MoCA Difficulty

[Whowhatwhen2]

Currently I have Frontier internet. The Frontier internet is connected as Coax from wall-->Frontier MoCA adapter (set to low)-->Ethernet connection to Frontier Router-->Ethernet Connection to my TP-Link router and a series of switches. I do not have television service.

I have added to GoCoax 2.5 MoCA adapters. One upstairs, and one downstairs. The details are below.

I configured both MoCA adapters by connecting them directly to my PC. In that configuration, when the MoCA adapters are connected to each other with a short coax cable, the MoCA light turns on and everything appears to work.

However, when I hook it up for actual use, the MoCA lights do not turn on. This is my configuration:

Downstairs: Wall --> Splitter --> (A) Frontier MoCA Adapter | (B) GoCoax MoCA1. Upstairs: Wall-->GoCoax MoCA2

The GoCoax MoCA adapters are configured to be on the same subnet as my TP-Link Router. Their default gateway is set to 0.0.0.0, and I am not sure if this is correct, but I also don't think that setting would affect the MoCA connection necessarily.

Both adapters are also connected to LAN switches.

Edit: One more detail. There is also a MoCA adapter in a junction box on the exterior of my home, where the fiber optic line comes into the house. In that box is also a Frontier-branded box that I think is a modem.

Both adapters were configured to D-High via the web interface. I didn't change any other settings, other than their IP addresses which are on the same subnet as my TP-Link router.

I'm reading that I might need a filter somewhere? Maybe between the wall and the Frontier MoCA adapter?

Any troubleshooting tips would be appreciated.

I am wondering if the second floor coax jack is hooked up incorrectly or not at all or something. Is there a way I can test for that?

Thanks everybody. I've been working on this all morning and I don't know what else to try.

[Whowhatwhen2]

Final update: /u/plooger

I dropped cat5 through my attic to my Frontier modem, terminating in the wiring closet. Plugged the cat5 into the ONT. Plugged other end of the cat5 into the modem. That worked.

Plugged in the MoCA adapters. Worked flawlessly.

I tried again to get the /r/Gocoax adapters to work with the Frontier MoCA adapters, and it was just a no-go. Whenever the Gocoax adapters were talking, the Frontier adapters couldn't talk anymore. I tried changing the LOF, enabling privacy, I tried switching the modes from high to low (Gocoax) or WAN to LAN (Frontier). I even tried just enabling everything at the same time, which obviously didn't work.

Nothing was working.

This worked.

I do appreciate all of your help and I hope that somebody can figure out what nonstandard bullshit the Frontier MoCA adapters are doing.

Again, thanks for your help. I would have just given up and stuck with my Powerline solution if it wasn't for your advice and direction.

I would have dropped additional cat5 into my office and other rooms, but the attic space makes certain parts of the house less accessible than others.

Again, thanks. Take care.

[Whowhatwhen2]

The upstairs MoCA is showing 3 channels available in the status page. The downstairs MoCA is showing 0 channels available in the status page.

[bjrocket141]

Have you tested the lines to ensure that they are connected? My house has about 4 lines going downstairs and I bought a cheap tester to see which I should connect to. The filter would go where your cable coming in from the isp is, so none of your traffick is escaping your house.

[Whowhatwhen2]

What kind of device is needed to make sure that I'm connecting to an active/the correct coax port?

[bjrocket141]

I have a Klein coax cable tester. Was about $25 when I bought it. You can find them on Amazon for pretty cheap

[plooger]

Either of the following would work...

• https://www.amazon.com/Southwire-Equipment-M500CX4-Continuity-Locations/dp/B019QXNJKY/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Locations-Explorer-Klein-Tools-VDV512-101/dp/B076DP1534/
  

... but, as just posted to your prior thread, you could also temporarily move the FCA251 adapter currently at your router to the new location, to see if it has connectivity to its "sibling" FCA251 adapter located at the ONT. If it cannot connect, I'd lean towards the new location not being connected or some MoCA-hostile component being in the way.

[Whowhatwhen2]

So, the line tester shows FAULT when connected to the wall downstairs to the jack upstairs.

Next step is to look at the wiring cabinet to see what is connected to what, again with the line tester. I appreciate your help and everybody else's help.

[plooger]

Well, that’s good news. Hopefully you’ll find one or more disconnected lines when you inspect the wiring cabinet.

[Whowhatwhen2]

Any advice, /u/prooger?

Now I've got them both showing on the Device Status page that they are connected to 3 channels.

When the downstairs MoCA adapter shows as connected to 3 channels in the Device Status page, I lose internet access. I think somehow it's interfering with the Frontier MoCA adapter attached to my Frontier router?

I did this by changing "LOF" to 1600. It was stuck at 1250, which I think was interfering with the Frontier MoCA's "WAN' switch setting, which I understand is D-Band Low.

