var json_comments = new Array("
\"user-pic\"
catnapped
March 22, 2009 8:22 PM
Moderate | Flag for review

Well when ships and planes start crashing into Andrew's house he'll understand just how serious this is!

Reply
7 replies
\"user-pic\"
morganlh85
March 23, 2009 12:14 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@GeekChicCanuck: You must be one of those special people who have trouble spotting e-sarcasm.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
ViperBorg
March 23, 2009 12:57 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@morganlh85: Not her fault, catnapped forgot the /sarcasm tag.

/sarcasm

Reply
\"user-pic\"
catnapped
March 23, 2009 5:05 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@ViperBorg - SpaceBat hates Facebook: A SHIP CRASHING INTO SOMEONE'S HOUSE

Come on...should be obvious

Reply
\"user-pic\"
GeekChicCanuck
March 22, 2009 9:24 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@catnapped: Did you RTFA or are you just a dill weed?

Andrew understand perfectly how serious it is but Comcast can't seem to figure out why they're send the notices or how to fix the problem.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
ohenry
March 24, 2009 4:50 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@GeekChicCanuck: Did you RTFP or BBQ the LOL, or are you just gonna sit there and IMDB the WWW until we all just LMNOP?

Reply
\"user-pic\"
tc4b
March 23, 2009 1:06 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@GeekChicCanuck: Were you born without a sense of humor or was it taken off in an accident?

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Yossarian
March 22, 2009 11:30 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@GeekChicCanuck: That whoooshing sound above your head is neither a plane nor a ship.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Anonymous
March 22, 2009 8:44 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I live in Pennsylvania too, and just about every other week, some tanker plows into one of my neighbor's homes. Its a real nuisance to clean up, we usually draw straws to see who gets the job. They usually don't get this far inland, but without a Republican in the White House guarding our borders, I'm really not surprised.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Obijuan
March 22, 2009 8:26 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I work for a small cable company and i have to drive around with a signal leakage indicator and if i find something that is around 20 or more micro volts i have to stop logged it down and then attempt to fix it. If i cannot fix it i find someone that can and if it is coming from inside a house i have to get in contact with the customer and try to figure out how to fix the problem. If the FCC where to come driving around downing their own sweep and find a issue that can cause local police or air traffic control issues (interference from leaking signal) then we can get a $100,000.00 fine.

It is most likely coming from a old Tv (small portable ones are most common) a VCR or maybe even a damaged line, either way it needs to be fixed and it should be up to comcast to do that if they want to keep a customer.

Reply
5 replies
\"user-pic\"
albokay
March 23, 2009 4:15 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Obijuan: A lot of the times i find the problem to be a an old radio shack amplifier inside the house causing the signal leakage. Slight chance that may be causing the meter to go off.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Darren W.
March 22, 2009 8:30 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Obijuan: Seriously??? You mean this is potentially legit? I would have thought this was at best a hoax, or at worst, some social engineering by a clever thief trying to gain access to homes by pretending to work for Comcast.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
dragonpup
March 22, 2009 9:26 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Darren W.: I work for Comcast, and signal leakage is real. If bad enoguh, it can interfere with nearby radio transmissions, too. If leakage is detected, the tech attempts to fix the problem from the outside, and if that is not possible, they leave a letter like that one on the door.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
EricLecarde
March 22, 2009 8:41 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Darren W.: No, this is too true. I also work for a cable company (TWC) and I've a tech friend that does the exact same thing. If you have an open cable line (meaning its an active jack but isn't connected to a tv or modem), its shut off by our guys. If your house has a broken line thats leaking a signal out they log it down and then try to trouble shoot it. You'd be surprised how many customers call in to get all their outlets activated only to find out that a year later that outlet is dead because we shut it off. Then I have to explain that the FCC fines us 100k just for leaking the signal like that. Rolling a truck to reactivate it is well worth the charge IMO.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
camman68
March 22, 2009 8:36 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Where is this happening? I'm in Colorado and I'd hate to be responsible for sinking a ship!

Reply
1 replies
","
\"user-pic\"
macinjosh
March 22, 2009 8:36 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Looks like they didn't punch the numbers into the computer.

