Both kinda. The stuff you said and just poor network conditions. Going to try and rebuild things based on mesh / moca then it turned into signal problems. Both issues really. But I'll probably just ghetto fab a network cable.
If it were me, i would focus on the OTA <--> HDHR piece first, as the HDHR config bits will give you good info that isn't subject to WiFi. Baseline that, check your "best" channels , and use those to test WiFi.
Coax should be much more distance-friendly, but again, the small investment in a preamp would be instructive (after baselining).
I also wouldn't be so dismissive of antenna moves, especially if it's in an attic or indoors. With a clustered set of transmitters like yours, you shouldn't be able to screw things up too badly. Even a joist/stud or roofing material in the wrong place could impact signal, so keep in mind you can move non-directionally too (i.e. placement, not direction).
Signal GH is a great app for viewing the HDHR signal levels from iOS directly, if you have an iOS device.
1 Like
You may want to loop the cable so you don't get rainwater running down it into your living room.
3 Likes
Sorry that makes me cringe. Any way to wall fish that or possibly come down from the attic to a closet? I started my career as a cable installer so forgive my scrutiny. I know it works but....
Scrutiny forgiven, my last job was, check this out, a cable installer lmao. I've only worked in a few houses though, these were mainly schools. The main reason I haven't ran anything permanent is that it's a condo, so idk how much I can change, but we own the condo, so who's gonna complain. I've only found one possible way from the attic to the first floor. There is a closet on the 2nd floor with the air handler in it, and going through that floor will put me right by the entertainment center downstairs, but where, could be a couple feet off. I need a way to have someone stand directly above me on the 2nd floor and we somehow know if we are actually standing directly above / below each other before I go getting out the hammer drill. An app? Real equipment? Another reason I haven't done anything permanent yet, is I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I want the easiest possible solution. I had this idea that I was going to somehow get the coax downstairs from the attic, but I don't think that's necessary anymore. I can access the attic from the air handler closet on the 2nd floor, and it shares a wall with the bedroom. I'll go into the bedroom with it.
So. Antenna in the attic. Coax going down through the closet into the adjacent bedroom. Probably 20 ft will be plenty. I'll install a fancy wallplate. In place of the coax going up the outdoor wall will be a temporary network cable that I also route into the bedroom and hook up to a cheap switch. So I've moved the hdhr upstairs to make the coax run shorter, and indoors, and permanent most likely. And rigged up a wired network before I pull the trigger on the MoCa. This way all I've bought is a cheap switch that I'll need anyways and maybe a longer cable.
Generally in a condo you can make changes to the interior that do affect load bearing walls. Check your CC&R's or ask the board.
1 Like
I'm all for testing here, but you couldn't just run the cable through a living space temporarily, as a test? I may have run a Cat5e cable through my living room, diagonally, once or twice 
1 Like
It was going to be permanent 
I don't think it looks that bad. The picture I posted above is the view out my office window of the alleyway between my house and the neighbor's house. There are incoming/outgoing wires for internet coax, ethernet, power, antenna coax, plus my neighbor has TV, phone, and power going to his house. And there are overhead wires for other houses in the neighborhood. But none of this is visible from the front of the house. It is only accessible by my neighbor and me. So who cares?
Starting to get the stuff I ordered. Not sure if anyone has this one, but we're fixing to try it out.
Awesome. I was told that the closer to the antenna you place the filter the better results. No idea why that's the case, but it's what I did.
1 Like
Found this while taking a dump at work. Good read so far, I'll finish it up later. Someone asked about the goCoax, it's in there.
Just to follow up since I posted here a few months ago:
I got the Actiontec Moca 2.5 adapters and they work beautifully. Once I went down to the basement and untangled the web of cables that a Verizon technician probably installed a decade ago, I put in a new splitter and the Actiontecs and now have wired backhaul for my eeros. Setup is basically plug and play.
Although I got a pair on prime day for a good discount, I highly recommend trying your luck with the Amazon warehouse refurbished adapters for anyone looking to add these to your network. Just got a third one for about $50 and it works perfectly.
3 Likes
I contributed to this discussion and wanted to give an update. I sold my home and have moved to an apartment while I build a new one. Where my home had a crazy amount of coax runs but no Ethernet, the apartment I'm in has only one coax line and zero Ethernet. I was quite disappointed. None of the apartments (where there was availability) I had looked at had anything to offer in terms of setting up a network. So I Googled options.
I landed on this setup:
This was an expensive option but I decided to give it a try. Overall this setup is good enough. I'm using TVE and Locast (my HDHR's are in storage). The price includes 2 mesh points.
My TV's are all wireless (Android TV's). So far I have not had any issues being completely wireless with Channels DVR.
My speed test in the Channels DVR App reports 250mb down and 20ms latency. Not ideal at all, but, because the coax cable for my modem is in the living room corner exactly where a TV would not be, I have one mesh point located there that provides Internet access using my cable modem. The second mesh point is in my office and I have Channels DVR plugged into one of the gigabit ports. The Channels DVR communicates with the Channels App over a Wifi 6 backbone to the main mesh point. The TV connects to the main mesh point wireless as well. So the entire setup depends on a wireless implementation.
If I take a really really long Ethernet cable and connect the TV (and not use the TV's WiFi) to the main access point, I get speed test at 910mb and 6ms latency back to the Channels DVR using the WiFi 6 backbone. But there is nowhere to hide the Ethernet cable so the TV is connected via WiFi.
I'm researching how to have the TV's connect to the mesh point hosting the Channels DVR server and not use the closest mesh point in the living room. It appears I can setup a SID only for the hosting mesh point. On the to-do list.
Again, not an ideal situation but it does work well, skip back/forward and channel changes are about the same as my old MOCA network that I can tell.
2 Likes
Does that model support a wired backhaul between the router and point?
Yes
Sorry to bring back a dead one. I finally picked up a pair of Actiontec ECB7250 adapters on eBay for $85. Think I got a pretty good deal.
It's a pretty small coax system in this 2 story condo with only 3 things connected outside on the main splitter. The input from Comcast and two outputs, one for each floor. So I was thinking is it possible to forgo a powered moca amplifier since it's such a small configuration? I was thinking about getting 2 of these splitters, one for the outside of the house, and the other for the adapter hookup next to the modern. I think that's all that's needed for splitters but I'm sure there is a third in the attic to create the two upstairs bedrooms' hookups. I didn't see it last time I was up there, so maybe I should order 3 of the splitters just in case.
I should buy these filters since I won't be using a powered amplifier with a built in filter (requires a separate power inserter?):
I should hookup a filter outside to each of the 2 outputs or inside at each of the wall coax hookups inline with the adapter?
Believe it or not, POE stands for Point Of Entry.
You place one POE filter where the coax comes into your residence to prevent MOCA signals from escaping your house.
2 Likes