New Exede customers experience with our modems

[wm4bama]

And to add to Shanes' statement, when no internet activity is using the modem, all 4 lights should be lit and solid, no blinking...you will see an occasional blinking from the third light to maintain satellite lock when no internet activity is underway.

Heavy weather will also cause blinking from both the 2nd and 3rd light when no internet activity is underway as the modem keeps "ranging" to maintain satellite lock.

With no internet activity underway and the modem loses satellite lock due to weather conditions at your location, weather conditions at your Gateway, or WB system outages for hardware failure, troubleshooting or system maintenance/upgrades, the modem will start a sequence of steps to regain satellite lock...that's when you'll see the 2nd, 3rd and 4th lights blink as the "find and lock to the satellite" steps are underway.

At no time, unless you remove power, should the top light blink..and all 4 lights blinking indicates an installation problem, or cable/connector/grounding/modem/Tria failure..

[Basset Hound]

The service rep came out. Neither he or anyone he contacted, including the "advanced tech support" people, had any idea what Bullfrog VG is nor how to fix the problem. Someone thought that perhaps "engerneering" would know. He looked at the cable resistance and everything he could think of and decided to install a new TRIA.

So far everything is workng properly.

[wm4bama]

The service rep came out. Neither he or anyone he contacted, including the "advanced tech support" people, had any idea what Bullfrog VG is nor how to fix the problem. Someone thought that perhaps "engerneering" would know. He looked at the cable resistance and everything he could think of and decided to install a new TRIA.

So far everything is workng properly.

Keep an eye on that icon...it was good that the red icon for Bullfrog VG was in the Tria portion of the modem menu...maybe this will help with future problems if another customer asks "What does it mean when the Bullfrog VG icon is red?"

We can say "It means you need a new Tria"...

I still think it meant your Tria was pulling too much, or too little current, but replacing it was a sure-fire cure...

[Basset Hound]

Keep an eye on that icon...it was good that the red icon for Bullfrog VG was in the Tria portion of the modem menu...maybe this will help with future problems if another customer asks "What does it mean when the Bullfrog VG icon is red?"

We can say "It means you need a new Tria"...

I still think it meant your Tria was pulling too much, or too little current, but replacing it was a sure-fire cure...

At least now I have the name and phone number of the service rep.

[markn455]

markn and booncty - your most likely problem is peaking. I suggest you ask for a QC of your install before your 90 day install warranty is up.

Called customer service about the problem. They opened a ticket for someone to come out and have a look.. They don't have anyone in the area so they are sending out the original installing dealer. They are suppose to be out later today.


Mark

[Bruce]

One quick question: What would be the result/indications if the installation was completely UNGROUNDED at the entry point into the house?

[markn455]

What is the acceptable range for the Cable Attenuation value. Mine is running 3.9. My concern is that installer said it should be around 10. He stated that the low attenuation can cause the modem to over heat???

Bet yet, can't The Excede folks post the typical ranges for the various modem stats that are considered in the normal ranges? I have searched and people are posting their screen shots but they are usually related to a problem.

So, the age old question, what is normal anyway?


Mark
Ball Ground, GA

[wm4bama]

What is the acceptable range for the Cable Attenuation value. Mine is running 3.9. My concern is that installer said it should be around 10. He stated that the low attenuation can cause the modem to over heat???

Bet yet, can't The Excede folks post the typical ranges for the various modem stats that are considered in the normal ranges? I have searched and people are posting their screen shots but they are usually related to a problem.

So, the age old question, what is normal anyway?


Mark
Ball Ground, GA

Mine is 1.4db...what is your resistance reading? Mine is always 1-1.5 ohms..and about how many feet are there between your Tria/dish and your modem? Mine is about 25-30 feet..

[Basset Hound]

Cable Resistence: 1.5 Ohms
Cable Attenuation: 8.7 dB

The WB service guy who came yesterday said they are only concerned with cable resistence. According to him when it gets over 3.0 Ohms they get " concerned." he had no idea what number of attentuation was desired.

BTW - The service rep called me this morning to see if everything was working correctly. He was checking my account through WB and my modem wasn't showing up. His explination was that perhaps WB hadn't recorded the change in TRIA. At least he was checking things out for me. That's far better service that I've received from ViaSat's technical support. I haven't heard anything from their "top level" technical support that I was promised. Very interesting.

So, I'll ask the question again. What caused my "Bullfrog VG" to register red on the TRIA test? Does anyone even know what Bullfrog VG is? If it's on the TRIA test one would expect it to be important for someone to know.

Anyway, my system is up and running. Now to start seeing if it meets all the hype. My upload speeds are mostly in the 2.8 range. Is that good?

[PlugNickel]

I haven't seen this documented anywhere, but from what I've seen the "cable attenuation" value makes you think that this value represents the amount of signal that is being attenuated by the cable...
But it seems that instead this number represents the amount of attenuation that the modem is applying to the signal in order to adjust the signal level to some range of values.

In other words, basically it seems that the number is inversely proportional to the length of your cable. So the longer the run, the smaller the attenuation value.

As I said, I haven't seen this documented anywhere but from what I've seen, this appears to be the case.

If so, what I don't know is if this attenuation is applied to the transmitted signal or the received signal...though I suspect it's only applied to the transmitted signal.
They might be doing this (attenuation) in order to make sure the signal level to the TRIA is correct and doesn't fry the amplifier since everyone's cable length is different, and / or they might be adjusting this uplink attenuation so that the satellite see's an optimum signal with varying weather.
I don't know, but if this is the case then as long as your attenuation value is not near 0 or 10 then your probably OK.

Perhaps someone who knows for certain can comment.