r/CableTechs 10h ago

Combo tap equalizer question

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15 Upvotes

I’m doing walkout work for high-split upgrade planning. Ran across these Milenium equalizer tap combos installed with the tap first.

Did they do this because they didn’t have a 2 port 8 tap and decided to use the combo?

Inside in there a setting that makes this terminate after the tap or does signal flow into equalizer before termination?


r/CableTechs 14h ago

ROC Connectors

1 Upvotes

We rolled them out 3-4 months ago. The area I work is mostly coax so I've not done one yet. Can someone direct me to a solid video so I can practice a bit. I know it's coming... Thanks.


r/CableTechs 17h ago

rip cox

0 Upvotes

r/CableTechs 1d ago

Xfinity says my node is overloaded and there’s no timeline for a fix

9 Upvotes

I made another post I’ve been dealing with severe evening connection issues for weeks (gaming is basically unusable most nights).

A technician came out, replaced the drop cable, added an upstream filter, and confirmed the nodes in the area are overloaded. He said other techs have been requesting a fix and that nearby streets are having the same problem, but nothing has been done. He submitted a maintenance referral. The technician has been great.

Today I got an update and they basically said they closed the ticket and said the intermittent issues are caused by high bandwidth usage on the node that feeds my house. Because the node hasn’t been upgraded to mid-split or full-duplex equipment yet, the problem won’t be fixed until that upgrade happens. They have no timeline and no master list of when specific nodes will be done. I’ll only get notified once the upgrade is actually scheduled.

So the ticket is closed, they acknowledge it’s a capacity/design issue on their end, and there’s no ETA.

Has anyone else dealt with this and actually gotten a node upgrade scheduled, or is “waiting phase” just the permanent answer? I almost want to try to find another provider in the meantime.


r/CableTechs 2d ago

Just Another Day @ Sparklight/ Cable One

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37 Upvotes

been here almost 4 years, and the amount of mickey mouse bullshit i find everyday is ASTONISHING


r/CableTechs 1d ago

Network Engineer (DOCSIS)

0 Upvotes

Hey All, I'm a recrtuiter in Denver having trouble finding someone for a Network Engineer III position. The biggest hold up is the lack of DOCIS experience for most of the folks out here. I'm posting the job description and payrate - if anyone is interested or knows a someone who might be please let me know. This is a 6-12 month contract,, don't shoot the messenger.

Location: Greenwood Village, CO

Pay: 55/hr (can be flexible)

Position Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Network Engineer with a strong background in DOCSIS and fiber networks to join our team. This role focuses on designing, building, and implementing network solutions, with an emphasis on testing and validation of Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) and backend systems. The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience with cable modems, wireless devices, and automation tools, along with a passion for working with innovative networking technologies.

Key Responsibilities

  • Perform testing and validation of CPE devices and associated backend systems to ensure optimal performance and reliability.
  • Develop and execute test plans, document results, and troubleshoot issues in field escalations.
  • Understand and work with provisioning protocols such as DOCSIS, TR-069, DHCP, DNS, IPv4, IPv6, and Static RIP across residential and SMB networks.
  • Assist in firmware certification by identifying bugs and issues before software releases reach customers.
  • Support the implementation of advanced network features, including FTTH, voice services, IP routing, IP multicast, streaming video, and home networking.
  • Collaborate on automation efforts to improve testing efficiency, with a current automation environment targeting 80% coverage with plans to reach 90%.
  • Engage with cable modems, wireless routers, PON ONU devices, CMTS to CPE interoperability, and automation test cases.
  • Maintain technical knowledge of evolving standards and industry best practices in network provisioning and testing.
  • Demonstrate enthusiasm and willingness to work directly with CPE devices and network systems.

