Job: 123 Fake Street, Anywhere

Over the years I’ve been subjected to some of the absolute worst berating at the hands of angry customers. People who have tried and tried to get something fixed but have not been satisfied. Most likely a number of techs have been out and for various reasons could not resolve their problems. Maybe it was out of their hands. Maybe they did not have the necessary skills to actually correct the issue. Maybe the problem was intermittent and never showing itself when the tech arrived. Maybe the customer was not able to describe what the problem was so it could be fixed.

It doesn’t matter really. When a customer gets to the point where they are ready to explode oddly enough, that seems to be when I would show up at their house.

Strange really.

Even stranger, is just how happy and thankful these same people get when someone finally finds and fixes their concern. It’s like night and day. The same person that had so many terrible things to say is trying to shove money in your hand as you are leaving.

That’s where the trouble begins…

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This is a little bit of a follow up and follow through to my Cable Modem entry. As I mentioned, cable RF drop splitters are a necessary evil that need to be taken into consideration in your house. There is another thing that should be discussed. RF Signal Amplifiers.

What are they and what do they do?

A RF Signal Amplifier or house amp, is a device used to raise the signal level. They come in all flavors from many different manufacturers and amounts that they amplify. Very often, if you have a large number of television sets you will be using one of these devices. If you ever had Dish Service you may also have one of these in your attached garage or basement. While they are very useful when used properly, they often are the cause of trouble with your television or cable modem.

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This is a very common thing I see. Maybe its the full moon. Who knows. But from time to time there is a rash of “my modem no longer works or has a hard time connecting”. This could very likely be due to a simple fact. When it gets really hot really suddenly coupled with electrical storms electronics can get, shall we say, hinky.

At least that’s the technical term for it AFAIK. Now, it must be human nature that whenever electronics that you don’t understand in the first place start acting up you just have to poke at them. The favorite method seems to be to randomly change things and then feign ignorance.

Tech: “Did you do anything recently?”

Cust: “No, it was always like that.”

Tech: “Are you sure, we usually don’t attach the television to the microwave.”

Cust: “Nope, been like that for years. It used to work great!”

OK, I’m not here to throw stones, I’m going to try and help you avoid simple problems with your cable modem that I see over and over (and over) again.

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