[Elecraft] HELP! XFINITY SHUT OFF INTERNET DUE TO HAM ANTENNAS
David Gilbert
ab7echo at gmail.com
Wed Oct 20 15:06:28 EDT 2021
First off, there is no way that your antennas alone can passively trash
Xfinity's internet network. Whoever told you that is an idiot.
Secondly, you could offer to do some testing with Xfinity in attendance
to verify whether or not your transmissions were causing a problem. I
have a small local wireless ISP that uses my tower to serve about 240
subscribers in the valley below my QTH, and about a year ago he started
to see what looked to him like random problems with the routers on the
tower. I suggested that we do some checks, and sure enough transmitting
at high power on 10m caused his routers (one in particular) to burp. I
hadn't operated much on 10m previously because of the solar cycle.
He could stand there next to the tower and monitor the network with his
cellphone. If a small one-man ISP can do that, Xfinity can. He checked
his shielded CAT lines and all seemed to be solidly connected, so I
suggested he was getting common mode interference on the shields and
that he could put some clam shell ferrite cores (I suggested #31) on the
lines near each box and antenna. He bought a bunch of them and that
solved the problem.
In my case, I have it written into our contract that my ham radio has
priority over his gear, and I forced him to get my tower officially
permitted for his commercial use of it, so the burden was on him anyway.
73,
Dave AB7E
On 10/20/2021 11:21 AM, eric norris via Elecraft wrote:
> Dear Gang:
> Xfinity, our internet provider, showed up at 7:30am this morning, to explain to the XYL that we were being cut off for good because my amateur radio activities had caused wide area outages. Oddly, these wide area outages did not include my own house. They told her the antennas themselves--absent any power--were the problem
> The last time I was threatened, I installed chokes and opto-isolaters on our shielded ethernet lines, and after being told they use 14Mhz as their carrier frequency, I have stayed off 20m, only using 100w unless I'm in a rare contest. I asked to speak to a technical guy--they gave me a number which I called, but he never called back.
> Any Ideas? Does anyone have a contact at the ARRL, or know a communications lawyer? Comcast/Xfinity will be back out here at 2pm Pacific time--I'd appreciate any help.
> My XYL depends on an internet connection to work. Being off the air is unimaginable.
> Frantic,
>
> 73, Eric WD6DBM
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