Modem

[Jewelzz]

I think I need a new cable modem, what do you suggest?

 

[kcnychief]

I would assume that you have purchased it - but if you lease through your provider they will replace it.

If you don't, you may want to look into leasing. I think it's only like 2-3 bucks a month, and they cover replacements/upgrades which comes in handy when things go down and money is tight 🙂

 

[Jewelzz]

I perfer to own, why pay my cable company more moeny than I have to?

 

[American Zombie]

Ya I always buy too and I recommend Motorola but wonder why you think you need a new modem.

What modem do you have now and how long have you had it?

How do the signal levels look?

Should be able to access the diagnostic page at http://192.168.100.1/ in your browser.

Motorola SB5100, SB5101 or the SB5120 is what I would go with. The 5100 has been discontinued but can still be found. The 5100 and 5101 have a Broadcom chipset/processor while the 5120 has a Texas Instrument chipset/processor. Some feel the TI chipset is more sensitive to noise then the Broadcom which can cause connection drops. I have heard that firmware updates have pretty much solved this problem now. I will give honorable mention to the Linksys BEFCMU10 v4 as performance is about the same as the SB's I mentioned. I have had a SB4200 for about 6 years and it still works great.

 

[Jewelzz]

I currently have Best Data CMX110, I've had it for about 8 - 10 years now 😱

192.168.100.1 simply connects me to my router config.

I'm thinking it needs to be replaced because:
1. It's old
2. I had issues the other day, called the cable company who had me unplug the power to it, when I reconnected, I couldn't get a signal.

 

[American Zombie]

Ya that modem is pretty old and requires a serial connection to see the logs. You may get better speeds with a newer modem.


How many and which ones of the lights came on if any?

Cable
PC
Data
Test

 

[Jewelzz]

These are the lights I have:
Power
Cable
PC
Data
Test

Of which only Power came on

 

[American Zombie]

I left out the power one as I figured it would be on. 😉

Did the Cable led flash at all?

Found this about your modem's lights:

 

[Jewelzz]

Yep, the cable light flashed slow at first then fast then went out completely

 

[American Zombie]

If the Cable light never goes steady then there is a serious problem with your CATV feed, or something on the ISP's end is not working. Check that your CATV cable is properly screwed into the back of the cable modem and wherever the other end is plugged into. Seems like the modem tried to sync but during registration something on the ISP's end failed or maybe noise on the line messed it up so the modem quit trying. If the modem has a reset hole on the back that you push a pin or toothpick into then try that or unplug modem then plug back in to see if it will sync all the way.

 

[lancer]

just get a new modem, man that thing is ancient.... i actually prefer toshiba personally, i've had nothing but issues with motorola's.

 

[American Zombie]

Before buying a new one you may want to check your ISP's site to see if they have a list of approved modems. For example, I have Comcast and they have a list of approved modems you can use on their network.