Motorola Cable Amp

[Bigdog]

Has anyone used that Motorola Cable Amp?  We have the one from TWC but it only puts out like 10db and the splitters they are using is losing 10db so we are back to sqaure one basically.  The analog channels are still pretty grainy and I'd like to clean that up. I believe the cable tech said the power level at the TV (after the amp and splitters) is at 0db.

[mhz40]

Originally posted by Bigdog
Has anyone used that Motorola Cable Amp?  We have the one from TWC but it only puts out like 10db and the splitters they are using is losing 10db so we are back to sqaure one basically.  The analog channels are still pretty grainy and I'd like to clean that up. I believe the cable tech said the power level at the TV (after the amp and splitters) is at 0db.

The cable amps are great and you won't find anything nearly as good at radio shack.  If your pics are not good, the damage is done before the signal  got into your house.  Call and see if someone can look at the signals before they reach your house.  Trying to mop up at the drop to your house is fruitless, unless your drop is bad.
0 is fine.  Pumping more RF into your gear will not change your picture quality.  In fact, too much singal is a bad thing, especially if you are directly feeding consumer gear and not a cable set top.
To burn up 10db of gain, you would need an 8 way splitter.  Do you have more than 4 outlets?  If not, replace the splitter with a high-quality 1GHz 4-way unit.
Everyone:  If you learn nothing else from this forum: Higher RF inputs do not equate to better analog pictures.

[Bigdog]

Thanks Mhz40,

Yes actually we do have more than 4 outlets. Right on the other side of the wall from the cable drop box, there are 2 splitters, one 4 way and one 3 way. One is balanced and one is not, TWC did it this way and put the boxes and RR on the first splitter and then the other tvs that aren't on a box on the second one.  So after the 1st splitter and amp and maybe 30ft away is the HD box, that level is 0db.

The only thing they said about the level at the green box on the property line was that it was marginal.  They did make some comment about them not being able to do anything about that.

What is the best way to clear up the analog channels?  Right now with the Pioneer HD box it is really grainy.  I'm hoping when the DVR comes out, it will have better picture quality.

[Gregg Lengling]

Well if I were you I would call a Customer Service Representative and tell them you are unhappy with the picture quality.  You are PAYING for a product and the product you are receiving isn't good so they need to fix it.  When we added Charter High Speed at my 84 year old mothers condo, the installer noticed that the small TV in the computer room was snowy and started working on the level problem.  He found the level feeding the entrance block for the entire  complex was low.  His area of expertise is only with on-premise wiring so he called in a "Outside Line Man" to fix the level feeding the complex.

Now do my parents not only have High Speed Internet but the pictures on all their TV's are great.  And they only have Analog Cable for the TV's as they didn't have any interest in the digital offerings.

Just my 2 cents worth.  Remember the squeaky wheel gets the oil.

[Bigdog]

I mentioned it a few times when they were out here but they were like "analog channels will look like that". That is why I even split it off before the Pioneer box and showed them that it was a little clearer.  They still didn't seem to either know how to fix it or were interested in it.  The digital stuff looks good for the most part..  Unfortunately the box is still in the wet part of field so they are not happy walking up to it... From what I can tell, they say the signals do meet the minimum levels but just barely, so not sure how much they will do.

[Gregg Lengling]

I don't care if they say it meets minimum levels.  You are the customer and you aren't satisfied.  I'd just keep calling until you get good clean pictures.  They are selling cable as :  Ghost Free, Static Free and Snow Free pictures, if not it's a joke and an OTA antenna or Satellite will provide you with that...so I hate to say it but sometimes you have to threaten to cancel your service to get them going.  If that's not something you want to do, then tell them you'll complain to the local municipality where you live that gave them their contract/license to serve the area, and complain they aren't delivering what they promised.

Once again you are the customer and you need to be satisfied.

[mhz40]

Originally posted by Bigdog
Thanks Mhz40,

Yes actually we do have more than 4 outlets. Right on the other side of the wall from the cable drop box, there are 2 splitters, one 4 way and one 3 way. One is balanced and one is not, TWC did it this way and put the boxes and RR on the first splitter and then the other tvs that aren't on a box on the second one.  So after the 1st splitter and amp and maybe 30ft away is the HD box, that level is 0db.

The only thing they said about the level at the green box on the property line was that it was marginal.  They did make some comment about them not being able to do anything about that.

What is the best way to clear up the analog channels?  Right now with the Pioneer HD box it is really grainy.  I'm hoping when the DVR comes out, it will have better picture quality.

I've got a 61" Samsung set and have a hard time telling the difference between analog and SD digital.  There is a difference for sure, but they certainly don't jump off the screen and shout "ANALOG!!!".
Don't let the techs off with the 'meets spec' thing.  They need to check the DESIGN levels vs what they are reading at the 'green box'.  If they don't come close to design, the techs need to find out why.  If levels are OK at the 'green box', the tech should consider replacing your drop with RG11 (if you don't have it already) or checking it's integrity (which can be tough if it's underground).  The use of RF11 will allow more of the signal at the 'green box' to reach your home.
BTW, cascaded splitters as you have described (one feeding another) is not really the prefered method.  Everything should home run back to an 8-way hung off the amp.
Assuming you have decent levels entering the home, the amp will gain 10db and the splitter will lose 11... pretty much a wash, providing the same signals to each of the 8 outlets as a single line to one outlet would provide.  The amp should not be used to take levels 'out of the mud'.
Get a tech name next time.  PM me with the info if issues persist.
PS- You could also have a bad tuner in your digital converter.  Do the other outlets look OK?

[Bigdog]

I have a 65" Mits 16x6 HDTV and we can really see the difference between the analog channels and the digital ones, even the techs could see it, unfortunately they didn't have any ideas how to fix it. As far as the 2 cascading splitters, the tech tried a single 8 way splitter and it was even worse reception with blocking on the HD channels and some didn't even come in at all, so he went back to the cascading setup. He tried 2 different Pioneer HD boxes and the problem existed on both. So far we have had like 4 different techs out here swapping boxes etc, but still no real improvement on the analog channels.

[jcwillia]

I have a question :

Are "in-line" cable amplifiers worth anything?  I've been thinking about getting one because my HD signal "pops" a LOT, and I have a cable running from a roof antenna so the signal should be just about as pure as it can be.

I also don't know how to rotate my antenna but I suspect that it can be turned because there are two cables that lead down the side of the house, one is a coax, the other is a little harder to describe, looks like a ribbon and i think the wires are copper.  I suspect this is what would turn the antenna but the end of this ribbon is not attached to anything.

Advice?