Rca cable question

Would any DOCSIS 2.0 work with all cable outlets? I have a RCA DCM315R not on the apporved with comcast but will it still work? I need to know if needed to sell or something. DFW Texas Comcast.com service

Reply to
WFF
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The 315 is on the approved modems list. They forgot to put the DCM in the model number, and the R just means retail. But the 315 is right there under TCE/RCA. (Thompson Consumer Electronics owns the RCA brand name.)

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Whether it will work at any particular outlet depends on whether there are any filters on the line to specifically block it, or whether there are cheap splitters or amps that effectively block it.

Reply to
Warren

Given the low cost of cable modems, and the low monthly cost of renting a modem, why worry about it? Renting has been by far the best option for me, since the current modem is the 8th since I went to cable internet service about 6 years ago! Better yet, the modems keep getting smaller, and better.

Reply to
Ron Hunter

On my ISP, you can only get the best service (5Mb), if you own your modem. If you rent, you're cut back to 3 Mb. The price is the same for both service levels.

Reply to
James Knott

That makes little sense to me - you'd think it would be the reverse if any difference at all.

Reply to
$Bill

OK, I get it. I'm used to a separate modem rental (not incl. in the price).

Reply to
$Bill

Thanks Warren I did not know it was the same. Sweet deal too from comcast 6 months 6Mbps for 29.95 orignal price is 62.95 - I had @home but I the wire was cut. while Dish Network setup our dish.

Reply to
WFF

Why???

If you use their modem, the cost is included in the monthly rate. If you own it, they either have to reduce the service cost or offer better service.

Reply to
James Knott

I've had my own for about 6 years since @home rolled out. Just replaced my original Surfboard 3100 with a 5100 about 4 months ago.

Reply to
L Alpert

Till something goes wrong and you try to get them to come out and check out your modem.

Reply to
$Bill

That's an interesting pricing structure. Glad I am not in your area.

Reply to
Ron Hunter

I think the modem rental here is about $2 a month. At the rate I have had new modems over the years, I have saved a bundle.

Reply to
Ron Hunter

I don't know what it is about modems around here, but mine seem to last

6 to 8 months, on average. I think the old 'sharkfin' model went nearly 2 years.... Current one is less than 2 weeks old.
Reply to
Ron Hunter

That is strange. Does your cable have good earth ground (though I would think your TV would suffer the same issues!)? Maybe try running it through a small UPS?

The charge for the modem used to be $5 or $60 a year. The change came about

3 years after I bought my first one, so I'm a little ahead of the game (total expenses for the two was about $150). Of course, being ahead could only last as long as the second modem.
Reply to
L Alpert

Mine's $3 - that would cover over 4 years of service for me. If it was over $3, I would buy my own.

Reply to
$Bill

Typically, a modem should be as fine on the day before it becomes obsolete as it was the day it came out of the box.

Manufacturing defects should appear far faster than 6 to 8 months. They ought to show up within a few days. Longer than that, and any failure cause is probably external or environmental. Power surges from lightning strikes would be an example of a sudden failure cause. Poor air circulation resulting in higher than normal operating temperatures would be an example of a more subtitle cause. Extreme humidity, excessive dust, and pets marking territory would be other issues. Most of these could affect the power supply or the modem, and have the effect of shortening the life of a modem.

On the other hand, it may not be a modem problem at all. Swapping-out a modem is an easy step, and may temporarily mask the real problem. A new modem may get you working off a different card on the CMTS, and/or may change your upstream and/or downstream channels. And there's also a psychological effect of something new. Marginal, intermittent problems may not seem as bad as they were before the modem was changed. The "new" modem may have been in the home of someone else who thought they were having modem problems, too.

If they're swapping modems every 6 to 8 months for you, they're not addressing whatever the real problem is.

Reply to
Warren

That's good to hear since I think we're going Charter here when the Adelphia thing is over. Matbe my rental will go down $1. ;)

Reply to
$Bill

I take that back now that I think about it - I think Time Warner is moving in here next.

Reply to
$Bill

Called last Tuesday. They came out Wednesday morning and replaced the modem. If I had REALLY been in a hurry, I could have driven over to the office and picked up one myself.

Reply to
Ron Hunter

My system has a special grounding for computer installations installed when my house was remodeled, and there is an UPS on each system, and surge suppression even after the UPS. Now just what the cable system has to protect the cable lines, other than the ground wire I can see, I don't know. No problem with the TVs, just the cable modems. The most recent problem was a defective run of power adapters from the manufacturer, so they just replaced the modem as well.

Reply to
Ron Hunter

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