ad says.

[Robert Baer]

Over a 12+ year period, Comcast slowly raised the modem rental rate
from the $5/mo to $10/mo. Ever hear the story about the frog in the pot
over the fire?
Got my own modem,EXACT same brand and model (heck it even says
Xfinity on it) for about $100.
So i can say i am saving $10/mo now that it has paid for itself.

[Robert Baer]

Andy wrote:
> Why would you want to pay spectrum up wards of $ 10.00 a month to rent a
> cable modem from them?
> In less then a years rental time and cost you could by a good modem and or
> modem wireless router combination for the same or less money.
> I have stopped paying them a model rental fee the day it came out.
> I my self use a Motorola cable modem and love it and spectrum fully supports
> it .
> Because it is one of the models on its approved modems list so they cant
> refuse to support it:)
>
>

YES>>>Motorola makes almost all of the modems sold to Comcast (and
prolly Spectrum as well).
Model brand names vary,but they is the same beast, so if what you buy
on the net is the same exact brand and model that they use,then they
HAVE TO have it on their approved list; they cannot dis their own stuff.
$100 for your own modem and no $10/mo gives a 10 month ROI; no brainer.

[Andy]

Seeing the problems you have faced i can understand why you get fed up with
the cable company.
Some states have no problems with speeds ect others seem to have no end to
them.


--
AL'S COMPUTERS
"Joseph Gwinn" <joeg...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:0001HW.1DA3F4220...@news.giganews.com...

[Andy]

Exactly why i OWN my own modem.
The day i got the notice in the mail about 2 or 3 years ago in Maine.
I went out and bought my own Motorola modem off the approved list got the
best one that DID NOT have wireless i don't use it .
and love the savings and the speeds as they allow channel bonding in my area
any ways so i get double the normal download speeds most of the time.


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AL'S COMPUTERS
"Robert Baer" <rober...@localnet.com> wrote in message
news:sI%Iz.129410$wg2....@fx05.iad...

[FromTheRafters]

Same here, except I got a WiFi "SurfBoard" model.

While I was at it, I had mentioned that a cable modem wasn't really a
modem after he asked me if I needed a modem. I had already given him
that "approved" list provided by Time Warner Cable for compatibility
with their system. They, of course, call them all cable modems.

He argued with me! Right or wrong, salesmen shouldn't argue with
customers. Cable modems have more in common with TV transceivers than
they do with modems. I asked him if a smartphone was a modem, and he
said no.

After serious thinking Andy wrote :

[John Larkin]

I had a modem, but it didn't do the telephone thing. The installer did
everything with their modem, including patching into our phone lines,
and setting up all the cable boxes, and I thought that was a good
deal. I have plenty of electronic projects already.

--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc

lunatic fringe electronics

[Phil Hobbs]

On 10/05/2016 02:55 AM, Andy wrote:
> Seeing the problems you have faced i can understand why you get fed up with
> the cable company.
> Some states have no problems with speeds ect others seem to have no end to
> them.
>
>

In my neck of the woods Verizon can't find their keisters with two
hands, a map, radar etc., whereas Optimum is right on the ball. We
soldiered on with V. for a long time despite hours spent in call
forwarding purgatory that never resolved anything, billing snafus,
clueless office droids, and an apparent total lack of communication
between their residental and commercial operations. The only reason
that I did that was because I really wanted to keep the copper POTS for
use during blackouts. I finally decided that I didn't trust an
operation that clueless to know how to run a legacy central office
battery system, so that the whole thing was sort of moot.

In 5 years with Optimum I've had exactly one trouble. Within half an
hour, they had somebody on my premises who actually knew what he was
doing, with an apprentice in tow learning the ropes. Fifteen minutes
later they had it patched (reprovisioned somehow so that I had 25/5 Mbps
again) and the trouble outside was fixed the same day. A couple of
times a year, V. sends salesmen to visit, and I try very hard to
restrain my impulse to greet them with howls of derisive laughter, not
totally successfully.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

--
Dr Philip C D Hobbs
Principal Consultant
ElectroOptical Innovations LLC
Optics, Electro-optics, Photonics, Analog Electronics

160 North State Road #203
Briarcliff Manor NY 10510

hobbs at electrooptical dot net
http://electrooptical.net

[Phil Hobbs]

