Cable TV experts, I need your help!!!......UPDATE

[Cougar]

My cable company is of absolute no help to me so I'm turning to you kind folks of anandtech for help. The problem is simple, I have bad cable reception in my room and I think it's because I have a weak signal. The reason I assume this is because I've called the cable company multiple times and they come over, hook my line up to a little box, then they tell me that I have a weak signal, and then all they do is cut off the end and crimp on a new connector. I know that you can buy things that boost your cable signal, but I have no idea what brand or even what type I should buy.

Can anyone recommend a good signal amplifier/booster that can help me out with my poor reception? I don't catch CBS, UPN, and WB which means that I can't watch football, Star Trek, and any WB shows (I'm sure they must have at least 1 good show).


Must......watch......football........must.......watch......Star......Trek......


OK guys, I've got a bit of an update for you (I'll put a post at the bottom for all the people that have been following this thread. I just removed my line off the second splitter and I plugged into the first 2-way splitter and the channel quality was greatly improved. Channels 3 (CBS) and 4 (UPN) still had a great deal of static to them, but every other channel that had the least bit of static was cleared up. So I'm guessing my problem is two-fold:
1. The second splitter degrades my signal too much
2. The line going into my room must be somewhat defective

Does that sound about right?

 

[frizzlefry]

ummmm, the calbe company should install an amplifier for you for free. it's part of the service. well at least the guy for my house did it. he was just here two days ago. said that we had too many TVs running off the signal and added an amplifier.

 

[konichiwa]

If not I'm pretty sure you can buy an amplifier from the shack or some other general electronics store.

 

[Cal166]

Go To Radio Shack And Talk To The Guys, They Will Help You In A Jiff.

 

[Cougar]

frizzlefry...

Yeah they should install one (although I doubt it would be free anymore since they've been jacking up all their rates), but they never do. I swear to you I asked the "cable technician" point blank if they can do anything to boost my signal strength and all he basically said was "Let's crimp on this new connector and that should help". At this point calling the cable company is the last resort because I believe they now charge either 20 or 40 dollars for house calls (gotta check my cable bill to make sure).

konichiwa, Cal166...

So Radio Shack should carry a good quality signal booster?

 

[Cougar]

bump

 

[etech]

Need more info.

How many TVs are in your house? Did the cable guy check the signal only in your room or did he also check it at the connection to your house? Have you checked that all connections are tight? How many times is the signal split and are there any unused taps on the splitters? What kind and how old is the cable that is run? Have you tried a different TV in your room? Do you have a good solid ground connection where the cable comes into your house, are the connections tight?

Cable TV FAQ

 

[kduncan5]

Is that the only cable company that services your area? I would think they would want satisfied customers! I wouldn't pay for a half-assed signal.......


I'd...I'd...demand my rights as an American Consumer! I'd go straight to the Top!! I'd alert the newspapers and television stations that this cable company sucked!!!


I'd.....I'd.....Demand My Star Trek!!!!!:Q -kd5-

 

[Cougar]

etech...

I'll try to answer your questions the best that I can.

How many TVs are in your house? 2 TV's and 1 cable modem.

Did the cable guy check the signal only in your room or did he also check it at the connection to your house? He checked it in my room, and on a previous occasion he checked it where the other TV is. I don't know if he ever checked it outside.

Have you checked that all connections are tight? Many times. Those connectors are as tight as they get.

How many times is the signal split and are there any unused taps on the splitters? Ok, I think the line comes in and gets split twice. The one split goes straight into my cable modem and the other split goes into another 4-way or 5-way splitter. I'm not sure if there are any unused taps on the splitter, I'll have to check that.

What kind and how old is the cable that is run? Ummm, not sure what kind of cable, I guess it's 75-ohm or whatever the rating is supposed to be. Our house is only about 12-13 years old so it's not like we're using cable from the stone age.

Have you tried a different TV in your room? I did have a different tv years ago, but I can't really remember what the picture looked like. I did, however, move my tv to a different room and the picture was crystal clear.

Do you have a good solid ground connection where the cable comes into your house, are the connections tight? Ummm.....I'm not quite sure what you mean by a "good solid ground connection". I have checked the splitter though and all the connectors are tight.


Hope this information helps.

 

[Looney]

The one split goes straight into my cable modem and the other split goes into another 4-way or 5-way splitter

That's your problem right there... go out to radioshack or some other electronic store and buy a nice splitter (not the cheap $2 one, but a nice $10 or so one). Do not get bigger splitters than you need, because they do reduce the signal even if they go unused (or so my cable guy claimed).

Also, if your signal is that weak that you're missing channels, then an amplifier isn't going to help much. I noticed that an amp does amplify a signal, but it also amplifies the static and snow.

Not too sure what exactly your problem is... if you're missing channels, you're losing a lot of signal. If you simply connect your TV directly from a single line (not through any splitters), how is your connection? if i'ts still bad, then you have no choice but to get the cable company to boost your signal.

 

[Cougar]

Moralpanic....

Technically I'm not missing the channels. They're still there, but there's so much static that it's difficult (sometimes impossible) to tell what's going on. Buying a splitter with less connections is not really a good alternative because 1. I don't know which wires are going to which tv, and 2. I don't want to shut off the cable to any other rooms (even if it's not being used) 'cause one day I may want a TV in another room.

I've never tried plugging a tv stright into the line coming into the house so I don't know how good it is. As I said in my previous post, I moved my TV to a different room and the reception was crystal clear (or at least that's how I remember it) so I'm assuming the signal coming into the house is pretty clean.

By the way guys, thanks for all the input so far.