4 8 15 16 23 42 EXECUTE

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
Gann
March 23, 2009 8:22 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@macinjosh:
4 8 15 16 23 32 EXECUTE

*Plane crashes*

Reply
\"user-pic\"
randombob
March 22, 2009 11:14 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@macinjosh:
LOL. And of course I had to double-check - you're the man, you used the right #'s too!

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Michael Belisle
March 22, 2009 8:37 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Does Mr. Dunleavy know why he sent the letter?

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
silver-bolt
March 22, 2009 8:38 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

They don't mentioned they contacted Paul, the CSI Supervisor who signed the letter.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
madoff_isthereal_steveaustin
March 22, 2009 8:39 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Darren W.

This is very real. I work for a broadcast multimedia company and we spend thousands of dollars for testing of our products to make sure we are not causing any signal leakage.

We actually had a customer overseas who had problems due to our older, untested equipment. And he was on a sea vessel and he was having with surrounding helicopters. It could get dangerous, not just hilarious.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
madog
March 22, 2009 8:41 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

\"Would you like to playa game?\"

\"Oh cool it's programmed to play games. Type in 'Global Thermonuclear Signal Leakage'...\"

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
docrice
March 23, 2009 12:26 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@madog:
Pick your team:
1.FCC
2.Deviant Signal Leaker


The WOPR doesn't like this game...

Reply
\"user-pic\"
doctor_cos wants you to remain calm
March 23, 2009 1:03 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@docrice: This of course answers the question \"Why Philadelphia\" in War Games 2 (because that's where Comcast corporate is).

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
Jupichan
March 22, 2009 8:51 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Little do Andrew's parents know... They're just pawns in the President's gigantic game of Battleship.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
supercereal
March 22, 2009 8:51 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

We've nearly lost faith in letting Comcast solve even their own problems...

It's only Comcast's problem if one of their installed cables is faulty. It's equally likely that some wiring inside the house, not installed by Comcast, is the cause of the problem. In that case, it's the homeowner's responsibility to fix the issue at their own expense.
Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
madog
March 23, 2009 1:37 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@supercereal: That sounds like a fairly ignorant post.

While it may in fact be something in the customers house, unless they have a the equipment necessary to recognize such a leak which I highly doubt, it should still be Comcasts responsibility to tell them what product is causing the problem. If it ends up being their personal equipment then it would be up to them to unplug/replace it.

It seems that so far Comcast can only state that there is a problem but otherwise have no ducking clue as to what exactly it is.

If some electrician or wiring company didn't wire the house properly or up to code, the homeowner might have to front the bill but then is still ultimately the technicians/inspectors fault for screwing up.

It's like if a doctor told you that you have some horrible illness but can't operate until the patient finds out what's wrong with them first.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
jstonemo
March 22, 2009 8:53 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

If I received that letter, I would throw it in the trash because it doesn't look like official Comcast letterhead. Upon initial viewing, it looks like a scam.

I didn't know that an electrical signal traveling over copper inside of a shielded cable can transmit a radio signal. The signal is so weak to begin with that I don't understand how it could cause an electromagnetic signal strong enough to detect at a distance of over 5 feet.

Reply
4 replies
\"user-pic\"
BuddyGuyMontag
March 23, 2009 2:05 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@jstonemo: Agreed 100%, this looks really scammy. Doesn't look like Comcast's letterhead at all. Doesn't even have comcast's logo on it.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
PunditGuy
March 23, 2009 12:13 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@BuddyGuyMontag: I would have just tossed it in the trash. They can pay to roll a truck all over town looking for leaks, but they can't spring for official company letterhead?

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Anonymous
March 22, 2009 9:18 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@jstonemo: The signal doesn't necessarily come from the wires. A CRT tv is basically one big radiation emitting machine: accelerated electrons, high magnetic fields, capacitors and wires out the wazoo. Check out Van Eck Phreaking, the signal is actually strong enough that you can eavesdrop someone's computer screen (in a manner of speaking).

Reply
\"user-pic\"
GloriaJebberz
March 22, 2009 8:59 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@jstonemo: The reason it can is because it's a radio frequency signal, not an electrical current one. If there are faulty fittings, wires (or even equipment, as mentioned earlier) then you wind up with a tiny broadcast antenna.

