DECA Success

Talk about setting up your home network.
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tardyturtle

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DECA Success

#1

Post by tardyturtle » Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:49 am

I had found online a little bit using DECA (DirecTV Ethernet-to-Coax Adapter) to extend an ethernet network over coax as an alternative to MoCa (Multimedia over Coaxial Alliance) but no definitive guides. I wanted to share my experience.

If you are unfamiliar with DECA and MoCa, the following has a decent summary:
http://www.gizmolovers.com/2011/09/01/m ... ne-at-all/
In sum, the major differences are: DECA is limited to about 100 Mbps, MoCA standards are faster, and DECA uses frequencies used by cable providers, whereas MoCa uses frequencies that are higher. Thus, DECA will be a little slower and you can not use DECA over lines that are carrying a cable signal without running into interference issues (and you can not use MoCA over lines that are carrying DirecTV without interference).

My situation was that I had bought an Xbox 360 to use as a media center extender in the bedroom; however, our living room was not wired for ethernet. We tried using 802.11n to stream the signal from the HTPC that was connected via ethernet to the wireless router (and we even upgraded our wireless router), but we ran into two issues: first, there was slightly bothersome lag when navigating the menu and skipping commercials, and second (this was most bothersome), the video became choppy (particularly with sports). It was still watchable, but very annoying.

The first reaction would be to hard-wire ethernet into the living room to connect the Xbox, but we are renting and running an ethernet cable through our finished basement was out of the question. I considered trying out the new AC wifi standard with a new router and an AC adapter for the Xbox, but that was going to be pricey. I looked into MoCA, but it would cost at least $80 per adapter, and you would need a minimum of two adapters (one on each side of the coax connection). Then I stumbled upon DECA

I won't post direct links, but you can search Amazon for DECA and find just what you need for about $11 with Prime shipping. I used the Generation II adapter (the small black box with a coax cable coming out of one end). Be sure to buy one that comes with the power adapter. In total, I spent $22 total on my two adapters and $3 on a pair of female-to-female coax adapters, so $25 in total.

It was very simple to set up, once you know which cables in your basement (or wherever your cables come together) go to the rooms you are trying to connect. I already knew which cable went to the bedroom, since we had labeled that when we hooked it up to the cable. I needed to hook this up to a SECOND, free coax cable in my living room (it can't be the one attached to the HTPC because it will interfere with the cable signal). I isolated which cable came from this second coax wall plug by hooking the power adapter for the device into the wall, then plugging the device into all of the cables until the power light went on.

With the two cables going to the rooms I want to connect identified, I put the female-to-female connector between them. Then, upstairs, I plugged the female coax adapter on the adapter to the wall and the coax coming from the device to the power adapter and plugged the power adapter in. I then connected the adapter to my router using a long coax cable (remember, this coax wall plug was a little distance away from my HTPC since I couldn't use the cable hooked to the HTPC). Then, in the bedroom, I ran coax from the wall to the adapter, hooked up the power adapter to the DECA adapter, then plugged the ethernet cable into my Xbox 360.

The speed was GREATLY improved. Now, navigating the menus is very snappy, fast forward happens with almost no latency (almost as-if I am on the HTPC), and I have had NO issues with choppy video.

Bottom line, although DECA might be slower than MoCA, it works perfectly for extending your home network over coax. Just remember, you can't run it over the same cable that your TV signal is running over. For the power conscious, II read online that these devices use about 5 watts of power each.

If you have absolutely no ethernet in your house, one option would be to put your router where your coax connections all come together in your basement (or wherever), and hook up multiple DECA adapters.

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Crash2009

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Joined: Thu May 17, 2012 12:38 am
Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan

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#2

Post by Crash2009 » Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:41 am

Very informative post. Thank-you.

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