Internet hardware question

[Serenity]

So, I've got cable internet. And a roommate. So, since he spend a LOT more time on online games than I did, (And his scores in IFS prove it lol) I put the modem for our internet in his room, so he could have a hard-wire connection and everything else in the house is wifi. It works well enough to watch a show online or something, but the connection, especially in my office, is intermittent, and with the new computer coming, I want a steady, reliable connection. There IS a live coax cable wire running to the office. Can I simply buy another modem to connect this cable to, and then use an ethernet cable to run to my tower? Can you RUN more than one modem at once?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

So, I've got cable internet. And a roommate. So, since he spend a LOT more time on online games than I did, (And his scores in IFS prove it lol) I put the modem for our internet in his room, so he could have a hard-wire connection and everything else in the house is wifi. It works well enough to watch a show online or something, but the connection, especially in my office, is intermittent, and with the new computer coming, I want a steady, reliable connection. There IS a live coax cable wire running to the office. Can I simply buy another modem to connect this cable to, and then use an ethernet cable to run to my tower? Can you RUN more than one modem at once?

No you can't run more than one modem in the same line. Well, in theory you could but not in practice. Best option for you is probably a power line adapter. You plug the adapter to a regular wall socket, connect the ethernet cable and you plug another similar device to the wall socket in another room. It works basically like an ethernet cable but uses the existing power cables.

You can get decent speeds that way and it supports multicast etc. protocols which may not work so well on wifi. http://www.cnet.com/topics/networking/best-networking-devices/power-line-adapters/

[Serenity]

No you can't run more than one modem in the same line. Well, in theory you could but not in practice. Best option for you is probably a power line adapter. You plug the adapter to a regular wall socket, connect the ethernet cable and you plug another similar device to the wall socket in another room. It works basically like an ethernet cable but uses the existing power cables.

You can get decent speeds that way and it supports multicast etc. protocols which may not work so well on wifi. http://www.cnet.com/topics/networking/best-networking-devices/power-line-adapters/

Awesome! Thank you very much!

[SysError]

is the coax RG6 or RG59?

[Serenity]

is the coax RG6 or RG59?

I have no clue. But I went with the inline adapter, and it works great!

[SysError]

I have no clue. But I went with the inline adapter, and it works great!

Interesting.  What brand and model did you go with? 

(I was thinking that some sort of MUX would work for you.  I would be interested in what you actually did.)

[Serenity]

Interesting.  What brand and model did you go with? 

(I was thinking that some sort of MUX would work for you.  I would be interested in what you actually did.)

Trendnet TPL406E is what I went with. Run a cable from the modem in one room to the adapter plugged directly into the wall. Plug the other adapter in anywhere else in the house (directly into the wall, no power strips) and run an ethernet cord from that adapter to the computer. It gives me the same performance and reliability that I have directly at the modem, for $30.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Glad to hear it worked for you.

[SysError]

I now see that I completely misunderstood what you were originally trying to do.

I have a thought and a suggestion for you though.

I think that these adapters can keep transmitting (300 meters??) until they hit a transformer.  (I believe the power companies have a way of getting their signals through their transforms and the can go for miles, but I would guess that consumer home products still don't).

How far away is your closest neighbor?  Under 300 meters (as the power lines would run).

Have you gone to your neighbors' house and plugged in?

Make sure you use the device's encryption package.

[Serenity]

I now see that I completely misunderstood what you were originally trying to do.

I have a thought and a suggestion for you though.

I think that these adapters can keep transmitting (300 meters??) until they hit a transformer.  (I believe the power companies have a way of getting their signals through their transforms and the can go for miles, but I would guess that consumer home products still don't).

How far away is your closest neighbor?  Under 300 meters (as the power lines would run).

Have you gone to your neighbors' house and plugged in?

Make sure you use the device's encryption package.

I would say I'm definitely closer than 300 meters, but neither neighbor is what I would call very technical lol. Old retired Navy and Army respectively.

[Bizman]

I'm not experienced enough to tell about current devices, but some years ago the powerline adapters had to be in the same circuit in order to work. The household main fuse/usage meter would stop the signal. I had a customer who had to get an electrician to re-route some wires to get the powerline ethernet to work in their bedroom. It worked perfectly well in the living room on the other side of the door, three inches on other side of the wall! Needless to say they had a house with no neighbours within half a mile. But that happened here, your situation may be totally different.

[SysError]

I'm not experienced enough to tell about current devices, but some years ago the powerline adapters had to be in the same circuit in order to work. The household main fuse/usage meter would stop the signal. I had a customer who had to get an electrician to re-route some wires to get the powerline ethernet to work in their bedroom. It worked perfectly well in the living room on the other side of the door, three inches on other side of the wall! Needless to say they had a house with no neighbours within half a mile. But that happened here, your situation may be totally different.

They used to sell these things years ago.  I remember when 10BaseT was the rage, you could buy these power line extenders but the bit rate went down below ArcNet (2.5 mb).  I could see them failing at an old fuse junction.  (too much resistance would be my guess).  Today I would think that unless there is a built in EFI in the panel, (which I have seen on some breakers), I think that the only thing that will stop in is a transformer.  I had not thought about power meters and do not know what they would do to the line. 

I would be interested in your experience if you ever did go next door to try it out.

[Serenity]

They used to sell these things years ago.  I remember when 10BaseT was the rage, you could buy these power line extenders but the bit rate went down below ArcNet (2.5 mb).  I could see them failing at an old fuse junction.  (too much resistance would be my guess).  Today I would think that unless there is a built in EFI in the panel, (which I have seen on some breakers), I think that the only thing that will stop in is a transformer.  I had not thought about power meters and do not know what they would do to the line. 

I would be interested in your experience if you ever did go next door to try it out.

Maybe I'll go knock on their door sometime this week lol.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

They used to sell these things years ago.  I remember when 10BaseT was the rage, you could buy these power line extenders but the bit rate went down below ArcNet (2.5 mb).  I could see them failing at an old fuse junction.  (too much resistance would be my guess).  Today I would think that unless there is a built in EFI in the panel, (which I have seen on some breakers), I think that the only thing that will stop in is a transformer.  I had not thought about power meters and do not know what they would do to the line. 

I would be interested in your experience if you ever did go next door to try it out.

The marketing brochures usually claim that the network gets blocked at the main house switch board and the speed gets degraded if both sockets are not using the same circuit breaker.

[Bizman]

Maybe I'll go knock on their door sometime this week lol.

I'm interested, too!