Milwaukee HDTV User Group

Thanks much.  I will leave it all as-is.  

I printed the list of approved modems, and figured if I need to invest, I'd eventually go with a 300 Mbps modem-only.  

There are eight ( on the list in that category, so if there are any recommendations or links to comparisons, please post.  Thanks again.

Arris/Motorola SB6183
Motorola MB7420
Netgear CM500-100NAS
Netgear CM600
SMC D3CM1604
Technicolor/Thomson/RCA TC4310
Ubee Ambit DDM354
Zoom 5370

Will a DPC2100r2 cable modem work with Time Warner's Extreme Internet in this market?

I've had the 15 Mbps "Standard" Internet service from Time Warner for years.  I've been doing my annual "retention" calls lately, and today accepted their offer of an upgrade to "Extreme" 30 Mbps for $39.99 per month plus tax.  

I was assured by the retention rep that my old DPC2100r2 cable modem would work with Extreme.  I am loathe to invest in a new cable modem until there's some resolution with the corporate acquisition.  

The new rate goes into effect near the end of this month when my previous program rate expires, so presumably I've got some time to prepare if anybody can answer with experience or knowledge.  Thanks in advance.

My house is a half-mile to a mile from the towers in Shorewood and Milwaukee.  I get everything you'd expect, and nothing you wouldn't, with a small antenna in my attic knee wall space with insulated roof deck.  In other words, although I am close, the signal is not as strong as you might think.  

We had a new roof put on over the winter, and had a CommDeck installed with a 1" raceway to my low-voltage system.  When the weather improves I will move the antenna up to the roof.  I doubt it will increase the channels I get, but right now, when the trees leaf out and it's raining, the signal drops enough on 58 that when cars go by, I lose sync.

http://www.rstcenterprises.com/commdeck/

Just wondering if getting a newer modem with better channel capacity, for example SB6183, would have fewer slowdowns in this market during peak evening hours, than my relatively old DPC2100r2.  If I remember correctly, the DPC2100r2 is only good to 25 or 50 Mbps but the SB6183 is rated up to 300 Mbps.  

If you have any experience, please share.  Thanks.

Thanks.  I rebooted mid-July and just checked my SamKnows stats, noticed the increase.  Wondered what was up.

On 22 July there was a noticeable bump up:  Instead of the download graph lines mostly being in the 15-16 range, they are now running 16-17.5.

On my 15 Mbps service, things were pretty consistent from mid-2013 through September 2014.  Then I started seeing worse performance and lower averages although I'd still get frequent readings around 16 Mbps.  I reconfigured my network somewhat after that, and performance rebounded to 15.5 to 16 Mbps, but I wasn't tracking modem stats at all, so no idea if a reboot somewhere might have changed that.

I bought a CISCO DPC2100R2 a few years ago for $15 or so.  Bought a second one for about the same price as a backup.  

I've been wondering, if the first one dies, will they activate the second one, now that's it gone off the approved list?

What's good about this deal for customers?  Nothing.  

What's good about this for local Time Warner employees?  Nothing.  

What's good about this for Time Warner, Comcast and Charter stockholders and managers?  Who cares!

At least when Ma Bell was the only game in town, she had regulators (sort of) watching.  Now, this is all just wild west.  They've all got their thumbs on the scale, and what choice do we have?  "Well, you can always wait for the DVD or go to the library!"

The FM band, 88-108 MHz, lies just above (VHF) NTSC channel 6.  

When I needed an indoor FM antenna, I just used a 300-ohm twinlead dipole.   Seems to me 1/4 wave is about 30-36 inches.  

Here's a primer.  http://hf-antenna.com/003/

http://www.kgnu.org/ht/helpfm.html#makeantenna

If you want to tune your antenna to a particular station, a good place to start is knowing the wavelength:

http://www.onlineconversion.com/frequency_wavelength.htm

Quote from: PONIES;59839You guys are literally debating over which pile of crap emits the least amount of odor.

Well, not literally, but your other points are right on.  

I agree that there are two piles:
1.  The local duopoly / monopoly.  They blame price increases on increased maintenance costs and increased programming costs from the big cable content providers and local stations trying to replace lost local ad and network revenue-sharing, not on their own desire for profits "because we can."  

2.  Vertical integration.  They claim everything will flow like honey when they own everything from the pole in the backyard to the actor's botoxed lips.  For some reason they don't mention the lack of pricing pressure.

Quote from: Gregg Lengling;59813It will come to FTTP customers in Milwaukee market later this year most likely.

Sounds great!  I've got innerduct from the pole to my basement, with a pull string.  When will I be getting FTTP?  

Quote from: duncantuna;59811Sure it's cool you could go 220 mph, but you are surrounded by freeways with people going 75.

I really don't have a clue what kind of infrastructure upgrades will be needed in this market to offer those higher tiers.  Anyone?  

It would be nice if they worked on resilience a bit, for example, uninterruptible power.  

And, anybody got the SB6183 or know if they are installing in this market yet?

http://www.timewarnercable.com/en/residential-home/support/topics/internet/buy-your-modem.html

Quote from: duncantuna;59672I have 2-3 outages a year, ...  .. I've never lost Roadrunner with that.

Just to be clear, my concern is Time Warner's backup power, not the customer's.  

So what's the difference in Time Warner's standards and practices between your neighborhood and mine that keeps their infrastructure humming for you?  

What municipality are you in?  

Is it likely that TW's amps etc. are on different primary (substation) circuits than yours, that have not lost power when yours goes out?

Quote from: techboy;59671There was a marathon through the Estabrook parkway last week.  At the tower the route turned onto the bike path.  The road was blocked for the runners.

Yes, but you might want to drop by again this week.  I doubt the barricades, fencing, hoisting equipment, caution tape, and equipment arrayed on the lawn are related to the running event.

Does Time Warner have any standards for backup power in SE Wisconsin?  

Have you ever had a "total neighborhood" power failure and NOT had your TW internet go out?  

Earlier this week we had a neighborhood outage that lasted a bit less than two hours.  My wireless router & cable modem are on a UPS and never lost power, but my cable modem could not communicate with upstream equipment at Time Warner for the duration.  

That led me to wonder whether they have backup batteries in any of the Alpha power supplies and any other utility-powered equipment located in the field.

I noticed barricades and equipment laid out on the grass at the WITI tower site at Capitol Dr & Estabrook Pkwy this morning.  What are they up to?