Forum Discussion

CMart's avatar
CMart
New Contributor
4 years ago

CGM4141 and MoCA

Background: I live in a 2 story house. The Technicolor CGM4141 is connected downstairs. My gaming systems are upstairs and laptops are upstairs. The WiFi connection has been problematic when trying to game or stream from upstairs so I did some research and determined that utilizing a MoCA setup would be the best thing to do (wasn't going to run ethernet wire all over the house or through walls).

I purchased 2 GoCoax 2.5 MoCA adapters and I thought it would be as simple as connecting it on both ends and voila. Well I ran into some issues yesterday trying to set everything up. This is the set up that I'm using.

Downstairs - I have coax cable from outside connected to the MoCA coax on the adapter which is then connected via ethernet to the Eth2 port on the router/modem

Upstairs - I have the other MoCA adapter connected to a coax cable and then connected via ethernet to my PC.

On both adapters, the power and LAN leds are on but nothing from the MoCA led.

Once that didn't work, I connected both MoCA adapters to each other via coax and the MoCA leds did turn on. After doing some research on the CGM4141, I found out that it is capable of MoCA. I logged into the router and enabled MoCA and now I've gotten it to a point where the MoCA light about the coax port on the CGM4141 is a blinking white light (which means it's seeking a MoCA connection). Once I saw this, I thought that my configuration upstairs would work but I still had no luck.

Anyone on here able to provide some insight in what's going wrong or point me in the right direction?

  • Perilloux's avatar
    Perilloux
    New Contributor
    4 years ago

    Unfortunately I can't advise you on the MoCA connection but an easier solution might have been what is known and EOP or Ethernet over power. Essentially you use the electricity circuits already in your walls like eternity cables. I believe on Amazon.com a pair ran for $50 and $80 for a quad. Very reliable and only require a simple patch cable to go from the router to the outlet plug (which can then support another device for power) and then vice versa from another outlet plug to device such as your gaming systems. Very easy and even more plug and play friendly than MoCA seems to be from your post.

  • Superbigwaff's avatar
    Superbigwaff
    Contributor
    4 years ago

    First, MoCA requires a PoE (Point of Entry) filter on the incoming line so the MoCA signal does not "escape" onto the outside line and cause interference with other cable subscribers on the same line. These filters are not expensive.

    Antronix Filter, GLF-1002 MoCA "POE" Filter for Cable TV Coaxial Networking ONLY
    by GoodFastDelivery
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EXRMIIC/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_9zmdGbG6SRJDG

    Second, MoCA network coax cables must "join" together via a MoCA compatible bi-directional splitter. These splitters can have a number of ports. To make sure the splitter is MoCA compatible, look for ones that support signals up to 2300MHz.

    BAMF 4-Way Coax Cable Splitter Bi-Directional MoCA 5-2300MHz
    by BAMF Manufacturing
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017T9KF1S/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_4CmdGbQCGY5EE?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

    Caveat: The more you split the signal, the more likely the signal will degrade and get weaker. You may have to add a MoCA compatible amplifier splitter to your set up to boost signal strength, especially if cable line runs are long.

    PPC Entry Series Active Return 9-Port MoCA Amplifier Model: PPC-9M-U/U
    by NetBetShop
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076BK1F86/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_wJmdGbFXZ85CP

    Third, you need to terminate unused coax ports on amplifiers, spitters, and wall plates. Without termination, signals can generate interference on the line which can increase noise and potentially disrupt connections and network throughput. These terminators are inexpensive.

    Coax Cap Cover, 75 Ohm Terminator, 10-Pack, RFAdapter, Coax Terminator Caps for Ports on Splitter, AMP, Coaxial Cable, TV Antenna, Wall Plates, Booster
    by RFAdapter
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VWHX2FS/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_uWmdGbF80YYCG?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

    Finally, here is how you can side-step the MoCA feature of your modem with another MoCA adapter. MoCA adapters typically have two coax connections and ethernet; one for passthrough and the other for connecting other MoCA devices. You can always try something like this ...

    incoming coax --> moca coax port | moca adapter | passthrough coax port --> cable modem --> router

    ... then plug moca adapter ethernet into one of the network client ethernet ports on the router.

    Your cable modem will send/receive signals through the passthrough coax port. Internal network traffic will flow through the router. With the MoCA adapter connected to the router via ethernet, internal network traffic will flow through the MoCA adapter to other MoCA devices. At first it seems counter-intuitive and circular but signals are separate and don't interfere with each other.

    Don't forget... you'll need to install a MoCA PoE filter on the coax line in from the outside. Otherwise, the cable company will track you down ;-)

    My current install has the incoming cable connected to the PPC amplifier (which has built-in PoE filter). Each of my coax runs connect directly to the PPC amplifier. In my home office, I have the above setup I described. Incoming coax into the MoCA port of the MoCA adapter and coax out of the passthrough coax port to my DOCSIS 3.1 cable modem. Cable modem ethernet to my router and then ethernet out of the router into the MoCA adapter ethernet port. Around the house where I need wired clients I have other MoCA adapters... coax into the MoCA port of the adapter and ethernet to client devices. Internal network speeds between clients on the MoCA network are as advertised. MoCA clients get near download and upload speeds of my Cox internet plan. Everything works like a champ.