On 10/05/2016 08:56 AM, FromTheRafters wrote:

> After serious thinking Andy wrote :
>> Exactly why i OWN my own modem.
>> The day i got the notice in the mail about 2 or 3 years ago in Maine.
>> I went out and bought my own Motorola modem off the approved list got
>> the best one that DID NOT have wireless i don't use it .
>> and love the savings and the speeds as they allow channel bonding in
>> my area any ways so i get double the normal download speeds most of
>> the time.
>>> Same here, except I got a WiFi "SurfBoard" model.
>
> While I was at it, I had mentioned that a cable modem wasn't really a
> modem after he asked me if I needed a modem. I had already given him
> that "approved" list provided by Time Warner Cable for compatibility
> with their system. They, of course, call them all cable modems.
>
> He argued with me! Right or wrong, salesmen shouldn't argue with
> customers. Cable modems have more in common with TV transceivers than
> they do with modems. I asked him if a smartphone was a modem, and he
> said no.

You run WiFi right off your cable modem? With no separate firewall? I
expect your other hobbies are bungee jumping, motorcycle racing, and
free-climbing, right?

[FromTheRafters]

Phil Hobbs laid this down on his screen :

> On 10/05/2016 08:56 AM, FromTheRafters wrote:
>
>> After serious thinking Andy wrote :
>>> Exactly why i OWN my own modem.
>>> The day i got the notice in the mail about 2 or 3 years ago in Maine.
>>> I went out and bought my own Motorola modem off the approved list got
>>> the best one that DID NOT have wireless i don't use it .
>>> and love the savings and the speeds as they allow channel bonding in
>>> my area any ways so i get double the normal download speeds most of
>>> the time.
>>>> Same here, except I got a WiFi "SurfBoard" model.
>>
>> While I was at it, I had mentioned that a cable modem wasn't really a
>> modem after he asked me if I needed a modem. I had already given him
>> that "approved" list provided by Time Warner Cable for compatibility
>> with their system. They, of course, call them all cable modems.
>>
>> He argued with me! Right or wrong, salesmen shouldn't argue with
>> customers. Cable modems have more in common with TV transceivers than
>> they do with modems. I asked him if a smartphone was a modem, and he
>> said no.
>
> You run WiFi right off your cable modem? With no separate firewall? I
> expect your other hobbies are bungee jumping, motorcycle racing, and
> free-climbing, right?
>
> Cheers
>
> Phil Hobbs

It's okay, I have a fire extinguisher.

[Pat]

I believe the "cable modem" he was referring to is a combined device
that includes a cable modem with a wifi enabled router. The router
includes the firewall and other modern router features. Based on my
personal experience, the cable company supplied modem/routers have
everything needed except reliability. It didn't take long for me to
disable the router functionality and use my own separate router. The
modem part of the cable supplied box works just fine.

[krw]

About like the Direct TV droids who accost me in stores. I tell them,
loudly, that their service sucks so bad that even as bad as AT&T has
been, it's worlds better than DTV. ...and I get Netflix now.

[rickman]

I checked out Optimum, but they don't seem to offer service anywhere I
live. Are they just in the greater NY area? Seems they are just New
Jersey, Bronx, Connecticut, Long Island. Their web site is hard to get
info from. No prices for internet service and no mention of limits, etc.

--

Rick C

[Ken Blake]

On Wed, 05 Oct 2016 15:45:10 -0400, krw <k...@nowhere.com> wrote:


>About like the Direct TV droids who accost me in stores. I tell them,
>loudly, that their service sucks so bad that even as bad as AT&T has
>been, it's worlds better than DTV. ...and I get Netflix now.

What don't you like about Direct TV? I've been using them for the last
few months, and so far they've been fine.

[John Larkin]

On Wed, 5 Oct 2016 11:34:22 -0400, Phil Hobbs
<pcdhSpamM...@electrooptical.net> wrote:

We have Suddenlink in Truckee, cable TV and internet, but there's an
ongoing problem:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/53724080/Truckee/Cable_Chewed.jpg

Squirrels eat the cables. That doesn't sound very appetizing to me.

