Comcast Cable Amplification

[danplaysbass]

Ok. I'm running comcast digital cable and broadband internet. Main cable comes in and goes into a 3-way splitter. One to main LR, one to office, one to BR.

Office connection is for internet (no TV) and has no problems.
LR is split 2-way, one to Digital box/tivo and the other to TV tuner. Cable box/Tivo have no signal problems, however, when tuned to either tv reception is weak with bad signal quality. I plan on adding a slingbox to the LR setup so then I will have a 3-way split there.

I called comcast about it and they want to send and tech out but I think it would be cheaper to fix this on my own.

So I'm thinking I could put some in-line amps into the system. Where should I put them and which ones are good.

I don't have a kick-ass setup here so I'm going for cheapest solution here. What do you guys think?

 

[Matt2]

I'm gonna keep my eye on this thread as I am curious as well.

I ahve Cox and while mine is only split 3 times, I get the occasional bad signal and one of the TVs messes up or I can feel the internet bogging down.

 

[ayabe]

I have no experience using amps, but upgrading my splitters seemed to help me in this regard.

 

[Texun]

Originally posted by: danplaysbass
Ok. I'm running comcast digital cable and broadband internet. Main cable comes in and goes into a 3-way splitter. One to main LR, one to office, one to BR.

Office connection is for internet (no TV) and has no problems.
LR is split 2-way, one to Digital box/tivo and the other to TV tuner. Cable box/Tivo have no signal problems, however, when tuned to either tv reception is weak with bad signal quality. I plan on adding a slingbox to the LR setup so then I will have a 3-way split there.

I called comcast about it and they want to send and tech out but I think it would be cheaper to fix this on my own.

So I'm thinking I could put some in-line amps into the system. Where should I put them and which ones are good.

I don't have a kick-ass setup here so I'm going for cheapest solution here. What do you guys think?

A 3-way splitter has 2 ports that drop 3.5 - 4dB per port and a third that drops 7-8dB. They should be marked. The higher the number the higher the loss and more loss = bad. If you have the LR on the high loss port and plan to add another splitter indoors you can see that the loss can add up quickly, not to mention the attenuation (roll off) of the signal level through the cable. The higher the frequency the faster the roll off. The Comcast system is probably built to run from 11MHz to 750MHz or higher. The loss at 750 is roughly 6dB per 100 Ft of coax. You could easily lose 16dB between the point of contact with the house and the last device in the line. Also, when looking at the spliters be sure to see that they are marked with 5-1000MHz (5Mhz - 1gig). If for example they top out at 500MHz all frequencies and services above that will drop like a rock.

If you want to add your own amp make sure it is good to 1gig and is bi-directional. It must allow the signal to pass in both directions. If it does not you will lose your modem or any other device that interacts with the outside world... EOD and VoIP for example.

Look for one like this and place it at the first splitter. You need to amplify the signal here before the signal drops too far. Many people add amps right behind the set or after the last splitter and wonder why it didn't help. Amplifying after the levels have dropped only amplifies noise and you don't want that. Don't get a huge amp. A 15dB amp should be enough for what you need. Too much and you risk driving the modem or other device beyond the design specs.

You will also need a power inserter (looks like a splitter with a clearly marked port for the DC power connection) but that should come with the amp. Don't use a cheap amp, cable or conectors. Trust me.... you will regret it in the end. They leak RF like a sprinkler. And if it leaks out it can "leak in" as well. Off air frequencies like radio, TV, HAM, etc will enter the coax and screw with your toys.

This isn't rocket science but it may be easier in the end to let them do it. At least they will own the work and service it if it fails.

Before you decide, check the 3 way splitter outside and see what port is feeding the line you want to tweak. If it's on the 7dB port move it to the 3.5 port. This may add just enough to get you what you need for the line you are having trouble with. If all sets in the house have bad reception then I would have my doubts about an amp being the solution.

This may or may not help but it's somethign to think about! 🙂

 

[daveybrat]

This is what i bought for my condo:

Motorola Signal Booster

It's supposedly the best one out there. Just read all any of the reviews for this including the ones here on Amazon or anywhere, they are all glowing reviews.

