Getting internet access from coax?

[oiprocs]

A friend is looking to rent a room that doth not have an ethernet connection (or any phone jack for that matter, but he says one wall had stuff blocking the bottom, so he isn't sure. Why he didn't ask the guy, I have no idea). It does have a coax connection.

If the coax turns out to be the only connection other than outlets, can he get internet access?

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Of course, assuming there is a cable Internet provider in your area.

I have cable Internet from Shaw (Canadian provider) - all I have is a coax outlet in my suite.

 

[oiprocs]

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Of course, assuming there is a cable Internet provider in your area.

I have cable Internet from Shaw (Canadian provider) - all I have is a coax outlet in my suite.

So all he needs to do is find a provider and tell them to get that shit setup?

 

[Slick5150]

Originally posted by: scorpious

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Of course, assuming there is a cable Internet provider in your area.

I have cable Internet from Shaw (Canadian provider) - all I have is a coax outlet in my suite.

So all he needs to do is find a provider and tell them to get that shit setup?

Well he might want to sound a little less douchey when he calls them, but yes.

He'll need a cable modem too (the coax connects to that, then a network cable connects from the cable modem to the PC or router). Generally you can either rent one from the cable company for a few extra bucks a month, or just find one online. You can get a used one quite cheap on eBay or the FS/FT forums here

 

[oiprocs]

Originally posted by: Slick5150

Originally posted by: scorpious

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Of course, assuming there is a cable Internet provider in your area.

I have cable Internet from Shaw (Canadian provider) - all I have is a coax outlet in my suite.

So all he needs to do is find a provider and tell them to get that shit setup?

Well he might want to sound a little less douchey when he calls them, but yes.

He'll need a cable modem too (the coax connects to that, then a network cable connects from the cable modem to the PC or router). Generally you can either rent one from the cable company for a few extra bucks a month, or just find one online. You can get a used one quite cheap on eBay or the FS/FT forums here

Beautiful. I'll forward him this correspondence.

Thanks guys!

 

[Billb2]

Hook the coax to a TV first. It may be live if the previous tenant didn't bother to shut it off or the cable Co forgot to.

Had cable for 17 years that way once.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Originally posted by: Billb2
Hook the coax to a TV first. It may be live if the previous tenant didn't bother to shut it off or the cable Co forgot to.

Had cable for 17 years that way once.

Also, if you get a splitter, you can get cable TV and Internet from the same coax outlet. That's how mine is configured (mind you I actually pay for the service LOL, but I get a bundle discount).

 

[ElFenix]

guess who has never seen a coax ethernet card?

 

[Leros]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
guess who has never seen a coax ethernet card?

<old man voice> When I was young, we transmitted information over only two wires and they weren't even twisted" </old man voice>

 

[boomhower]

I am betting the wiring in the house is hosed. They can and will still get your friend hooked up but its going to be a touch involved but shouldn't cost him any money unless it has to get really invasive.

 

[sandorski]

Renting a "Room"? Apartment or just a Room in a House/Apartment?

 

[Paperdoc]

He'll have to ask the cable company if it is possible. Most cable companies now do provide internet access, but there is a practical problem of whether they have put enough bi-directional amps in the system to put a clear signal into his building. (Similar question about whether this modem's output will get to their closest relay amp OK.)

There's also a POSSIBLE problem with the building's wiring. Many older buildings had cables installed in the walls suitable for earlier TV systems that went up into the lower part of the UHF range, but that was all - say, below 500 MHz. That kind of installed cabling can't deliver good signals to your apartment in the 850 MHz range where systems feed the download signal. If that's OP's situation, could be a big limit. The cable company does not own the building wiring, so it's the landlord's call whether he / she wants to go to the expense of re-wiring to current cable standards.

The cable company MIGHT be willing to send a tech out for free to test the signals available in your friend's apartment and give a good answer.

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
guess who has never seen a coax ethernet card?

do they even still make BNC cards?

 

[gorcorps]

Originally posted by: Leros

Originally posted by: ElFenix
guess who has never seen a coax ethernet card?

<old man voice> When I was young, we transmitted information over only two wires and they weren't even twisted" </old man voice>

And that information went uphill... both ways, right grandpa?

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Originally posted by: Paperdoc
He'll have to ask the cable company if it is possible. Most cable companies now do provide internet access, but there is a practical problem of whether they have put enough bi-directional amps in the system to put a clear signal into his building. (Similar question about whether this modem's output will get to their closest relay amp OK.)

There's also a POSSIBLE problem with the building's wiring. Many older buildings had cables installed in the walls suitable for earlier TV systems that went up into the lower part of the UHF range, but that was all - say, below 500 MHz. That kind of installed cabling can't deliver good signals to your apartment in the 850 MHz range where systems feed the download signal. If that's OP's situation, could be a big limit. The cable company does not own the building wiring, so it's the landlord's call whether he / she wants to go to the expense of re-wiring to current cable standards.

The cable company MIGHT be willing to send a tech out for free to test the signals available in your friend's apartment and give a good answer.

I wasn't even aware of the different types of cable. When you say "older buildings", how old do you mean for the lower UHF?

