Booster Questions

TheDriver

Hi Folks,
What are the best boosters and are the ones you plug in beside the tv any good, Argos have an SLX and a Philex one for sale which amplifies one signal by 15db or should they be amplified before splitting or combining in the loft?

Rippy

NO plug in "boosters" are usually not much use. The two most important things are the aerial and the cable. If you can access your aerial safely, check that it is aligned correctly (compare to neighbours) and that the terminals are not corroded. Next check your cable for any obvious damage or water ingress. Replace cable and/or aerial before considering "booster".
If your signal is still weak you are better to get a masthead amp. That is one designed to go outside just below your aerial. The idea is the signal is amplified BEFORE it travels down the cable, to compensate for the loss in the cable. This will need a separate power supply unit , plugged into the mains some where on the cable route, either in the attic or behind the TV.
If you must use a simple plug in "booster", put in in the attic, as close to the aerial as possible.
The problem with cheap boosters is they do not discriminate, they will amplify "noise" as well as signal, so your picture could be worse with one than without!
Between the 2 stated, Philex would be the better brand.

byte

Yeah, I think Rippy has pretty much summed it up. I too would avoid the SLX, as it's a poor amp from what I've seen of them. Philex probably wouldn't be my top choice either, but I'd choose over the 2.

I do personally like using Triax, Antiference or Maxview myself.

Ulsterman 1690

are the ones you plug in beside the tv any good, ?

No

or should they be amplified before splitting or combining in the loft

Yes

TheDriver

Thanks folks, so I need a booster in the attic. For a loft installation, can a simple plug in booster box just under the aerial be sufficient of should i get a fancy masthead amplifier and where do i get them?
Found out slx in philex brand! Can anyone explain what i should do, got a high gain wideband from maplin which already picks up tv3 (good enough picture but could be better) which my neighbour was told by her installer that she can never get even with the booster and they still charged her 350 for the other channels so I am onto something!
Whereabouts should i source the power for the amp from, is a light socket wire any good?

Antenna

TheDriver wrote:

Can anyone explain what i should do, got a high gain wideband from maplin which already picks up tv3 (good enough picture but could be better) which my neighbour was told by her installer that she can never get even with the booster and they still charged her 350 for the other channels so I am onto something!
Whereabouts should i source the power for the amp from, is a light socket wire any good?

I assume you are somewhere in Co. Cork, as I said before you should mention the locality where you are when looking for reception advice. The situation you describe with TV3 does exist in many well populated areas, such as areas of Cobh, Fermoy, Passage West and elsewhere. Some people in those places can get it OK, whilst others a short distance away can't.

Regarding the power in the attic, drill a hole in the corner of ceiling in a bedroom above a wardrobe (won't be very visible) to bring power cable down to a socket where it can be plugged in. No doubt many people use the lighting circuit but remember sockets - and not lighting - in a modern house are protected by an ELCB for safety.

Telefís

Can I ask (following on from another thread) would a 6-way distribution amp in the attic offer a better signal to each set than my current arrangement of 6 sets plugged into a two-way amp? Would a 6-way just split the aerial signal even further between the six sets, or would it adequately amplify each one resulting in a better signal to each?

Obviously there's only usually two or three sets on at any given time in the evening (some go to PC TV cards etc), so would I be better off having the existing setup of two amp sockets serving the sets, or the aerial signal split six ways via a 6-amp?
Does having more splits/sockets in the amp cause a degredation in each signal resulting in a worse-off situation all round?

remoteworker

Has anyone tried the SLX Gold 4 Way Tv Aerial - Amplifier which is advertised as being "Full VHF compatibility for TV and FM/DAB including Ireland'"

I recently bought a second hand house & while the floOr boards were up to install new radiators, I ran TV cable from my living to the rest of the house. My analogue NTL feed is in the lliving room.

I bought an SLX 6-way booster to supply the rooms & as you will have guessed from the posts above it did not work.

I am wondering would the so called ''Gold'' version be any better or just another waste of money. The reason I want it is that I want the FM signal in the rooms as well as the TV.

All advice welcome.

watty

most TV amplifiers can't cope with the sheer number of channels on Cable. You may need an attenuator on its input.

remoteworker

Thanks Watty.

What I realised too late is that the freq range of the booster I bought does not cover a large part of the VHF freq range used to broadcast on cable by NTL. This is as you say why the booster can not cover the number of channels.

However the Gold version of the product claims to cover most of this vhf range but before I go & buy it I was hoping to find someone who has alraedy done so.:)

byte

Hmm, I recommend you try and keep away from SLX branded stuff. I've never had too many good experiences with them. I find they get in a tizzy quite easily when it comes to many channels, especially if some have higher signals than others. End up with cross modulation.

Firstly, do you want a distrib. amp with seperate VHF and UHF inputs? Or would you prefer all combined in one?

For single input amps, I like Maxview or Fringe. I've used Labgear stuff recently too which seem OK.

For amps with 2 inputs (UHF/VHF) I like Antiference amps. Seem pretty good and just 6dB gain, which I think is usually sufficient gain for distribution.

Too much gain can be bad. Especially if the amp can't tolerate high signal levels.

Also of note, with regards to cable using VHF, find out the frequency of the lowest channel on VHF.

On Chorus in DOnegal Town, Ch4 is on 45Mhz, which is below the capability of many distribution amps (a lot start at 47Mhz), and indeed some TV's have issues tuning it in also!