--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc

[krw]

On Wed, 05 Oct 2016 16:29:23 -0700, Ken Blake <K...@invalid.news.com>
wrote:

Dropout every time a cloud rolls by (not quite that bad, but...). They
promised that they could fix that but never did. Surly
representatives. Charging for the repair of *their* equipment. Cost.
There wasn't much to recommend them, other than they were the only
game in town (had similar issues with DISH at the previous house).

[Tom Del Rosso]

John Larkin wrote:
>
> We had AT&T DSL and phone service. The DSL was terrible and the phone
> was expensive. We got Comcast cable and DSL, and phone service is
> "free" but we had to rent the cable modem/phone box for something like
> $5 a month, a fraction of the cost of AT&T landline service. We use
> our own WiFi router. We kept our phone number and it works great.
>
> The Comcast data speed keeps going up. It's about 130 mbits now.

In the NYC area I can't seem to get any option for data without a phone
line and its taxes.

[Andy]

You are right the sales man should be on youre side after all he or she is
trying to make a sale.
I find the worst sales staff is at best buy in my area any ways and
Wal-Mart.
its funny when you show them a print out off the company's own web site
saying the features ect and they say oh well that must be the online model:)
now i just go find what i want and buy it.
but to be fair there are a lot of knowledgeable sales staff in both stores
to AT TIMES:)


--
AL'S COMPUTERS
"FromTheRafters" <err...@nomail.afraid.org> wrote in message
news:nt2taq$5tp$1...@news.albasani.net...

> Same here, except I got a WiFi "SurfBoard" model.
>
> While I was at it, I had mentioned that a cable modem wasn't really a
> modem after he asked me if I needed a modem. I had already given him that

> "apprmodems list so they

[Andy]

Verizon is my area is wireless only now for about 10 years.
sold it's land line business to Fair Point Commutations.
I still use a POTS land line as time warner cable aka spectrum's digital
phone service works 90% of the time the rest is system maintenance with no
warnings.
or just goes down when it feels like it.
I told them when digital phone is 100% reliable like fair point's service is
then we can talk.
I am looking at a deal from Verizon wireless for its version of digital
phone for $19.95 a month unlimited use and FREE long distance.
its a phone modem like time warner cables BUT unlike timewarner cables it
has a 5 Day BATTERY BACK UP built in.
twc does not seem to care its losing its subscribers to Verizon big time in
Maine any way:)

[Andy]

I tell them NO THANKS my land lord DOES NOT ALLOW SATELLITE TV in his
buildings:)
shuts them up fast.
I talked to one i feel bad for them they are paied well but are told to try
to sell sell to every one that walks past them.
I could not do it 8 hours a day 5 days a week not for a service i don't
believe in.


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AL'S COMPUTERS
"krw" <k...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:mrlavb52nptjemm34...@4ax.com...

[Andy]

Works fine in some areas ken.
in my area i hear complaints about them all the time.
one of my friends just dumped them for time warner cable and he gets the
same channels and his digital phone and internet with more speed then direct
TV for over 100 bucks less.


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AL'S COMPUTERS
"Ken Blake" <K...@invalid.news.com> wrote in message
news:743bvb5nua9m4to3b...@4ax.com...

[Andy]

The second part of youre post Phil was not mine i was replying to the
original poster
my post ends after the talk about channel bonding.
when you see the same hear that is the other posters reply to mine:)
I have a nice netgear wireless router but at present i don't use it.
when i get around to it ill hook it up and use for my lap top:)


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AL'S COMPUTERS
"Phil Hobbs" <pcdhSpamM...@electrooptical.net> wrote in message
news:e74fea71-b518-6e35...@electrooptical.net...

[FromTheRafters]

Andy pretended :

> You are right the sales man should be on youre side after all he or she is
> trying to make a sale.
> I find the worst sales staff is at best buy in my area any ways and Wal-Mart.
> its funny when you show them a print out off the company's own web site
> saying the features ect and they say oh well that must be the online model:)
> now i just go find what i want and buy it.
> but to be fair there are a lot of knowledgeable sales staff in both stores
> to AT TIMES:)

That experience was at "Staples" which I already knew were less than
completely savvy. They were pretty helpful on the sales end though. I
was a bit surprised when the saleman told us on the 'down low' that we
could get the warranty and if the computer broke, even trivially, we
could run it over with our car and they would completely replace it
with no questions asked.