Rest assured that leakage is a very real concern with CATV. It doesn't happen a ton but it does happen.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
comcastcares
March 22, 2009 9:01 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

This is true and was cared for a month ago after the email. Cable transmissions are radio frequencies and if leaking, can cause interference with other devices. It is important when detected to have corrected as soon as possible.

Frank Eliason
Comcast
We_Can_Help@cable.comcast.com

Reply
6 replies
\"user-pic\"
hippybear
March 22, 2009 11:53 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@comcastcares: How was this solved? What was the problem, and what was done to fix it? I understand there is a posting delay here at Consumerist, but with all the confusing surrounding this situation, it would be nice to hear 1) why official company letterhead was not used for this letter, 2) why there were threats made to the customer about a problem with Comcast itself seemed to be unable to verify, and 3) what exactly was finally done to resolve the situation.

I hope you read this, and thanks in advance for your increased transparency about this customer service issue which we are ALL curious about.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
March 22, 2009 10:57 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@comcastcares: Maybe Comcast cares. But a lot of CSRs clearly do not. Even some managers do not. I have direct experience and even documented one that rightly annoyed the hell out of me:

[ka9wgn.blogspot.com]

If Comcast really cares, it needs to do some major training or retraining of its employees. If Comcast really care enough to actually start listening to people, I'll post some of the other troubles I've run into (many of which have been fixed only after wasting a lot of CSR time ... and my own ... trying to get the point across). Feel free to open a line of dialog with me, if you like. I'll tell it like it is.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Fresh-Fest-1986
March 23, 2009 8:57 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Skaperen: I made the mistake of reading that ridiculous post in your blog.


Congratulations! You have more tech knowledge about cable TV then people who are getting paid $10 an hour to answer customer service calls.


Here's a tip, just because that guy is stacking oranges in the store doesn't mean he knows what kind of soil it grew in and who tended them.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
speedwell (!)
March 22, 2009 10:19 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@comcastcares: Awesome. When are you going to train your phone people?

Reply
\"user-pic\"
kathyl
March 22, 2009 9:49 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@comcastcares: That's all great and very well done to get it taken care of, but it seems like there is a hole in the process at the customer service line, where they had no idea how to help when the customer provided the info they received in the letter.

If that hole got closed then everything would be a lot better!

Reply
\"user-pic\"
johnva
March 23, 2009 8:49 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@speedwell, avatar of snark: They don't seem particularly interested in doing that. Apparently Comcast has just decided it's not worth it to hire competent people to answer their phones, nor to give them proper training and empowerment to do anything beyond trivial tasks.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
March 23, 2009 5:17 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@johnva: I do occasionally come across competent people at Comcast. When I do, I strike up conversation about the company, the technology, and other related things. Sometimes I find out interesting things. One CSR I spoke with was actually working from home, accessing a special phone line via Comcast's CSR phone system, and the database application she used, via ... Comcast cable.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
digitalgimpus
March 22, 2009 9:05 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I believe this is actually refering to Part 15 of FCC rules. For more see:

[en.wikipedia.org])

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
floraposte
March 22, 2009 9:10 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

The call is coming from inside the house!

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
RobinB
March 22, 2009 9:14 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Comcast used to tell us this also--and then say they trace it because \"leakage\" means someone is stealing cable. We got tired of it and switched.

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
March 23, 2009 5:20 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@RobinB: It would sure drive them nuts if someone had one of those signal generators that would put a carrier at every 6 MHz, and feed it to an antenna, in a house that did not subscribe to cable. It would drive the techs nuts trying to figure out where the cable got tapped when it didn't really at all. They would have to analyze the radiated signal carefully to see that it really isn't the cable signal. Most cable theft is actually not leaky enough to get a signal strong enough to see pictures from.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
dreamsneverend
March 22, 2009 10:51 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@RobinB: This is *sometimes* the case, when people splice into lines and taps and do crappy jobs the RF spills out and is easily detected. Or it's just a nicked line, bad fitting or bad tv or box.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Anonymous
March 22, 2009 9:14 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Frank Eliason is the VP of customer service. I had service problems with Comcast for months and he didn't stop trying until it was fixed. I'd keep working with him. He was pretty awesome.

