Home Electrical Guru's OR Cable (internet) Guru's

TylerDurden

Jack's Smirking Revenge
Joined
May 24, 2001
Here's another good one, to join my home AC issues

I run a laptop and cable modem setup for the internet......

yesterday morning my internet was not working, cable light on the cable modem was just blinking (weak or no cable signal) i let it go for a few hours before calling COX.....so i call cox and they have me re hook up the modem directly to the outlet (vice the splitter its normally on for TV use) keep in mind this setup has worked flawlessly for 6 months (usually in the 2.4-3.4 Mbit range)

so i hook it directly up to the outlet and still no signal, they say ok, we will send someone out in the next 24 hours....OK....not 5 min later it starts working via the direct connection....i keep it that way so i can retain the internet until the guy shows up.

he shows up this morning and here's the scenerio......

he checks outside first....everying is TIP TOP, he comes in and checks the outlet (says its the BEST signal he's ever seen) he hooks up his test modem and it gets good lights.

ok...so we hook every back up like it should be, splitter and all, but this time he puts the TV on the DC-6 tap (i had the modem on the tap previously) and wala it works....3.4 Mbit in the middle of the day!

ok so we are back on track......now here's the wierd part

in the past i had noticed that once in a while when i would plug the AC/DC adapter into the back of the laptop i would get zapped....wierd but i didnt think much of it.....

yesterday when i went to unplug the cable from the splitter (to the modem) i got zapped once it was free from the splitter.....

the cable guy also got zapped doing the same thing (i never warned him of the issue) he said it was normal for some voltage to be there, but not that bad.....

two tests we did, with the lap top plugged into its AC/DC adapter and modem unplugged, we got zapped, with the AC adapter to the laptop unplugged, no zap......he thinks this is causing the detioration of the modem's tuner, which over time is requiring a better signal just to work and WILL die eventually....

ANY THOUGHTS??????
 
That, my friend is "shield voltage" it is caused by a poor ground in the drop. Where the coax enters the house - either by aerial or underground drop - it should go to a box and in that box there should be a ground block connection. The ground needs to be run directly to a water pipe or, preferably to the ground bar in the electric panel.

Another thing I just thought of - if your system offers Telephone service, the mainline tap may be sending voltage down your line. This can be fixed by your technician - he can put a power blocking device inline or remove the fuse in the tap.

One of those will fix your problems.

Vic
 
AZ vic, just so you know, the shock IS NOT comming from the coax line into the house.....

its "felt" on the coax cable that goes into the modem, and is comming FROM the computer thru the modem

it is also felt at the connection from the adapter into the computer

leading me to believe it is the power supply that has failed somehow....though the computer runs fine...
 
Originally posted by TylerDurden
AZ vic, just so you know, the shock IS NOT comming from the coax line into the house.....

its "felt" on the coax cable that goes into the modem, and is comming FROM the computer thru the modem

it is also felt at the connection from the adapter into the computer

leading me to believe it is the power supply that has failed somehow....though the computer runs fine...

i have this same problem but it doesnt always do it... some times its REAL bad VERY painful same thing with my outlets in my bedroom i beilve it has something to do with a ground but my parents say its just me :mad: and that everything is okay.... im also having a problem with my pc not geting the right ammount of voltage sometimes to high sometimes to low and the system will re boot:confused:
 
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