It's a great price, comes with an AC adapter to give it power and has fixed all of my issues both online and on my tv's.

Just make sure you hook this up before any splitters are used or it will be useless. So basically just hook this up to the incoming coax cable and then out to your first splitter and you'll be good to go.

Hope this helps, i spent a lot of time researching these before finding this one. This one supports broadband internet (bi-directional) which is why i also picked it.

🙂

 

[Texun]

Originally posted by: daveybrat
This is what i bought for my condo:

Motorola Signal Booster

It's supposedly the best one out there. Just read all any of the reviews for this including the ones here on Amazon or anywhere, they are all glowing reviews.

It's a great price, comes with an AC adapter to give it power and has fixed all of my issues both online and on my tv's.

Just make sure you hook this up before any splitters are used or it will be useless. So basically just hook this up to the incoming coax cable and then out to your first splitter and you'll be good to go.

Hope this helps, i spent a lot of time researching these before finding this one. This one supports broadband internet (bi-directional) which is why i also picked it.

🙂

It should work fine but I almost blew snot all over my monitor when I read the tech details. Let's hope he doesn't use a Mac. 😉

Product Features and Technical Details
Product Features

* Improve signal strength by up to 32 times
* Low noise addition of ony 3 dB
* Superb gold patented connector design
* Supports Pay-Per-View and Video on Demand (VOD) Services
* Quick, easy installation

Technical Details

* Warranty Parts : 12 Months
* Warranty Labor : 12 Months
* PC : Windows 98/Me/2000/XP, IBM compatible PC with Pentium MMX equivalent or higher processor, 128MB RAM, 275MB free hard disk
space, CD-ROM drive (4x or faster), 256 color display VGA monitor, USB port, mouse or other pointing device
* Mac : N/A

 

[Matt2]

Why does that signal amp need 275mb of my HD?

 

[Texun]

Originally posted by: Matt2
Why does that signal amp need 275mb of my HD?

A faster connection mean more spyware. It has to store it somewhere!
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Just kidding. The tech specs are hosed.

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: Texun

Originally posted by: Matt2
Why does that signal amp need 275mb of my HD?

A faster connection mean more spyware. It has to store it somewhere!
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.
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Just kidding. The tech specs are hosed.

That's what I thought, I got really mad when I saw those tech specs.

 

[danplaysbass]

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[daveybrat]

ROFL! I don't know why they have those tech specs, that's just wrong. There is no CD or anything that comes with this, it's purely a piece of hardware to boost your broadband cable signal.

It does not matter how powerful your pc is or how much hard drive space you have, that is irrelevant!

😉

 

[Ranulf]

Those tech specs look something along the lines of the requirements for using a broadband connection in general. Dunno why they'd put it on there but it is called "broadband booster" from the pictures. Thanks for the info tho all, I may have to pick one of these up to see if it helps my tv signals.

I guess mac users are outta luck! ;P

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: Ranulf
Those tech specs look something along the lines of the requirements for using a broadband connection in general. Dunno why they'd put it on there but it is called "broadband booster" from the pictures. Thanks for the info tho all, I may have to pick one of these up to see if it helps my tv signals.

I guess mac users are outta luck! ;P

Lawl, it's to hopelessly confuse the average user and get money for "support" 😉

 

[Fulcrum]

Originally posted by: daveybrat
This is what i bought for my condo:

Motorola Signal Booster

It's supposedly the best one out there. Just read all any of the reviews for this including the ones here on Amazon or anywhere, they are all glowing reviews.

It's a great price, comes with an AC adapter to give it power and has fixed all of my issues both online and on my tv's.

Just make sure you hook this up before any splitters are used or it will be useless. So basically just hook this up to the incoming coax cable and then out to your first splitter and you'll be good to go.

Hope this helps, i spent a lot of time researching these before finding this one. This one supports broadband internet (bi-directional) which is why i also picked it.

🙂

I use one of these and it's a great product. It solved all of my image quality issues from using a 3-way splitter (high quality) for internet, a PVR card, and tv.