Cable TV "booster" - Electronic Circuits Projects Diagrams Free

Johnson777717 · 13th March 2004, 04:58 AM

Hey folks. I'm wondering if anyone has/knows of a circuit for a Cable TV (CATV / CAT5) "booster" as they call them.

I've seen the Motorola products and such. I'm not really keen on spending $80 for one. I've done some searching on Google with no luck with finding a circuit for these "cable boosters". Maybe I'm looking using the incorrect terminology?

My buddies and I are sharing a cable line, and the length of the cable from one room to the next is too long.

Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Have a great weekend!

Dean Huster · 13th March 2004, 06:15 AM

I've use a line amplifier before when we were first wiring our school for TV, figuring that it would help with signal level with all those long coax lines. As it turned out, the amplifier put out a signal so strong that it overloaded all the TVs to the point that their AVC circuits were worthless. Things were fine without the amp. So, before you invest in the amp, try out the system. Calculate out how many decibels your splitters are killing you. You probably have to insert a lot of them to kill the cable signal down enough that it affects reception.

Dean

Johnson777717 · 14th March 2004, 04:47 AM

You make a very good point. Why fix it if you don't know it isn't broken!

ops:
I appreciate the knowledge on your experience with this topic.

We're going to be running a router for Cable internet, and the rooms are on seperate sides of the apartment. I'm hoping that with the router placed at a midpoint, we'll be fine with the setup. We're not going to be sucking a lot of bandwidth, due to the fact that we're only running the internet for school, and electronics stuff.

we'll see how it works. Thanks again for your reply.

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13th March 2004, 04:58 AM	#1
Johnson777717	Cable TV "booster" Hey folks. I'm wondering if anyone has/knows of a circuit for a Cable TV (CATV / CAT5) "booster" as they call them. I've seen the Motorola products and such. I'm not really keen on spending $80 for one. I've done some searching on Google with no luck with finding a circuit for these "cable boosters". Maybe I'm looking using the incorrect terminology? My buddies and I are sharing a cable line, and the length of the cable from one room to the next is too long. Any assistance is greatly appreciated. Have a great weekend!

13th March 2004, 06:15 AM	#2
Dean Huster	Line amps I've use a line amplifier before when we were first wiring our school for TV, figuring that it would help with signal level with all those long coax lines. As it turned out, the amplifier put out a signal so strong that it overloaded all the TVs to the point that their AVC circuits were worthless. Things were fine without the amp. So, before you invest in the amp, try out the system. Calculate out how many decibels your splitters are killing you. You probably have to insert a lot of them to kill the cable signal down enough that it affects reception. Dean __________________ Dean Huster, Electronics Curmudgeon Contributing Editor emeritus, "Q & A", of the former "Poptronics" magazine (formerly "Popular Electronics" and "Electronics Now" magazines). R.I.P.

14th March 2004, 04:47 AM	#3
Johnson777717	You make a very good point. Why fix it if you don't know it isn't broken! ops: I appreciate the knowledge on your experience with this topic. We're going to be running a router for Cable internet, and the rooms are on seperate sides of the apartment. I'm hoping that with the router placed at a midpoint, we'll be fine with the setup. We're not going to be sucking a lot of bandwidth, due to the fact that we're only running the internet for school, and electronics stuff. we'll see how it works. Thanks again for your reply.