Help with MoCA

Charix · July 14, 2019

Hi, I'm planning to move my computer in a different room from my router, so I'd like a solution to still keep it connected over Ethernet. While powerline seems like a decent solution, I have gigabit internet, and I've heard powerline drastically reduces speeds that high. MoCA on the other hand seems like it wouldn't affect my speeds that much and therefore it would be a good solution, but there's a lot of stuff I don't understand about it. First of all, my ISP supplied modem from Comcast seems to have MoCA built into it. Does this mean I don't need an adapter for that side? Also, I've read that I might need a filter, and I'm not sure if this goes on all coax connections or just the one. While I'm at it, it would be nice to get Ethernet over to my TV area, since the wifi isn't very strong there, but I actually need coax as well for the cable box. Does this mean I need a splitter?

So, I have my modem which will (supposedly) work for MoCA, and I might also need a filter for it. Then I have my computer in another room, where I think I just need a MoCA to Ethernet adapter. Then finally I have my TV area, where I might need a coax splitter AND MoCA adapter to get both Ethernet and cable.

Am I correct in my assumptions based off my limited knowledge? I drew up a diagram too, so let me know if there's something wrong with it. Thanks!

Donut417 · July 14, 2019

7 hours ago, Charix said:

While I'm at it, it would be nice to get Ethernet over to my TV area, since the wifi isn't very strong there, but I actually need coax as well for the cable box. Does this mean I need a splitter?

Bonded Moca adaptes have a Coax in and Out, and should pass TV signals just fine from what I understand. Also the bonded adapters are the ones rated for 800 Mbps or so.

7 hours ago, Charix said:

SP supplied modem from Comcast seems to have MoCA built into it.

As long as Comcast has enabled the functionality then you should not need a moca adapter connected there.

oqnet · July 22, 2019

OK so I'm looking at your diagram and I'm a bit confused by the lines crossing int he middle. I'm assuming that's the coax coming in and it's not actually splitting to all of those rooms right?

You need the filter only on the entry part of your coax network. It's there to prevent the MoCA signal from escaping your house and heading down the street(can cause problems) if you are using a comcast router with Coax already in it, it probably already had MOCA on it, so you can check check you might already have the filter on your coax setup. Once you know that for sure, as long as your other connections are hitting a MoCA compatible splitter(there are some that apparently don't work but again you have comcast there's a good chance they are already compatible). At each point you will need an adaptor to convert the signal, looks like that's shown pretty well in your diagram. Also your comcast router/modem, like others have said probably has MOCA on it, you will likely need to login to your modem/router and turn it on. If you are using an app to configure it and don't see the option, make sure you check out the actual modem/router webpage which will be accessible at your default gateway address.

Make sure you do not put a filter anywhere but at the houses coax entry point, it will mess up your network.

There are different types of MoCA adaptors, 1.0 which has about 250Mbps, 2.0 I think is 600Mbps, 2.0 bonded 1Gbps, and 2.5 which hits 2.5Gbps. You're router if you are using that likely doesn't have 2.5 but likely does have 2.0 bonded. Don't quote me on the speed for 1.0 and 2.0. Don't get Deca adaptors.