Frank_Eliason@cable.comcast.com

Reply
","","","","
\"user-pic\"
StevePJobs
March 22, 2009 9:27 PM
Moderate |Flag for review


...call the FCC. Tell them there's a leaky signal in the neighborhood that Comcast won't fix and that it's sinking ships and causing headaches

I love Consumerist's snarky concluding comments.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Broke_Daddy
March 22, 2009 9:35 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

It specifically says \"they\" are responsible to fix it immediately.
Quote the letter back and tell 'em you'll report them to the FCC if they don't comply.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
AD8BC
March 22, 2009 10:01 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

This happened to me once. Sans the letters... Let me 'splain.

One day, my cable internet quit working. Cable and digital cable kept working fine. I called the Comcast service line and got the \"there is an outage in your area\" recording. For three days. I finally got ahold of a real person that told me the same thing. For another week. Finally I got a tech support guy that told me I needed a new modem. I was fine with that (mine was 5 years old). So I bought one, took it home, and called to provision it, and it wouldn't work either.

After three weeks of contacting tech support (I started using online tech support chat from work so I could log them) I got exasperated enough to call my friend who ran the local Comcast head end (different department). He send out a service tech and, lo and behold, someone had put a block on my line because of \"signal leakage in my home\". He removed the block and told me to call for a service appointment.

Every time I called for a service appointment nobody would want to help me because my service was now working.

I called to get a month of credit on my bill and got chastised for calling my friend directly for help. When I offered to email her chat transcripts from customer service, she decided to take the matter seriously and give me three months credit.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
hippybear
March 22, 2009 10:11 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

It seems to me that the customer having this problem needs to NOT call the phone number listen in this letter, but instead call the number for their local Comcast office listed in the phone book. They should then explain the situation, and ask if there is a Paul Dunleavy working there. If not, they should ask if (610) 876-5000 is a known Comcast phone number within the company. If it is not, then it is obviously a hoax and Comcast needs to be given all the details possible. I'm sure their lawyers would be happy to help \"solve\" the problem

This is only one set of possible ways to track down this problem, which obviously exists within Comcast more than it does within this person's house. Since the letter (as mentioned above) is NOT sent on actual Comcast letterhead, it is immediately suspect. Calling the local Comcast number listed in the phone book and questioning each and every fact mentioned on it, including the supposed \"CLI\" department (of which Paul Dunleavy is supposedly the supervisor), eventually either someone who actually drove this van past the house will be tracked down and Comcast's internal communication problems will be resolved, or else it will be revealed as a hoax.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Anonymous
March 22, 2009 10:18 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

That letter looks very suspicious to me. My guess is that it is fraudulent; not just because of how hokey it looks, but also because they've been receiving it for a year without their service actually having been cut off as threatened.

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
March 23, 2009 5:22 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@ElbertJorts: It's possible that they sent out one of the incompetent techs for the \"cutoff order\".

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
Grrrrrrr, now with two buns made of bacon.
March 22, 2009 10:28 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Cable TV signals are meant to be kept tightly sealed inside coaxial cable. The frequency range used for cable TV signals runs across the whole radio spectrum and includes critical 2-way communications bands such as VHF aircraft, VHF marine, and numerous public safety bands. This isn't a problem as long as the signals aren't radiated into the air. The FCC sets minimum limits about how much signal can escape the \"closed\" cable system and radiate into the air. Many cable-TV service vans are equipped with special \"sniffer\" receivers that look for a specific signal that's intentional injected into the system and is easily pinpointed if there's a leak.

I've seen cases where there was so much garbage radiating from the cable system that it did interfere with public safety communications and we had to call the local cable company to fix the issue.

I've also heard of cable companies using this ploy so they can gain access to somebody's apartment to sniff around for illegal decoder boxes and unauthorized \"taps\" running to neighboring apartments.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
DrWebster
March 22, 2009 10:30 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Can anyone link to an authoritative article about supposed \"signal leakage\"? Because if Comcast gets pissed about active coax jacks I'm not using, then I'd hate to see what kind of nastygrams I'd get from the power company for electrical outlets I don't have things plugged into. Think of all the electricity that's spilling out!