Could I get that in writing? LOL

[Mark Lloyd]

On 10/05/2016 02:45 PM, krw wrote:

[snip]

> About like the Direct TV droids who accost me in stores. I tell them,
> loudly, that their service sucks so bad that even as bad as AT&T has
> been, it's worlds better than DTV. ...and I get Netflix now.
>

I used to have DTV. One of the main reasons I quit was the very poor
customer service. One of the last times I contacted them was to say the
problem was fixed (finally, and probably not because I contacted them).
They responded to that by messing up my online account AGAIN. Once when
I called about the new HD DVR, the "customer service representative"
asked my how many mushrooms are on my dish.

As to cable modems, I agree that the modem should be separate from a
router/Wifi device. One reason is that the modem really belongs to the
ISP (even if you bought it) and the router is a part of YOUR network and
you should have control over it. I wouldn't expect to be able to put
DD-WRT on one of those combinations.

--
80 days until the winter celebration (Sunday December 25, 2016 12:00:00
AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"The cosmos is interesting rather than perfect, and everything is not
part of some greater plan, nor is all necessarily under control."
[Starhawk]

[Char Jackson]

On Thu, 6 Oct 2016 02:28:15 -0400, "Andy" <N...@n.com> wrote:

>Verizon is my area is wireless only now for about 10 years.
>sold it's land line business to Fair Point Commutations.
>I still use a POTS land line as time warner cable aka spectrum's digital
>phone service works 90% of the time the rest is system maintenance with no
>warnings.
>or just goes down when it feels like it.
>I told them when digital phone is 100% reliable like fair point's service is
>then we can talk.

>twc does not seem to care its losing its subscribers to Verizon big time in
>Maine any way:)

Ironic, given all of the times that you bragged about TWC service in
Maine being the best in the country, rock solid, zero outages, etc.

>I am looking at a deal from Verizon wireless for its version of digital
>phone for $19.95 a month unlimited use and FREE long distance.
>its a phone modem like time warner cables BUT unlike timewarner cables it
>has a 5 Day BATTERY BACK UP built in.

You could probably do a whole lot better by picking up a cheap ATA, such
as an Obi-100 or Ooma, then using Google Voice which is free and
includes unlimited free domestic long distance.

--

Char Jackson

[Phil Hobbs]

Hanbury Brown had a similar problem with birds in the Outback. His
solution was to wrap the cables in roofing felt. YMMV.

[Ken Blake]

On Wed, 05 Oct 2016 20:28:59 -0400, krw <k...@nowhere.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 05 Oct 2016 16:29:23 -0700, Ken Blake <K...@invalid.news.com>
>wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 05 Oct 2016 15:45:10 -0400, krw <k...@nowhere.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>About like the Direct TV droids who accost me in stores. I tell them,
>>>loudly, that their service sucks so bad that even as bad as AT&T has
>>>been, it's worlds better than DTV. ...and I get Netflix now.
>>
>>
>>What don't you like about Direct TV? I've been using them for the last
>>few months, and so far they've been fine.
>
>Dropout every time a cloud rolls by (not quite that bad, but...). They
>promised that they could fix that but never did.

As I said, I've had only a little experience with them, but I've never
had a problem anything like that. The only dropout we've had was for
about ten minutes during a severe thunderstorm.

>Surly
>representatives. Charging for the repair of *their* equipment.

I've had no experience with either (except for the man who installed
it, and he was very pleasant and helpful).


> Cost.


Our only alternative is Comcast, and they are substantially less
expensive than Comcast.

[krw]

On Thu, 06 Oct 2016 08:34:51 -0700, Ken Blake <K...@invalid.news.com>

Are you comparing teaser rates to normal rates? AT&T was about the
same price as DTV but includes Internet. DSL was more than $50/mo and
while neither is perfectly reliable, the fiber is better and 50x
faster than DSL.

[Robert Baer]

I do not think that there are any "teaser" rates; now advertized
rates is anther story.
Those are always bullshit, since all of the taxes and fees are
studiously not included.
Actual cost is always about double the ad rates.

[krw]

You're wrong, of course.

> Those are always bullshit, since all of the taxes and fees are
>studiously not included.

