# Simple DECA Question



## notoriouseng (Nov 16, 2011)

Ready to move to MRV soon. Decided to try to test my home network with DECA first. 

Bought a DECABB1R0 DIRECTV DECA Broadband with power supply. Brand new out of the box, plug in the power supply, power light blinks green then stays lit green. CLINK light flashes amber, NETWORK light stays dark.

Plug in ethernet cable between my home router and the DECA and nothing changes. I expected the NETWORK light to come on. (still nothing connected to coax).

Could find no documentation on the expected behavior of the lights.

So my question is, is this normal? Do I need to have receivers on the coax network attached to the DECA to make it show the network light green? I know the router port is good because I can hook a PC to it and it self configures and connects to the internet no problem.

I don't have any DECA capable receivers to test with yet, wanted to verify network and DECA itself first if possible.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

Amber means that there is reduced performance on the line. Personally I ran that way for quite some time with no perceived problem, but "your mileage may vary" and it would be best to see them all green.


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

Without another DECA device cabled in, there is no network to see.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

notoriouseng said:


> Ready to move to MRV soon. Decided to try to test my home network with DECA first.
> 
> Bought a DECABB1R0 DIRECTV DECA Broadband with power supply. Brand new out of the box, plug in the power supply, power light blinks green then stays lit green. CLINK light flashes amber, NETWORK light stays dark.
> 
> ...


Without another DECA for this BB DECA to sync with, this is "normal", because it can't find/sync with another DECA to establish a network.


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## notoriouseng (Nov 16, 2011)

OK thanks thanks for the info! I wish there was more documentation on what the light status mean. I assumed NETWORK meant internet connection was good and CLINK meant coax network was good. Guess I will just have to get the receivers and hook them up and see what happens.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

notoriouseng said:


> OK thanks thanks for the info! I wish there was more documentation on what the light status mean. I assumed NETWORK meant internet connection was good and CLINK meant coax network was good. Guess I will just have to get the receivers and hook them up and see what happens.


You're working with things that weren't intended for customer installs, so the only info will come from those "that know".


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## notoriouseng (Nov 16, 2011)

After a couple of bad experiences with installers in the past proving that they were not in the "that know" category I figured if I want to get it done right in 1 visit I better get as much done and tested ahead of time myself


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## HoTat2 (Nov 16, 2005)

These should help from the DIRECTV "Field Operations Training-Connected Home Instructor Guide."


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## notoriouseng (Nov 16, 2011)

That is perfect. Thanks much.


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## azarby (Dec 15, 2006)

veryoldschool said:


> Without another DECA for this BB DECA to sync with, this is "normal", because it can't find/sync with another DECA to establish a network.


Even if he has a second unit to talk to, he will have to call DTV to enable Whole Home DVR on his account. Not sure if he has done that.


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## veryoldschool (Dec 10, 2006)

azarby said:


> Even if he has a second unit to talk to, he will have to call DTV to enable Whole Home DVR on his account. Not sure if he has done that.


Addressing one question/problem at a time. Why the BB DECA wouldn't sync was because it had nothing to sync with/to.


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## DarkLogix (Oct 21, 2011)

Also is it possible that he may also need some BSF's as the deca signal would be hitting his recivers, though he sill needs atleast one more deca to have a deca network

(ie thats kinda why there wasn't a first person on the internet, they weren't on the internet till 2 people were connected)


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

azarby said:


> Even if he has a second unit to talk to, he will have to call DTV to enable Whole Home DVR on his account.


DIRECTV's authorization is not required for DECA to function.

DECA does not require WHDS nor does WHDS require DECA.


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## DarkLogix (Oct 21, 2011)

harsh said:


> DIRECTV's authorization is not required for DECA to function.
> 
> DECA does not require WHDS nor does WHDS require DECA.


while yes DECA doesn't require authorization and isn't technicaly required for WHDVR it is the "supported" networking method for directv

and WHDVR does require activation which maybe hard to get without DECA


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

DarkLogix said:


> while yes DECA doesn't require authorization and isn't technicaly required for WHDVR it is the "supported" networking method for directv
> 
> and WHDVR does require activation which maybe hard to get without DECA


Both of these issues (regardless of whether they had any importance in and of themselves) aren't relevant when the issue is testing a DECA adapter.

Some simply want to network their equipment for reasons other than WHDS.


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## azarby (Dec 15, 2006)

harsh said:


> DIRECTV's authorization is not required for DECA to function.
> 
> DECA does not require WHDS nor does WHDS require DECA.


If you read my quote correctly, I said he would need to call DTV if he wanted to enable "Whole Home DVR".


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## harsh (Jun 15, 2003)

azarby said:


> If you read my quote correctly, I said he would need to call DTV if he wanted to enable "Whole Home DVR".


I did read the quote correctly and did not dispute what you said. I disputed the relevance to the question that you quoted.

The issue you responded to was a question about DECA that you answered with a statement about WHDS. In doing so, you implied that WHDS authorization was critical to verifying the operation of a DECA adapter. WHDS authorization is not relevant to DECA operation as DECA works the same with or without WHDS authorization.


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