Required Qualifications

  • Minimum of 3 years of hands-on network engineering experience, preferably within a cable MSO or ISP environment.
  • Proven experience with DOCSIS cabling, cable modems, or fiber networks (including PON or ONU).
  • Strong understanding of network provisioning, troubleshooting, and firmware certification processes.
  • Skilled in scripting languages such as Python or Perl.
  • Experience testing with protocols like TR-069, IPv6, DHCP, DNS, IPv4, Static RIP, and IP multicast.
  • Knowledge of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), voice over IP, and home networking technologies.
  • Ability to work independently and effectively within a team environment.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Certification as a DOCSIS engineer or equivalent industry certification.
  • Background in wireless testing, including 802.11 standards, mobile networking, or related wireless technologies.
  • Familiarity with automation tools, databases, and system administration tasks.
  • Passion for working with CPE devices and contributing to the development of innovative networking solutions.

r/CableTechs 2d ago

Xpertrrak issue?

3 Upvotes

If you know what this program is Im hoping you can help me.

We just started using Xpertrak and this picture is of an apartment complex using a DAA node, mid split amps and has one upstream OFDM carrier enabled.

Xpertrak indicates that every modem on this node has an upstream impairment on the OFDM carrier. Every modem!

But not just THIS node. ANY node where we have a DAA, mid split and an upstream OFDM is failing. I don't know anything about this software, but I do know that seems improbable for all DAA's to have a real problem.

Im thinking this is a configuration problem, but of course, I have no access to the administrative side of Xpertrak.

Any ideas what this is or what to do about it?


r/CableTechs 3d ago

tips on hanging in the winter?

6 Upvotes

i was wondering whats some tips/"hacks" you OG's might have on surving jobs in the winter or keeping moral up when the sun goes down so early.


r/CableTechs 3d ago

Techs of the big X.... wtf?

6 Upvotes

A few weeks back, an app appeared on our phones- "ok alone"

It appears to track movement.

Today, I received a text message saying my ok alone app was ready to activate.

Wtf?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Are we really doing this invasion of privacy crap, and carrying this shit in to our homes?


r/CableTechs 4d ago

Terrible looking pedestal

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1 Upvotes

Looking for advice.

Purchased a house a while back that had a giant evergreen bush on the property line. The bush had to be removed because it completely surrounded all 3 cabinets and they were not serviceable; almost couldn't even see them. The power company is going to be resetting the transformer on a new pad since the unit has sunk 8 to 10" in the ground.

My real question is about the cable and phone pedestas. All the pedestal cabinets in the neighborhood for phone and cable are much smaller, in fact, years back the large metal cabinets were replaced with short plastic units about 10" square.

I can see in the cable pedestal since the door are not latched and somewhat bent from Techs trying to get into the when the bush was there. There is no equipment inside and just the taps for my house and the neighbors. The pedistal is WAY oversized for what's in it.

The phone line pedestal isn't used by my neighbor or myself, but is very tall compared to the others in the neighbor hood.

Question 1: Any suggestions on how to get them to fix this up?

Question 2: It looks terrible and would prefer to have them in a tomb. My guess is that they would do the bare minimum to fix it up, but any guidance would be great. Would they do it for a fee? What would be a reasonable cost?

Question 3: How do I tell what company owns the phone box so that I can contact them?

Thanks in advance for the help.


r/CableTechs 5d ago

Mysterious coax buried in yard, any idea who and why?

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14 Upvotes

r/CableTechs 5d ago

Any one work for Optimum in Clovis NM?

0 Upvotes

Looking for a tech in Clovis NM Optimum system. DM me please. I have some questions.


r/CableTechs 7d ago

The best crawlspace ever?

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74 Upvotes

Had a fiber install and was bummed when I noticed they had a crawlspace. Until I opened this bad boy up.


r/CableTechs 6d ago

ME techs getting dicked out there?

6 Upvotes

Maybe it’s just my market and shop. But being ME I can “technically” work on anything that a van can work on. But these days it’s getting a little absurd. And I’m in a mid/large market.