 

[etech]

That's why I asked all of those questions. I agree with Moralpanic, try replacing that 4 or 5 way splitter with a 2 way as the first thing to try.

The one thing that bothers me is that if you have tried your TV on the other outlet it should have the same signal strength that your outlet does. If that is the case I would look into replacing the cable from the splitter into your room. It may be damaged and degrading the signal.

If you have a 1-4 way splitter, the signal is reduced to 1/4 strength of the original.

On the houses I have seen, where the cable is attached to the house there is a wire that is run to a ground rod. Literally a rod in the ground. This doesn't sound like the problem you are having but tightening up those connections cleaned up a noisy signal once.


edit, I started that reply before yours was posted.

Forgot one. Unused outlets can cause problems with reflections and ghosts, I don't think they would cause snow but Radio Shack sells, or used to sell, a terminator for unused outlets. Basically it's just a connector with a 75 ohm resistor in it. That prevents the signal from "bouncing" off the open connection. That's not the best explanation but good enough for this late at night.

 

[Sluggo]

You sure your TV isnt getting interference from something?

If football season is coming up, time to tell GrandMa that she will have to do without the pacemaker for 16 weeks, plus playoffs and Superbowl.

I know they have an amplified splitter, that is what my cable company has at my house, where the service comes into the house. They also have one other amplifier, at the primary TV.

BUT your cable modem ( at least mine cant ) cannot run off of an amplified signal.

 

[HEMIFREAK]

the more you "split" the signal, the weaker the signal gets... like the others said use a "good" quality splitter,use a splitter that has only the # of splits you need and make sure all your connectors/connections are in good shape...if after all this if your signal is still weak, try another TV on that line...if then it is still weak you might need a distribution amplifier...radio shack may help at that point

 

[Cougar]

etech...

That's what sort of has me stumped. My TV worked fine on the other outlet, but in my room a few of the channels are almost pure static. Replacing the 4-way splitter with only a 2 way splitter is not my favorite choice right now because that would shut off the cable to all the other rooms in the house.

So would my best bet right now be to have a different line run from the splitter into my room and skip buying a signal booster?

 

[HEMIFREAK]

what you said makes sense...the "last" split is always the weakest...you either need a "hi quality" splitter, another splitter with less "splits" or a distribution amplifier...again for the last option radio shack should be able to help

 

[jaeger66]

A few things:

The signal should be able to survive 4 splits before degrading significantly. If not, the cable company should fix it for free. Use splitters that have just as many outputs as you need, or cap any unused ones with 75 Ohm terminators.

Don't buy anything involving cable TV from Radio Shack. Their amps are garbage and will do more harm than good. A good amp will cost at least $150, and won't help if you're just amplifying a bad signal. The only good thing they sell is their coax stripper.

Make sure all connectors are professionally fitted or crimped with a pro quality tool. No twist ons.

If you have ghosting, attach a 75 Ohm terminator to the TV's coax input and see if you get any channels. If so, the problem is the TV. Then trace back through every component the signal passes through. If the problem exists when the TV is hooked straight to the main outlet(no splits), the problem is the cable company's.

 

[Cougar]

HEMIFREAK...

What exactly is a "good quality" splitter? What brand do I look for?

 

[jaeger66]

The cable line must be grounded, either to the main water pipe or an 8 foot ground stake. Otherwise, AC current can leak into the cable line. This problem manifests itself as 2 horizontal lines slowly moving up the screen.

 

[jaeger66]

Monster Cable makes nice splitters. A 2 way runs about $10.

 

[etech]

Cougar, I think so.

I would recheck to see if your TV gets a good signal on the other outlet. If it does then the signal after the splitter is strong enough to drive it. The only other difference is the line from the splitter to the TVs. That is what I would look at changing.

If the line is damaged then a booster would not help and changing the line would also be cheaper. You can find decent RG-6 at WalMart for (don't quote me on the prices, I'm guessing) $15 for 50'. A decent amp would be at least $30 and a quality one would be around $100.

You should be able to do it yourself. The hardest part is getting down the wall.

 

[rob_b]

If I were you, I wouldn't buy anything until I knew for sure that it's not the cable company's responsibility. Have them send a tech out again and diagnose the problem. Don't let the tech leave until you are satisfied with their conclusion. You could have a bad coax, splitter, wall jack, etc...

 

[Sugadaddy]

I was having problems with my cable modem and digital cable box because of a weak signal, so the cable company came and installed this amplifier. (mine is the first pic)

I have no idea where you can buy them though, and it looks expensive.

 

[guyver01]

Can loose crimps cause problems? You bet! In cable terminology, it's called leakage and ingress. Basically an uncrimped line causes external signals to get in and can really foul up the signal.

Best connection for a cable modem is a 2-1 splitter at the main entry point.. run one port directly to the modem, the other port to the splitter for the TVs. Try not to get more splitter than you need.. if you have 2 TVs, don't try to hook up a 3-1 splitter. The extra port will also cause leakage if not properly capped. In most CATV systems, 2 TVs and a modem should work fine off a splitter system as described here. If not, have a cable tech come out and install a Grounded AMP at the ground block. They *DO* make amplifiers that pass the returns signal, which is what the modem needs, and should be sufficient to fix your TV problem.

 

[frizzlefry]

<< I was having problems with my cable modem and digital cable box because of a weak signal, so the cable company came and installed this amplifier. (mine is the first pic)

I have no idea where you can buy them though, and it looks expensive. >>


I thought that the amplifier was only to boost signal strength which would only really boost image quality. it really shouldn't have any effect on the cable modem. maybe I'm wrong here?