Digiweb wireless in Limerick down?

zilog_jones

I have some friends with Digiweb wireless in Castletroy, and since yesterday they've had no net connection. I investigated and it looks like the modem isn't receiving any useful signal, never mind DHCP. Everything looks connected OK. The aerial looks like it's still pointing the right way (Woodcock Hill?).

Anyone else having trouble with Digiweb?

dr.bollocko

When I got them out to my house, they seemed to have some pure dodgy receivers that they wanted to put on me roof. They jumped up there and waved some signal testing doodad that I'm sure they bought in ALDI. When they came down their highly intelligent assessment of the situation was "Broadband doesnt travel through trees."
I've worked for internet and telecomms companies for far too ****ing long now, so that one made me laugh. I felt like launching into a tirade with the guy but in the end I just rolleyed the **** out of him and asked him to leave.
Whats the point really?

Jumpy

Mines still Ok and I am on that side of town.
I assume you mean Metro?

zilog_jones

Yeah I think they're on Metro Xpress (the 8Mb/s one). Hmm, guess it's some problem within their house.

Jumpy

go to http://192.168.100.1/BasicLan.htm

That is providing you have any address from the modem at all.

Post your Signal to Noise ratio and power.

Also try unplugging both the modem AND the aerial power (the silver box attached to the cable) for 30 seconds then plug them both back in.

zilog_jones

Yeah I already looked at the modem page. It's getting absolutely nothing - it can't even determine what type of modulation to use - so I assume there's no signal.

I'll tell them to try unplugging both yokes for a while, but my friend whose bedroom they're in is probably still asleep (feckin nocturnal Counter-Strike players :rolleyes: ).

watty

I'm OK here in Limerick. But there are two sectors I think

Check the PSU for the Radio set is not unplugged.
There is a small aluminum box injects the 10.5V min, 14.6V max nominal 12V onto the coax.

If you have a meter check coax has got approx 12V on outside radio direction


The lights indicate signal. If the internet light (1st on right ) is not solid, then there is no lock to a carrier.

watty

http://192.168.100.1/CmState.htm
shows stages of setup of Modem.

1st stage is ranging. If it doesn't get past ranging your signal is very bad or non-existant.

Which could be coax damage, PSU failure on +12V to Radio set, or alignment or radio set failure (rare).

Alignment is more critical than TV, but much less critical than Sky Minidish.

bminish

dr.bollocko wrote:

When they came down their highly intelligent assessment of the situation was "Broadband doesnt travel through trees."
I've worked for internet and telecomms companies for far too ****ing long now, so that one made me laugh. I felt like launching into a tirade with the guy but in the end I just rolleyed the **** out of him and asked him to leave.
Whats the point really?

Obviously you have no understanding whatsoever of microwave radio prorogation if you think that that the 10.5 Ghz equipment that Digiweb use for Metro is going to pass though tree(s) (or just about any other obstacle for that matter)
Non line of sight properties are limited to say the least above 1 Ghz and pretty much nil above 5Ghz despite what the marketing folk of various kit manufacturers claim.

.brendan

watty

Yes the claims for WiMax on 3.5Ghz are Hilarious!

I got permission from the farmer to cut off the bottom boughs of the 60 .. 70ft trees. My Metro aerial is thus about 6ft off the ground. I'd get no signal on the chimney. Fortunately I'm near the top of a rise and the ground falls toward Limerick and toward Shannon. Woodcock is on the far side of the estuary.

zilog_jones

Thanks for the info, Watty. I wasn't aware of the 2nd PSU at all when I was there. I'll bring my meter if I remember tomorrow

event

dr.bollocko wrote:

When I got them out to my house, they seemed to have some pure dodgy receivers that they wanted to put on me roof. They jumped up there and waved some signal testing doodad that I'm sure they bought in ALDI. When they came down their highly intelligent assessment of the situation was "Broadband doesnt travel through trees."
I've worked for internet and telecomms companies for far too ****ing long now, so that one made me laugh. I felt like launching into a tirade with the guy but in the end I just rolleyed the **** out of him and asked him to leave.
Whats the point really?

except the metro doesnt go through trees?

dr.bollocko

Oh yeah sorry, to flesh out my post. Didnt mean to confuse everyone. I do have full LOS to transmitter from where I live. Thats the trouble and why the guys answer was so baffling! Thats also where I receive my always perfect TV signal from.... But there is a small row of trees flanking the house, some 400 feet back which doesn't obstruct the LOS to the hill. thats Line of sight, not just over the nearest hill, two forests and a giant wall line of sight. I wouldnt think that these trees are in the Fresnel zone. I dont know about water obstructions, maybe causing distortion, but surely at low frequencys a LOS signal shouldnt be effected by multipath distortion?

event

strange one when you tell it like that

dunno why they wouldnt install it

bminish

dr.bollocko wrote:

Oh yeah sorry, to flesh out my post. Didnt mean to confuse everyone. I do have full LOS to transmitter from where I live. Thats the trouble and why the guys answer was so baffling! Thats also where I receive my always perfect TV signal from.... But there is a small row of trees flanking the house, some 400 feet back which doesn't obstruct the LOS to the hill. thats Line of sight, not just over the nearest hill, two forests and a giant wall line of sight. I wouldnt think that these trees are in the Fresnel zone. I dont know about water obstructions, maybe causing distortion, but surely at low frequencys a LOS signal shouldnt be effected by multipath distortion?

perhaps they didn't install because there was an obstructed LOS to the actual transmitter location.

10.5 Ghz is not 'low frequency' and presumably the meter in use is used as the basis of making the go/no-go decisions. Not what the 'expert' standing on the ground rolling his eyes around etc says.

I have no idea how digweb pay their installers but it's likely to be on (or linked to) the basis of successful installs. An installation in a location without a satisfactory signal is not a successful install and rapidly becomes a support nightmare.

your TV signal is almost certainly on UHF in the range between about 470 and 806 ish Mhz. It is also being transmitted with considerable power (Many Kw of EIRP ) and will have no problem getting through a few trees
Digiweb's Metro is using a Few W EIRP at 10.5 Ghz and at these frequencies there is almost no ability to penetrate foliage.


.brendan

zilog_jones

LOL - my friends rang Digiweb, turns out they hadn't paid for the month! Well, that was a waste of time...

event

:rolleyes: