[SOLVED] Coaxial vs. Triaxial?

[Kescarte_DeJudica]

Hello everybody!

So, I have a question I am looking for an answer for, and since networking is not my area of expertise in tech, this may seem stupid to others more experienced in networking. Any insight you could provide would be appreciated.



A little background: Recently, I have been experiencing RF noise pollution on my internet connection, which isn't noticeable for normal home use, but is noticeable when I am live streaming to my YouTube channel. It causes occasional patches of unstable connections, usually lasting 20-30 seconds, in which I drop a good chunk of frames.



I had a technician from my ISP come out to my house, and he suggested that the issue may come from the fact that my coaxial cable was going around my A/C unit, before entering the house. That the A/C could possibly be emitting a RF frequency that occasionally went over the floor and caused interference. To remedy the situation, he drilled a new hole into the house, so that the cable entered more directly instead of wrapping around the A/C, which also shorted the length of cable needed, which was another benefit.

After he left, I live streamed again. While the frame dropping was still present, it was noticeably reduced. Not to the point where it was acceptable, but still an improvement. I don't know if directing it away from the A/C unit was what did it, but that seemed to help.

So, I've been looking for an effective solution at how to minimize this interference further. After doing a little bit of research online, I found out that discovering the source of excessive ingress and noise pollution is not only difficult, but also usually impractical to get rid of. My next idea was to see if I could somehow shield the cables better to make them more protected from this interference.

After doing a little research over data cables, I found out more info about different kinds of cables, including coaxial and triaxial. From what I could see, triaxial cable is more shielded and insulated, allowing for a greater resistance to EMI and RF noise pollution. However, it is more expensive as well. What I am curious is, if I was to replace the cables with triaxial instead of using coaxial, would that potentially fix my issue?

And if so, where can I buy triaxial cables, can they be hooked up from the cable box to the modem directly, or do I need some sort of adapter/splitter? Additionally, what sort of tools would I be need to do this, as I happen to know my ISP does not uspprot, nor are they trained in the use of triaxial cables?

If anyone has any suggestions, over how to go about something like this, or to point me in a different direction entirely, I would appreciate it very much.



Thanks!

 

[Ralston18]

Very much doubt that triaxial cables will help even if installable.

Shielding generally involves grounding requirements and that becomes problematic in itself.

My suggestions:

Trace your coax cables from curb to all termination points in your home.

Look for signs of damage: corrosion, hard kinks or bends, sections smashed or stretched, rodent chews, nails or staples either penetrating the cable or pinching in down.

Note the coax cable labeling - someone may have swapped in some cheapo, out of spec product.

Splitters: Usually made very cheaply and they do fail. Beg a few from the technician and swap in new ones. Especially if the existing splitters are corroded, faded, and generally "aged".

Look for unterminated cables. For the most part most unused cables are just left open or perhaps a dust cap in put on. The cables should be terminated:

Reference:

https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/tip-terminate-unused-ports/

 

[Kescarte_DeJudica]

Very much doubt that triaxial cables will help even if installable.

Shielding generally involves grounding requirements and that becomes problematic in itself.

My suggestions:

Trace your coax cables from curb to all termination points in your home.

Look for signs of damage: corrosion, hard kinks or bends, sections smashed or stretched, rodent chews, nails or staples either penetrating the cable or pinching in down.

Note the coax cable labeling - someone may have swapped in some cheapo, out of spec product.

Splitters: Usually made very cheaply and they do fail. Beg a few from the technician and swap in new ones. Especially if the existing splitters are corroded, faded, and generally "aged".

Look for unterminated cables. For the most part most unused cables are just left open or perhaps a dust cap in put on. The cables should be terminated:

Reference:

https://blog.solidsignal.com/tutorials/tip-terminate-unused-ports/

Thanks for the suggestion mate. I did this and so did the technician that came out the other day. He couldn't find any cable damage. No splitters are being used, and there are no unterminated cables either.

 

[Ralston18]

Connectivity:

ISP --- coax cable ---> Cable Modem --- Ethernet cable ---> [WAN]Router [LAN] --- Ethernet cable ---> PC

Makes and models?

Correct line diagram as necessary.

 

[Kescarte_DeJudica]

Connectivity:

ISP --- coax cable ---> Cable Modem --- Ethernet cable ---> [WAN]Router [LAN] --- Ethernet cable ---> PC

Makes and models?

Correct line diagram as necessary.

I use Charter Spectrum, Coaxial cable is RG6, Modem is an Arris TM1602, Router is Arris TR4400.

 

[Ralston18]

What is printed on that RG6 coax cable? Branding, specs, etc.?

No barrel connectors, elbow bends, wall jacks in the run?

Next consideration: may not be the coax - could be a problematic Ethernet cable. I have had a couple of times when a new (or otherwise) Ethernet cable dragged down network performance. Once the ethernet cable was swapped out - all okay.

Check the Ethernet cables between modem and router plus router to PC.

Category 5e or better.

Again look for kinks or signs of damage. Cable and plugs. How the ethernet cables are run. Ensure that all ethernet cables are fully and firmly connected.

Try a different LAN port on the router.

 

[Kescarte_DeJudica]

What is printed on that RG6 coax cable? Branding, specs, etc.?

No barrel connectors, elbow bends, wall jacks in the run?

Next consideration: may not be the coax - could be a problematic Ethernet cable. I have had a couple of times when a new (or otherwise) Ethernet cable dragged down network performance. Once the ethernet cable was swapped out - all okay.

Check the Ethernet cables between modem and router plus router to PC.

Category 5e or better.

Again look for kinks or signs of damage. Cable and plugs. How the ethernet cables are run. Ensure that all ethernet cables are fully and firmly connected.

Try a different LAN port on the router.

A technician came out from the ISP earlier today. He told me that after running some tests, the company found out that interference was being created by one of the other houses in the neighborhood, and that the interference was affecting the entire node for everyone else. They are working to track down the source and correct it.

Thank you for your help, I appreciate it! Glad to finally know what the issue was.