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I have Comcast for TV, interenet and phone. Main connection is to a main house 150ft to 200ft away. TV's work fine, internet a bit slow but phone service is not working at all. I have a drop amp in the attic but since the weather got warmer...no phone service. Can I get another drop amp in addition to the one in the attic and install in the main part of the house? And what is a drop amp with an active return? Something to get or avoid. Also what drop amp do you reccomend I purchase?
Thank you in advance for any help, Brenda
Hello, my name is Rusty. I have built cable TV systems in many cities.A "drop" is the cable that comes from the telephone pole or pedestal, that goes to your house. RG6 has a loss of 6db per 100' at 1ghz. The signal at the tap on the pole is about 12-20db. After the initial splitter outside your home, you're looking at -10db by the time it hits your TV.The drop amp is exactly that, it amplifies the "drop". The best place for that would be at the end of the drop, and the output of the drop amp goes to the first splitter, where the drop is plugged in now.The active return is VERY necessary for internet and phone. It's an amplifier that amplifies the return line; your uploads and your voice when you talk to someone on the phone. Everything else is a download, and it runs smoother, due to the way the system is built.Being 200' from the pole, the active return is for you. It amplifies the signal going back to the pole. The existing drop amp is in it's place for a reason, I'm not sure, I didn't design your house cable system, and I don't have a plot. However, an engineer put it there on purpose. You need to replace it if it isn't working properly. Look at the db amplification rating, and match that up fairly close when you buy a replacement.Let me know if you have any questions.
It looks like "1db" does that sound right. I want to make sure I buy the right one. Do you recommend one brand over another?
Thanks,
Brenda
1db doesn't sound right at all. You are getting about -10 at your wall, it should be -6 to 0.Let's match up the active/passive return. Does it have an active return or passive?This one is a passive return, click here.Click here for the active.Let me know if you need more than 4 ports.
Rusty,
It says on the amp I have now "passive return" but it sounds like youre' saying I need an active return. The one I have now only has two ports. Some drop amps are advertised as being better rated for high temperatures like attics so that it why I wondered if you had any suggestions as to brands. Willing to pay a little more if one is better than the other.
Thanks again,
Ok, here's the good stuff. I don't know why, but I always consider price when finding gear for customers. Also since you had a passive return, let's keep it that way. You don't want to hit the amp on the pole with too much signal, it will distort the digital signal, and be useless.Click here. This will operate up to 140 degrees f.You will need 75 ohm terminators for the open ports. Click here, get 2 for the unused ports on the amp, and get one for every wall outlet that is not being used. This will improve your system by not letting in unwanted RF.Your system will be optimal inside the house.
You've been great and patient with a non tech like myself...but one more question. When they put in the drop amp we only ran two TV's off of cable. We now have a phone line and internet so maybe your first reponse to get an active return makes sense. If you don't think it is a big deal deal I'll get the same as I have now, passive.
Good catch! I'm surprised it even has a return. Before internet, there was no such thing as a return channel.Click here. It's also made by PCT, so it's quality.Another thing to consider (you got my mind going), is the big coil of cable that hangs from the pole. I know you've seen it at least once, but maybe you never knew what that was. That's the fiber optic cable that feeds the cable system's "Node". From the node, it can go 3 amps deep in any direction (some systems they even tried 5 amps). It works fine going from the node and branching off, but where you will experience a problem, is when all of those branches feed back down the line into a single node. It can get clogged up. The farther you are away from the node, the slower your internet will be. It's a poor design, and wasn't built for Volume. If you have the option, switch to Fios. They run fiber optic right to your house, and you don't get slow connections when your neighbors are online.This amplifier will also work if you ever decide to get fiber optic internet/phone.
Experience: Over 20 years electronics experience. How may I help you today?