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha

Originally posted by: Paperdoc
He'll have to ask the cable company if it is possible. Most cable companies now do provide internet access, but there is a practical problem of whether they have put enough bi-directional amps in the system to put a clear signal into his building. (Similar question about whether this modem's output will get to their closest relay amp OK.)

There's also a POSSIBLE problem with the building's wiring. Many older buildings had cables installed in the walls suitable for earlier TV systems that went up into the lower part of the UHF range, but that was all - say, below 500 MHz. That kind of installed cabling can't deliver good signals to your apartment in the 850 MHz range where systems feed the download signal. If that's OP's situation, could be a big limit. The cable company does not own the building wiring, so it's the landlord's call whether he / she wants to go to the expense of re-wiring to current cable standards.

The cable company MIGHT be willing to send a tech out for free to test the signals available in your friend's apartment and give a good answer.

I wasn't even aware of the different types of cable. When you say "older buildings", how old do you mean for the lower UHF?

i think he means like RG6... RG59 type cables..

RG-59 is older style cabling.. while RG-6 is considered better nowadays due to its lower loss at higher frequencies.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: scorpious

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha
Of course, assuming there is a cable Internet provider in your area.

I have cable Internet from Shaw (Canadian provider) - all I have is a coax outlet in my suite.

So all he needs to do is find a provider and tell them to get that shit setup?

Well, no. He's looking to rent a room, so he needs to make sure whatever he does is acceptable to the landlord.

 

[Billb2]

Here the cable cos are brutal. All wiring is external, ie. outside, nailed to the exterior and run exposed inside. If you want it hidden it's do it yourself or hire a contractor.

 

[JasonK]

You could use MOCA solution. Research NIM-100's from Motorola. Few other MOCA solutions out there

 

[mrSHEiK124]

MoCA is what FiOS (grrr, why do things have to be weirdly capitalized?) uses in most apartment complexes and even homes once they set up a fiber terminal thing in your dwelling. Of course, I was a douche and asked my tech to run Cat5 under the carpet, and he obliged. There are many ways he can get internet.

1. Cable, through Comcast or Time Warner or whatever. You don't pay the provider to rent the cable modem, not anymore, only DSL providers charge for modems. If your provider does, tell them to suck it and buy a Motorola SurfBoard from Newegg or Amazon.
2. Some kind of FTTP, FiOS or UVerse, depending on your local provider. Verizon will use the coax jack to run service from the fiber box thing to their crappy router.
3. 3G. EV-DO and HSDPA are fast enough now, I lived off 2 Mbps HSDPA for $20/mo for more than a year. Verizon is now selling some USB powered EV-DO WiFi router, but they're a lot stingier than AT&T is with rate plans.

 

[Paperdoc]

Originally posted by: guyver01

Originally posted by: InflatableBuddha

Originally posted by: Paperdoc
He'll have to ask the cable company if it is possible. Most cable companies now do provide internet access, but there is a practical problem of whether they have put enough bi-directional amps in the system to put a clear signal into his building. (Similar question about whether this modem's output will get to their closest relay amp OK.)

There's also a POSSIBLE problem with the building's wiring. Many older buildings had cables installed in the walls suitable for earlier TV systems that went up into the lower part of the UHF range, but that was all - say, below 500 MHz. That kind of installed cabling can't deliver good signals to your apartment in the 850 MHz range where systems feed the download signal. If that's OP's situation, could be a big limit. The cable company does not own the building wiring, so it's the landlord's call whether he / she wants to go to the expense of re-wiring to current cable standards.

The cable company MIGHT be willing to send a tech out for free to test the signals available in your friend's apartment and give a good answer.

I wasn't even aware of the different types of cable. When you say "older buildings", how old do you mean for the lower UHF?

i think he means like RG6... RG59 type cables..

RG-59 is older style cabling.. while RG-6 is considered better nowadays due to its lower loss at higher frequencies.

Yeah, that's what I had in mind. The characteristic impedance od a coaxial cable depends on the outer diameter of the center conductor, the inner diameter of the outer conductor, and the (real part of) the dielectric constant of the insulating material between them. A related factor is the imaginary part of the dielectric constant of the insulator. (Without getting too complicated, the "dielectric constant" of a material is NOT a constant. It is actiually a frequency-dependent complex number value.) Originally the 75-ohm cables used were built with one type of insulating material and the conductor diameters set up appropriately. But as we started using them for higher frequency signals, it became obvious that the signal losses in these cables were not tolerable, and cables were built with a new dielectric material with much lower losses. But this also meant the other part of the dielectric constant were different, so the relative conductor sizing had to be changed. There are even other cable types and sizes that can be used for even lower signal losses. But the general trend is that lower-loss cables use different and more expensive dielectrics, or sometimes just different diameter ratios. In all these fancier cables they are larger, requiring more of the materials, and making them much stiffer and hence less convenient to use in your household. So the best compromise for most home TV cable systems is the RG6 now used. If you had the opportunity, you would find that the cables on the poles outside, although still 75 ohm impedance, are much larger diameter to give lower signal loss and longer cable runs between booster amps.

By the way, in older buildings with RG59 cable, you'll probably see the cable type stamped into the surface. And you'll see that the cable diameter is a bit smaller, and the center conductor is thinner than the RG6 now used in newer installations.