Reply
2 replies
","
\"user-pic\"
ngth
March 22, 2009 10:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

The letter looks fake. Comcast letter heads are not in black and white and should have their company logo on it. This letter looks like someone typed it up for kicks.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
March 22, 2009 10:39 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

When calling 610-499-2358 to inquire of Mr. Paul Dunleavy as to why the proper technicians are not being dispatched to address this problem, what is the result?

My guess is Mr. Dunleavy may be getting quite a lot of phone calls on Monday.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Jesse
March 22, 2009 10:45 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@ Hippybear:

I agree, try to get ahold of Mr. Dunleavy through the front office.

Personally, I think the letter is a hoax. The letterhead doesn't look official, the date is fill in the blank and there is no signature. In addition, it doesn't look like the letter is addressed to anyone either.

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
March 22, 2009 11:01 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Jesse: There is a Paul Dunleavy at Comcast, according to this profile:

[www.spoke.com]

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
Grrrrrrr, now with two buns made of bacon.
March 22, 2009 10:50 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

[www.fcc.gov]

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
March 22, 2009 10:50 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

FYI, I searched for the address on the letter via Google Maps, and it brought up a large commercial building with numerous trucks parked behind (south) and to the side (west) that look like could be the white vans Comcast uses. Searching the web via Google for the street address brings up a few pages that reference Comcast. Searching for The phone numbers at the bottom (610-499-2358) gives no results. Searching for the number indicated to call gives pages that indicate it goes to a different location (probably a CSR office). Searching for that location by map gives what looks like a small shopping center. But in that search Google tagged on a \"sponsored link\" with a Comcast ad in it :-)

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
dreamsneverend
March 22, 2009 10:53 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

CLI techs is the same label Bright House uses here in Tampa as well. Though if the leak is bad enough we just cut them period and door tag them to get them to call in if they aren't home at the time.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
scoosdad
March 22, 2009 11:03 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I have a friend who used to live downstairs in a house with two apartments. He had an off-air antenna on the roof and did not have cable at the time.

His upstairs neighbor had cable TV, and the leakage from his cable was so bad, it interfered with my friend's reception from his antenna on channels 2-13. You could actually see one of the local cable access channels which ran on a channel without a local off-counterpart.

He tried to call the cable company (Cablevision in CT) but they wouldn't talk to him because he wasn't a customer of theirs. He finally filed a complaint with the FCC, and Cablevision was at the house within two days. The FCC takes this interference thing \"very seriously\", especially when it interferes with over the air TV and other two way communications.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
johnarlington
March 22, 2009 11:12 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

If open jacks are really an issue, why don't they have dummy loads to screw in. It would be a lot easier than shutting a jack down. It's pretty straight forward to stick a 50 ohm load on the coax.

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
Ragman
March 22, 2009 11:54 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@johnarlington: Many times an open jack isn't an issue since the signal isn't transmitting very far. Dummy loads/caps aren't that commonly used as a result.

The dorms I used to live in provided cable as part of the housing, so every room had a live open jack. Never had an issue with the FCC over it while I was there.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
usa_gatekeeper
March 22, 2009 11:37 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

If you have uncapped and live cable TV leads at outlets, you need to cap or \"terminate\" them with a screw-on cover. Example: [www.homedepot.ca]

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
usa_gatekeeper
March 23, 2009 12:44 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@usa_gatekeeper: they're a lot cheaper here: [www.amazon.com]
Don't forget to cap unconnected jacks on splitters, too.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
metaled
March 22, 2009 11:55 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I wish I had a signal strong enough to leak, they couldn't even get a read when they came out to test the signal strength, they ended up running a second line (one for modem only) and a signal booster on the side of my house. that was a couple years ago, just had trouble with the modem connecting/disconnecting.. they can't get a signal from us (my modem or separate line cable box) at HQ... Looks like I am going through it again! Poor/Low Signal..
I always wondered how they figured out when a neighbor would hook an antenna to the power pole (cable lines) and give the neighborhood free cable. (I'm sure it's more complicated than that....)

