DOCSIS 3.0 Archives

1 04, 2026

75 ohm in coaxial cable

PONisNext2026-04-01T13:16:04-04:00April 1st, 2026|

Why did the cable industry choose 75-ohm coaxial cable — and not 50 ohms? The answer is rooted in physics, engineering tradeoffs, and decisions made decades ago that still define every HFC network running DOCSIS today. Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac break down one of the most fundamental design choices in cable network history: why 75-ohm characteristic impedance became the standard for outside plant, Why did the cable industry choose 75-ohm coaxial cable — and not 50 ohms? The answer is rooted in physics, engineering tradeoffs, and decisions

23 07, 2025

Echo Cavity in Cable Plant

DOCSIS Rocks2025-07-24T13:29:48-04:00July 23rd, 2025|

The “Fun-house Mirrors” of a Cable Plant What’s an echo cavity, really? Clap your hands and you hear one echo if the sound hits one wall and bounces back. Now clap between two mirrors facing each other— the sound keeps ping-ponging. In a cable network, the signal (instead of sound) bounces between two bad spots in the coax (loose connector, corroded splice, bad tap port). The distance between those two bad spots is the echo cavity. Those bouncing signals smear the data and cause pixelation, slow speeds, or

22 05, 2023

Introduction to Carrier-to-Noise: Learning the Basics

DOCSIS Rocks2025-10-23T12:14:46-04:00May 22nd, 2023|

Join cable industry veteran Ron Hranac and host Brady Volpe in this must-watch video on "Introduction to Carrier-to-Noise: Learning the Basics." This video is a comprehensive guide to understanding Carrier-to-Noise Ratio (CNR) and how it works in real-world applications. We'll cover everything from Thermal Noise to Noise Figure to Practical CNR measurements and much more. If you're looking to gain a deeper understanding of this critical component in the world of cable technology, this video is a must-watch! So grab your notebooks and get ready to learn from

26 04, 2023

Putting the Decibel to Work

DOCSIS Rocks2023-05-01T17:15:20-04:00April 26th, 2023|

Welcome back, tech enthusiasts! I'm your host Brady Volpe, founder of Nimble This and the Volpe Firm, and I'm thrilled to be here with another exciting episode of "Get Your Tech On." Today, we have a very special guest with us, Ron Hranac, who will be the main presenter on our topic, "Putting the Decibel to Work (see video on Youtube)" As many of you know, the decibel is a fundamental unit of measurement in the world of telecommunications and is used to express everything from gain and

13 03, 2023

Signal Level

DOCSIS Rocks2023-05-01T16:11:17-04:00March 13th, 2023|

Signal Level 101: Learning the Basics with Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac Welcome to our YouTube show where we are joined by two renowned experts, Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac, as we explore the fascinating world of signal level, current and voltage, and power! I am your host, Brady Volpe, and together with Ron Hranac, we will start by answering the question "What is signal level?" Ron will explain how signal level is measured and how it relates to the strength of the signal being transmitted. He will

29 01, 2023

What is a dB?

DOCSIS Rocks2023-05-01T16:12:26-04:00January 29th, 2023|

What is a dB? RF and Cable Basics :: Brady Volpe and Ron Hranac discuss RF and cable basics in a new series designed to help those who are interested in understanding RF and Cable TV technology a little better. In this first episode we cover what is a decibel (dB). This is a fundamental unit of measure that every person working in the cable industry should understand. To learn more, watch this episode 0:00 Intro 4:30 The Decibel Primer Beginning 5:13 What is a Logarithm 9:15 Question

12 09, 2022

DOCSIS Softwarization in a DAA and Virtualized Network

DOCSIS Rocks2025-10-23T12:20:33-04:00September 12th, 2022|

As technology continues to evolve, DOCSIS Softwarization in a DAA and virtualized network is a necessity. What does this mean exactly? Join Brady Volpe with special guest Tadeusz Ciesielski, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Falcon V Systems as they discuss the evolving technology hurdles cable operators face as DOCSIS hardware becomes increasingly more DOCSIS software. Management of critical DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 4.0 infrastructure requires software orchestration. Further, virtualization and virtual CMTSs (vCMTS) can benefit from rapid software deployment cycles. Aligning to these changes requires operational changes

17 08, 2022

Understanding Cable Network RF Return Path Signal Levels and Balancing

DOCSIS Rocks2022-08-17T12:43:19-04:00August 17th, 2022|

Brady Volpe and John Downey discuss the theory of operation of return path signal levels in the return path. Why does the transmit power increase, rather than decrease like the downstream? How do two way splitters impact upstream and downstream signal levels? Why is the return always higher than the value the of tap +20? And more examples and discussion on the impact of RF in the cable network and troubleshooting. Here is a link to the SCTE Document: https://www.scte.org/standards/library/catalog/scte-280-understanding-and-troubleshooting-cable-rf-spectrum/ 0:00 Intro 1:00 Understanding FBC doc

15 07, 2021

DOCSIS Primary Channel Impaired Downstream Troubleshooting

DOCSIS Rocks2023-02-17T18:41:43-05:00July 15th, 2021|

In this episode Brady and John discuss what happens to an impaired DOCSIS Primary channel & ANGA COM highlights. When an impaired DOCSIS Primary channel occurs, do to one ore more impairment, how does it impact other DOCSIS channels? Primary being a type of "management" SC-QAM channel. Does it make a difference? We also cover the top content from the ANGA COM show. Didn't have time to watch all of the ANGA COM show material. No problem. Brady and John will make sure your up to speed

23 04, 2021

Dynamic Range Window OFDMA Troubleshooting

DOCSIS Rocks2021-08-15T11:48:19-04:00April 23rd, 2021|

Dynamic Range Window (DRW) and OFDMA Upstream Troubleshooting. Tips, suggestions and recommendations. Another power hour of cable with Brady Volpe and John Downey CMTS Technical Leader at Cisco. More and more operators are introducing OFDMA into their networks and experiencing a learning curve with its introduction and Dynamic Range Window issues. Find out ways to overcome these issues and ask any questions you may have. The discussion is on all things DOCSIS. Basic recap of Dynamic Range Window also see our previous OFDMA podcast or live stream. Dynamic