Irrelevant.

> Actual cost is always about double the ad rates.

No.

[Robert Baer]

Dew tell; give *one* verifiable example.

EVERY ad i have seen: throw-away fliers (Comcast,Dish) in mailbox,
ads from provider (Comcast in my case), newspaper blow-in ads, etc wave
banners about "ONLY" blah blah and 6 point multi-liner that talks about
(BUT NO QUOTES) taxes, fees, installation, etc.
Give us an example where the rate quoted is correct (or even in the
ballpark).

[rickman]

I have tried to ask about the fees and "taxes" and been told they don't
know, seems the billing computer is the only entity that actually knows
the amount of taxes. Once when I called to ask about the quarterly
billed "franchise fee" and who it was going to, I was told they didn't
know and I would have to ask my franchise contact.

--

Rick C

[rickman]

On 10/6/2016 2:35 AM, Andy wrote:
> The second part of youre post Phil was not mine i was replying to the
> original poster
> my post ends after the talk about channel bonding.
> when you see the same hear that is the other posters reply to mine:)

Dude! When you top post, you have no justification for complaining how
quotes of your messages show up. I can't believe you have made so many
posts here and no one has pointed that out to you...

--

Rick C

[Mark Lloyd]

On 10/08/2016 02:26 AM, Robert Baer wrote:

[snip]

>>> Actual cost is always about double the ad rates.
>>
>> No.
> Dew tell; give *one* verifiable example.
>
> EVERY ad i have seen: throw-away fliers (Comcast,Dish) in mailbox, ads
> from provider (Comcast in my case), newspaper blow-in ads, etc wave
> banners about "ONLY" blah blah and 6 point multi-liner that talks about
> (BUT NO QUOTES) taxes, fees, installation, etc.
> Give us an example where the rate quoted is correct (or even in the
> ballpark).
>

"double" may be an exaggeration. Maybe not. Anyway, the actual cost can
be a lot higher.

Once I had phone service that had everything (local service, unlimited
long distance, caller ID, call waiting, etc...), advertised price "ONLY"
$39.95. The actual billed amount was above $55 (essentially, $39.95 was
a lie).

--
78 days until the winter celebration (Sunday December 25, 2016 12:00:00

AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

In Ottawa the xians put up an "abortion stills a beating heart" poster
outside the local abortion clinic. Someone wrote over it:

"A christian
with a gun stills a beating heart."

[krw]

On Sat, 8 Oct 2016 13:07:56 -0500, Mark Lloyd <n...@mail.invalid>
wrote:

>On 10/08/2016 02:26 AM, Robert Baer wrote:
>
>[snip]
>
>>>> Actual cost is always about double the ad rates.
>>>
>>> No.
>> Dew tell; give *one* verifiable example.
>>
>> EVERY ad i have seen: throw-away fliers (Comcast,Dish) in mailbox, ads
>> from provider (Comcast in my case), newspaper blow-in ads, etc wave
>> banners about "ONLY" blah blah and 6 point multi-liner that talks about
>> (BUT NO QUOTES) taxes, fees, installation, etc.
>> Give us an example where the rate quoted is correct (or even in the
>> ballpark).

You made the claim. Back it up!

>>
>
>"double" may be an exaggeration. Maybe not. Anyway, the actual cost can
>be a lot higher.

A big exaggeration.

>Once I had phone service that had everything (local service, unlimited
>long distance, caller ID, call waiting, etc...), advertised price "ONLY"
>$39.95. The actual billed amount was above $55 (essentially, $39.95 was
>a lie).

I can believe that. Most of those "fees" are fixed, not based on the
service. You'd pay the same if it were a $150 plan (whatever it might
include).

[Andy]

They can figure out the taxes and fees for you they are just to lazy to do
the math.
I have had them do it many times when i make adjustments to my services.


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AL'S COMPUTERS
"rickman" <gnu...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:ntar4p$95j$1...@dont-email.me...

[Andy]

I am aware my news reader does it but have not have the time to change it.

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AL'S COMPUTERS
"rickman" <gnu...@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:ntari0$95j$2...@dont-email.me...

[Ken Blake]

On Sun, 9 Oct 2016 01:02:54 -0400, "Andy" <N...@n.com> wrote:

>I am aware my news reader does it but have not have the time to change it.

