Signal Disruption -- Suggestions or Help - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

Castorfache · 2010-01-14, 07:44 AM

Hi folks

For the last few weeks, I have been experiencing some major signal disruption on not just my cable TV, but all my Rogers services (Home Phone and Internet).

Last night, I had some major signal interference and macroblocking for twenty minutes, the phone signal was intermittent and the internet was in and out.

This is all starting to wear on my patience...I have called Rogers, and they have said each time that "the signal strength looks good" which is probably because the problem is not occurring by the time I get through to a rep.

I finally had a talk with one person who seemed to have a bit more understanding...he looked at my service history and saw some of what you will read below, and listened to what I had to say.

I live in a rowhouse unit that is about 25 years old. The cable inside my house is brand new, having been replaced in the last year by Rogers and myself. There is a signal booster installed by Rogers in my house.

I hypothesize that the issue is the original cable running to the unit...which unfortunately runs in an inaccessible service conduit beneath the foundation. On previous service calls at least two techs have commented on weaker signals along that line, thus the signal booster. The CSR I spoke to, said this has happened in several other cases he has dealt with...so I took that as a victory.

I am expecting the tech either later today or tomorrow...

If the issue is the corruption of this underground cable, what can I expect?
I live in a rowhouse condo, about five units from the end where the Rogers box is located (20-25 yards or about 75 feet). In order to run exterior cable, I would need to get permission from the condo board, should I start that process? Could the tech fish a new line through the conduit?

I would like to know what to expect before the tech shows up...I have always had good luck with the techs, but I always try to be prepared.

Any advice?

Cheers,

Castor

Paolo · 2010-01-14, 10:51 AM

they should replace the line from the tap to your dwelling.

JamesK · 2010-01-15, 07:05 AM

One thing you can do is ask your neighbours if they're also experiencing this. It may help Rogers locate where the problem was. I had a problem here that was affecting my neighbours to and it turn out to be a bad cable coming into the condo from the street.

Pinza · 2010-01-15, 07:15 AM

Any competent Rogers Tech should find the fault, it should be an easy job to find the Tap (or other device) where your cable is connected and see what the levels are there, and then check your levels, that will tell him where the problem lies. It could be as simple as the Tap having a bad spigot.! It could be the connector, etc.

It would be a real bonus if the conduit was useable to pull a new line through.

JamesK · 2010-01-15, 07:46 AM

^^^^ Intermittent problems can make that difficult. The first line support can't do much about this sort of problem, so you have to escalate. Even the average tech that comes out may be somewhat useless or worse. When I had an intermittent failure last year, it affected only my internet and phone. It didn't appear to affect TV. When I called, they say the levels were fine, but could also see there had been loss of signal. One tech who came out instisted the 10 year old cable, from my living room to computer room was failing, but he could explain why that would be but the 16 YO cable from the utility room wasn't. Through my own testing, I proved the problem was not in my unit. After a bit of escalating and some visits by higher level techs, they finally found the problem on the cable coming into my condo. One thing I did to help resolve the problem was I created a script on my computer, which would ping the default gateway every minute and record the failures.

Castorfache · 2010-01-15, 10:54 AM

Well...it would be nice if I could just get the darn Rogers tech to the house. I was told I would get a call within 24 hours to set up an appointment, and there has not been a call.

I talked with my neighbours, and although some of them say the cable is a little flaky every now and again, none seem to be having issues like I am having.

I wonder if this is because the issue came up before they moved in...we have been in our house the longest, for over 10 years, and most of the neighbours have been there for less than 5 years.

I am curious as to whether this get resolved sooner or later...I hope I don't have to resort to the use of "I can always switch to Bell" as a way to get someone there. I don't know what will happen next.

JamesK · 2010-01-15, 11:00 AM

Whether 5 years or 10, if it's a current problem, it shouldn't make a difference. However, some people just don't notice a problem or think it's normal. Given this also affects your phone, perhaps you should contact the CCTS, if you can't get resolution from Rogers.

