RCA DCM315R

They are the same modem. The R stands for "retail". The 315's without the R are sold to providers. The 315R's are distributed through retail channels. Or at least that was those were the intended distribution channels when they labeled them.

OK, thanks Warren

I haven't heard much good about RCA modems. I'd be going for a Motorola 51xx. My rented Terayon is OK, but haven't seen any for sale anywhere.

OK, thanks Bill

The RCA modems from the DCM226 and lower are only DOCSIS 1.0, so anything that old should be replaced on Comcast. The DCM235 is the first DOCSIS 1.1 model.

The most common point of failure on many of the RCA models is the power plug. Off-hand I can't recall when they stopped using them, but many of the

200's, including the 245, used a Molex-type plug. The jacks were not braced enough by the case, and a lot of stress was put on the boards they were connected to. It doesn't take much movement to break the connection, and cause the modems to go offline.

I had a DCM245 for about four years. It was in an out of the way spot, but it was getting to the point that a stiff breeze was enough to wiggle the connection, and take it offline. I replaced it with a Motorola SB5100.

"JustMe" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com:

Over the past six years, I've had 2 (or 3?, can't remember) RCA modems. All have been rented from @home, attbi, and comcast. None failed, but were changed out to more current models. I now have model DCM245. True, there's not much diagnostics software that come with them, but they've all been rock solid.

Speed tests show that on good nights, I am getting 3.7mbps down, and

384kbps up. This is near the max in my area.

Bruce

That's pretty much why I had to replace my existing DCM215. I'd had it since @Home in 1999 and is was restarting 6 times an hour just from me typing at the keyboard. ISTR the @Home technicians were quite fond of having folks disconnect the power connector at the back for any little problem. Comcast techs always asked for a reset using the microswitch in the toothpick hole.

I installed the new modem last Monday but it didn't find the registration server so I called Comcast. Got a tech in 2 minutes and he forced the registration from his side and I was up and running in 10 minutes. The tech mentioned Comcast was moving to 6000kbps service in short order although I'm still seeing 3800kbps. I haven't had contact with tech support in about a year but they seem vastly improved. The man I spoke with was competent and got right to it. No screwing around playing silly games like the script readers used to do when Comcast took over from ATTBI. They even gave me a credit for 7 days without asking. All in all. a good experience.

I've also read a few reports that the power supplies were a bit underpowered for some. My DM315 is rated for 9-12V@200mA. The supply is the minimum 9V@200mA. Some had connection problems, mainly establishing the uplink (when it's doing the 3-bar flash), that was fixed by using a higher voltage/current supply. I checked mine UNDER LOAD (poked through the insulation while powering the modem), and it registered around 11V or so if I remember right, so my supply seems OK.

Andrew Rossmann wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@newsgroups.comcast.net:

True. My DCM245 came with a 9v 800mA block transformer. A few months later, a box from Comcast arrived on my doorstep, containing a new transformer, rated at 11v 800mA. A small brochure said that "a limited number of power supplies may experience weakened performance over time", but there was no safety risk. "Thompson and Comcast are proactively implementing a Power Supply Replacement program in order to prevent interruption of your Internet service due to this circumstance".

I never swapped out the old transformer, but saved it just in case.

Bruce

That's interesting. I work around the corner from the store I purchased my DCM315. I bought it during lunch and took it back to the shop and examined it. I noted that it appeared to have been used although the seal was intact. The power cube was rated 12 v. I took it back and got another one. When I opened it up, I noted the power cube was rated at 9v, 800ma. I looked for the specs in the book and on the modem case and didn't find any. I wonder what the power requirements really are?

Minor correction. It should be 800mA, not 200mA. It's very hard to read that simple raised plastic lettering from where the modem is stuffed!! I also double-checked the supply, and it's a generic 9V/800mA brick.

Right under the power socket on the modem itself, it's printed, along with a little icon showing the polarity. I just posted a correction that mine lists 9-12V@800mA (not the 200mA I posted originally.)

The supply I tested with was a nice RadioShack one that uses a high- efficiency switching supply (it's much lighter in weight since it doesn't have a big transformer.)