Boosting freeview signal to other tv in the house

[ryanesx7]

hello

i was wondering if anyone could give me advice before i buy hardware for my proposed setup (please see attached pic)

i have a freeview aerial and the downstairs tv has freeview built in

at point one i want to split the outputted signal from the booster to the adjacent tv and one upstairs

then at point two i want the signal to go into the adjacent tv and then to the tv furthest to the right(which will then plug into a freeview box)

question:

what kind of specification of signal booster will i need?
how do i determine which are the most powerful ones by looking at the specs on the internet?


i have tried a signal distributor but this only distributed a signal to the rest of the house, and the tv's connected had worse pictures the further away from the distributor

thanks in advance

ry

[redwudz]

I'll assume you are using coax, probably with Type-F screw on connectors. The type of coax you use makes a big difference, especially on long cable runs. The foam core, quad shielded type usually has a lower signal loss than the inexpensive plastic core cables.

A distribution amp is the best, with a individual feed to each TV. If you have to use a splitter, it will drop the signal level, maybe too much if you have a long run. Of course all of this depends on a good signal to start with. Amplifying a noisy signal will just give you a amplified noisy signal.

From your diagram, what are the present lengths of each cable run?

EDIT: One other thing I noticed from your diagram. You have your amplifier downstairs. It would be better upstairs, closer to the antenna, then distribute to the other TVs, unless that won't work with your setup. I'm not familiar with Freeview.

[LOWTECH]

If you have VCR downstairs, plug aerial cable in freeview box, then to VCR, then to a booster amplifier with 3 outputs. One to each TV.... you will also then be able watch your VCR on every TV in the house as well as freeview .... anything attached before the booster can be seen on every TV connected to booster output, with a single cable to each TV.

It maybe easier, cheaper and more staight foreward to scrap the internal Freeview and get a external Freeview box to do as explained.....Cheap now at £25-£35

Have done the same with sky box ...£18-£25 booster from argos, if you are not happy you can take it back and get and refund...

Mine works a treat. I have SKY, VCR and DVD all watchable on 3 TV`s around the house with 3 way booster output.

[ryanesx7]

the length of the cable from aerial to downstairs TV is about 15m
then tv to tv (2) is about 8m and then about 4-5 metres to the next TV

we did have this steup previously working without the freeview boxes involved and we had great signals on all TV's unfortunately we were unlucky enough to have our booster fried during a lightening strike

---yes i am using coax by the way

ry

[ryanesx7]

in fact the aerial lengths are a lot shorter

in the same order
it goes 9m
8m
4m

ry

[redwudz]

That's not too long a run. I was thinking you had maybe 30 - 40 meters. If you are using the foam core coax or something better than the cheap stuff sold at some stores, you shouldn't have too much loss. RG-6 with a Teflon or foam insulating core around a 18 gage solid copper center wire is best. It can have 2 or 4 layer shielding. What you want to avoid is the older RG-59 which is not really up to long cable runs and has single layer shielding and a smaller center conductor. Most TV type cable has the RG number printed on the outside.

It's still better to have your amplifier closer to the antenna. Even better is a antenna mounted amplifier. This is best for a weaker signal. If you are getting a good, strong signal at the first TV, you may be OK with your present setup. But, as mentioned, amplifying a weak signal will get you more noise.

Some distribution amplifiers make expansive claims on how much they amplify. 5 - 10db is about average. 10 - 15db is a lot. Above 15db I would begin to doubt their claims. Especially if they don't tell you at what frequencies these gains are based on. The gains may not even be within the TV bands. Splitters have losses around 6 - 9db, depending on who writes the advertising. But with a 10db amplifier gain and a splitter loss of 6 - 9db, you should still have a good signal. It's not so much amplifying as making up the splitter loss. If you use a distribution amplifier and individual coax runs to the TVs, then you don't have the splitter loss and a lower db distribution amp will work.

[energy80s]

All you need is a 3 set distribution amp (from Argos, etc) - plug your TV aerial into it and feed your 3 TVs from the separate outputs on the amp. This will be correctly set to just amplify enough to cover signal losses in the split, rather than boosting an already good signal (which can cause all sorts of problems with intermod between analogue and DTT signals). The ideal place for it would be in the roofspace, as it will be pretty close to the TV aerial and will allow you to drop cables to each bedroom quite easily - although you will need mains power in the roofspace!

[Marty2003]

I recently purchased an amplifier and have it set up exactly like you, although I'm not exactly sure what freeview is since I'm located in Canada.

The only problem I ran into was with VHF channels. I had a strong channels 2 and 6, located 10 miles away and weaker channels 3 and 5 located about 85 miles away. The amplifier was amplifying the local channels so much they were overpowering 3 and 5 making them unwatchable, so I had to bypass the amplifier for VHF channels.

If you're getting a good signal in the basement like me that setup should work fine. I bought a 2 output amp that claims 24db VHF, 20db UHF gain. I'd say what I bought is probably overkill, and 1 or 2 channels look overamplified. Listen to redwudz advice on amps. You might even try one with adjustable gain.

[ryanesx7]

is this the kind of cable i should be looking at redwudz:

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CASATB.html


??

ry

[redwudz]

ryanesx7, that one you linked to should be fine. I prefer the foam core with the two layer foil, but that should work well, though maybe a little higher in price than the foam. It would be nice if you could get someone to crimp on the connectors, but the twist on ends work well enough if you are careful.

If there are any connectors exposed outdoors, you would want to seal them up. They make a rubberized tape for that and some use a sort of 'grease' around the connector to keep out water.

If you go by that company from your link in person, they may be able to give you some better local information. If you have a small section of your present cable, they may also tell you if the cable you linked to would be an improvement.

[SatStorm]

from what I know, there is something called "line Amplifier" in english (enishitis stathmis simatos in Greek). It is not a signal amplifier, it is an amplifier that boost the transfered signal when the cable is long or it is interrupted. Spaun has that kind on amplifiers.
You can determine the strengh on those "spaun" amplifiers, so to determine the correct boost of the signal.

[ryanesx7]

thanks for your help guys, especially redwudz

in the next week or so i will install the proposed system and let you all know how i get on

once again: thankyou

will be in touch shortly

ry