2010-01-14, 07:44 AM	#1
Castorfache Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 39	Signal Disruption -- Suggestions or Help Hi folks For the last few weeks, I have been experiencing some major signal disruption on not just my cable TV, but all my Rogers services (Home Phone and Internet). Last night, I had some major signal interference and macroblocking for twenty minutes, the phone signal was intermittent and the internet was in and out. This is all starting to wear on my patience...I have called Rogers, and they have said each time that "the signal strength looks good" which is probably because the problem is not occurring by the time I get through to a rep. I finally had a talk with one person who seemed to have a bit more understanding...he looked at my service history and saw some of what you will read below, and listened to what I had to say. I live in a rowhouse unit that is about 25 years old. The cable inside my house is brand new, having been replaced in the last year by Rogers and myself. There is a signal booster installed by Rogers in my house. I hypothesize that the issue is the original cable running to the unit...which unfortunately runs in an inaccessible service conduit beneath the foundation. On previous service calls at least two techs have commented on weaker signals along that line, thus the signal booster. The CSR I spoke to, said this has happened in several other cases he has dealt with...so I took that as a victory. I am expecting the tech either later today or tomorrow... If the issue is the corruption of this underground cable, what can I expect? I live in a rowhouse condo, about five units from the end where the Rogers box is located (20-25 yards or about 75 feet). In order to run exterior cable, I would need to get permission from the condo board, should I start that process? Could the tech fish a new line through the conduit? I would like to know what to expect before the tech shows up...I have always had good luck with the techs, but I always try to be prepared. Any advice? Cheers, Castor

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2010-01-14, 10:51 AM	#2
Paolo Veteran Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Regional Municipality of Durham Posts: 2,695	they should replace the line from the tap to your dwelling.

2010-01-15, 07:05 AM	#3
JamesK Veteran Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mississauga Posts: 5,042	One thing you can do is ask your neighbours if they're also experiencing this. It may help Rogers locate where the problem was. I had a problem here that was affecting my neighbours to and it turn out to be a bad cable coming into the condo from the street.

2010-01-15, 07:15 AM	#4
Pinza Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: GTA Posts: 8,577	Any competent Rogers Tech should find the fault, it should be an easy job to find the Tap (or other device) where your cable is connected and see what the levels are there, and then check your levels, that will tell him where the problem lies. It could be as simple as the Tap having a bad spigot.! It could be the connector, etc. It would be a real bonus if the conduit was useable to pull a new line through.

2010-01-15, 07:46 AM	#5
JamesK Veteran Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mississauga Posts: 5,042	^^^^ Intermittent problems can make that difficult. The first line support can't do much about this sort of problem, so you have to escalate. Even the average tech that comes out may be somewhat useless or worse. When I had an intermittent failure last year, it affected only my internet and phone. It didn't appear to affect TV. When I called, they say the levels were fine, but could also see there had been loss of signal. One tech who came out instisted the 10 year old cable, from my living room to computer room was failing, but he could explain why that would be but the 16 YO cable from the utility room wasn't. Through my own testing, I proved the problem was not in my unit. After a bit of escalating and some visits by higher level techs, they finally found the problem on the cable coming into my condo. One thing I did to help resolve the problem was I created a script on my computer, which would ping the default gateway every minute and record the failures.

2010-01-15, 10:54 AM	#6
Castorfache Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 39	Well...it would be nice if I could just get the darn Rogers tech to the house. I was told I would get a call within 24 hours to set up an appointment, and there has not been a call. I talked with my neighbours, and although some of them say the cable is a little flaky every now and again, none seem to be having issues like I am having. I wonder if this is because the issue came up before they moved in...we have been in our house the longest, for over 10 years, and most of the neighbours have been there for less than 5 years. I am curious as to whether this get resolved sooner or later...I hope I don't have to resort to the use of "I can always switch to Bell" as a way to get someone there. I don't know what will happen next.

2010-01-15, 11:00 AM	#7
JamesK Veteran Join Date: May 2009 Location: Mississauga Posts: 5,042	Whether 5 years or 10, if it's a current problem, it shouldn't make a difference. However, some people just don't notice a problem or think it's normal. Given this also affects your phone, perhaps you should contact the CCTS, if you can't get resolution from Rogers.