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
turtyle
March 23, 2009 12:00 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

About 2 years ago our cable company, Insight, contacted us and told us that we had a leaky signal. They, too, said it could cause problems with planes. They scheduled a tech to come out and he determined that it was coming from our cable cord that our dog had bitten holes into. He replaced the cord and it solved the problem.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
Anonymous
March 23, 2009 12:20 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

Cable ops are required to report this information to the fcc and it is publicly available. Despite reporting the leakage to the FCC, it took comcast more than 3 months to fix in my area. Check out these sites if you want to look up your area (using the PSID):

http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/csb/coals/index.html

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/engineering/liststate.html

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
BiZarRroBALlmeR
March 23, 2009 12:28 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

Hello Comcast? I've been notified that I have leakage.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
vastrightwing
March 23, 2009 1:10 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

\"We've nearly lost faith\" Really? LMAO! That quote is so funny in so many ways.


I have an idea, simply use the \"leaky\" signals already pouring out all over airways using a HDTV converter box or digital tuner. 1) The picture is many times better. 2) It's totally FREE! 3) Comcast will never bother you again. 4) It's wireless, etc.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Quaoar
March 23, 2009 1:11 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

The problem with the OP's parent's service might be that there is a cable connection to an unused cable jack in the house.

I was advised, personally, by the Comcast surveyor, two or three years ago, that there was a cable signal leak in my house. Since we are under the landing path to Denver International Airport, Comcast places service in our area under heavy scrutiny.

I told the surveyor that we had no cables just laying on the floor, unconnected. He asked if we have any unconnected cable jacks in the walls. I said we have two. He disconnected both, one at a time, and checked the radiation measurements. Each unconnected cable jack in the house contributed about half of the total signal radiating.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
ZekeSulastin
March 23, 2009 2:26 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@DrWebster: I thought Consumerists were supposed to be better educated than their peers - or at least able to read the previous comments ...

Or is it just a knee-jerk reaction to seeing Comcast? I know, the overwhelming negative reaction happens to the best of us ._.

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
Shadowman615
March 23, 2009 2:57 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@ZekeSulastin: The problem here is Comcast's failure to have their act together. They keep sending letters about this problem, but when contacted about it, nobody seems to know what's going on.

This is really Comcast's problem, not the homeowner's. The homeowner's only issue with this is his service may get cut off if this isn't rectified. If Comcast fails to solve the problem, he might as well simply report it to the FCC and hope the large fine would help light a fire under their ass about fixing this.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Skater009
March 23, 2009 2:39 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

lame

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
AgentTuttle
March 23, 2009 2:43 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

Oh my God, that reminds me I forgot to rewind the DVDs I mailed back to Netflix.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
dieman
March 23, 2009 4:02 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

Easy fix: configure your home wiring to only make active the cable jacks you use, or put terminators on each jack you aren't using.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
caj11
March 23, 2009 4:47 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

If the OP has had no luck with the people at the
610-876-5000 number, why not just call Mr. Dunleavy directly since he gives his number in the letter? Assuming this letter is legitimate, perhaps Mr. Dunleavy can make things happen and get this taken care of. Of course, even if this letter is legitimate, given Comcast's track record, it wouldn't surprise me if Mr. Dunleavy never returns the OP's calls either.


I haven't had cable service for about five years now, not a single dime paid to Comcast since 2004. A strong antenna and Netflix serve my needs just fine, and will continue to do so.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Erik Bagby
March 23, 2009 4:55 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

This is a serious matter and as a radio communications professional and amateur radio I applaud Comcast for doing a good job on fixing leaks, unlike Charter where I live.

Cable TV uses a vast amount of RF spectrum that is assigned to other services, from aircraft, public safety, amateur radio, government radio and just about everything between 30MHz to 1GHz, when the signals are kept in the COAX it isn't an issue. But a leak, or a malfunctioning device (such as an amplifier) can put nasty interference on the same frequencies assigned to life safety services.

A few years back a fire department in a Metro Atlanta county who uses VHF high band had horrible interference on the input of their dispatch repeater. It made it almost unusable. The noise was telltale of CATV as it was a video carrier noise, and we tracked it down to a distribution amplifier at a hotel. The distance between the repeater receiver and the hotel was over 3 miles, but the interference strong enough to make communications on the repeater impossible.

