Finally I added the Internet to my kitchen and all that needed was my old cable television cable - here's how

No matter how hard I tried, the internet connection in my kitchen was always less than trusting with more Wi-fi dead stains That I could simply not escape. I tried to use one of The best Wi-Fi extensors and even one of The best Powerline extensions all without any use. In the absence of rolling the Ethernet cables through the walls, as well as a thick concrete floor, what else could I do to solve my connectivity problems?

After exhausted all my other options, I decided it was time to try to use the media on the coax or moca adapter. All the more than a mixture of hot coffee and chocolate, moca uses cable TV instead of Ethernet or a wireless signal to expand your home network and more. It is an easy way to put data where you want in your home, but as you can see, it may not be for everyone.

First of all, the basic elements. Moca is a technology that has passed for years and I am surprised that I never thought about trying before. Moca runs the network data packs over the coaxial wiring from most houses to bring TV in all their rooms. In other words, it does double duty by distributing TV and data.

Moca promises a configuration that can be as easy as connecting a box next to one of The best wi-fi routers And then run data over the coaxial wiring of your house. Then, on the other end, there is another moca device to convert this data back from the coaxial cable to Ethernet.

A warning word

Moca devices should work with almost any coaxial wiring, but while the coaxial cable is well protected by the external interference that can degrade a data signal, the older installations could cause a blockage. This is because they have lower quality cables, as well as lower connectors and dividers who can retain performance. In other words, the newer it is, the faster the data should work.

However, moca is not for every house. By using frequencies overlapping with the current Docsis 3.1 Standard of cable data may require a cheap filter. That being said, moca does not work with AT&T U-Vverse and Satellite TV systems, such as Direct and Dish TV, which use similar and incompatible technology.

Data in, output data

A trendnet moca adapter on an office

(Image credit: Tom’s guide)

Sold by a variety of network companies, Moca devices are available from Actiontec, AsusScreenbeam and trendnet. And better, Arris and others built moca in some of The best cable modems So, all you need is a receiver to take data from a cable TV line where you want. The range of almost 1,000 meters should be good for all, except the biggest houses.

Cheap and small enough to hide, Trendnet TMO-312C devices that I used cost $ 120 for a pair and $ 65 each for supplements. Among the newest moca modules, they can connect up to 16 devices with gigabit wire network ports (GBPS).

Both moca units have a coaxial connector with cable line screws, a RJ-45 network port for Ethernet data and a power connector. For many, the biggest constraint will be that, with moca, you need an alternative current socket close to the coaxial cable connector. This does it, so that you do not have cables running everywhere, which is why you may have taken into account the moca first.

Turning many into a

Two laptops connected to each other on coaxial cable using two moca adapters

(Image credit: Tom’s guide)

Moca secret is the way it connects separate channels to make the end user appear as a unique, cohesive data flow.

Current species Moca 2.5 used by Trendnet TMO-312C can tie up to five 100 MHz data channels that can carry a maximum of 500 Mbps each. The data travel on the coaxial cables within 1,125 to 1,675 GHz to produce a total theoretical flow of 2.5 Gbps.

As quickly, the TMO-312C retains the compatibility with the older standards of the moca that ranges from version 1.0 (maximum 100 Mbps) to version 1.1 (175 Mbps) to version 2.0 (1 Gbps). The future Spec Moca 3.0 offers a 10 Gbps -top theoretical speed, but there is no word about the moment when equipment that accepts this new standard can appear.

At 4.4 x 3.5 x 1 inches, TMO-312C trendnet devices are about the size of a pocket and tiny computer compared to the network equipment they usually use.

That being said, you will probably need a few other things, such as a coaxial couple that transforms a single cable connection into one for your cable and another for the downstream data connection. Make sure they are evaluated at a minimum of 2 GHz or you will risk slowing down the data. There are high chances to need a few Ethernet patch cables.

Nothing to load

A moca adapter with multiple threads connected in the back

(Image credit: Tom’s guide)

After connecting everything, Moca adapters take on any software or application to be installed. Patiently, because it can take up a minute for the connection to settle. To measure maximum performance, we created a mini moca network with a NETGEAR ORBI RBE871 router and a length of 50 meters of high frequency coaxial cable that I then doubled to 100 meters.

A word of advice, be careful to use a key to tightly connect F Cable. This will avoid frustration of suffering through a slow or intermittent signal.

With all that is connected and all three TMO-312C LEDs showing Green, my mini network has delivered 1,536 Gbps with 50 meters of coaxial cables using Keysight’s Ixchariot Reference network set to simulate 10 hungry data users. On the disadvantage, the latency of the network (or delay) has increased from 8 milliseconds to 14 milliseconds. It is possible not to delight players online, but it is also tolerable about what you should expect from a Wi-Fi connection.

At 50 meters, the Speedtest Okla has recorded a yield reading of 319.8 Mbps of 341.0 Mbps from my internet connection. Dubbing the distance to 100 meters had a marginal effect, lowering the marginal flow to 318.9 Mbps.

Make sure you tighten the connectors

Until now, so good, but in the real world, I would send my data on the elderly coaxial infrastructure. After I put a TMO-312C device under Lenovo All-in-one PC in my kitchen, I set the other next to my router.

Using the kitchen computer, the Moca network leg connected after about 20 seconds and offered an average of 92.6 Mbps of my 341 Mbps connection. It is more reliable, as good for watching 4K videos and playing online games as for E -Email and Downloading File. Finally, now I had a completely connected kitchen. However, I suspect that a newer coaxial hardware would have offered better performance. In fact, sub-gigabit data plans are the sweet place of Moca, with a more than enough yield to meet more family members.

The devices are economic to use at 4.3 watts of energy consumption each. If you have to operate 24/7 and pay the national average of 16 cents per kilowatt, the electricity bill should be about $ 12 a year, a very low price to pay for additional connectivity. No device has obtained over 87 degrees Fahrenheit, despite the data that flows back and forth.

A screenshot of security settings on Moca Trendnet adapters

(Image credit: Tom’s guide)

Unfortunately, there are few customization options, and their use could be a little difficult for homemakers. In order to reach the adapter’s interface, I had to change the Ethernet connection to a static IP address “192.168.144.1” followed by the “192.168.144.200” in the browser bar. It has opened the basic and utility configuration pages that allowed the addition of a password, restart the devices and the modernization of the firmware, but not more.

Fortunately, everything is encrypted with a 128 -bit key. This way, even if someone has physical access to cables, he cannot see your data.

Closed case

A little moca adapter under an all-in-one computer

(Image credit: Tom’s guide)

Begin to finish, it took about 20 minutes to add a moca network extension to my kitchen, but I will have to put another 15 or 20 minutes at a time to add an access point that turns the Ethernet of Moca into a wireless signal. It may seem modest, but the speed of the moca is amazing for me, considering that it travels on the old coaxial cables buried in my walls for over 30 years. The equipment had no effect on TV or quality reception.

For all those with sub-Gigabit de Jos data plans, like me, moca is one of the lightest ways to expand a network in previously disconnected areas. It may not be perfect, but MOCA technology is good enough to be used to push a network in places that I would not be considered convenient or even possible. Now it is only another part of the tool set of my network and something I will take into account when others say that they have difficulties that bring their network connectivity to parts of their home, which are more difficult to reach.