Cox modem signel levels?

Question

I'm concerned about my modem signal levels...it works more often than not but this seems far-out!

Name

WebSTAR DPC2100R2

Modem Serial Number

[deleted]

Cable Modem MAC Address

[deleted]

Hardware Version

2.0

Software Version

v2.0.2r1256-060303

Receive Power Level

-14.8 dBmV

Transmit Power Level

52.8 dBmV

Cable Modem Status

Operational

I keep trying to get Cox to re-crimp the wire at the wallplate (it pulls out / pushes back in easy and the shielding wires are poking out of the connector) but the techs say it won't make a difference and don't even look at it!...Cox's answer is remove my surge-protector and swap wires so the modem is at the start of the splitters (which messes up the HDTV because it gets low signal)

Answer 1

The techs are correct.  You could plug a cable with no connector into the hack and use a clip to hold the shield to the outside of the jack.  The impedance bump (the only thing that will degrade the signal) will  be so small that I'd worry more about whether any of the cable was coiled up.  (And, at baseband frequencies, that loss is almost nil.)  But, it you want to make sure, go out and buy a TV cable of the right length and replace the "bad" one.

There should be only 1 splitter - with only as many ports as you need, or with the unused port terminated (with a little termination plug).  Adding splitters decreases signal strength.  (You lose half the signal at each port to begin with, so you want to lose as little more as you can.  A 3 port splitter won't have 1/3 of the total signal at each port, it'll have 1/6 the signal.)