So as you can see, it is critical that these leaks be fixed. If the problem on the customer's equipment or wiring (past the drop), than the customer has to cease using the equipment and the cable company has every right and duty to disconnect the offending subscriber to \"plug\" the leak.

These leaks also can reduce performance and signal quality of your cable TV and Internet as well.

Reply
2 replies
\"user-pic\"
johnva
March 23, 2009 8:57 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

@Erik Bagby: That sounds like a good reason to abandon RF cable technology in favor of fiber optics all the way.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
dreamsneverend
March 23, 2009 2:32 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@johnva: Fiber still uses coax inside the house which can cause leaks still.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
Skaperen
March 23, 2009 5:11 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@dreamsneverend: johnva did say \"all the way\". That should mean all the way to the set top box. And yes, that also means a fiber junction of some kind where the signal needs to go to multiple devices. Then the set top box can feed the TV with HDMI or baseband.

Reply
\"user-pic\"
johnva
March 23, 2009 4:18 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@dreamsneverend: It wouldn't have to. It might right now in practice, but there is no reason why fiber couldn't be used without any coax at all. Of course, there would still be the issue of interference from malfunctioning TVs and such, but it would seem it would drastically cut down on the potential for problems.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
Leilah ElleEm
March 23, 2009 8:54 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

What HippyBear says needs to be repeated:
**It seems to me that the customer having this problem needs to NOT call the phone number listen in this letter, but instead call the number for their local Comcast office listed in the phone book. They should then explain the situation, and ask if there is a Paul Dunleavy working there. If not, they should ask if (610) 876-5000 is a known Comcast phone number within the company. If it is not, then it is obviously a hoax and Comcast needs to be given all the details possible. I'm sure their lawyers would be happy to help \"solve\" the problem.**

I got a call from an Adelphia \"coordinator\" saying they needed access to my yard for a \"work order\". He needed to know if I had dogs, when they could come, they only needed access to the yard to work on the lines, not the house, etc. Since I work for a very similar company (a telco), I know this usually means new equipment is being installed. I am somewhat familiar with the general process to do this kind of work.

A big alarm went off in my head. Why the heck would they need to get into in my yard? The easement for their pole does not require access to my backyard in any way and all I have is a simple analog cable drop. I asked if I could get back to him to set up access since I do have two dogs. The man gave me a number to call back.

Another, even bigger, alarm went off. The phone number he gave me was not in the same area as the local Adelphia buildings where their crews are located. Because guess what: I work on their phone lines. I knew this could not be an \"official\" Adelphia number. Another customer could have been easily fooled by all this.

I immediately called the local Adelphia office. There were no work orders being done in my neighborhood, and no projects of any kind that they knew of. I asked to talk to their \"Outside Plant\" folks just in case, but they would or could not connect me.

However, Adelphia customer service was not interested in this apparent hoax either. But then again, we now know they weren't interested in a lot of things they should have been.

No one called back, neither the hoaxer nor Adelphia. I never heard another thing about it.

ALWAYS VERIFY!

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
TCTH
March 23, 2009 12:07 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Hey Frank... who do I contact about the commercials being three times louder than the programming in my area? I

Reply
1 replies
\"user-pic\"
dreamsneverend
March 23, 2009 2:33 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

@TCTH: That happens on all cable systems, good luck fixing that.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
billlnv
March 23, 2009 12:09 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

It sounds to me like there are a bunch of people at Comcast that do not communicate with each other when there is a problem. Either that or they are just to stupid to figure out where the signal leak is coming from.

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
uptown
March 23, 2009 12:43 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I think you should schedule your parents for a home invasion instead. That letter totally looks fake.

Reply
","","","","","
\"user-pic\"
shepd
March 23, 2009 1:49 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

If there were any brits on here, they'd know not only is this 100% true, but they can tell what you're watching (well, not what channel, but if your signal is cable or over the air).

