MoCA questions
jsa3071
Enthusiast - Level 1

Hi-

  I'm a recent Fios customer, hoping to add to an existing(?) MoCA network, but need advice. When Fios was installed, some existing (older) coax cable was present in the house, but other parts of the house had to be freshly wired. There's a Fios Gateway router (G1100) in the upstairs office connected via ethernet to a desktop computer, and a splitter in the living room that connects to both a set-top box and "Fios Network Extender". I have some peripherals connected via ethernet to the network extender, including another computer.

My understanding is that when the upstairs computer communicates with the downstairs computer, that would be over MoCA? However, I also see on the product specs that the upstairs gateway router is capable of MoCA 2.0 while the Fios Network Extender is only capable of MoCA 1.1. If I inserted a MoCA 2.0 apadter (i.e. Actiontec ECB6200K02) in between the splitter and the Network Extender, could I increase the network speed between the 2 computers? And I could still utilize the network extender for wi-fi range?

  Also, I wanted to place a NAS at a third, new location where some of the older coax is located. Here is a picture of the location:image

I don't know if this splitter was installed by the Verizon tech or not. The top and middle coax on the right are from the older wiring of the house and (presumably) connect to the overall coax network. The lower right coax is new cabling left by the Verizon tech, which does not connect to anything. I assume this was left in case I wanted to run cable to the other side of the room. The coax on the left does not connect to anything, but I assume this is where the prior user connected their television. Can I connect a NAS via MoCA adaptor  (i.e the Actiontec ECB6200K02) at one of these ports, to have it connect to the larger network?

Thank you!

0 Likes
Re: MoCA questions
CRobGauth
Community Leader
Community Leader

Couple of options:

1) can you relocate the rotuer to a better location so that it provides wifi throughout the house w/o having to use network extender? And then add wifi to as many devices to reduce the Ethernet need? Finally if needed, just use the moca adapter to provide ehternet at a sperate location.

2) Replace Extender with Moca Adpater. Then use a router in bridge mode to provide the wireless signal.

3) Yes, in the end you can use both. But MOCA runs at the speed of the slowest device, so best to try and eliminate a 1.1 device.

0 Likes
Re: MoCA questions
jsa3071
Enthusiast - Level 1

Thanks! I don't want to use wi-fi to cover the house though, as I'll be streaming large amounts of data and wi-fi will be too slow. I'd prefer dedicated ethernet, but it's an old house and too hard to wire the whole house.

Regarding the potential NAS location and splitter pictured (with both old and new connections)-- is anyone familiar with this setup and how it would work as far as having a MoCA adapter placed there, which communicates with the existing network?

0 Likes
Re: MoCA questions
CRobGauth
Community Leader
Community Leader

Its hard to tell from your picture.

What type of coax do you have?

Is it RG-59 or RG-6?

Coax type and length can affect your MOCA speed as well.

Do you have TV service?

If so, you can use the STBs to report the MOCA speeds between nodes.

You can have as many connections as you want.

But you have to be careful about loss.

0 Likes
Re: MoCA questions
jsa3071
Enthusiast - Level 1

>>If so, you can use the STBs to report the MOCA speeds between nodes

how do i access this menu? thanks again for your help!

0 Likes
Re: MoCA questions
CRobGauth
Community Leader
Community Leader

Assuming you have quantum

Menu-support-top support-connected device

Arrow down from ont to device

Hit ok

Choose advanced Diana

Go to the second screen to show moca level and speeds

Third screen shows to and RX levels

Re: MoCA questions
jsa3071
Enthusiast - Level 1

Thanks for your help!

The location of the splitter in the picture is actually part of the old wiring in the house, and not connected to the current Fios wiring -- thus complicating my plans to put the MoCA adapter in that location!

I traced this wiring back, and it terminates right at the ONT box. It seems like I could "include" this old wiring into the current coax system, simply by putting a splitter at the level of the ONT coax feed  I am hesistant to do this, however, because it will be reducing the signal strength for all the downstream Fios content (correct??) -- just so I can use the old wiring to include a MoCA adaptor. There will not be any sort of cable/TV content at this location.

Is there any type of splitter/apadtor I could use at this location which would "include" the old wiring as part of the coax network so I can use it for MoCA, but not split off signal stregnth from the main coax feed -- thus allowing it to continue on its present run without any signal loss?

0 Likes
Re: MoCA questions
CRobGauth
Community Leader
Community Leader

Not sure  I understand, but a splitter does just that. Split the signal.

0 Likes
Re: MoCA questions
jsa3071
Enthusiast - Level 1

CRob-

  In order to get the MoCA adapter in the location I want, I would have to place the splitter right at the ONT box. One limb would go to all my Fios devices (router, 2 STB's) while the other would go to my new MoCA location.

The questions I'm asking is: is this too much signal to lose, based on where I have to place the splitter and what's downstream of it (all my devices)? 

thanks!

0 Likes
Re: MoCA questions
bbinnard
Contributor - Level 3

The fiber optic cable that comes into your residence carries 3 different frequency ranges of light: TV, Internet, and phone. The ONT box converts these into electrical/voltage frequencies; it puts the first 2 onto the coax cable and the 3rd onto standard phone wire. 

To access the TV or Internet signals you need a MOCA box that picks up the type of signal you want (TV or Internet) and puts it onto the right kind of output (coax or HDMI or RCA plugs for TV, or RJ45 for Internet.) Your TV STB is a MOCA device. The coax cable connecting your TV to the STB carries only the TV frequencies; you cannot use that cable for INternet stuff.

An Internet MOCA adapter (like your extender or main router) picks up the Internet fequencies and puts them onto RJ45's or, in the case of a wireless router, the wireless antennas. Any computer device connected to a MOCA adapter is a wired device and will run at full wired speed. This is not true for wireless WiFi devices becuase wireless signals get attenuated by walls, pipes, glass, etc.

Splitters can be problematic becuase even though they are passive devices they may or may not be able to deliver the required frequency ranges. It was never clear to me how to really tell if a splitter was OK to use or not; I just try one and see how it works. The newer ones say they handle higher frequencies which is what you want.  But older ones seem to work too. So Id suggest just trying out the ones you have and see what happens.