WCB6200Q - coax light not coming on

I've got a G1100 router (connected to ONT via ethernet). The router connects via coax to a MOCA 2.0 splitter. Via coax running from the splitter, I have 2 WCB6200Q extenders connected. This setup was working fine.

Just picked up a few more used WCB6200Q extenders. I tried using the WPS button to sync wireless settings. On the first of these extenders, that worked OK. But on the second, the WPS button on the extender never turned flashing red, and since the router's WPS light stayed flashing, I pulled the plug to reboot it. Once the router rebooted, I saw that one of my 2 existing extenders no longer has coax light on (the other does).

So for this existing extender, I tried rebooting, but that didn't work. Then I tried a hard reset, but it's been 15 min and the coax light is still not coming on. Any suggestions?

Update: I took the existing extender and all 3 of used extenders I recently picked up, and plugged them in near the G1100 and tried connecting coax directly between the router and each of the extenders. For each of them, the G1100's LAN light and extender's coax light came on. So no problem there. Must be a problem with the wiring to the location where my existing extender was working, but dropped out once I rebooted the router. That line was recently run with new RG6Q and continuity checks out OK using a multimeter, so I think the line itself is good. When I terminated it, I only had regular RG6 compression connectors, so maybe that termination is finicky, resulting in intermittent function? Seems like a reach, but I can try terminating with RG6Q connector and see if that makes a difference.

Any other suggestions, things to try or check?

Accepted answers

Cang_Household

MoCA standard is largely irrelevant to the splitter choice. MoCA 1.1, 2.0, and 2.5 all reside on the Extended D-band, which is 1050-1675MHz. They can operate on C, E, and F bands as well, but not found in typical residential setup.

Also, a quick search on Amazon reveals bunch of Amphenol Broadband coax splitters. Again, you can get free 2-way splitters from any Fios store, and get up to 8-way splitters from any field tech you happen to bump into in the neighborhood.

All comments

dexman

I would double check the terminations. It would seem difficult to terminate RG6 quad with standard RG6 compression connectors without cutting away at shielding. Home Depot and Lowes sell PPC RG6 connectors that are designed to terminate on tri and quad coaxial cable. When I had FiOS installed in the house back in 2007/8 Verizon used Arris/Digicon DS6Q connectors. When I reworked the coaxial cabling last year, I special ordered the connectors (but that was nothing more than personal preference). A while back it was noted that the amount of shielding isn't as important with today's digital signals as it was back in the old days.

Also check for open ports on splitters. Ideally splitters should have just enough ports to meet the need. If there are any open ones, purchase some 75-ohm terminator caps and plug any/all open positions. The other option might be to replace splitters with ones that have fewer ports (when possible).

Also note that the more splitters in use, the more attenuated a signal will become. If a signal gets too low, devices might not come online.

Could a few pictures of the existing coaxial cable hardware & terminations be posted? The pictures will appear after being approved by a Moderator. 🙂

m289

Further update: As of the first post, I had my 2 existing extenders (E1 and E2), where E1 coax light was no longer on after rebooting the router, but E2 coax light was on. Since I knew the coax line itself to E1 was good (new RG6Q, recently installed and I just tested for continuity), I thought I'd swap E1 and E2 on the MOCA splitter to see if one of the splitter ports was bad/finicky. After disconnecting E2's coax from splitter, I expected the router's LAN light to turn off, but it was still on, so I go and check E1 and sure enough the coax light is now on.

I reconnected E2's coax to the splitter and both extenders have coax lights on.

Could it be that the MOCA splitter is just finicky, or perhaps on the verge of going bad?

Any suggestions for a good quality 4-way MOCA splitter?

Cang_Household

Joining the conversation a little late.

You want to make sure all the coax splitters passing through MoCA are MoCA compatible, namely they have passthrough frequency range from 1050 to 1675MHz. Amphenol Broadband Solutions is the coax splitter vendor chosen by Verizon. You can buy splitters directly from them too.

You can get free 2-way splitters from any VZ stores with Fios demonstration ability or from any field technicians.

m289

Yes, the 2 different splitters I've tried are MoCA. One is a very old 4-way and was installed by Verizon years ago when we first got FIOS, and the labels are worn off, and I'd guess this is MoCA 1.0. The other is Verizon branded and MoCA 2.0 that I got when I bought a used WCB6200Q extender.

I see the 4-way MoCA splitter from Amphenol on their site, but can't find it for purchase anywhere.

How about this Antronix? https://www.amazon.com/Antronix-MMC1004H-B-Splitter-Frontier-Formerly/dp/B07PNJVKQZ?th=1

It's MoCA 2.0 and 5-1675MHz.