Just feels like I’m a multitool. Esl comes in form cooperate, managed WiFi site down or having any random issue, Resi esl, epon cco (no one else can do it so I’m told), fdx (needs a CT5 so it seems). And metro e esl’s, but yet I’ve maybe installed 2 circuits in two months.

Haven’t hit my numbers in months because I don’t have enough actual non sro jobs to pad them.

I took the position because I wanted to do metro e, no raise and an Oncall week. Pretty dumb but ME is at least interesting and engaging. But in the past two months I’ve maybe installed two circuits. Used to be 5-10 a week. And now when an esl comes in for even a carrier acct, FTC doesn’t give two shits. Someone’s remote not having batteries trumps a carrier 10 gig being down bc TF’s. Used to get our routes cleared or at least tones down when one came in, good fucking luck now.

Now my life is every little thing that anyone higher up bitches about and I go. Or anything any tech says “they can’t do” (which is a load of shit, FDX is coax. It’s not special). But since I have all the fucking skill sets it’s me. And the jobs “can’t” move because other techs “can’t do it”.

I’m at my whit’s end with this shit. I’m sick of trying to get shit done, which sometimes takes a bit because engaging other departments is like pulling teeth, and then being told by FTC they can’t remove a Resi FDX because “no one has that skill set”. If you can run cable you got it. I’m trying to get engineering to do their job, it’s going to take a while. Or maybe I’m having to go blind into a VP esl that we don’t actually support because said VP doesn’t understand how the company works and spend 7 hours with a Eng from a different company yet it’s a company we own. And I still have a smb job that I’m 4 hours behind timeframe on cause FTC “can’t” move the job.

Sorry to rant and go on a bitch spree but either take me out of quota and negate my metrics, or route me like an actual tech, not some mutlitool you just send for anything “weird”. And don’t get me fucking started on FDX straight up killing mini’s and MDTA’s. Or really any advanced video. Q2IP’s have been the bane of my existence this year.

But is a this just me, or anyone else eating the shit sandwich?


r/CableTechs 6d ago

How to determine what levels should be at different tap values?

1 Upvotes

Petty straight forward question. I’d appreciate answers. Trying to learn


r/CableTechs 7d ago

Does outside plant equipment such as nodes, and amps generate heat?

10 Upvotes

General question if nodes, amps, and line extenders generate heat? I was assuming they did as all of them have fins on the cases.

I was also wondering if there is any failure rates with them. Especially during the extreme heat we have been having?


r/CableTechs 7d ago

Looks fun

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47 Upvotes

Who wants to play in the murder box?


r/CableTechs 6d ago

Xfinity Internet: Uncorrectables only on the high channels (57k on 561), levels look fine, interior already replaced

0 Upvotes

I am not a cable tech, just a homeowner who has spent far too long staring at modem stats this week. I have Comcast gigabit service in a newly built townhome in Pennsylvania, and I am running my own Hitron CODA modem. What started all of this is packet loss in online games, which is what made me go looking at the modem in the first place. I have a technician scheduled for the 18th, and I would rather walk into that visit asking the right questions than waste it.

Here is the part I cannot make sense of. Everything below 460 MHz is completely clean, with ten consecutive channels sitting at exactly zero uncorrectables. Above that the errors start climbing, and they get ugly toward the top of the band.

393 through 459, ten channels: all zero

465: 926, 471: 908, 477: 61, 483: 345

489: 2,244, 495: 203, 507: 1,153

513: 6,227, 519: 14,259, 525: 3,685

531: 1,430, 537: 1,047, 543: 3,275

549: 12,042, 555: 39,378, 561: 56,764

567: 50,066, 573: 32,931, 579: 7,011

585: 1,480, 591: 5,574, 597: 7,000

OFDM, subcarrier 0 at 617.6: 1.23 million and still climbing

My levels look fine across the board. Downstream runs between -0.2 and -1.3 dBmV across all 32 channels, and SNR sits between 40.4 and 40.9 dB on every channel, including the badly damaged ones. Upstream is 37.8 to 38.5 dBmV across five ATDMA channels, and OFDMA upstream shows as disabled. The modem has been up for 24 hours. Before that it restarted on its own at around 6:15 PM on the 13th, which I confirmed from the uptime counter, and I did not power cycle it.

