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OGI <OGI@NOWHERE.COM>: Oct 03 09:52AM -0700 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: news@netfront.net ---

Wolf K <wolfmac@sympatico.ca>: Oct 03 03:01PM -0400 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 <nospam@needed.invalid>: Oct 03 03:29PM -0400 OGI wrote: > 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 ???   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 <jjlarkin@highlandtechnology.com>: Oct 03 12:43PM -0700 >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: news@netfront.net ---   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 <krw@nowhere.com>: Oct 03 08:15PM -0400 On Mon, 03 Oct 2016 12:43:36 -0700, John Larkin >"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.   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" <N@n.com>: Oct 04 02:09AM -0400 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:)     -- AL'S COMPUTERS "OGI" <OGI@NOWHERE.COM> wrote in message news:nsu2bo$l43$1@adenine.netfront.net...

Joseph Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>: Oct 04 10:28AM -0400 On Oct 4, 2016, Andy wrote > 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

rg80211@gmail.com: Oct 04 04:31AM -0700 I plan on using i led to replace

jurb6006@gmail.com: Oct 03 05:17PM -0700 >"Just taken a pair of dead Duracell AA cells out of a TV >remote that had been laying around a long time - no evidence >of leakage at all. "   That does not respond to what you responding to. He is talking about counterfeit batteries. What's more, heavy duty cells should not be used in remote controls because their power drain is so low. Operational battery life approaches shelf life.   >"One had a bit of corrosion on the negative contact, the >other was clean. "   Also proves nothing. A Kodak is a different brand and even if they were made at the same factory it could have been to different specs. And corrosion does not prove a leak at all.   If people are really getting leaks in those Duracells it is actually more likely that they "streamlined" their manufacturing process.   To know for sure you need to cut the thing apart and measure everything and then do a chemical analysis. If that fails to prove anything then you have to cut some more and look at the seams for defects. For a AA battery ?

Fred McKenzie <fmmck@aol.com>: Oct 03 01:51PM -0400 In article <b646b1a6-c1c6-49e5-ac58-2b328ccce095@googlegroups.com>, > > Probably the input circuit. Has anyone out there > > had this problem? If so, what was the fix?   > > Steve   Steve-   How much over range? Many old VTVMs had a resistor in its probe. If you used a probe with no resistor, readings would be a bit high.   You might research the Simpson 360-2 to see if it happened to require a similar probe.   Fred K4DII

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