Okay, they probably won't detect your new LCD TV, but hey... If they can do that they can find signal leakage.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
JGKojak
March 23, 2009 2:03 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I say call the local FCC and tell them to come out and investigate the signal leak. Then get Comcast's ass fined $100,000. Can you hear me now?

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Wendy Sloan
March 23, 2009 2:08 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

wtf it's so obvious that the letter is a fake. lazy scammers, you forgot the comcast logo!

Reply
","","","","
\"user-pic\"
cametall
March 23, 2009 2:44 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

We've had leaky signals before, but they were only discovered when a Comcast tech came out to check why our signal was weak. They fixed it within 10 minutes.

Better get in touch with the local Comcast office, they tend to be more competent and can even get you in touch with the head technician for the area.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
AnonymousFinger
March 23, 2009 3:06 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

What no one here seems to be asking is:


Can this cable leakage be exploited?


If a leakage is great enough, can I get free cable with some sort of antenna?

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
chumleyex
March 23, 2009 3:30 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Wonder if it has anything to do with that space station debre

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
Anonymous
March 23, 2009 4:58 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

This actually happened to me once too. And they did cut off service all weekend stating someone who was 'qualified' to check for this in my apartment would have to come Monday. Lo and behold, he came Monday and there was nothing leaking in my apartment! Hmmmm....I also contacted a supervisor at Comcast who credited my account for their mistake!

Reply
","","","","
\"user-pic\"
Anonymous
March 23, 2009 5:18 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

If I put a bucket under the leaky cable outlet can I sell back to Comcast what I collect?

Reply
","","","
\"user-pic\"
Anonymous
March 23, 2009 5:34 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

I had the notice on the door recently. After calling the number listed and being told that I was going to be shutoff,etc - I said that I would call them back. They didn't answer when I called back so I contacted Comcast directly.

Comcast said there was no leakage detected, that the people that contacted me were scammers and to not let them in the house and that they were going to report it.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
3drage
March 23, 2009 8:27 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Sounds like a scam.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
KenJason
March 23, 2009 11:13 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

My internet filled up one day at work, and tech support had me drain some out of my network cable to get my email to work again........

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Anonymous
March 24, 2009 12:19 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

This same thing happened to my parents. The Comcast rep was able to determine that it was coming from the combo dvd/vcr player they had. It was some no name brand that they purchased on the cheap from Costco. And actually, they took it back to Costco and were able to get a refund for it!

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
The Marionette
March 24, 2009 1:05 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

Comcast if full of crap. I had a problem with my internet connection (the cable was just fine though), where my net was constantly being disconnected. Me knowing a bit about how to troubleshoot a faulty internet connection I did everything I could to fix it, power cycle reset the modem and router, trying JUST the modem alone on one computer, getting different cables, tried JUST the modem on different computers and laptops in the house, and it was still the same problem. I called comcast and they of course ran me through the usual garbage of resetting my modem, router, etc, and did some sort of test to see if the lines were okay, which they said they were (I didn't really believe that). They said they will send a technician over to fix the problem, I then asked will there be a charge for that, they said only if it's not a problem on their end, which I was positive of. I asked if it was possible for me to wait on the tech and reschedule for another day, she said yes (mainly because i was going to be out of town for a while in a few days after that). In the mean time I fiddled to try and get it to work, and lucky for me a few of my neighbors have comcast net and I asked them if they were having a problem with their net and lo and behold they did. I called comcast back and told them who i spoke with, the story, etc etc and told them that my neighbors were having a problem and I guess they were out and about trying to fix the lines while I was gone. Now some more problems have came up with the net dropping out, it's seemed to stop but it was because of their lines once again and they try to make it seem as if it's not and want to attempt to charge you for their own faults.

Reply
","","
\"user-pic\"
christoj879
March 24, 2009 5:44 AM
Moderate |Flag for review

Are all cable outlets not being used terminated? I once installed some super-duper 8-way splitter/booster that said to install termination ends on any unused ports or the cable company would come a knockin'.

Reply
","
\"user-pic\"
Rebecca Brown
March 24, 2009 5:05 PM
Moderate |Flag for review

Looks fake to me, too. Largely because of the misplaced apostrophe in \"neighbor's\". Unless you only have one neighbor.

Reply
");