Digiweb Metro connection problems lately in D11 / D9

bren4q

How do.
Was just browsing the boards to see if anyone else was having major problems with connection to Digiweb Metro lately in the Glasnevin/Cabra/Phibsboro area. The last 2 evenings there has been a complete outage for hours at a time.

I've been with Digiweb for 9 months and for the first 6 it was all rosy. But lately these outages are becoming a lot more regular - about once a week.

I use a wifi router but I dont think its at fault. The modem appears to be losing the connection. Normally a connection will have about 4 led lights on the go on the modem, but when it loses it and tries to re-gain the connection only the one on the far right is active. Completely powering down the modem and router does not help.

Anyone else in the area with similar problems?

watty

look at your modem status page 192.168.100.1
The important figures are RX power level and RX S/N

RF Parameters
Downstream
Frequency		Power	-7 dBmV
Signal to Noise Ratio	26 dB	Modulation	QAM64
Upstream
Frequency		Power	44 dBmV
Upstream Data Rate	5120 Ksym/sec	Modulation	QPSK

This one above is very low level. More negative Power or lower Signal to Noise Ratio would be bad. There may be local interference, aerial misalligned by wind/birds, Tree Leaves on path or whatever.


Have you contacted Digiweb Support?

bren4q

Thanks for that Watty.
Over the space of a few minutes, the stats on the status page went from this:

RF Parameters
Downstream
Frequency				Power		-6 dBmV
Signal to Noise Ratio	26 dB		Modulation	QAM64
Upstream
Frequency				Power		44 dBmV
Upstream Data Rate	5120 Ksym/sec	Modulation	QPSK

Status
System uptime		0 days 00h:00m:07s
Computers detected	1
CM Status		Upstream Parameters Acquired
WAN Isolation		OFF
Time and Date		--- --- -- --:--:-- ----

To this:

RF Parameters
Downstream
Frequency				Power		-24 dBmV
Signal to Noise Ratio	23 dB		Modulation	QAM64
Upstream
Frequency				Power		59 dBmV
Upstream Data Rate	0 Ksym/sec	Modulation	QPSK

Status
System uptime		0 days 00h:07m:09s
Computers detected	1
CM Status		Not Synchronized
WAN Isolation		OFF
Time and Date		Sat May 26 10:25:40 2007

Power took a massive dip and the signal noise ratio decreased too.
I haven't contacted Digiweb support yet but I think that will be my next port of call.
Cheers

watty

Your "normal" signal is very poor.
The 2nd results are basically "lost link" settings. Below -17dBmV is basically no signal and 59dBmV TX power is modem running full power uplink, which only happens when the link is lost.

CM Status Not Synchronized

Means the link is lost.

bren4q

Just thought I'd post the conclusion to this story.

I first contacted Digiweb support using their online query form. After 5 days or so this had produced no response.

I rang the support line and was told that the reason for the fluctuating signal was probably trees. The guy pointed out that I had it installed during autumn but now that its summer, there is probably extra foliage. I didnt entirely buy into that but at least it was a rational reason. He said they'd monitor my connection for 24 hours and get back to me.

Having heard nothing after 3 days I rang again and asked about the monitoring results. They said they could see that the signal was dropping and that they'd have to send an engineer out.

Over a week later I got a call to say the engineer would be out the following day.

The next day the engineers first replaced the receiver box. The modem status still showed the power going up and down from -3 to -7 dBmV. They then installed an extension pole to raise the receiver up by about 5 foot. They also (and probably most importantly) changed the direction of the receiver box. Engineer told me that it had been getting its signal from Ringsend and turned it round so it now gets its signal from Finglas. Living in Glasnevin I would have thought that this would have been the obvious choice all along.

All said and done, the signal is now a constant +1 dBmV. And if anyone has similar problems, ring Digiweb support. They may not always return your call but they get the job done in the end. It may also be worth finding out which mast you are connected to, in case they don't know the geography of your area too well and there's one closer.

watty

There may not have been a Glasnevin when you originally got installed.

+1 is really good.