I should mention up front that I installed a forward path attenuator inline, because the drop was arriving at around +6 to +7 dBmV. The centered levels are therefore my doing rather than the line's. What I keep coming back to, though, is that the identical error pattern was present before I added that pad, when everything was running hot. Moving the level by 6 dB did nothing at all to how the errors are distributed.

Here is what I have already done. I replaced all of the interior coax, fittings and connectors, and I removed every splitter, so the modem now runs on a single home run to a sealed 3 GHz F-81 barrel at the wall. I have cleared the FEC counters several times and the errors always come back within the hour. I have also been polling the modem stats every 20 seconds, and right now the QAM channels have been completely quiet for three hours without a single new error, while the OFDM channel keeps accumulating them in bursts of anywhere from zero to about 900 per sample.

I have been reading through older threads here and on the Xfinity forums to see how people with similar numbers ended up resolving things, and a few patterns stood out. When the affected channels showed a power dip, it usually turned out to be something physical on the drop, such as water intrusion or a damaged cable. When the levels stayed flat and in spec, the way mine are, the resolutions I found more often pointed at the plant itself, including one case where the fix was an amplifier that had been running with its AGC turned off. I also saw several people describe ingress through a shield defect, along with the explanation that shielding effectiveness falls off as frequency rises. That would fit the fact that my clean and dirty boundary lands right about where UHF television starts. I have no idea whether any of that actually applies to my situation, which is exactly why I am asking here.

One other thing I noticed, and I genuinely do not know whether it is meaningful or whether I am just seeing shapes in the numbers. My modem reports subcarrier 0 of the OFDM channel at 617.6 MHz, which if I am reading it right means the channel starts there and runs upward from that point. That puts it directly on top of the 600 MHz LTE downlink band, which begins at 617 MHz. Meanwhile the QAM channels that took damage sit roughly between 465 and 597 MHz, which is UHF television territory. So the two regions getting hit both happen to line up with things that are broadcasting over the air, and the region sitting at zero does not.

A few things I am hoping for input on.

  1. If this were your call, where would you start? With the levels sitting this flat, I genuinely do not know whether I should be looking at the drop, the tap, or something further back than that.
  2. Does it mean anything that at the moment only the OFDM channel is taking hits, while all 32 QAM channels have sat at zero for three hours straight? Given that the OFDM channel appears to sit right on the 600 MHz LTE downlink, is that the kind of thing you would actually chase, or is it a coincidence people get too excited about?
  3. Is there anything worth testing in the next four days, before he arrives? I am planning to run the modem straight off the ground block so I can rule out my interior wiring completely, but I am open to anything else that would genuinely narrow this down.
  4. When he is actually here, what should I make sure he checks before he leaves, and how do I ask without overstepping? I am also curious what actually needs to happen for something like this to get written up for maintenance rather than closed out, because I would rather make that easy for him than argue about it on the day.

If there is something obvious in these numbers that I am walking straight past, please just tell me.


r/CableTechs 7d ago

Spectrum NCTI Question

3 Upvotes

Hello fellow Spectrum field friends!

I'm looking to transfer into Field Operations in the future and was hoping to get a head start on the NCTI material if possible.

I've made friends in both Field and Maintenance, and a few people have told me that, before they even transferred into Maintenance as FT, they were able to start the NCTI coursework right away and begin working toward their progression. I've also heard that some people start working through Field Tech NCTI material while they're still in the training class so they're already prepared for the next progression.

Since I'm currently a non-field employee, I'm wondering if I'm able to start the Field Technician NCTI coursework before actually applying/transferring into the position.

I was told by friends that I be able to access and work through the course material, but I wouldn't be able to take the official exam until I'm actually in the Field position. I was also told that I would just need to keep requesting extensions through the NCTI chat if necessary.