It has very little to do with your newsreader. Regardless of where
the newsreader puts the cursor, you can move it yourself.

[Paul]

Outlook Express can use OEQuoteFix. It's possible
that third-party thing can make OE a good citizen.

http://home.in.tum.de/~jain/software/oe-quotefix/

Paul

[Andy]

I was told it's in my news reader settings ken so ill change it when i get
time :)


--
AL'S COMPUTERS

"Ken Blake" <K...@invalid.news.com> wrote in message

news:o1lkvbh3v3b5acncj...@4ax.com...

[Andy]

Thank you ill look in to it


--
AL'S COMPUTERS
"Paul" <nos...@needed.invalid> wrote in message
news:ntes4r$d5r$2...@dont-email.me...

[Tom Gardner]

On 10/10/16 07:33, Andy wrote:
> I was told it's in my news reader settings ken so ill change it when i get
> time :)

I'm sorry to read you are "so ill".

If that prevents you from using the down-arrow
key, I hope you get better soon.

[Andy]

I make mistakes TOM are you prefect?


--
AL'S COMPUTERS
"Tom Gardner" <spam...@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:kNHKz.493901$%E.25...@fx39.am4...

[Tom Gardner]

On 10/10/16 09:42, Andy wrote:
> I make mistakes TOM are you prefect?

I tried to convince my daughter I was, but she
didn't believe it.

As a separate point, top-posting and putting the context
(i.e. my response to your previous message) below your
.sig (i.e. after the "--" line) meant that my newsreader
chopped the context when creating this message. Yes, I
could have manually re-inserted it, but I couldn't be
bothered. Another reason top-posting is disliked.

[Ken Blake]

On Sun, 09 Oct 2016 21:50:38 -0400, Paul <nos...@needed.invalid>
wrote:

>Ken Blake wrote:
>> On Sun, 9 Oct 2016 01:02:54 -0400, "Andy" <N...@n.com> wrote:
>>
>>> I am aware my news reader does it but have not have the time to change it.
>>
>>
>> It has very little to do with your newsreader. Regardless of where
>> the newsreader puts the cursor, you can move it yourself.
>
>Outlook Express can use OEQuoteFix. It's possible
>that third-party thing can make OE a good citizen.

Yes, I know. Back in the days when I used Outlook Express, I used to
use OEQuoteFix.

But my point was that although even though something like OEQuoteFix
can make it easier, it isn't necessary. You can still put your reply
anywhere you want before, after, or within the quoted text.

[Ken Blake]

On Mon, 10 Oct 2016 02:33:19 -0400, "Andy" <N...@n.com> wrote:

>I was told it's in my news reader settings ken so ill change it when i get
>time :)

Two points:

1. You apparently use Outlook Express, and what you were told is
wrong. There's no way to change where Outlook Express puts the cursor
in a reply.

2. This is a slightly expanded repeat of what I said earlier:
regardless of where Outlook Express, or any other newsreader, puts the
cursor, it's very easy to move it wherever you want it. To bottom
post, simply click at the bottom of the message and the reply cursor
will move there.

[Mark Lloyd]

On 10/10/2016 01:33 AM, Andy wrote:
> I was told it's in my news reader settings ken so ill change it when i get
> time :)
>
>

One thing I learned quickly the first time I used a a GUI was to select
where typed text would go (click or use the tab key, etc). I didn't
notice the problem with OE (over a decade ago, when I used OE).

--
76 days until the winter celebration (Sunday December 25, 2016 12:00:00

AM for 1 day).

Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Have you noticed there are no interesting people in heaven? --Just a
hint to the girls as to where they can find their salvation." [Nietzche,
"The Will to Power"]

[Michael A. Terrell]

rickman wrote:
>
> I have tried to ask about the fees and "taxes" and been told they don't
> know, seems the billing computer is the only entity that actually knows
> the amount of taxes. Once when I called to ask about the quarterly
> billed "franchise fee" and who it was going to, I was told they didn't
> know and I would have to ask my franchise contact.

The 'franchise fee' goes to the local government, for their use of
the right ow way.


--
Never piss off an Engineer!

They don't get mad.

They don't get even.

They go for over unity! ;-)