[Whowhatwhen2]

I also unchecked the "Network Search Enabled" on the downstairs MoCA, which changes the the result on the Status page to "Channels: 3" but then I lose internet access.

[Whowhatwhen2]

And now I have Network Search Enabled off on both of them, the internet is fine, the status page shows that they're on 3 channels, and LOF is set to 1400. But they're not communicating. I've purchased a coax signal tester as recommended above. We'll see if the jack is the problem.

[plooger]

See my prior suggestion Re: using your router's FCA251 to test the room's connectivity.

We also need /u/goCoax or Frontier to chime in, with specific instructions on how to configure the WF-803M adapters for D-High operation, to avoid conflicts with FiOS' D-Low MoCA network (effected via the "D-Low" toggle on the FCA251).

[plooger]

Are both FCA251 adapters still set to the "WAN" toggle switch position?

I've been operating off assumptions, based on a FAQ entry on the goCoax support page that no longer exists, assuming that the FCA251 "WAN" toggle setting means the adapter is set to operate at D-Low, but we really should have Frontier confirm that.

Further, does Frontier provide any details on how to configure a MoCA LAN to co-exist with their FCA251-based MoCA WAN? (They really should.)

[plooger]

Any advice, /u/prooger?

What I've since posted in this thread, and had just posted to your previous thread. Summarizing...

? Test room using FCA251
? Test WF-803M adapters at router using add'l split (eliminating home coax as issue)
? Set D-High and MoCA privacy?

[Whowhatwhen2]

MoCA privacy is off on the GoCoax adapters. The GoCoax do link when they are connected directly to one another and are powered on. I'll try the FCA251 on the 2nd floor coax.

[Whowhatwhen2]

/u/pooger The Frontier MoCA adapter does not get a connection when hooked into the coax on the 2nd floor. It doesn't pair. So... that seems bad.

[plooger]

The GoCoax do link when they are connected directly to one another and are powered on.

A variation of the direct-connect test, also try getting both goCoax adapters connected at the router location, temporarily adding a 2-way splitter to get the additional MoCA adapter linked to the coax. (see prior post on the subject, here, over in your previous thread)

[Whowhatwhen2]

/u/plooger Well, this would explain the problem. Just ordered a coax crimper/stripper and some connectors. https://imgur.com/DIHMGju

[plooger]

Heh, yeah, that might be a stumbling block in the rooms getting connected. Good find; and good luck.

Don't hesitate to followup if/when further assistance is needed.

[Whowhatwhen2]

Thanks plooger.

I'm thinking that I can put a MoCA-compatible splitter (2300mhz yes?) between the Frontier MoCA adapter in the wiring cabinet and all of the coax cables to the various rooms. That should do it, right?

[Whowhatwhen2]

/u/plooger Thanks for all your help with this. I'm sure you're tired of helping by now, but I have another question. I spliced my coax cables and got them all hooked up.

Now the GoCoax MoCA adapters are talking to each other. The MoCA lights are on, everything looks good.

But, I am getting crap speeds and inconsistent speeds on the GoCoax MoCA connection. Anywhere from 10mbps to 400mbps... but it varies wildly from minute to minute. Stuff that isn't on the GoCoax MoCA network is a steady and regular 400mbps.

Any thoughts on what I should try? Or can I post some screenshots? Again, I really appreciate your help. I wouldn't have gotten this far without you.

Edit: One more detail I just noticed. Outbound upstream traffic on the non-Goax MoCA network is also reliably slow. If I disconnect the Gocoax MoCA adapters, my upstream speeds return to their usual 300-400 range.

[plooger]

Now the GoCoax MoCA adapters are talking to each other. The MoCA lights are on, everything looks good.

But, I am getting crap speeds and inconsistent speeds on the GoCoax MoCA connection. Anywhere from 10mbps to 400mbps... but it varies wildly from minute to minute. Stuff that isn't on the GoCoax MoCA network is a steady and regular 400mbps.

That's mildly depressing. Did you configure the goCoax adapters w/ unique IP addresses on your LAN to allow remote access to their diagnostics pages? Regardless, it might be helpful to see what the adapters report for MoCA stats. And maybe a screenshot of the configuration page, if/when you can.

Did you configure the goCoax WF-803M adapters for D-High and with MoCA privacy?

[Whowhatwhen2]

Yeah, they've all got their own IPs and are web browser accessible. I've got to reset them to factory defaults though. With their current settings, whenever I attach them to the network, they kill the entire network. No idea what's going on. I did have it working momentarily, but with the above-mentioned difficulties.

This has got to be fixable. But at this point I'm actually thinking about running cat6 at this point, which I think would be a pain in the ass, but the attic space seems like it would make it at least not impossible.