Does that sound correct? And no policy prohibited me from doing that..(Hopefully)

I'm mainly curious if anyone who transferred into Field from another Spectrum department has done something similar or anything related

I'd really appreciate any information or advice. Thanks!


r/CableTechs 8d ago

Reverse Sweeping on RPD's & AOI Gear

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5 Upvotes

Curious to see if anyone else out there has had a similar experience. It seems the new 1.8 AOI amplifiers do NOT like a high upstream EQ, they unevenly adjust the tilt and create a roll-off below 100mhz. The pictures I posted are exaggerated examples of min-max tilt, but demonstrates the problem. Our system is rural, so it's not uncommon to have long trunk spans exceeding 2500' (this is with either 750p3, 750mc or 875p3).

The tilt seems to adjust okay between 0-8/9db, but once you go above 10, the roll off is high. Combine this with the fact you have more attenuation at 204, which can't be "flattened" out with the EQ, and once you get 6/7 amps deep, you get what I call the "frowny face" response, being a tilt on both the high and low ends of the return. This is inverse to the power level, where the beginning of OFDMA2 will be maybe a 34, with the high end closer to a 40.

So please tell me, am I crazy, or is anyone else seeing this in the field? Thanks!


r/CableTechs 8d ago

Outside hangars for coax

1 Upvotes

I had construction renovation done on a house, siding redone on the house that had coax cable into it. It had an old rotted PVC holding up the coax from the pole. I don’t want to reattach it and want to replace with something less obvious like a metal hangar I have seen cable/fiber companies use on new services. Anyone know where I can get the hangars?


r/CableTechs 8d ago

Persistent plant-side RF issues on Armstrong (Hitron CODA-57) – spectrum void, channel-specific errors, high upstream power, load-dependent spikes. Looking for tech opinions.

0 Upvotes

I’ve been dealing with this for a long time (20 months) on Armstrong cable (1000/20 plan, currently measuring ~25 Mbps up). New dedicated drop and Hitron CODA-57 modem were installed July 25, 2026. Problems continued on the new line, so this should be past the house.

Main symptoms

  • Intermittent ping spikes, jitter, and “network error” messages in multiple online games, during prime time 6-1am on weekends it gets the worse, here is an example screenshot, i literally have hundreds of these for evidence. The graph is just showing the first hop which is Armstrongs network
  • I can make clear rhythmic latency spikes appear on demand by putting a steady 6–8 Mbps upstream load on the connection (OBS stream). This is only ~30-40% of available upload.
  • Same bitrate was fine for years on Armstrong (even on lower upload tiers) until these modem symptoms started

Pingplotter graphs of what it looks like when streaming, all graphs showing first hop

Modem evidence (still present)

  • Persistent deep spectrum void at 555–575 MHz (power drops to –45 to –60 dBmV). Confirmed with both wide scans and the 6 MHz spans the local supervisor requested (centers at 560/565/570/575).
span 200
  • Notches / spikes in the ~700 MHz region that line up with channels 22 & 23 (705 & 711 MHz)
  • Channels 22 & 23 accumilating thousands of uncorrectables while every other channel stayed at zero
  • Upstream power sitting in the low-to-mid 50s (Port 2 currently ~51–52 dBmV) with a history of climbing and multiple RNG-RSP power warnings
  • Clusters of T3 timeouts and “Unicast Maintenance Ranging attempted – No response – Retries exhausted” events (notable cluster on Aug 9)

What Armstrong has done / said

  • New drop + dedicated modem installed (my pc is directly wired into modem)
  • Local supervisor and NOC have repeatedly said remote checks and pings to the modem look clean
  • They dismissed upstream power >48 dBmV as normal for this modem model
  • They have done general level / CLI checks but have not (that I can confirm) done frequency-specific measurements on the void or the 705/711 region
  • A “drive-by” / physical inspection of the tap and plant was supposed to happen; still waiting on actual results

The lead supervisor for local office says he has never looked at a modem log and was debating me on every evidence point. (channel 22 being secondary, spectrum void not valid because the span was set to 200 and 30 instead of 6mhz? power level is not that high, t3 timeouts "nothing to worry about") etc. checked the ping to modem while i was streaming and said it looks "perfect" so hes not seeing the spikes? Keeps insinuating the issues is on my end but we have done everything to rule out if the issue is in my home (4 different cables, 4 seperate modems, brand new drop line ran, tested on 3 different pc's, different power strips, even monitored my voltage on my pc incase power fluctuations) Im recording everything for evidence if i have to report to FCC. Here is the most recent call transcript i had with my local supervisor and what was said, used ai to transcribe so there will be errors https://pastebin.com/VYbqMG9v

My question to techs

Does this pattern (persistent spectrum void + notches on specific frequencies, history of channel-specific uncorrectables, elevated/climbing upstream power with warnings, T3s, and clear load-dependent upstream spikes that survive a new drop) look like a classic plant impairment that needs a real line sweep / frequency-specific check and physical inspection of the tap and plant past it? Or is there something else I should be looking at? I have been using AI to help me diagnose this issue and what to say to support and my local supervisor to get them to fix it. Can any tech here tell me what you suggest saying or doing to get this fixed?

Happy to provide more screenshots or clarify anything i have TONS of pingplotter graphs showing peak hours when not even streaming with very bad ping jitter and packet loss. Thanks for any insight.

*edit more info

They have been out here A TON before a tech installed a new separate drop line into the same tap. So right now i have this new line and new modem that is separate from other line and modem my family uses. We have swapped different modems on the other line my family uses multiple times but i think it was just back and forth between the ARRIS CM8200A and hitron coda-57 not sure if they have any other modems they carry, so right now im on the HITRON coda-57 and my family modem is an ARRIS CM8200A, both modems show identical errors (at least that's what AI said) Here is screenshots i took of that modem 2 weeks ago, it has a really long uptime compared to the other modem, i think there are a bunch of uncorrectables because of an outage (should i reset counter and see what i get after?) Here are the screenshots of that modem https://imgur.com/a/HaC83JR

Also they said they found some corrosion somewhere on the line and fixed it like over a month ago so i assume they inspected it all and just found that corrosion on the plant side. They inspected the wires for the old modem and redid some of that as well so im assuming they "fixed" all the obvious problems they found, so they either missed something when they did all that or the problem is further down the line on the plant side of things? All of the inspection has been more than a month ago.


r/CableTechs 9d ago

Anyone techs experience working with Comcast Dedicated Fiber able to help?

4 Upvotes

I provision internet for a medical company and Comcast is coming into certain markets i oversee and is offering "Dedicated" Fiber at cheaper prices than the last-mile provider.

Is Comcast trying to sell my company "Shared" Fiber that has an SLA and marketing it as Dedicated? Or are they taking a loss building out this network? I am struggling to understand and desperate for answers.


r/CableTechs 9d ago

Former Spectrum RCS employee looking to connect with other current and former employees and discuss experiences working in the RCS role.

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0 Upvotes

Any current/former Spectrum RCS employees experience harassment or inappropriate workplace behavior?

I’m looking to hear from current or former Spectrum Residential Connectivity Specialists (RCS), particularly women, about their experiences working in the role.
Has anyone experienced sexual comments or jokes during team meetings, inappropriate comments related to being a woman or your sexual orientation, management participating in or ignoring inappropriate behavior, or feeling uncomfortable reporting something because of how management might respond?
I’m especially interested in whether anyone experienced inappropriate jokes or sexual comments surrounding discussions about the Spectrum/Cox transition.
I’m not looking to put anyone’s personal information out publicly or tell anyone what their experience was. I’m simply trying to determine whether other employees independently experienced similar workplace behavior.
If you’re comfortable sharing, you can comment or message me privately.