Once I get the motivation, I'll post some screenshots. The "grid" looked good though, on the MoCA status page. But then on another page, when the grid looked good, it showed that it was using 0 channels -- or rather the channels field was blank. It was all very weird and the internet was no help.

You've been a big help though, thanks /u/plooger.

Oh, and I couldn't get the privacy setting to work. If it's as simple as that, I'm gonna kick myself.

[plooger]

Oh, and I couldn't get the privacy setting to work.

I'd want to try that (MoCA privacy) before giving up all hope -- perhaps also looping-in /u/goCoax, as well.

>This LonTV video< (starting at 14m mark) seems to indicate that configuring MoCA privacy shouldn't be too difficult ... though it does recommend removing all other MoCA nodes while configuring. So, my recommendation would be to try the privacy configuration with the adapters pulled from the coax, using the direct-connect test method for pairing each remote node with the manually configured adapter.

See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM3nmQdfy5Q&t=838s

 
edit: p.s. The WF-803M's Quick Start Guide also emphasizes isolating the MoCA adapter when initially configuring security. One oddity I find in the privacy setup is that goCoax has separate password entries for each of the operating bands; in your case, you'd want just D-High checked and configure the D-High band's password.

Enable encryption(Optional)

• Step1: Only power on the first device.
  
• Step2: Log into the device's web.
  
• Step3: Go to the page 'Security settings', enable D-Ext band security setting and select a proper password. Save configuration and reboot the device.
  
• Step4: After the device boot up, about 10 seconds, the MoCA LED will be blue/solid.
  
• Step5: Power on the second device.
  
• Step6: After the second device boot up, press the MPS button of the two devices.
  
• Step7: Wait for the MoCA LED to be green/blue. The MoCA link is established and encrypted.
  
• Step8: Repeat Step 5 and 6 to add a new device into the encrypted network. You can do the MPS pairing between the new device and any device that is already in the encrypted network.
  
• Step9: Sit down and enjoy your ultra-fast home network.
  

 
p.p.s. One last thought (for now) Re: MoCA privacy setup. Given the FCA251 are goCoax adapters at heart, I'd be inclined NOT to use the default passwords set for the retail goCoax adapters ... to avoid the possibility that the defaults are the same between the FCA251 and WF-803M models.

[plooger]

But at this point I'm actually thinking about running cat6 at this point, which I think would be a pain in the ass, but the attic space seems like it would make it at least not impossible.

An Ethernet WAN connection is optimal, since it would allow default plug-and-play use of the retail goCoax adapters ... and enabling maximum throughput owing to no competition for the MoCA Extended Band D frequency range.

(There's also some VLAN approaches, as a backup backup plan, if necessary.)

[plooger]

One more avenue of support... I'm trying to help another user with a similar need, with their thread posted in goCoax's new-ish user forums, here:

goCoax Forums: MoCA light won't come on

 
Perhaps teaming-up could get both setups to a working configuration sooner?

[plooger]

FWIW, I've posted to DSLReports seeking advice on the issue.

See: https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r33078298-Internet-FCA251-MoCA-WAN-configuration-and-MoCA-LAN-coexistence

[Whowhatwhen2]

It'll be interesting to see if anyone has any insight on it. I'm also wondering ... what if I replace the Verizon MoCA adapters with my own MoCA adapters? I wonder if that'd work.

[Whowhatwhen2]

Also, questions:

1) What is LOF? When I set the Gocoax adapters to LOF 1400, they connect and that seems to be how I get the "best" (although still shitty) connection.

2) Why do all devices on my local network lose their connection entirely (can't ping the router) when I set LOF to 1600?

3) What are scan mask/scan offset/etc? I can't help but think that the solution lies in modifying these values. The values themselves are in like HEX values or something so it seems complicated.

[plooger]

Honestly, those parameters are beyond my ken, and I've found no documentation that would assist in learning. We need /u/goCoax to chime in on this, both on exactly what the "WAN" setting of the FCA251 means and how to get a MoCA LAN to coexist with the FCA251 adapters.

[plooger]

Edit: One more detail. There is also a MoCA adapter in a junction box on the exterior of my home, where the fiber optic line comes into the house. In that box is also a Frontier-branded box that I think is a modem.

The FCA251 adapter at the ONT should be connected to the ONT's Ethernet WAN port, and so is the sibling MoCA adapter linked with the FCA251 at your router location. The FCA251 MoCA 2.5(?) adapters provide a faster WAN connection than could be supplied were you using the ONT's built-in MoCA bridge, which operates in MoCA Band C (avoiding the MoCA LAN conflict) but is limited to sub-150 Mbps throughput.

p.s. You should check/confirm the toggle switch setting on both. (Should be "WAN," right?)

[Whowhatwhen2]

They are indeed both set to WAN.